Virtual Reality in Automotive Industry – Its Applications and Benefits

Virtual reality is starting to make its mark on the automotive industry, from virtual showrooms to elaborate research and testing scenarios. It enables virtual showrooms, driver training, and extreme-condition vehicle testing. Automotive professionals use VR to interact with 3D models, improving efficiency and innovation. 

The VR automotive market is booming, valued at USD 2.36 billion in 2023 and projected to reach USD 37.13 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 35.9% (Fortune Business Insights). This technology speeds up production, improves quality, and enhances customer experiences. 

Lets examine how virtual reality is improving automotive marketing, testing, development, safety, and efficiency.

Applications of VR in the Automotive Industry

1. Virtual Reality Car Showroom

Traditional showrooms have limited models and may not be accessible to everyone. With VR, buyers can interact with a lifelike 3D model, customize colors and interiors, and even sit in the driver’s seat—all from home. This immersive experience helps customers make informed decisions without visiting a physical dealership.

Automakers are embracing VR to enhance customer engagement. For example, KIA introduced a VR showroom, allowing users to explore new vehicle models virtually. With advanced VR headsets, this technology is becoming more affordable and widely available, making car shopping more convenient and personalized.

2. VR Test Drives

Instead of visiting a dealership, potential buyers can virtually drive their desired model from home, exploring different terrains, weather conditions, and traffic scenarios. This allows them to assess the car’s performance before making a purchase. Additionally, dealers can integrate driving simulators to enhance the experience, making test drives more engaging and accessible.

For example, Abarth introduced a VR test drive experience where customers received a VR headset and Bose headphones, allowing them to test drive a car from their homes. This creative approach improves customer convenience and helps buyers make informed decisions.

3. VR for Vehicle Prototyping

VR in the automotive industry is streamlining vehicle prototyping.  Instead of costly physical models, designers use VR to create and manipulate 3D virtual prototypes. This speeds up the design process, reduces development costs, and simplifies modifications based on regulations or feedback. Engineers can also experiment with colors, parts, and branding in a fully immersive environment.

For instance, McLaren used Vector-suite VR to design its supercars. VR platforms allow designers to visualize vehicle ergonomics and 3D designs, enabling collaborative modification and testing of various elements like color and part placement.

4. VR for Training

VR is enhancing training in the automotive industry, benefiting both manufacturers and customers. It helps train employees efficiently, ensuring they meet brand standards while reducing onboarding time. VR driving lessons provide potential buyers with a safe and immersive way to learn how to operate specific car models, including autonomous vehicles, without real-world risks.

5. Market Research and Sales

Unlike traditional methods like surveys and focus groups, VR allows manufacturers to test vehicle designs in a virtual environment, analyzing user reactions, movements, and even heart rates. This data helps neuro-marketers and automakers tailor car designs and marketing strategies to specific demographics more effectively.

In sales, VR automotives enhance customer engagement by offering 360-degree virtual driving experiences. Instead of relying solely on brochures or verbal descriptions, sales teams can immerse potential buyers in realistic driving scenarios, from city streets to highways and mountainous terrains.

Benefits of VR for the automotive industry

1. Safe and Realistic Training

VR offers safe and realistic training for the automotive industry. It allows testing of vehicle systems in extreme conditions without risking human safety, improving vehicle design and reducing accidents. VR also accelerates development and lowers costs by reducing the need for physical prototypes.

For example, Ford reduced injuries by 70% using VR training. VR training for mechanics and technicians improves service quality and reduces errors. Additionally, AI-powered VR training helps track trainee performance, monitoring cognitive skills, heart rate, and error rates for continuous improvement.

2. Transforms Consumer Purchasing

VR enhances the car-buying experience by allowing customers to explore virtual showrooms, compare models, and make informed decisions without sales pressure. This technology helps buyers visualize their ideal vehicle, improving confidence in their purchase. It also streamlines the sales process, making car shopping more convenient and personalized.

VR also allows for personalized vehicle design.  Virtual configurators let customers create unique designs and preview them before purchase, ensuring their individual needs and preferences are met and improving overall satisfaction.

3. Cost Savings

VR in the automotive sector helps automakers cut costs by replacing traditional marketing tools like brochures and videos with immersive 360-degree virtual tours. Customers can explore cars from home, reducing the need for physical showrooms and speeding up the buying process. This approach not only enhances customer experience but also lowers marketing expenses for manufacturers and dealers.

VR also streamlines design and prototyping. By using virtual prototypes instead of physical mock-ups, manufacturers reduce development costs and identify design flaws early, minimizing waste and accelerating innovation.

4. Improved Vehicle Designing and Prototyping

With virtual reality, engineers are creating and testing new models in a virtual environment before production begins. Traditionally, developing a single car model required 50–70 physical prototypes, which is costly and time-consuming. With VR, designers can build full-scale 3D models, adjust instantly, and collaborate efficiently. BMW, for example, uses VR to test design variations without investing in expensive physical mock-ups.

5. Public Awareness and Safety

VR enhances public awareness and safety in the automotive industry.  It allows people to experience dangerous situations, like distracted or drunk driving, in a safe, controlled environment, raising awareness of the risks.

For example, Toyota used a driving simulator to demonstrate the effects of distracted driving.  This approach can be applied to various scenarios, including training pedestrians and cyclists, promoting safer behavior, and improving emergency preparedness.

VR in Automotive Industry Examples

AUDI

Audi is a leader in using VR in the automotive industry. Their “holoride” technology entertains passengers during car rides, syncing the VR experience with the car’s movements. This motion-synced and location-aware technology makes travel more enjoyable.

They train logistics staff on ergonomic movements and dealership employees on customer interactions, improving efficiency and reducing errors across their operations.

BMW

BMW has been using VR since the 1990s, focusing on training, production, and marketing.  They use VR training systems for various employees, from assembly line workers to HR managers, constantly improving the programs based on feedback.

BMW also uses VR for prototyping and testing car models in detail before production, partnering with Epic Games and using Unreal Engine 4.  Their VR application allows them to simulate real-life driving situations, as seen in the development of the BMW iX.

VOLKSWAGEN 

Volkswagen uses VR for large-scale employee training.  In 2018, they planned to train 10,000 employees using 30 different VR simulation programs.  Their “Digital Reality Hub”, a virtual portal accessible through HTC Vive headsets, provides virtual meeting rooms, training, and knowledge bases accessible to all employees.

Volkswagen’s VR platform, developed with Innoactive and HTC VIVE, emphasizes collaboration.  It allows employees worldwide to meet in a virtual room, combining their expertise on projects related to logistics and car manufacturing

Conclusion

From design and training to sales and maintenance, VR offers innovative solutions in the automotive industry.  It enhances safety by providing risk-free training environments and streamlines processes through remote diagnostics and real-time collaboration. Automakers use VR automotive to design, test, and market vehicles efficiently, reducing costs and increasing innovation. Ready to explore VR solutions for your business? Get in touch with Travancore Analytics, a leading VR software development company, to discuss your project needs.