Having worked in and with the automotive industry [1]for around 25 years, the challenges that OEMs face given their size and structures often inhibit the business agility needed to provide lasting customer value in an age of digital disruption. The focus has always been more skewed toward the product experience and product features and defining greatness by "number of cars."
Also: From big data to AI: Where are we now?[2]
Mobility as a driver for change has existed for more than 10 years, but the increased competitiveness from nontraditional players has created new challenges for OEMs and forced them to rethink their role. It has produced more service-oriented ideas such as car-sharing schemes, partnerships with ride-hailing services, and closer collaboration with urban planners[3].
Despite these changes, I think that the focus is still on the "number of cars." The recent merger of Mercedes-Benz[4] car2go and BMW DriveNow highlights the need to increase fleet size to be able to compete with nontraditional automotive players, and the main message I took away from the MQ! The Mobility Quotient 2018 Innovation Summit was that autonomous cars, smarter service offerings around cars, and better working together with urban planners would somehow manage the mobility expectations of the future. Considering that the physical format of mobility remains unchallenged -- it still looks like a car -- the future seems secure for the OEM.
Dr. Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, is quoted as saying the following after the merger of car2go and BMW DriveNow: "As pioneers in automotive engineering, we will not leave the task of shaping future urban mobility[5] to others. There will be more people than ever