Best of LinkedIn: Future Mobility & Market Evolution CW 37/ 38

00:00:00: brought to you by Thomas Allgaier and Frenas.

00:00:02: This edition highlights key LinkedIn posts on future mobility and market evolution in weeks thirty-seven and thirty-eight.

00:00:09: Frenas supports enterprises with market and competitive intelligence, decoding disruptive technologies, customer needs, regulatory change, and competitive moves.

00:00:17: so product teams and strategy leaders don't just react but shape the future of mobility.

00:00:23: Welcome everyone to the deep dive today.

00:00:25: We're really digging into what the industry is talking about in future mobility right now.

00:00:29: Yeah, we've curated the key insights from LinkedIn over the past couple of weeks and the big takeaway.

00:00:35: It feels like we're shifting gears.

00:00:36: Definitely less focus on just the shiny tech pilots more on you know, can we actually make this work?

00:00:42: Can we integrate it scale

00:00:43: it exactly?

00:00:44: It's about the systems now the data the policy the infrastructure Not just isolated experiments.

00:00:50: the hardware feels almost Not solved, but understood in many ways.

00:00:54: The real challenge now is making it viable, making it

00:00:57: stick.

00:00:57: Okay, so let's dive into the first big theme.

00:01:00: Autonomous mobility.

00:01:02: Still a lot of buzz, still a lot of investment.

00:01:04: Fade P pointed out the robotaxi race is really heating up globally.

00:01:08: It is, but what's fascinating is how the strategies are diverging.

00:01:12: It's not one single race anymore.

00:01:13: You've got sort of three main camps emerging.

00:01:16: Right, so who's doing what?

00:01:18: Well, first you have Waymo.

00:01:20: They're going wide, leveraging their tech stack, LiDAR, radar, maps.

00:01:25: Most people agree they offer the smoothest ride currently.

00:01:28: OK, the premium experience, maybe.

00:01:30: For now, yeah.

00:01:31: Then you've got Tesla going deep.

00:01:33: As Felipe Salinas-Rangel noted, they're betting on vision and their massive driver data set.

00:01:37: Which apparently results in a more human-like.

00:01:40: maybe slightly rougher ride.

00:01:42: That's the observation, yeah.

00:01:43: But potentially lower cost per vehicle, less reliance on those expensive sensors.

00:01:48: In the third.

00:01:48: That's Zooks.

00:01:50: BarakSauce highlighted this one.

00:01:51: They're going for full vertical integration.

00:01:53: Custom vehicle, controlling the whole value chain backed by Amazon operating Invadus.

00:01:59: Ah,

00:02:00: the end-to-end control play.

00:02:02: But doesn't that run into the issue?

00:02:03: Jacob F. and Philippe Basilliness-Rangel flagged?

00:02:06: You know, the brand problem.

00:02:08: How so?

00:02:09: Well, people still default to saying, I'm going to Uber, right?

00:02:12: Even if Waymo's tech is better today.

00:02:14: Is Zooks trying to build a whole new brand habit from scratch?

00:02:17: That's exactly the gamble, I think.

00:02:19: Own the experience, own the brand, but it's incredibly capital intensive to control everything like that.

00:02:27: Meanwhile, there's this whole other debate about remote driving.

00:02:30: Oh, yeah.

00:02:31: Gregory DeConje didn't mince words.

00:02:33: He called it the new absurdity in mobility.

00:02:36: Strong words.

00:02:37: Why absurdity?

00:02:38: His argument is that it's just a complex, expensive workaround.

00:02:41: It adds latency risks, keeps humans in the loop operationally.

00:02:45: It basically undermines the whole promise of autonomous shared services from an economic standpoint.

00:02:49: So

00:02:50: a stopgap that maybe shouldn't be a stopgap?

00:02:52: That seems to be his take.

00:02:54: The future has to be truly driverless shared fleets to make sense financially.

00:02:58: Interesting.

