CLEPA: ‘mobility a service in the future’
The EU Commission’s Fotis Karamitsos believes mobility will be considered as a service in the future.
The statement came at the welcome event of the CLEPA – European Association of Automotive Suppliers – aftermarket conference in Brussels where the focus was very much on the future mobility. Karamitsos also pointed towards trends such as changing ownership and hinted that automated driving within the EU is not far off, with the legal framework being a key obstacle to overcome.
Amongst a keen line-up of influential conference speakers, Tim Armstrong, vice president of forecasting of IHS opened up the day’s proceedings by focusing on how future mobility will change. Armstrong warned delegates that we are now in an era where ‘the past does not equal the future’ and suggested that a new global context for the automotive sector is now taking shape with influences such as regulatory pressures, energy rivalry, green issues, technological development, connectivity, societal change and economic uncertainty all playing a major role.
Armstrong pointed to three potential scenarios for the future of the automotive aftermarket: autonomy – generational change and urbanisation pressures alter the mobility market with technology and society driving fundamental change; rivalry – a reaction to events as and when they happen with no clear direction, most likely operating without reaching corporate goals, or vertigo – where frequent economic and financial tremors cause instability that undermines confidence and exacerbates risk aversion.
‘Never before have there been so many enablers of change,’ explained Armstrong, ‘New city living options are creating a tipping point for vehicle ownership in urban areas. The autonomy jigsaw is also falling into place and such capability opens up many new opportunities in the new urban environment. The city of tomorrow will drive a contradictive segmentation shift.’
He told delegates that automotive OEMs and suppliers must continue to drive value to shareholders while facing the complex risks and challenges ahead. ‘Is there still a future under ‘business as usual’ conditions? It’s most unlikely to happen based on history,’ concluded Armstrong.
