Much has been discussed about the future of consumer transport in terms of the car manufacturers, road networks and technology. Our new report the Future of Mobility, which is free thanks to PwC, focuses on the role the retailer will play. The Mobility Roadmap for UK Auto Retail examines how the retailers will fit into that future in terms of consumer behaviour, how the national sales companies will structure their networks, servicing the advanced technology, geographical variances and take a look into the more distant future for auto retail.

The rate of change in the automotive industry in recent years has been phenomenal, with everything from the way people finance their purchase to what they expect from the cars themselves radically different to just a short generation ago.

That pace of change is showing no sign of slowing and, in the chapters of this report, we will be investigating the future of mobility in the UK and in the industry as a whole.

We start by looking at how a change in attitude among the buying public has seen a huge rise in popularity for personal contract purchase and other finance solutions in recent years. We’ve studied the reasons behind this shift in consumer preference and what sort of an impact it has had on the industry’s structure and approach, and ask whether it has changed the industry permanently.

Attention then shifts to the car itself. Manufacturers and their partner companies have big plans for the coming years, and we consider the implications for insurers, the consumer and the retailer.

One area of technology that has seen particular advancement is that of the connected car. This technology brings various benefits to the driver, and we explore the potential for this and the sort of services that the car of the future will be offering. There are many uses for data, though, and we also investigate how a connected car could be of use to various elements of the car industry, from the first point of sale, to servicing and even for maintaining a personal relationship with the customer and the potential for boosting and rewarding loyalty.

Although the number of cars per person on UK roads increased from 2011 to 2016, one place has bucked the trend, with London seeing a drop in the number of cars per head. The nation’s capital is often the first to benefit from new initiatives, both in terms of transport and the approach to cars. We examine whether more rural areas and smaller towns will adopt these urban advancements, or whether they will result in a widening in the divide between town and country.

Autonomous technology was a recurring theme among those we spoke to while compiling this report, and the self-driving car is no longer a dream for the future. The technology is creeping more and more into the cars of today and we examine what this means for brands and retailers if the car of tomorrow is less about the driving, and what role the dealers will play in the adoption of this technology.

Finally, we’ll take a look even further ahead, and consider what the future holds from a legal perspective, how consumer needs are likely to be served by a variety of different means and hear how the car of the future could read the driver’s senses and respond accordingly.