What will we see in mobility four years from now?

The technologies already exist today — it’ll ultimately be the users who decide which innovations succeed (Part V)

Unlikely like this in the near future. Screenshot from Hover: Revolt of Gamers

The future of auto tech is all about collaboration — that was the quintessential line of the speakers at 4YFN and one that we repeat a little too often ourselves. It’s important to note that the ecosystem and the players as we know them today will not exist in the same way in the near future. Every player in mobility — from innovators, to market leaders, and regulators needs to prepare for this uncertainty.

“There will be a consolidation of the market, but cities will ultimately have a say in who remains and who will be allowed to operate in local markets. Mobility providers will need to prove that they are reliable partners for cities,” said Mar Pallas Poy, VP of Market Development at Scoot Networks.

Of course, we cannot leave everything up to the cities. The technology is there, it’s just not being integrated or deployed at a large scale. “Working at a deeptech systems integrator for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, we’re able to understand that collaboration is necessary to make the existing innovations available in the mass market. Without collaboration, we won’t get anywhere beyond POCs and pilot projects,” noted Tanja Kufner, Partner at MHP — a Porsche Company. Daimler’s Philipp Gneiting expanded on this idea:

“Established players and startups both have great strengths. The winner will be whoever figures out how to combine the two.”

The best of both worlds. Potentially. If everything goes well. And everyone's on the same page.

The biggest investment area for mobility

“Cybersecurity is never the first concern. We need to make it our top priority,” warned Ana Fuster, Partner at Deloitte. While this is certainly true, regardless of how much state-of-the-art protection you put into a car, the fact that it’s connected makes it vulnerable.

“There’s no silver bullet in security. The only 100% foolproof protection is to have a completely disconnected car,” said Intel's Avner Goren.

For auto manufacturers, entering into a Spy vs. Spy relationship with hackers is inevitable.

Although this image (Spies via Pxhere.com) may seem light-hearted, the importance of protecting against vulnerabilities in connected cars is no joking matter.

Now, whether it’s electric and automated vehicles, security, meta-apps, connectivity, or even mobility-as-marketing, it’s a question of user behavior to determine which technologies will be adopted at scale. “We’ll be observing how user behavior will change, but it’s critical to shorten the time to deployment,” said Olivier Lenz, Programs Director at the Fédération International de l’Automobile (FIA).

In a nutshell

Once again, 4YFN hosted a lively discussion with a lot of foods for thought about the future. In regards to mobility, user behavior will be the litmus test for the technologies and models that already exist today.

The collaboration between startups, corporates and cities is the key ingredient for innovation in this sector. The cities also need to step up and take on an active role — creating an ecosystem in which new ideas can thrive — but also laying out regulations. Because somebody has to be the referee — and it better be the cities who have the well-being of all their inhabitants and the complex connections between all different sectors in mind.

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This post is the fifth in a series on the collaborative future of mobility. If you haven’t yet, you should also read Part I (link), Part II (link), Part III (link), and Part IV (link).

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