Shapers of the new age automotive
Vinay Sharma
Principal – Intellectual Asset Management
Strategy Consultant - Technology Research and Advisory | IAM 300 | Patent Agent | Attorney
Over the past few years, the world has witnessed rapid social and technological changes, further accelerated by the pandemic.
Rapid technological advancements, increased focus on the environment and sustainability, changing consumer habits, leapfrog improvements in computing capabilities, and significantly enhanced focus on public health have been redefining our society and industries.
The automotive space is no different, and mobility solutions are today being redefined ground up – primarily driven by digitalization, stringent government regulations, and society’s focus on sustainability.
The shifting consumer reflects this transformation – with a slow pivot from asset ownership to convenience, safety and eco-friendliness. SESCA (sustainability, electrification, shared mobility, connectivity, and autonomy) is the acronym used to define this industry's change.
Sustainability forms one of the core disruptors as the world starts to consider it a primary collective goal. How organizations in the automotive industry align their goals and strategy with sustainability could well decide their future success.
According to a report by Capgemini published in 2019, more than 60% automotive industry claims to have a comprehensive sustainable strategy. Sustainability, of course, is required to focus not just on emissions; it must incorporate all aspects of business operations components.
Market leaders have already started taking action towards the primary goal of sustainability. One example is Ambition 2039 by Daimler, which outlines Daimler's target to make its entire fleet of passenger cars carbon-neutral by 2039.
Sustainability is a goal that would require parallel efforts, wherein the electrification of vehicles is an important track (yet only one of the many). Electric Vehicles (or EVs) are increasingly becoming mainstream; it is only a matter of time before significant EV infrastructure develops globally.
Another adjacent disruptor complementing sustainability is shared mobility. Shared Mobility got into the list of automotive disruptors quite recently. According to a McKinsey article, the shared mobility market has surpassed $60 billion in value across China, Europe, and the United States.
The rise of shared mobility is also one of the critical indicators of changing consumer preferences as consumers weigh vehicle ownership more than just a stature symbol. Shared mobility solutions are witnessing a significant increase, with digitalization being the enabler.
Digitalization is also at the core of the connected vehicle ecosystem. Vehicles acquiring the ability to communicate with surroundings and generating data every second is exciting the entire world.
As the new-age automotive integrates digital domains, the automotive industry too will broaden to include digital and telecom solutions providers. Therefore, shaping the future of mobility will be a cross-industry effort.
While the truly autonomous vehicle isn’t really here, it is only a matter of time for bots to take over and the driver becomes redundant!
SESCA is truly here is stay. Each dimension of SESCA is a broad area by itself – we wait to see what the future unleashes!
