The automotive sector has been at the forefront of every significant industrial revolution, experiencing a wide range of revolutionary phases and developments that have had a significant impact on the essential operations of the industry. The automotive industry was initially established as a labor-intensive industry; however, as technological advancements were made and the primary production processes were eventually industrialised, the industry gradually evolved into one of the industries that is most sensitive to advances in technology. Now, in the face of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), carmakers have already introduced robotics, additive manufacturing, the Internet of Things (IoT), and various other related technologies in their core activities.

The end-to-end digitization of the value chain is widely considered to be the future of the industry. In turn, industrialization gave its place to automation. There has been a significant amount of change brought about by Industry 4.0 for all of the participants in the automotive value chain. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), suppliers, middle players, and retailers, among others, are in the process of reorganising their operations and transitioning into the new reality at this time. The proliferation of cutting-edge technology and an unprecedented level of connectedness all throughout the supply chain have made it possible for the sector to innovate, as well as accelerated the development of autonomous cars (AVs).

The new reality of autonomous driving is quickly approaching, and it is about to become a new pillar of disruption for the automotive industry. This will occur through the redefinition of the production process, as well as the introduction of new significant actors, particularly from the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. These new significant actors are about to reshape the traditional role of OEMs, as well as the value appropriation along the value chain.