Auto #28

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C OV E R STO RY

MaaS: Connecting the new network of urban travel Mobility as a Service is set to change the way we move by making journeys seamless

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CHARGING T H E E A RT H

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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE FIA

C L AS H O F T H E T I TA N S

Germany’s racing giants charge into Formula E

After dominating in F1 and the WEC, Mercedes and Porsche are ready to make sparks fly in electric racing

The material concerns affecting alternative energy

AUTO looks at how new forms of mobility are putting strain on supplies of rare earth minerals

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MAXIMUM AT TAC K

‘I’m not slowing down now – I’m just going to go for it ’

How F1 legend Mika Häkkinen came back from a life-threatening crash to take two world titles

issue #28

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THE FIA

Editorial Board: Jean Todt, Gerard Saillant, Saul Billingsley, Olivier Fisch Editor-In-Chief: Luca Colajanni Executive Editor: Justin Hynes Contributing Editor: Marc Cutler Chief Sub-Editor: Gillian Rodgers Art Director: Cara Furman Contributors: Ben Barry, François Fillon, Edoardo Nastri, Anthony Peacock, Gaia Pelliccioli, Luke Smith, Tony Thomas, Kate Turner, Matt Youson Repro Manager: Adam Carbajal Printing: Golinelli Communications Lab We would like to thank the following for their help with this issue of AUTO: Benjamin Menard, Laure Mercier, Caroline Morard, Samuel Pierce, Sami Raisanen Advertising: Stephane Fillastre sfillastre@fia.com Design Origination: seidldesign, Stuttgart

THE FIA

THE FIA FOUNDATION

The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile is the governing body of world motor sport and the federation of the world’s leading motoring organisations. Founded in 1904, it brings together 236 national motoring and sporting organisations from more than 135 countries, representing millions of motorists worldwide. In motor sport, it administers the rules and regulations for all international four-wheel sport, including the FIA Formula One World Championship and FIA World Rally Championship.

The FIA Foundation is an independent UK-registered charity that supports an international programme of activities promoting road safety, the environment and sustainable mobility. It was established in 2001 with a donation of $300 million from the FIA and is governed by a Board of Trustees. Among its activities, the Foundation participates in various UN road safety and environment-related partnerships and is a member of the UN Global Road Safety Collaboration.

facebook.com/fia twitter.com/fia instagram.com/fia.official youtube.com/fiaofficialvideo

Legal: © 2017 FIA. All rights reserved. Except to the extent permitted under applicable copyright laws, no part of the information found in this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a data base or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the FIA.

Dear reader, The third issue of Auto 2019 is packed with interesting and thought-provoking in-depth articles on many topics.

The cover story gives a cogent analysis of MOBILITY AS A SERVICE (MAAS). It examines how mobility in major cities is changing due to technological development and through the actions of urban inhabitants, legislators, public and private transport companies as well as car manufacturers. All are aware of the need to respond to the challenges of climate change. The FIA and its clubs want to be, and must be, at the forefront of sustainability.

We also hear the thoughts on current affairs of someone very much involved in the world of motor sport and mobility: the PRESIDENT OF THE FIA MANUFACTURERS COMMISSION, FRANÇOIS FILLON. He talks us through progress made with the Green NCAP Programme and the FIA’s Portfolio Strategy aimed at modernising the FIA championships. We then meet RALF SPETH, the man responsible for shaping the future of two historic yet very different brands, JAGUAR and LAND ROVER. Our regular look at rising motor sport talent focuses on OLIVER SOLBERG, son of the famous Petter Solberg, who is making waves in the world of rallying. Meanwhile, our Legends section is devoted to a driver who in just a few years went from being close to death to becoming a double Formula 1 World Champion – MIKA HÄKKINEN. We also pay tribute to a recently departed giant of the automobile industry, FERDINAND PIECH. Moreover, we meet a champion from the football world, DIDIER DROGBA, who has joined our #3500LIVES campaign, with the aim of improving road safety in Africa.

