Episode 6: What’s the Role of the Automaker in the Future of Mobility?

11/03/21 • 45 min

GUESTS: Carla Bailo - Center for Automotive Research (CAR); Joost Vantomme, European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), and Sam Fiorani - AutoForecast Solutions

About this episode

In our trailer for this podcast series, we used the now-famous quote by Mary Barra, Chief Executive of General Motors, who said the auto industry would change more over the next 5-10 years than it had in the previous 50.

Mobility is changing, too, thanks to the rapid rise in cities around the world of micromobility solutions such as shared e-bikes and e-scooters, autonomous microshuttles, ride-hailing and ride-sharing, mobility as a service solutions, and of course, a reduction in travel in the face of the workplace evolution.

So where does that leave the automaker? It’s a simple question, but there’s no simple answer. Nevertheless, we’re confident our three guests will be able to shed some light.

About the guests

Carla Bailo is the Chief Executive of the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Center for Automotive Research (CAR)

Connect with Carla on LinkedIn

Joost Vantomme is Director, Smart Mobility at the Brussels-headquartered European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA)

Join Joost on LinkedIn

Sam Fiorani is Vice President, Global Vehicle Forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions

Find Sam on LinkedIn

You can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

GUESTS: Carla Bailo - Center for Automotive Research (CAR); Joost Vantomme, European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), and Sam Fiorani - AutoForecast Solutions

About this episode

So where does that leave the automaker? It’s a simple question, but there’s no simple answer. Nevertheless, we’re confident our three guests will be able to shed some light.

About the guests

Carla Bailo is the Chief Executive of the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Center for Automotive Research (CAR)

Connect with Carla on LinkedIn

Joost Vantomme is Director, Smart Mobility at the Brussels-headquartered European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA)

Join Joost on LinkedIn

Sam Fiorani is Vice President, Global Vehicle Forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions

Find Sam on LinkedIn

Previous Episode

Episode 5: Why CATs and DOGs Will Shape the Future of Urban Mobility

GUESTS: Tom Standage, The Economist and Olaf Sakkers, RedBlue Capital
In this episode, Martin and Jonny are joined by the authors of two new books on the evolution and future of urban mobility. Each has taken a very different angle on urban mobility, the perfect basis for a discussion on how we got to where we are, and how we’re going to get to where we need to be to overcome the growing list of urban mobility challenges.

(And you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the amount of time we spent talking about horses, CATs and DOGs...)

Tom Standage

Tom Standage is the deputy editor of The Economist. He’s also the author of a number of books, the most recent, A Brief History of Motion, published in 2021 by Bloomsbury Publishing.

Olaf Sakkers

In 2021, having spent six years at global venture capital fund Maniv Mobility, Olaf Sakkers hooked up with Prescott Watson and founded RedBlue Capital, an early-stage mobility-focused venture capital firm. Olaf is the author of the recently published book Mobility Disruption Framework.

Next Episode

Episode 7: All Aboard the Autonomous Shuttle! Feat. Navya CEO Pierre LaHutte

GUESTS: Pierre LaHutte , Navya and Andrew Grant, BloombergNEF

About this episode

Fully autonomous and electric pods that seat up to 12 or 15 people are just about the perfect embodiment of a driverless future first imagined many decades ago.

But they’re already here, and in use.

With a design that puts function over form, these highly configurable and versatile vehicles will play a key role in the race to zero emission urban mobility.

Running initially on fixed routes in small locations, and on campuses and at airports, autonomous shuttles present an opportunity to replace large under-used diesel buses with an efficient, zero emission alternative.

This episode is all about the role of autonomous shuttles in the future of urban mobility, and to help us understand the evolution of these vehicles, we’re joined by Pierre LaHutte, Chief Executive of autonomous shuttle maker Navya, and Andrew Grant, Head of Intelligent Mobility at BloombergNEF.

About the guests

Pierre LaHutte is the CEO of Navya. Until January 2019, he was at Iveco, where he served as Iveco Brand President and CNH Industrial Group Executive Council member. Pierre also sits on the board of Forsee Power, FRIEM and Groupe BERTO.

Connect with Pierre on LinkedIn

Andrew Grant is an expert on future and next-generation mobility, and currently heads up Intelligent Mobility at BloombergNEF.

Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn