5 Predictions for 2023

No one likes prediction posts. Or does everyone love prediction posts?

Don’t write one because you’ll be wrong in 365 days…or sooner. But they get clicks.

Whatever the case may be, I’m in front of a laptop and I have some things to get off my chest.

1.????The transition to EVs will be a convenient excuse for automakers

Any financial stumbling block a car company runs into over the next twelve months will likely be prefaced with, “the high-cost of transitioning to an EV future.” I’m not saying this is necessarily wrong or inaccurate…just be prepared for seeing that phrase a lot in 2023.

2.????Car travel will continue to be robust

This year car travel around the holidays exploded to record levels even as air travel also saw a post-Covid rebound. I don’t expect people to do less traveling by car in 2023 and this will mean more work for service departments and new car sales for those who have sat on their money riding out low inventories.

3.????Adventure trims will keep coming

All that travel often hits the great outdoors. And like an overpriced Yeti cooler, some car buyers want the look even if they don’t use it very often. I expect trim levels like Subaru’s Wilderness, Nissan’s Pathfinder Rock Creek and Ford’s Explorer Timberline to be joined by others from nearly every brand.

4.????Infrastructure will be the big EV topic in 2023

You’ve already started to see it. But now that range anxiety and time anxiety have been addressed by EV automakers and writers are happier with both range and the time it takes to recharge, now we’ll be hearing about the woeful state of the U.S. EV charging network. Expect negative headlines and comments about every third-party operator. I’d also imagine government figures like the secretaries of Energy and Transportation will be blamed for the bulk of the issues. One thing I don’t expect…a solution to the actual problem.

5.????A car brand will go extinct

I’m not going to name names, but there are far too many underperforming car brands on the market and they may fall prey to #1 above. Even sluggish brands that have been promised to go all-electric could be cut loose from larger umbrellas. Again, I won’t name names but I could see a domestic brand evaporating and a few European luxury ones as well.

David is the director of content marketing at CDK Global, a leading automotive software supplier to OEMs and dealers. He has spent nearly 20 years in the automotive industry as a product evaluator, journalist and marketer for brands like Autoblog, Cars.com, Nissan and Harley Davidson. In that time, David has tested hundreds of vehicles across all types of tracks and terrain. All opinions above are purely his own.