Ahead of the ITS World Congress, you answered questions on the future of mobility at an internal exhibition. What are these answers?
The mobility sector, and the automotive industry in particular, is currently undergoing the most radical transformation of its existence. The new ideal of carbon-neutral self-driving mobility is gradually becoming reality – both in megacities and in rural areas. This gives mankind totally new freedoms . In the future, we will be able to use time spent in the car more diversely for social contact, entertainment and relaxation. This will turn the car into something like a time machine. Then we will integrate mobility into everyday life in a completely different way – with benefits for both society and the individual. The “golden age of mobility” is around the corner.
What can we expect in the golden age of mobility, and when?
We are approaching a specific point in time with an idealised view of the world: in 2050, we expect a carbon-neutral world, smarter energy supply, fully networked mobility and autonomous driving to be available across the board. We will move around in a variety of ways. There will be a mix of micromobility, robot taxis, public transport and individual mobility. Mobility agents will be largely autonomous and controlled by intelligence. In the future, traffic light crossings will no longer be necessary. Cars will park themselves and in a vertical configuration, taking up minimal space. Cities will become quieter, parking spaces will become green spaces once again and we will regain quality of life. This is a vision statement that we are using to derive the intermediate stages in the 2030s and 2040s.