FORMULA E is about to embark on its sixth season, with a record number of teams and manufacturers involved. These include PORSCHE and MERCEDES and they reveal what led them to take part in the championship.

And speaking of the latter marque, I take this opportunity to warmly congratulate LEWIS HAMILTON and the MERCEDES team on their sixth F1 Drivers’ and Constructors’ World Championship titles.

These stories and many more can be found within the pages of this issue. I hope you enjoy it and, as always, if you have any suggestions on how to make it even better, please get in touch.

JEAN TODT, FIA President

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AUTO #28 Q3 / 2019

the future of Mobility as a contents From Service, to Mercedes and Porsche’s arrival in Formula E, to the Mika Häkkinen legend, this is AUTO

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01 UP FRONT

P8—11

Gallery Celebrating the world championship title wins of F1’s Lewis Hamilton and the WRC’s Ott Tänak

02 DRIVING FORCES

P22—23

Oliver Solberg

03 TECH REPORT

News

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Safari Rally returns to WRC for 2020; Toyota’s autonomous transport plan for Olympics; Jean Todt spreads road safety message in Americas

Cities with solutions

Safer suits for all

As congestion increases in cities globally, MaaS is providing the way forward

A new FIA protective clothing standard is making racewear safer

The talented teenage son of 2003 rally champion Petter Solberg is ready to take his place on the world’s stages

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P36—38

P24—28

COVER STORY

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Part of the MaaS club

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Mobility as a Service

Auto clubs are playing an important consumer role in the running of MaaS

How new technologies are changing the way we navigate cities and transforming our transport systems

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Opinion

P44—47

Car makers on MaaS How manufacturers are embracing and adapting to Mobility as a Service

François Fillon on his work as President of the FIA Manufacturers’ Commisssion

05 AUTO FOCUS

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Innovating to succeed

#3500LIVES, Didier Drogba

Jaguar Land Rover CEO Dr Ralf Speth on how he has taken the brand forward into the next generation of mobility

The international footballer is backing the FIA’s road safety campign by urging drivers to always ‘Watch out for kids’

How the Finn overcame near-death injuries to beat Michael Schumacher to double F1 title glory

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Clash of the titans

Charging the Earth

Ferdinand Piëch

Can Mercedes and Porsche bring F1 and WEC success to bear as they prepare to enter Formula E?

The raw materials for electric cars are in short supply, so how are car makers addressing the problem?

The mastermind behind cars such as the Porsche 917 and Audi Quatrro ruled over a business empire

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Call to action on road safety

Road safety in Botswana

WHO Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on tackling the road safety crisis in developing countries

How FIA member club EA991 and NGO Amend are working to provide safe journeys to school for Botswana’s children

REAR VIEW

07 INSIDE THE FIA FAMILY

Legend: Mika Häkkinen

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Club World A rich mix of motor sport heritage combined with large-scale industry based on the car is linked to the Automobile Club d’Italia

08 AUTO GRAPH

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Start-ups’ star players AUTO takes a look at the world’s top 20 performing start-up companies

09 FINAL LAP

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Anthoine Hubert Remembering the 2018 GP3 Series champion, who died during this year’s F2 feature race at Spa

AUTO #28 Q3 / 2019

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UP FRONT Gallery News Opinion

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER HAMILTON’S HARD ROAD TO GLORY F1 design ace Adrian Newey has brought Following the race, Hamilton confessed his aero know-how to the eagerlythat his sixth F1 world title had been the anticipated Aston Martin Valkyrie, toughest to date. “Cloud nine doesn’t which should boast some of the even get close, it’s far above that,” best downforce levels of any he said. “It’s been the hardest year hypercar. Attention has I can remember; it’s been so also been focused on challenging, going through the interior, which the ups and downs, so features reclined right now I’m just so F1-style seats and full of emotion, it’s a detachable overwhelming. steering I feel truly wheel. humbled.”

DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

INSIDE THE FIA FAMILY Automobile Club d’Italia

AUTO GRAPH The world’s leading start-ups

FINAL LAP Remembering Anthoine Hubert

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FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

HAMILTON’S JOY OF SIX

At the United States Grand Prix in early November, Lewis Hamilton became only the second driver in the history of the FIA Formula One World Championship to claim six titles.

The Briton, who ahead of the race at the Circuit of the Americas had racked up nine victories, faced a tricky test in Texas, While his only title rival, Mercedes team-mate Valtteri Bottas, started

from pole position, Hamilton began the race in fifth, his lowest grid spot of the year.

However, after climbing to third soon after the start he maximised a one-stop strategy to claim his 150th career podium finish with a second place that brought enough points to put the title beyond reach for Bottas.

AUTO #28 Q3 / 2019

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UP FRONT Gallery News Opinion

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER TÄNAK DIGS DEEP FORNewey TOYOTA F1 design ace Adrian has brought Ott five to bonus points in the hisTänak aero scored know-how the eagerlyfinal Power Stage in Spain extend his anticipated Aston MartintoValkyrie, championship over event which shouldlead boast some of winner the Thierry Neuville tolevels 36 points with best downforce of any just one more round in Australia hypercar. Attention has remaining a maximum also beenworth focused on 30.

Byinterior, taking second the which place Tänak becomes Toyota’s features reclined first drivers’ champion F1-style seats and since Frenchman a detachable Didier Auriol steering inwheel.

1994.

DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

INSIDE THE FIA FAMILY Automobile Club d’Italia

AUTO GRAPH The world’s leading start-ups

FINAL LAP Remembering Anthoine Hubert

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FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

TÄNAK ON TOP

Estonia’s Ott Tänak won the 2019 FIA World Rally Championship title after finishing the Rally of Spain in second place. Tänak’s victory ended a 15-year-dominance of the title by French drivers Sébastien Loeb and Sébastien Ogier. Toyota driver Tänak and co-pilot Martin Järveoja won the coveted title with one round to spare.

“It’s difficult to say the pressure I felt this weekend, it was next level,” Tänak said. “I never wanted to take risks but my mother said yesterday evening that if I want something I can make it happen. I just had to make it happen.”

The season’s penultimate rally was won by Hyundai’s Thierry Neuville with team-mate Dani Sordo in third place.

AUTO #28 Q3 / 2019

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UP FRONT Gallery News Opinion

DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

INSIDE THE FIA FAMILY Automobile Club d’Italia

AUTO GRAPH The world’s leading start-ups

FINAL LAP Remembering Anthoine Hubert

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In this issue: FIA President hails the return of iconic rallies for 2020; FIA and FIM to collaborate on safety; Toyota unveils autonomous transport plan for Tokyo 2020 Olympics; Jean Todt spreads road safety message through the Americas; renewed support for Girls on Track scheme

Historic rallies return to new-look WRC calendar Kenya’s famed Safari Rally will return to the FIA World Rally Championship as part of a new-look, more global schedule for 2020 that also sees Japan and New Zealand rejoin the calendar.

The Safari Rally, often marked down as one of the most gruelling events in world rallying, will make its first appearance since 2002, meaning the WRC will also return to the African continent for the first time since then.

“It is my great pleasure to announce to the President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, that his personal pledge to deliver the Safari Rally back

World rallying will return to Japan, Kenya and New Zealand next season.

to the top of world rallying has been achieved,” said FIA President Jean Todt following the announcement of the 2020 WRC calendar.

“This returns the African continent to the world motor sport stage for the first time since 2002 and brings back the heritage of the famous Safari Rally. I congratulate President Kenyatta and the Kenya Motor Sport Federation for achieving international status for this historic rally and I look forward to a long and strong relationship for the future.”