00:02:59: And this contrasts.

00:03:00: sharply with what seems to be happening in Europe.

00:03:02: It does.

00:03:03: Lucas Neckerman made a strong case that Europe isn't really falling behind on AVs, they're just prioritizing differently.

00:03:08: Oh,

00:03:09: so?

00:03:09: They're putting more resources into shared mobility models first.

00:03:13: Think MOIA's ride pooling in Hamburg.

00:03:15: It aligns better with city planners who are often pushing micro-mobility and public transport over, say, single occupancy robo taxis taking up street space.

00:03:25: Got it.

00:03:26: And Guillermo Campo Amor actually put a name on this shift, right, from case to pace.

00:03:30: Yeah,

00:03:30: case being connected, autonomous shared, electric.

00:03:33: PACE acknowledges the fragmentation, the different paths to autonomy, connectedness, electrification, depending on local context.

00:03:41: It accepts that maybe autonomy isn't the first priority everywhere.

00:03:44: A more pragmatic view, perhaps.

00:03:45: Possibly.

00:03:46: The one area where Europe might be lagging, according to Sylvia Rausch, is urban air mobility.

00:03:51: Ah, the EV teals.

00:03:53: What's the concern there?

00:03:54: She flags setbacks like the Volocopter insolvency, while you see China's e-hang and US players like Joby and Archer making strides, sometimes focusing on specific routes like tourism or airport connections.

00:04:06: So

00:04:06: a bit of divergence in the skies too.

00:04:08: Okay, so if AVs are still figuring out the winning strategy and Europe's focusing on integration, where are we seeing more immediate traction on the ground?

00:04:17: That definitely seems to be micro mobility.

00:04:20: Theme two.

00:04:21: And what's really interesting here is the power of language.

00:04:24: Rina Mahajan had this great post suggesting we flip the script.

00:04:28: Stop calling bikes and scooters micromobility, frame them as the norm, and call huge private cars macromobility.

00:04:36: It's a small change, but it reframes the whole urban planning debate.

00:04:41: I like that, because the utility is clearly there.

00:04:44: Aristys Pascalinas shared how shared cargo e-bikes in the Netherlands are actually replacing car trips for everyday stuff.

00:04:50: Like school runs, groceries.

00:04:51: Exactly.

00:04:52: But that's enabled by city design and, crucially, political will.

00:04:55: Right.

00:04:56: And scaling that utility brings huge operational challenges.

00:04:59: Preben Joel Jones pointed this out, referencing voice CTO Anders Iverson.

00:05:03: What was the key challenge?

00:05:04: Not just fleet size, but managing the complexity, standardizing all the IOT stuff, using AI smartly for maintenance and placement.

00:05:11: Operational excellence becomes the differentiator.

00:05:14: And the scale of that operation could be massive.

00:05:17: Lancelot Hoare mentioned tired, servicing over six hundred bikes a day.

00:05:21: That's serious throughput.

00:05:23: Yeah, that's not a side hustle.

00:05:24: That's industrial scale maintenance.

00:05:26: Which naturally needs the right infrastructure.

00:05:29: Shabazz Stewart highlighted a really key development in New York.

00:05:32: The

00:05:32: uni hub.

00:05:33: Exactly.

00:05:34: Team uni launching the first Dutch style secure bike parking hub.

00:05:38: That's a signal that cycling is being treated as serious everyday transport that needs proper facilities.

00:05:45: It moves beyond just leaving scooters on the sidewalk.

00:05:47: And policy is starting to reinforce this.

00:05:50: Laha Marianne Fried flagged the push to get the European Commission to include bike leasing in corporate fleet decarbonization

00:05:57: rules.

00:05:57: That could be huge.

00:05:58: Is there evidence it works?

00:06:00: Apparently so.

00:06:01: Germany and Belgium have seen success not just to missions cuts, but employees who cycle average for fewer sick days a year.

00:06:08: That's a real productivity and public health benefit.

