Mobility as a service: The end of car ownership?

You would be hard pressed to find a single area of technology in which digitalisation is not making substantial headway. In an increasingly connected world, the emphasis is on ‘smart’ technology capitalising on the possibilities offered by connectivity. Knowing that, it seems only logical that the automotive sector is undergoing a period of transition in order to stay competitive, redefining its position in an intelligent urban infrastructure on the way towards ‘Smart Cities’.

Stop and go and traffic jams during the rush hour are reality on German roads. Constantly increasing numbers of inhabitants aggravate the situation more and more. Even more devastating are the effects on climate change. Mobility providers see a chance, especially in big cities, to minimise traffic jams, noise and pollution thanks to innovative mobility solutions. Smart Cities offer promising potential through smart mobility to handle growing urban mobility.

The range of car sharing services in major cities is already enormous today. In the near future, there will be driverless e-shuttles with fixed bus stops in the city of tomorrow. Also conceivable are autonomous vehicles that can be called via app to any location.

Sampo Hietanen, Founder and Managing Director of the Finnish mobility service provider MaaS Global, addresses in his presentation the question of how smart car sharing services displace traditional vehicle ownership. This is precisely what the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) is aiming for. According to UBA, the motto is ‘using instead of owning’ and is one of 15 building blocks for the city of tomorrow, with a maximum of 150 registered electric cars per 1,000 inhabitants, including car sharing and taxi vehicles.

The second international VDI conference ‘Smart Cars and Urban Mobility’ will feature presentations and interactive discussions about the smart car and its position in the urban mobility landscape as well as contemporary developments in automotive technology, data and infrastructure. The conference highlights the importance of connected vehicles in the context of ‘Smart Cities’.

The main topics include:

• The Urban Mobility Ecosystem, Multimodal Mobility & Mobility Platforms
• Connected Vehicles in intelligent Infrastructure
• Legal Basics for smart connected Vehicles
• Data Handling & Data Sovereignty in an Urban Mobility Context
• The Urban Perspective: Mobility Challenges in Smart Cities of the Future 
• Disruptive Automotive Business Models and alternative smart Urban Mobility Concepts

GM / VDI - Automotive Blockchain Contest

At the conference, the General Motors/VDI Blockchain Contest honours concepts that have the potential to fundamentally change the automotive sector. Anyone who has an innovative blockchain idea in the automotive sector can apply. The evaluation criteria are degree of innovation, technical feasibility, value added and economic impact. The deadline for the pitch presentation is 5th October 2018. The winner will have the opportunity to present his idea in a keynote address to leading OEMs and conference attendees in Amsterdam.

Participants of the conference will be able to attend the parallel international VDI conferences ‘Autonomous and Electric Buses’ and ‘Charging Infrastructure for Electromobility’ at no additional cost. All events are held in English. Registration and program can be found here, as well as at VDI Wissensforum customer service.