The big car design trends for 2019 and beyond

As 2019 opens we are preparing for the whirlwind of CES, then auto shows in Detroit, Geneva, New York, and Beijing. But as the last year drew to a close, we were able to review and note a number of trends that will influence design over the next few years. These are not design trends per se – those will be on full display over the next few months at the auto shows noted above. The trends below are the sort of technical and sociological cores around which design trends orbit. Once in a while it is important to step out of the studio and scan the horizons for emerging influences. So here are a few that we see heading our way in this new year and beyond.

The Mazda SkyActiv X engine – internal combustion is not dead yet

1: I Before E

This old grammar chestnut from grade school is a good way to summarise the conversation about powertrains in the near and intermediate future. In short, Internal Combustion (“I”) before Electrics (“E”).

As much excitement as electric power has generated (pun intended) in the last few years, and as much promise as electric vehicles show for the future, we just are not there yet. Range issues, driving habits, charger availability and vehicle affordability are all huge roadblocks to widespread adoption of electric vehicles.

The internal combustion engine, however retrograde it seems to the current zeitgeist, is still the mainstream powerplant for the short to mid-term future. And, as Mazda is showing us with their SkyActiv X engine, there is plenty of innovative work to be done with internal combustion.

For electrics, the hybrid format seems the best short-term option. Now familiar technology, it is relatively inexpensive, especially the emerging 48-volt mild hybrid system.

What will really bring success to the electric car will be the development of the solid-state battery, and a robust and widespread charging network. But until then, automotive design will center around the placement of internal combustion engines, mostly in front-wheel-drive formats. These will drive packaging and styling for the next few years, and possibly a lot longer.

Cadillac Super Cruise – limited in scope, but very good. The future of autonomy?

2: Creeping Autonomy

Autonomous cars hit peak hype on the Gartner cycle last year at CES, and we are now well into the trough of disillusionment. A number of high-profile accidents, revelations of technical troubles, and a storm of criticism of even the most well-intentioned proposals has generated a backlash against autonomous cars.

But paradoxically, while general autonomy has fallen out of favour, driver’s assist technologies have widespread support both among the public and in legislative chambers. Pedestrian braking, lane maintenance assist, dynamic cruise control, and parking assist are all existing technologies that can save your life or the life of someone else.

We are still a decade away from widespread autonomy, but we may see autonomy in all but name emerge from the incremental technologies which are already aggregated into safety packages. Already there are anecdotal accounts of daredevils piloting Honda Civics across Los Angeles freeways using the Honda Sensing Suite to guide the cars in a virtual autonomous mode (Honda does not confirm this and strongly condemns the practice). This may be the future, though: an incremental, ‘creeping’ autonomy made up of disparate safety technologies that will in the end work in concert to form a full autonomous package.

The suburbs are back – will there be new vehicle types serving them?

3: Back to the ’Burbs

For most of this century we have heard about the rediscovery and migration of millennials and others back to city centres. The suburbs were a goal for almost no one with an ounce of self respect or hipster quotient. But in the past few years, the pendulum has begun to swing the other way, and people are now rediscovering the suburbs.

It is hoped that those moving from city to suburbs will bring a more urban sensibility to a renewed suburb. Will this sensibility also translate into new vehicle formats? Could we see the renewal of the estate wagon, or even – dare we say it – Minivan 2.0?

An Uber autonomous test vehicle – could Uber keep the sedan format alive?

4: Sedan by Uber

Despite their troubles, Uber and Lyft do not seem to be going away any time soon. The notion of car-sharing, however disingenuous the term, is not either. Toyota’s recent investment in Uber and GM’s investment in Lyft prove that the concept has a strong base and a real future.

A recent, little-noticed move by Toyota to provide fleet-management services for a car sharing service in Singapore, however, shows where the future may be going. Toyota can prop up their slower-selling or older lines of car models by leasing or selling to car sharing services – and make the process easy by maintaining them. This is turn could lead to separate lines of cars dedicated to the sharing/rental market.

Formats such as sedans may find a respite from the brutal Darwinism of the marketplace, preserving them for a better day, or perhaps reinventing them altogether. Sedan by Uber/Toyota? It may be a reality in a few years.

The Renault Twizy concept – the quadricycle of today, and tomorrow?

5: Micromobility

The micromobility movement seeks to ‘unbundle’ the car, much as the personal computer ‘unbundled’ the old computer mainframes of the 1970s and 1980s. The idea is to replace the car with all manner of human-powered and light electrically-powered vehicles including uniwheels, scooters, bicycles, e-bikes, and even light quadricycles (under 500kg), all of which could theoretically replace a majority of short automotive trips.

Last year we reported that Walter de Silva, at a conference we reported from SPD Milan, advanced the idea that the quadricycle may be the best ‘car’ for the urban environment. He also noted that these quadricycles should develop their own aesthetic and not try to look like junior versions of larger cars.

The quadricycle is the point at where the micromobility movement and traditional automakers meet. Although Ford and GM have flirted with bicycle fleets and other expressions of ‘mobility’, the real action could be in quadricycles. However, one obstacle is that the there is currently no vehicle classification for them in the US; Europe is far ahead here.

It is easy to dismiss the whole micromobility movement as another techno-fad that has emerged from the overheated petri dish of Silicon Valley. But automakers ignore micromobility at their peril. New forms of private urban transport are coming, and perfecting the quadricycle is a way for automakers to join the movement in a way that moves the private transport conversation forward in a very positive and urbanistic way.

And the rest..?

This list above remains incomplete. Business and geopolitical upsets could create many changes – and there are plenty of possible issues that 2019 could throw up, foreseen and not.

Additionally, our reports from CES and the various auto shows in the next few months will doubtless reveal more clues to the future. Stay with us for exclusive coverage throughout the 2019 show season for further reports on all the important cars and trends.