For the second time in modern history, following the Industrial Revolution, we will be facing a paradigm shift concerning the way we live, work and move.

For Mobility, the convergence of no less than 6 disruptive forces end up in a perfect storm. During the upcoming decade this will drive all industries that are somehow related to Mobility into fundamental and frame breaking changes. Clearly, for these companies it is unbelievably hard to imagine a future you cannot sea, yet to make the right strategic choices, in an era where disruption lies in wait.

This extremely complex problem requires a simple paradigm to navigate the future of mobility. This paradigm is called ‘ESCAPE’.

 

 

The next ten years of mobility

During the upcoming decade a number of social, technological and economic trends will disrupt mobility as we have known it for a century now. Mobility is the lifeblood of our daily life. We hardly can imagine a world without mobility. In an era where we see a growing population and a gradual urbanization on a global scale, the consequences become visible already. Congestion, pollution, space of living, safety, parking issues etc. are fighting for priority to be solved. By the year of 2030 we will be in a world of new mobility dynamics that we can hardly envisage today.

 

 

Digital Transformation

As a result of the exponential power of technology there will be no industry that is not going to be disrupted in one way or the other. Digital Transformation is the challenge for all of them. One way of looking at the impact and trying to predict the right strategic actions, is to look per industry. One industry may be impacted on a larger scale than another. A different view to the impact of Digital Transformation is to take the angle of themes, such as health, society, food, environment or … mobility. Taking the view of studying the impact for mobility, we are immediately touching upon a wide range of industries at the same time. Not only car manufacturers, but also insurance, car repair, real estate (parking lots), infrastructure companies, municipalities, traffic service providers etc. Not to speak of the new kids on the block like battery companies, charging station suppliers, platform companies for sharing, hailing companies, etc.

‘Mobility 2030’

Mobility for the next decade, let’s call it Mobility 2030, is really about the way people move around the urban and rural environments. And this theme is primed for dramatic changes. Already we are getting used to new business models, as illustrated by companies like Uber, who are changing our old-school mobility patterns. Meanwhile we see the rise of ‘exponential’ technologies and trends in the field of electrified cars, artificial intelligence, massive big data and autonomous driving. In addition, numerous trends from all sides are rising. Ranging from Internet of Things, urbanization, the energy decentralization and issues like global warming, the on-demand economy, democratization and so on.

 

Focus

Before you know it, it becomes too complex to handle. Like an elephant where you cannot get your arms around. The danger of inertia is lurking. On a daily basis we see new articles and whitepapers appearing that claim to understand the situation and know the solution.

There is no use in trying to wrap your arms around an elephant. Better to choose a strong focus and start from there.

Keep it simple, but not simpler.

Albert Einstein

Choose your focus point and gradually add the complexity as you move along. The biggest effort, the most energy goes into getting the locomotive moving, pushing it through it’s first wheel rotations.

The focus point we choose is Mobility 2030. A strong focus on the impact of mobility for our society in the upcoming decade. Again, you can make the subject of mobilty as big as you want, add societal, environmental, government, legal, tax regulations etc. elements to it. But let’s start in a simple way and gradually add the complexity to it.

A simple framework called ‘ESCAPE’

To engage in the vision of Mobility 2030 Digital Rocks introduces a simple framework to get started. This framework is nothing more than an -easy to understand- acronym for tuning into Mobility 2030: ESCAPE. It stands for the 6 disruptive forces that will drive people and businesses into a completely new era of transportation, working and living.

‘ESCAPE’ summarizes the -mutual reinforcing- forces, that will disrupt practically all Mobility industries, during the next ten years and beyond.

In the two next blogs of ‘The Perfect Storm’ we will elaborate on ‘ESCAPE’ and discover the mutual reinforcement that makes things even more disruptive. Stay tuned and check it out.