THE VEHICLE AS A KEY FACTOR IN TRANSPORTATION ON THE EVE OF AN EPOCHAL PARADIGM SHIFT

In the light of the 'megatrends' of electromobility and interconnection the car and commercial vehicle industry is facing dramatic changes which could lead to major upheavals. Triggered by ecological necessity and socially induced paradigm shifts, the understanding of mobility, the status of the environment, limited fossil resources, promising propulsion and fuel technologies as well as the increasing digitalisation and networking of all systems must inevitably be considered within a close system relationship. Sufficient technologies must therefore incorporate a corresponding sustainability in all areas: ecology, economy and social affairs for both subsystems as well as in the overall network context. Thus, for example, electromobility can only succeed in the transition to a comparable internal combustion engine in terms of economic and commercial maturity with a technology leap using post-lithium-ion battery technology. An improved lifecycle assessment can only be achieved in the medium to long term through extensive integration of regenerative energies in the electricity mix. Likewise, the interconnection which, at first glance, is inherent in and, ultimately, overarching within the transport system can probably only succeed in its ultimate aim of autonomous driving by overcoming high safety and regulatory hurdles in the medium to long term. In the context of these developments newly understood mobility and cross sector network synergy effects can be developed in the future on the way to a user perspective. In this respect, market shifts between the classic automobile manufacturers, innovative active suppliers and the IT industry are expected.