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Abstract
The last century can he associated with the triumph of the automobile industry. At the beginning of the 21st century the automotive industry has experienced one of the largest shifts in automotive history. The new CO2 regulations on global level have determined the automotive industry to adopt new and original technologies faster than anticipated. The emerging tendency of car sharing in larger cities added to the media information related to the negative environmental effects of car mobility generate concerns that customers were seeking a replacement to the traditional, individual car ownership. The automotive industry will face challenging years ahead taking into consideration the shifting paradigm in auto-mobility. In this context, the study aims to provide o general perspective of the trends in the automotive sector.
Keywords: e-mobility, energy-efficiency, mobility-as-a-service
1. INTRODUCTION
There are many key trends which will impact automotive manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, customers and drivers over the next years. According to KPMG's 2014 Global Automotive Executive Survey, the rising economic power of the emerging markets (especially the so called BRIC states - Brazil, Russia, India and China) remains the central growth force for the next 10 years, the industiy become more global and automakers are obliged to use flexible, modular platforms in order to adapt to the new, changing preferences of the customers and to find resources to invest in powertrain technology imposed by global environmental regulations. In the same time, the macro-scale factors responsible for the success of the automobile industry in the traditional, developed countries are moving now in the opposite direction. A socio-technical transition perspective stresses how declining industrial influence, stagnating wages together with a changing demographic landscape are influencing the automotive industry (Figure 1):
If we want to analyze potential future trends, we can observe the roadmaps of some of the OEM's. The next image shows the social economic drivers and technology roadmap of Daimler:
2. INFLUENTIAL FACTORS IN THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY
The automotive industry is adapting to the new fast-changing competitive landscape. CO2 emissions are a major concern due to the important pollution, combined with rising fuel prices determine that ICE downsizing is becoming a higher priority as electric battery technology has so far failed to offer a reasonable cost-effective alternative. Digitalization has a powerful impact...