The need to incorporate new concepts of mobility to companies and to offer services tailored to the customer are two issues that reveal these hours to automotive.
They recognize that the most important pillar of their activity will no longer be the sale of cars, but they will have to offer other services to guarantee a more comfortable, cheap, safe and sustainable transport.
To achieve this, most work in systems in which the customer can have a car when needed and pay according to its use.
Along with this challenge, there are certain aspects that are an essential part of the vision for the future, such as the need to take care of the user's experience.
The keys for the client to return to require the service they offer are:
- Your feeling with a shared car.
- How easy it is to access a vehicle to use in a particular way.
- How expeditious is the return.
- What is the level of connectivity and what capacity does the vehicle have to "make decisions" on its own?
Before these proposals, automotive and started have begun to analyze variants to not be left behind in the race for digital transformation.
"The brands had to change their mission and became providers of mobility solutions, they no longer only think about being car manufacturers," explains Alejandro Langlois, mobility expert and director of ComunicaRSE, a sustainability consultancy.
This vision is accompanied by new paradigms and concepts and ideas that will be transformed into reality in the coming years and increasingly faster.
"The scenario will be based on three pillars: car sharing, electric mobility and self-driving," Langlois tells iProUP.
How close is Argentina to this revolution?
Although it is still necessary for it to become a reality, there are already models in Latin America and there are even public proposals for sustainable mobility and legislation that makes it easier to disembark the electric car. Chile, Colombia and Brazil are faithful exponents of this.
"Changes in mobility are strategically presented as very close to Latin America," says José Luis Valls, Nissan's number one for the region.
And complete: "There is a lot of interest, but we have to work to adapt the proposals, with the help of private and public companies, we must join forces to improve the infrastructure, the opportunity is exponential, but the investment is large and there is a question of scale" .
According to the executive, the concept of mobility is based on three aspects:
- Connectivity, with integration into people's lives.
- Technology, with electric cars.
- Autonomous vehicles.
In this context, although there are still many developments in the local market, it is a fact that the change in the way of transportation will occur sooner rather than later.
"We have already launched the Toyota Mobility Services proposal following a global brand policy and direction," explains Gustavo Salinas, Commercial Manager of the Japanese company, to iProUP.
"Although we manufacture and sell cars, the change in the use of the vehicle by customers forces us to also be a company focused on mobility and service," the executive completes.
Toyota is not the only one that moves in this direction. Volkswagen also assumes that you have to go to transportation systems so that people have everything at their disposal when it comes to travel. And also everything is simple.
Another company focused on changing the concept of mobility of the future is Renault, which has already started to play strong in Argentina.
"We were the first to launch a 100% electric vehicle, the Kangoo ZE, we are convinced of the change that is coming for the entire sector," they said from the local subsidiary.
Future transport models
There are several proposals that the automakers will be adopting to stop thinking about being only "vehicle manufacturers".
So much so that Toyota already opted for a system that consists of offering a person a car for as long as he wants. You can remove it from a dealer and even return it in another.
For its part, Volkswagen is committed to car-sharing and modalities that make it possible to access a car in any perimeter of a city and leave it in another area. That is, without the need to resort to any particular point.
Nissan, which has a broader vision, has already begun to introduce "semi-autonomous" driving technologies in conventional vehicles. From the company they assure that the cars without driver will be one of the key pieces of the future, beyond that different levels coexist.
"When you talk about these issues, people think it's the robotaxi, which is handled alone, but that is the last state of autonomy, before there are different technologies that will allow previous steps, such as pro-pilot or drive-assist, that are already in the cars of the brand, "says Valls.
The models that have these systems are already in Argentina. Even the recently released Electric Leaf incorporates some of those technologies.
"The robotaxi will take longer to arrive, but it is not a priority, that model will be used in closed circles, in historic centers where massive handling is sought," he explains to iProUP.
For its part, Salinas says that Toyota has different options in each region according to the needs of the customer. "We will see new alternatives in the future according to what they require, because the concept of mobility is very broad".
In Renault, the biggest bet in the country started with the arrival of Kangoo ZE, its electric utility, while globally has a much more ambitious plan.
His last presentation was the EZ, a self-contained robot, connected and 100% electric, which is intended to be proposed as a service for a specific route, a circuit or a reservation for the day.
"Available on demand, it is ideal to allow a person or a company to expand their mobility offer based on travel experiences that will be totally unique", describe in the French.
"In 2018, Renault Group turned to the future of shared mobility and we have four pillars within the Drive the Future plan (2017-2022): electric, connected, autonomous and shared," the company explains to iProUP.
In this way, the automakers also manage to solve other problems they face today. "The vehicles of the future have as their mission to reduce the accident rate," they comment from several companies in the sector.
"The reduction of environmental pollution is also a reality and necessity," adds Langlois.
And it exemplifies: "Volvo announced that it will not manufacture more combustion vehicles, other brands, such as Toyota, will have each of its models with a hybrid version in a few years, the change is real".
Demand from young people
Along with the need for companies to modify the concept of mobility, new consumption habits appear in the new generations and potential buyers of future cars, who begin to plan differently their ways of traveling.
The most concrete fact is the drop in the application for driver's licenses in this age group. "In the United States, the number of young people who process it is decreasing, they are not interested in having a car, but only using it when they need it," the leaders of several automakers told iProUP during the CES in Las Vegas. of the most important technology globally.
This is linked to a key decision: many young people, when planning their future, are not prone to spend large sums in acquiring and maintaining a vehicle. That's why they prefer to rent it, use personalized management systems or share trips to save money.
Andrew Salzberg, Uber's transport policy leader, is another expert who predicts that many young people will never have a car. In this sense, the company seeks to offer a wider range of travel alternatives and for that, it is strongly committed to renting electric bicycles and scooters.
"For many, it is a problem to have a vehicle, which is already observed in Argentina.In Federal Capital, in addition to the congestion on the highways that are experienced daily, the fact of parking is a growing inconvenience," says Langlois.
Less cars, more profitability?
All these changes will conclude in a new model of society, consumption and mobility. For the automakers, the first consequence will be that fewer units will be sold and that is why they are anticipating the new scenario.
In Nissan say that the commercialization will fall in the coming years in pursuit of the growth of autonomous vehicles and transport "custom", which could be more profitable. Michael Bunce, number one globally, who assured him.
"In the world, all these changes will be seen in no more than six years, maybe it will take more time in South America, but they will also be a fact," the executive explained when asked about the progress in the region.
For its part, Salinas, of Toyota, also shares the idea that automakers will sell fewer cars, but will gain in profitability from other business alternatives.
Gary Marcus, a professor of psychology at New York University and owner of an artificial intelligence company absorbed by Uber, was one of those who shared his vision.
"Driving can be a very liberating experience, but that does not mean that we will always do it or that we should continue to do so, in the future it will be a matter of security," he said.
And he concluded: "The day will come when vehicles without drivers will simply be safer than human drivers."