00:06:10: Wow,

00:06:11: okay.

00:06:12: So that connects mobility directly to health outcomes and company bottom lines.

00:06:16: So we've got progress in micro-mobility, ongoing debates in AVs.

00:06:20: The next piece is pulling it all together.

00:06:22: Theme three, shared mobility, Moz, and the equity challenge.

00:06:26: Yeah, the integration dream.

00:06:29: But Lars Christian Grudemulsen pointed out a really tough paradox here.

00:06:34: Shared services, bikes, scooters, car share tend to cluster where they're most profitable.

00:06:41: Usually dense urban cores like downtown Oslo in his example.

00:06:44: Where people often already have decent transit options.

00:06:47: Exactly.

00:06:48: They often neglect the suburban areas, the fringes, where people might desperately need those options, but the usage rates aren't high enough to make it work commercially.

00:06:57: The market

00:06:57: fails the low density areas.

00:06:58: Pretty much.

00:06:59: So if you want equitable access, you can't rely on market forces alone.

00:07:04: Policy has to step in subsidies, maybe service requirements for operators.

00:07:08: Make sense.

00:07:09: Are there lower cost policy levers?

00:07:10: cities can pull right now?

00:07:12: Ali Klabern is a big advocate for carpooling.

00:07:15: Simple, low cost, high impact potential.

00:07:18: He noted in England something like only one in ten commuting cars has a passenger.

00:07:22: That's

00:07:22: a lot of empty seats.

00:07:23: A huge amount.

00:07:24: Policies like France has introduced, actively encouraging and facilitating shared journeys, could make a big dent in congestion and emissions almost immediately.

00:07:34: Interesting.

00:07:34: And we're also seeing cities getting smarter about the types of shared vehicles they use.

00:07:38: Yes, but Juno Saliconis mentioned Bolt Drive in Lithuania using ultra-compact EVEs like the Citroen Ami, takes up half a parking space, perfect for short city trips.

00:07:48: Right, sizing the vehicle for the trip.

00:07:49: Exactly.

00:07:50: And Manuel Herzog talked about tier mobility.

00:07:53: dot, choosing St.

00:07:54: Gallen, a mid-sized city, showing how operators are refining their strategies for specific local needs, not just targeting the biggest metros.

00:08:02: Targeted deployment.

00:08:03: And underpinning all this integration effort is data.

00:08:06: Right.

00:08:06: Absolutely crucial.

00:08:07: Johan Hugesen-Hausby gave an update on Norway's revised MMTIS regulation.

00:08:13: This sounds pretty significant.

00:08:14: What does it do?

00:08:15: It's basically going to force almost all passenger transport providers, buses, trains, taxis, carpooling, micro-mobility, you name it, to provide standardized real-time data

00:08:26: access.

00:08:27: Well, so everyone has to open up their data feeds.

00:08:29: In a consistent format, yes.

00:08:31: The strategic implication is massive.

00:08:34: How so?

00:08:35: Does it favor the big players or level the field?

00:08:38: It should fundamentally level the playing field for anyone trying to build integrated MOS solutions and for the cities trying to manage the whole system.

00:08:46: It forces transparency.

00:08:48: So better journey planning for users, better oversight for regulators.

00:08:51: That's the goal.

00:08:53: It moves regulation from being reactive to being proactive, enabling genuine multimodal planning because everyone's working from the same real-time information base.

00:09:02: Okay, let's pull back for the final theme.

00:09:04: The big picture ecosystems, strategy, and what really differentiates players going forward.

00:09:09: Yeah,

00:09:10: coming out of events like IA Mobility, the consensus seems pretty clear.

00:09:13: Pim Deweird and James Broomer both sort of crystallized this idea.

00:09:17: Which

00:09:17: is?

00:09:18: The focus is shifting decisively away from just the vehicle hardware.

00:09:21: The new battleground is AI, software, sustainability, and the overall ecosystem.

