Use Energy Transition to Advance from Car to Auto-Mobile

"Worried about the car’s future? Don’t be. What we do need is a new perspective on personal mobility. Car makers compete over the same markets, margins are slim. Now the car faces growing criticism on a number of subjects; the industry is asked to transform. Reducing vehicle footprint offers whole new opportunities. Mind you, not the same as bringing a small car. My submission (based on over 15 years of research) carries the following subjects. 1. Think post-Tesla Solely based on battery drive, Tesla grew out to be more valuable than Volkswagen. Imagine the potential when other car travel-related issues are tackled too: zero-emission drive without subsidizing, energy efficiency, gridlock, traffic safety, profitable ride-hailing, self-driving. 2. Less = More In principle, low energy-dense propulsion (batteries) are a better match for lightweight vehicles. If we keep on putting large battery packs in oversized EVs, we end up with a lot of shortage, disposal and reusability issues. Daily gridlock is proof of how poorly we manage space, energy, materials, precious time. Think of infrastructure in terms of internet bandwidth which is difficult to expand. How to utilize roads more efficiently? 3. Smart-app vehicle No doubt, future generations will look at cars as ‘personal mobility devices’ - electric, smart, sleek, practical. Technology tends to influence product format anyway. The phone went from brick-like to sleek, cool, efficient, smart. So can the car. 4. Driverless favors sleek There’s more margin to scan-sensor-image the vicinity, take evasive action. Instead of putting autonomous hard- and software in conventional cars as add-ons, reformat the car first to have it benefit optimally from driverless technology. 5. Bridge the gap between personal mobility and public transit Outside rush hours, fewer people need to be carried, making the deployment of coach buses too costly to cover running expenses, less eco-friendly per passenger. When passenger payload drops, smaller vehicles are far more efficient. The average ride-hail trip is 1.2 passenger. Now there’s an opportunity for ride-hailers (TNCs) and transit authorities to work together, leaving room for micro-mobility as well. 6. Basically a whole new market Best to avoid the label and stigma of ‘driving a small car’. People don’t particularly favor or like small cars. So, bring something else, something in between car and two-wheeler. A ‘Best of Both Worlds’ - the fun, economy, agility of a scooter... and the comfort and safety of a car. Time to happily, purposefully cater to the growing and diverse market of urbanites, two-car households, early-adopters, singles, couples, one-child families, greenies, techies, ride-hail companies. Together they represent more than 1 out of every 1000 prospective car buyers. 1/1000 is a ratio which suffices to have a viable production (with global car sales averaging 90 million). 7. Streamline production Through 3D printing, C2C, appliance-like manufacturing methods, localized. 8. Sky’s the limit Lightweight, low drag and energy efficiency are quintessential for aerial vehicles too. A modular setup enables seamless '2D and 3D transit'."