Welcome to our series TrendingTech by eInfochips where we take a quick look at some of the top trends influencing product engineering and product development.

Today we take a look at Electric Mobility.

Electric vehicles are becoming more popular and affordable. They are being developed to go longer distances, faster, and cost less to own. In addition, renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power are becoming viable alternatives to fossil fuels, and as a result, challenges and opportunities are arising. This blog looks at the impact of electric mobility on our lives.

The world is witnessing unprecedented changes in the sphere of mobility, partially due to the regulatory changes that the governments across the globe are implementing, and mainly due to the shift in customer preferences towards using clean fuel, stemming from environmental concerns to reduce carbon footprint, for their daily transit needs.

Other key drivers that are pushing the customers to shift to EVs are the tangible benefits that they see coming through in the form of monetary incentives provided by governments, lower maintenance costs accrued over a longer time, and a sustained need for a cohesive integration of all transport-related services into a single on-demand (Mobility as a Service) MaaS platform. This is resulting in a dramatic shift in the space of mobility with an increased emphasis on New Energy Vehicles (NEVs), which include Electric Vehicles (EVs), Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV), and vehicles that use alternative fuels such as biofuels.

The world seems to be at an inflection point with respect to mobility, as automakers are seeing a steady growth in the demand for Electric Vehicles, commonly referred to as EVs. From issues as varied as environmental concerns to fluctuating oil prices, customers are driving the transition to Electric Mobility. In addition to addressing calls to reduce the carbon footprint and shift towards clean fuel, electric mobility offers customers features that they have long been demanding, such as intelligent driving, remote vehicle access, and connected mobility, all bundled with attractive government incentives.

What does this mean for the mobility ecosystem?

• The most significant impact across the value chain is likely to be upon vehicle manufacturers (OEMs).
• Beyond OEMs, automotive component makers (ACMs) and the after-market industry will have to revamp their supply chain and make it more collaborative (in its current form, it is far too linear) by engaging with multiple players with diversified skillsets.
• EV charging infrastructure will be critical to see this transition through.

Defining the EV charging value chain

• Ensuring an uninterrupted supply of energy and its distribution to the end customers.
• Building a robust charging infrastructure that covers the installation of charging stations, their operation & maintenance.
• Add-on services such as charging station location finding & reservation, billing, vehicle diagnostics, real-time traffic information, emergency assistance are enabled by applications built through integration of software and hardware platforms.

Driving innovation in mobility with Data Analytics

• As the adage goes, “Data is the new Oil”, vehicles can now capture and share distinctive types of data such as geo-positioning of the vehicle, vehicle performance, biometrics of the occupants of the vehicle, real-time traffic, and road safety alerts and so forth. Using cutting-edge technologies such as Big Data and AI, meaningful insights can transform the mobility industry into one that is leaner, safer, and provides a better customer experience.

Revenue opportunities

• Mobility as a Service is the most significant paradigm shift that the transportation industry is witnessing in the 21^st The fundamental concept behind MaaS is to put the users at the core of all transport related services and offer them tailor-made mobility solutions that are in accordance to their individual needs.
• Not just for the OEMs, other industry players are exploring ways to offer Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS), which would include behavioral advertising, geo-spatial advertising, customized infotainment services, personal health monitoring to name a few.

Connected mobility and its impact on business transformation.

• In the ecosystem of mobility, Data collected can be utilized for three primary business functions:
  • In-car infotainment. (On-demand streaming of content)
  • Vehicle diagnostic services.
  • Driving assistance. (Traffic management)

With the proliferation of “Connected Services”  floodgates for business opportunities for OEMs, telecom operators, content providers, after-sales service providers such as insurance companies to name a few, have opened up. In a recently conducted survey by NTT Group of more than 3000 drivers, a vast majority of them believe that with the connected services, the overall safety and monetary value of their cars increases substantially.

From the perspective of the industry, offering solutions focusing on driver assistance that eventually increases the level of autonomous driving is considered a key factor in the adoption of connected mobility. Imagine you driving into a shopping mall and finding a vacant parking spot without having to search for it or being able to get proactive suggestions like the nearest gas station, distance to the nearest subway, or notifications pertaining to driver fatigue level.

Beyond offering an autonomous driving experience, one important facet that offers an avenue of revenue generation to the solution providers is that of “Data Security”. With so much amount of data generated, there is an inherent need to build a platform that interweaves the cloud-native applications with robust security solutions built using digital technologies like AI & ML.

The growing demand for adoption of EVs across the customer segments will reap rich dividends in the terms of enhancing mobility standards, generating newer business opportunities for each stakeholder in the supply chain, and of course, significantly reducing the carbon footprint, thereby making the world a cleaner place to live.

As concluding remarks, with digital technologies being harnessed, industries converge, newer partnerships between manufacturers and solution providers are getting forged, exciting opportunities for business diversification and growth are being opened up. In a study conducted by Dell Technologies, more than 50 % of the 4600 business leaders surveyed believe that connected mobility is an imminent reality that is set to unfold completely by the year 2030. This study also sheds light on the exponential growth trajectory of the revenue streams that are expected to grow from the current levels of $2 billion per year to a staggering $141 billion by the end of the year 2035, which is an increase of 7500 %.

With the transportation industry undergoing a transformation at a frantic pace, the key to a successful mobility strategy lies in collaborating with the right partner, the one who has the capabilities as well as experience of handling the complexities that come along with the data-centric infrastructure that forms the fulcrum of the future of mobility.

We at eInfochips have developed the competencies and built an experience working with OEMs, manufacturers, and partners from the transportation industry that will be instrumental in realizing the dream of bringing the future of mobility closer to the end-users and make driving a safe and convenient experience. To know more about our automotive services please contact us today.