00:09:26: So OEMs can't just launch a good car anymore?

00:09:29: Not if they want to win in the long run.

00:09:31: Daniel Niederberger really urged European players especially to think beyond the product launch.

00:09:36: It has to be about building ecosystems, integrating services, capturing value from data.

00:09:42: A much broader strategic view.

00:09:44: Definitely.

00:09:44: And to compete on that global ecosystem stage, Sample Hytenin had a pretty bold proposal for Europe.

00:09:51: What was that?

00:09:52: He basically said Europe needs an airbus moment for digital transport.

00:09:56: Consolidate capabilities create maybe three to five large consumer-facing digital transport giants.

00:10:02: Wow.

00:10:03: With public investment to back them.

00:10:06: Like one billion each.

00:10:07: That was a suggestion.

00:10:08: A call for strategic industrial policy to build players with global scale, moving beyond fragmented national pilots.

00:10:15: A

00:10:15: serious call to action.

00:10:16: On the tech side of strategy, I liked Michael Schmidt's analogy for AI.

00:10:20: The

00:10:20: pedal assist one.

00:10:21: Yeah.

00:10:22: Viewing AI not as full self-driving that replaces humans, but as pedal assist for knowledge work.

00:10:27: It boosts efficiency, helps the human operator, but preserves their skill and judgment.

00:10:32: It's a great way to frame it.

00:10:33: Right-sizing the tech solution.

00:10:34: Yeah.

00:10:35: Augmentation, not necessarily total automation.

00:10:37: Which connects nicely to some very practical physical interventions happening on the ground.

00:10:41: Like the ones Jeffrey Tomkin showed in Indianapolis.

00:10:44: Exactly.

00:10:45: Using just paint and chalk to quickly create low-cost mobility hubs.

00:10:49: Reallocating street space.

00:10:50: Organizing scooter parking.

00:10:52: Fast, cheap, effective.

00:10:54: tactical urbanism making a real difference.

00:10:56: And then there's the more permanent version, like Suzanne Greene's mobility hotel concept.

00:11:01: Right, like Nordstein and Gothenburg, these multi-use hubs that anchor mobility services right into daily life, commerce, collaboration.

00:11:09: Integrating mobility physically into the urban fabric.

00:11:13: And finally, overarching all of the strategy talk is a major market reality.

00:11:18: Don't tell me cost.

00:11:19: Bingo.

00:11:20: Stefan Rilling flagged the unavoidable car affordability crisis.

00:11:24: Costs are rising and it's forcing OEMs to rethink everything.

00:11:27: Like

00:11:27: what?

00:11:28: product portfolios, how features are packaged, and definitely financial models.

00:11:33: Think leasing.

00:11:33: two point oh more flexible ownership options.

00:11:36: They have to innovate to keep mobility accessible.

00:11:38: So from billion euro strategic bets down to chalk on the pavement, it all comes back to integration, accessibility, affordability,

00:11:46: and keeping the human elements central.

00:11:48: That seems to be the running thread through all these insights.

00:11:51: If

00:11:51: you enjoy this deep dive, new additions drop every two weeks.

00:11:54: Also, check out our other additions on electrification and battery technology.

00:11:58: next-gen vehicle intelligence, and commercial fleet insights.

00:12:01: Thanks for tuning in.

00:12:03: As you think about all these shifts from tech specs to system integration, maybe keep one final thought in mind.

00:12:10: building on Paul Jordan's research.

00:12:11: What's that?

00:12:12: Sustainable mobility ultimately will only win if the solutions genuinely meet diverse human needs.

00:12:18: Because for most people, things like reliability, the effort involved in basic safety often count for more than cost or even sustainability when they're just trying to get somewhere.

00:12:28: That's the real litmus test, isn't it?

00:12:30: Does it actually work for people's real lives?

00:12:33: Subscribe to Stay Sharp and we'll catch you on the next deep dive.