We are still at the dawn of a very ambitious sector that will become more and more present in our lives. Yet today we already have many applications for future transport. Some of them even look like science fiction: cars connected to each other, self-driving cars, electric cars.
Artificial intelligence, moreover, will play an increasingly important role in the industry. Just think of remote diagnostics, remote control, smart grid, vehicle to grid, V2V communications, smart home integration. However, we must not only consider the technological aspect. In fact, our lifestyles will also change in the coming years.
Sharing for Future Transport
What will most affect the transport industry is the number of inhabitants of the Earth, which will certainly increase in the future. According to a report by Goldman Sachs, in fact, the population of cities will increase by 50% between 2010 and 2025. This increase will clearly have many effects on the quality of life. First of all, it will lead to huge traffic and cost of ownership management problems. In this regard, it is enough to think that people don’t use their cars for 95% of their time.
This could be avoided, however, if the model of the sharing economy became stable. Sharing electric cars would lead to a cleaner and more sustainable world, especially if we consider that transport currently emits one fifth of the total greenhouse gases. Moreover, in the next few years the automotive market will remain stable in the already industrialized countries. Instead, developing countries will be the new protagonist of this market. In fact, 70% of new cars will be sold there in 2025. Therefore, the new models will have to be more efficient and lighter – as well as within everyone’s reach.
Electric Cars
The global situation was also analyzed in a report by The Boston Consulting Group. According to the company, by 2030 electric cars and trucks will account for 25% of total road traffic and 50-60% of sales of new vehicles. It will therefore be a great business for car manufacturers. But there is more.
According to the estimate of the U.S. consulting firm, the electrification of infrastructure could lead to an added value of 3 to 10 billion dollars for an average utility. This is an important value since 2-3 million customers own a utility. In fact, it is the utilities that will become the main partners of governments and car manufacturers. The expansion of electric charging stations, smart sensors to avoid overloading, the launch of tariff plans and promotions to encourage the use among drivers will therefore also depend on this development in the sector.
Technology will of course also play its part. In 2009, one kWh of battery for hybrid and full electric vehicles cost $700. In 2017, the price fell to about 150 and in 2030 it will rise to a maximum of $90.
