VIN Basics Blog

The trailer industry is undergoing a transformative period, marked by innovative designs, technological advancements, and a heightened focus on sustainability. Encompassing recreational trailers to tractor trailers, several trends are shaping the future of this essential automotive industry sector.

Aside from the obvious difference, one is free and one costs money, there is often confusion around how free VIN decoder services vs. paid VIN decoding solutions differ and why one might pay a premium. Each business has different vehicle data and VIN decoding needs, and while a free VIN decoder might do the trick for some businesses, others may have a need for a more comprehensive VIN decoding solution.

No manufacturing process is perfect, an obvious fact that the automotive industry knows too well, with nearly 900  recalls affecting over  34 million cars alone in 2023. No part of a car, truck, or trailer is immune from an error, and that includes the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). 

Over the last few years, vulnerabilities such as fuel prices, rapid changes in the economy, consumer demands, freighting resources, and both driver and supply shortages have been highlighted within the heavy-duty trucking industry. With the parts shortage sweeping the nation, it has become important to find vehicle components that fit promptly. Let’s look at the major concerns of the current market for mid- and heavy-duty trucks and how leveraging DataOne’s VIN decoding with ACES Mapping for mid- and heavy-duty vehicles can be the alternative advantage your company needs.

When OEMs make their as-built data, also known as window sticker data, available to vendors through a vehicle data partner, they invest in their brand’s equity. As consumers associate their complete vehicle experience with your brand (from purchase to servicing to resale), it's essential to ensure that the organizations handling your vehicles, from dealerships to insurance providers, have the opportunity to provide the best possible service throughout the vehicle life cycle. This, in turn, will drive long-term customer loyalty.

We live in a world that is swiftly traveling towards a fully digital age, making data collection through form submission an integral part of the internet. One of the easiest ways to add significant value to the quoting portals and online lead generations for insurance and warranty is through reverse VIN lookup. Consumers are now able to easily enter their known vehicle details immediately without requiring a VIN, which can push leads through the necessary fields with a higher completion rate. The end users (insurance companies and warranty providers) can act on these leads more efficiently because they have the VIN pattern generated from this tool. Lastly, these companies encourage trust with the consumers by providing users with an experience first while still effectively collecting the necessary data.

Warranty businesses serving the automotive industry are facing many of the same challenges impacting insurance companies, including price inflation for parts in both direct and 3^rd party markets, supply chain roadblocks, and significant increases in claim severity.  These issues are compounded by a pandemic-induced decrease in new car sales, all contributed to the warranty industry experiencing a 2.7% decline in revenue year-over-year per Consumer Affairs. 

The good news for warranty companies is that there appears to be a clear path to rebound. The same Consumer Affairs report finds that consumers are increasingly looking to extend their cars’ usable lifespan and typically cannot afford costly repair bills without coverage. This points to an increased and sustained demand for warranty coverage as the population of vehicles in use ages.  However, to maximize the profitability of these warranty policies, vehicle risk assessment models used to price warranties will need to be updated and future-proofed for the latest technology developments to maintain their accuracy.

ATV (all-terrain vehicle) and UTV (utility task vehicle) market, also known as ROVs (recreational off-road vehicles), have experienced a remarkable rise in popularity in recent years, becoming a driving force in the powersports industry. According to a Fortune Business Insights report, ROVs claim 63.4% of the global powersports market share in 2022. The annual revenue for ATVs and UTVs in the North American market is expected to grow from $8.52 billion to $13.6 billion in the next 5 years (2023-2028). As such, there is a growing need for accurate and complete powersports vehicle data for businesses in the space to remain competitive.

DataOne Software’s blog this year has emphasized the impact of increasing vehicle complexity within a wide swath of the automotive industry, and we are not going to be short on topics any time soon. The latest innovation that has captured the investment dollars of the tech sector, “AI” (which in truth is a mislabeling of the technology – it should more appropriately be called a Large Language Model) is now making its way into OEMs’ development plans, and automotive risk assessment professionals will need to closely consider its ramifications to avoid unexpected losses.

The economic conditions of the early 2020s had a unique impact on the automotive industry. Dubbed trimflation by car culture website Autopian, the output in entry-level models was greatly reduced, while high-margin trims became more commonplace and MSRPs were increased across the board. UMass Amherst Professor Isabella Weber noted, “Companies in the automobile sector [amplified] price pressures enabled by a form of temporary monopoly granted by the computer chip shortages. This allowed car producers to focus on expensive models with higher margins and generally raise prices without having to fear a loss in market share.”