Carmakers shifting to minimal & simple logos, marking a shift in brand identity
The global automotive industry has been going through a wide range of disruptions. Amid these multi-pronged disruptions, a significant one is the adoption of minimalist and simpler brand logos, which have been changing the brand identities of these automobile companies. Gone is the metallic sheen of the sharply sculpted cast iron crest that used to adorn the centre of the car’s front and rear profiles. Instead, modern cars from many major brands have been adorning simpler and minimalist logos, which are more digital-friendly.
Over the last few years, major global car manufacturers such as BMW, Volkswagen, Skoda, Kia, Volvo, Nissan, Audi, Citroen, Renault, and Mini have enlisted their names in this trend. Among the Indian car manufacturers, Mahindra has also donned a new twin-peaks brand logo that is now visible on all its new passenger vehicles. Another major homegrown car manufacturer Tata Motors hinted that its future passenger vehicles might don a fresh logo that looks more chiselled than the current one.
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What’s driving carmakers to simpler logos
Change is constant in the automobile industry, but not in every division. While technological advancements through numerous layers of research and development are a constant process in the automobile industry, automakers are known for their adamancy when it comes to changing their brand identity. It takes a lot of time for an automobile company to accept and adopt change in its brand identity, especially if it is a luxury marquee like BMW that is known as one of the most aspirational brands in the world.
The reasons behind such transformation are manifold. These reasons include both strategic and stylistic ones. Digitalisation is penetrating every sphere of life and for auto companies, the shift is taking place at a wide scale. With the rapidly transforming consumer preferences towards the vehicle buying process, auto companies are finding themselves with a growing presence in the digital world through websites, mobile applications and social media. While the shiny metallic crests look good physically on a car’s metal surface, simpler and minimalist logos work much better on a company’s website or an app, driving a lot of potential consumer attention to a brand.
Speaking to HT Auto, Ashish Sharma, Vice President, Automotive, India – Capgemini Invent, said from a technical perspective, these new brand logos assist carmakers to render their logos effectively on websites, social media, and apps. “New logos must be simple for display on digital screens, and this shift is not exclusive to the automotive industry; it is occurring across various sectors," he added.
Auto enthusiast and co-founder of brand strategy firm Expereal, Avik Chattopadhyay, who is also the former head of marketing product planning and PR at Volkswagen India, echoes the same view. He believes that all logos are going 'flat' and so should those of automakers. “This is to adapt to new methods of consumption, not in the physical but more in the digital world. Elaborate logos do not look good or lend themselves to various contexts in the digital medium. Hence, the logos are being simplified," he added.
Simpler logos bring transparency and personal touch
Simpler and minimalist brand logos, which are free from complexity and look clean on a vehicle’s surface as well as on digital interfaces sans any frill, depict a sense of transparency among the viewers. It impacts the brand’s relationship with its stakeholders including customers.
Modern brands including automotive companies have been focusing on personal touches, in an attempt to engage and connect with their potential consumers. A non-3D, non-metallic finished logo is often seen as a way to connect with them and create a distinctive brand identity, believe experts. The simpler and minimalist brand logos are often more expressive than shiny metallic ones.
Adaptability is the key
Gone are the days when the management of the company used to dictate the terms as per their choice. Modern companies are being propelled by their consumers' preferences. These companies are being compelled to be flexible keeping focus on the rapidly shifting consumer choices. Hence, adaptability to the changes is the key. A change of the brand logo towards a simpler one emits the adaptability of the company. These fresh logos are also helping the brand to show its solidarity towards the shift to sustainability. These logo redesigns often help in major shifts in how people perceive the products of the companies.
Puneet Gupta, Director of S&P Global Mobility, believes that these fresh brand logos depict that car manufacturers are reorienting, realigning, and rebuilding themselves to face this new world. “Today’s automotive industry is going through a sea of changes and it has never seen this kind of transformation in the last 70 years. This made car manufacturers rethink their design language. The fresh brand logo reflects that the car manufacturers are reorienting, realigning, and rebuilding themselves to face this new world. This also reminds their suppliers, dealers and other partners that it’s time to change," he said to HT Auto.
Auto industry experts say this is a global trend in which car manufacturers are redefining their brand identity, largely driven by the need to refresh their image per the expectations of new-age consumers for a vehicle brand. Avik Chattopadhyay said that logos are an expression of the ecosystems brands wish to create and the societies they operate in. “As the physical world becomes 'cleaner', so should the logo as it inherently depicts that new world. The big ego quotient that automakers used to thrive on has rapidly evaporated, forcing them to be more down to earth in the way they represent themselves in their communication, including the logo," he added.
Design gaining growing importance
Design in the automotive industry is gaining growing importance as it is playing the role of a key differentiator for car buyers while they are making their purchase decisions. Auto companies have been making so much investment into the design of their vehicles to ensure that these cars have a really strong design DNA.
Implementing this transformation is by no means an easy task for auto OEMs. Changing the brand identity and logos necessitates a significant chunk of investments, often reaching millions of dollars. These changes must extend to the vehicle design, manufacturing processes, and retail operations as the new logos integrate into vehicles and become embedded in the overall network.
Gone are the days when cars used to be personal vehicles meant for commuting to and fro point A and point B. Modern cars have been increasingly becoming personal mobility devices, playing key roles in both aspirational and essential fronts of the consumers. The advent of electric vehicles is further propelling this transformation.
These changes have been dictating the terms of design in the automobile industry. It’s a thing of the past that good design is exclusive to high-end luxury cars. In the modern automotive world, mass-market cars are also coming with cutting-edge design and one key part of that is the redesigned logos that are simpler and digital-friendly.
Ashish Sharma explained that with the increasing digitalisation and the influence of new-age companies like Apple, Uber, Airbnb and Tesla. customers find it more appealing to associate with a brand characterized by minimal design and devoid of clutter, aligning with the ‘less is more’ approach. He also stated that the trend commenced some time ago, with OEMs gradually transitioning from metallic, chrome-style badges to lighter, 2D designs. Sharma also said that these new 2D designs are also more closely linked to competitive aspects like innovation, technology, digitalization, and forward-thinking. He also emphasised that for those who still prefer the old metallic style, this trend is not expected to reverse anytime soon.
