Car industry: translation and technology
The car industry is one industry that has modernized most in recent years as it seeks to adapt to emerging technologies and stay one step ahead in the race to meet customer requirements.
Translation is a part of this, through adapting traditional car manuals and translating the most recent automotive software, localization and in-car entertainment.
How important is translation to the car industry, which is increasingly technological, global and complex? And how can translators and translation companies adapt to the rapid changes taking place in the industry?
Translating in the car industry today
Any car manufacturer wanting to internationalize or establish new factories in other countries must translate in order to ensure their products and operations are completely understood.
Translation is an internationalization partner, by translating user manuals, workshop manuals and internal and external communications. Nowadays, however, translation in this sector goes far beyond simply these tasks.
With each passing day, cars are more like “computers on wheels“ than just the means of transport they are traditionally seen to be.
The car industry has taken advantage of much that technology has to offer in terms of automation, connectivity and entertainment, and is constantly innovating its product.
More than design and hardware, what is driving the car industry is the software customers want in a new car: the technology, the ability to connect their phone system, satnav, etc.
Translation has also gained with these technological innovations: wherever they are, translation is also there to help them adapt to all audiences, cultures and languages.
As well car manufacturer website localization, software localization is also a trend and a current reality.
In an industry with a vocabulary as specific and complex as found in the car industry, translators need to be specialists and have to find the correct terminology for each case, which makes this type of translation highly skilful and demanding.
The importance translation in the car industry
Translation has to adapt to what the car industry offers its costomers: products that last longer, move faster, are more exciting, have more features and which are cheaper.
In addition to all this, they want vehicles that are safer. Customer satisfaction at the point of purchase is also an essential aspect of this, which is the product’s guarantee of quality and safety.
Translation helps raise awareness of the manufacturers’ safety practices, emphasizing the importance of this feature among all the software features the vehicle can offer.
The quality of translation is therefore important for ensuring the customer understands the vehicle they have purchased and know how best to use it. A good translation is simple, clear and can be understood by all drivers.
However, technology is not just a feature of vehicles in this technological age: it is also in the translation and the terminological and automatic mechanisms that can be used.
Automatic translation cannot in itself guarantee the quality of translation, but it can help translators and translation companies offer more accurate translations that are cheaper and faster and which use the correct terminology.
Translation is what the industry uses to personalize the customer experience. It starts with localization of the manufacturers’ website where customers find out about the vehicle, extending to the experience of using the vehicle.
When a car manufacturer comes from a faraway country and speaks an unknown language, the marque is presented to the customer as if the vehicle had been made just for them.
The apps, the website, the manual: all of these are translated into the customers’ language and adapted to their culture. The vehicle connects to their mobile phone, is tuned to their favourite radio stations and has their most frequent routes saved in their satnav.
Translation and localization, in partnership with the technology that make today’s cars what they are, are largely responsible for this personalization of the driving experience.
