Salesforce has launched new Automotive Cloud innovations to help automotive companies harness data and AI to provide more personalised in-car experiences, manage fleets, and simplify auto lending and leasing.  

Automotive Cloud will unify automaker’s data – from vehicle telematics to service records to customer data – to power new features that provide a real-time, contextualized view of what’s going on inside a vehicle so every driver can get a truly personalised experience.

Connected cars will make up 95% of all new vehicles sold by 2030. Today’s connected cars are already generating an estimated 25 gigabytes of data per hour — data that automotive companies must harness to provide the personalised experiences customers expect and generate new revenue streams. 

“With real-time data, trusted AI, and automation, we’re bringing the automotive industry one step closer to a future where software-defined vehicles are the norm,” said Achyut Jajoo, SVP & GM of Automotive and Manufacturing. “Automotive Cloud will provide a real-time digital view of a vehicle’s connected features, services, and telemetry data so automakers can combine it with everything they know about the driver to orchestrate personalized, connected car experiences.”

What’s coming for car makers: 

Connected Vehicle Visualization is a real-time visualization of a vehicle’s connected features and services that will help make it easy for automakers to provide better in-car experiences, like remote assistance, and surface relevant new services to consumers – like notifying them about a free park assist trial.

Actionable Telematics will help automakers monitor telematics data, like vehicle location, speed, fuel, or battery consumption, and use automation to detect and alert customers to changes in their car’s status. For example, Automotive Cloud can read the data coming off of a vehicle and see an increase in revolutions per minute (RPMs), or loss of tire pressure, and automatically send an alert to the driver in their infotainment console to warn them of the potential safety issue.

Powered by Salesforce Data Cloud, Automotive Cloud securely connects data from any source, like telematics and dealership management systems, so automotive companies have a unified, real-time data foundation to build connected vehicle and driver experiences.  

With Einstein Studio, automakers can easily build and train custom AI models with help from Salesforce ecosystem technology partners. Using connected car data with custom AI models will enable automakers to deliver predictive insights. For example, automakers can alert dealers automatically when a driver’s vehicle is about to hit 100,000 miles and surface new, available vehicles that match the driver’s preferences and even offer personalized discounts and trade-in offers. 

What’s coming for fleet owners and automotive finance teams:

Fleet Management gives fleet owners a single view of their fleet and enables them to more easily define fleet action plans — like routing and driver assignments — and surface alerts, like maintenance warnings. Additionally, Fleet Management provides insights into completed trips, driver behavior, and more, to inform future fleet planning and improve performance. 

Automotive Cloud for Captive Finance will provide a complete view of a driver’s automotive finances, including all of their household auto loans and lease accounts, as well as associated vehicles. With the Automotive Loan and Lease Console, auto lenders will be able to streamline customer service with automation, and engage customers with timely, personalized information about lease renewals, payment reminders, or service appointments. 

 “Everything in the industry today is being driven by software. Our customers expect connected, personalized experiences not only in their cars, but however and wherever they are interacting with us. Automotive Cloud will make it easy to provide these exceptional experiences for our customers,” said Amanda Palmay, senior director, strategy, planning and innovation.

Connected car features like Actionable Telematics will be generally available in early 2024. Connected Vehicle Visualization will be available in pilot in early 2024. Automotive Cloud for Captive Finance and the Automotive Loan and Lease Console will be generally available in early 2024 and Data Cloud, Einstein Studio, and Fleet Management are generally available today, with additional Data Cloud capabilities to come in early 2024.