President Kenyatta also hailed the development, saying: “Before my administration assumed office in 2013, I made a promise to the people of Kenya to return the Safari Rally back to the FIA World Rally Championship family.

This process has taken us seven years.”

Kenya’s event, which takes place from July 16-19, kicks off the second half of the 14-round 2020 WRC campaign Rally New Zealand last appeared on the calendar in 2012 and will form round 10 next year, taking place on September 3-6. The picturesque North Island coastal city of Auckland will host the country’s 33rd WRC appearance.

Rally Japan returns to the schedule for the first time since 2010. Unlike previous editions of the rally, which were held on the northern island of Hokkaido, the 2020 event will be based in Nagoya on the country’s main island of Honshu. The asphalt round will form the coveted final event of the championship and is set to take place on November 19-22.

Oliver Ciesla, managing director of the championship’s commercial rights holder WRC Promoter, said: “It’s no secret we wanted to

further globalise the series by incorporating more events outside Europe and we’ve achieved that next year with this exciting new-look calendar.

“The return of Japan and Kenya provides a presence in the world’s largest two continents by size for the first time in more than two decades.

The last time Asia and Africa appeared in the WRC together was in 1999,” he added.

“The two continents are huge markets for the WRC. I thank everyone involved from both regions and the FIA who have been instrumental in returning these rallies to the calendar for 2020.”

2020 FIA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR

1

Monte-Carlo

2

Sweden

February 13-16

3

Mexico

March 12-15

4

Chile

April 16-19

5

Argentina

April 30- May 3

6

Portugal

May 21-24

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Italy

June 4-7

8

Kenya

July 16-19

9

Finland

August 6-9

January 23-26

10 New Zealand

September 3-6

11 Turkey

September 24-27

12 Germany

October 15-18

13 Great Britain

October 29- November 1

14 Japan

November 19-22

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FIA and FIM collaborate on safety projects

Ford’s City Lights group has collected data on what makes some road junctions more hazardous.

The FIA and FIM have collaborated on a new safety standard for paint used on race tracks around the world.

The world of four- and two-wheel competition are being brought together as the FIA embarks on a collaboration with the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) on a number of current and future safety projects.

The two governing bodies recently teamed up to develop a new paint standard for use on circuits, including track limits, kerbing and asphalt run-off areas.

The new standard defines

a number of performance criteria for the paint, including friction properties and visibility under a variety of conditions. The result will ensure the paint used on circuits around the world performs consistently in both wet and dry conditions, reducing the potential for accidents due to a sudden loss of grip.

This is the first in a number of collaboration projects planned between the FIA and FIM, with

TRUE report points to rising temperatures and motorcycles as air quality threats A new report by The Real Urban Emissions (TRUE) Initiative has revealed that diesel car emissions of nitrogen oxide (NOx) sky-rocket by up to 30 per cent at ambient temperatures over 30°C and motorcycle emissions of certain pollutants ‘greatly exceed’ averages for both petrol and diesel cars.

TRUE – a partnership of the FIA Foundation, International Council on Clean Transportation, Global New Car Assessment Programme, Transport and Environment, and C40 Cities – launched its report on Paris real-world vehicle emissions in September with Deputy Mayors Christophe Najdovski and Aurélie Solans.

Emissions from more than 180,000 vehicles – including two- and three-wheelers and buses – were taken across the city in summer 2018.

The new data highlights the ongoing impact of the Dieselgate scandal and confirms real-world NOx emissions are systemically much higher from

New study reveals ‘hidden’ safety risks of some road junctions

the aim to work together on a range of research projects related to circuits and competitor safety devices.

FIA President Jean Todt said: “It gives me great pleasure to welcome this collaboration with the FIM on a number of safety projects. By uniting our two governing bodies on safety, it means that we can advance standards for all forms of motor sport worldwide.”

FIM President Jorge Viegas said: “The FIM and FIA share circuits around the world. A collaborative approach to safety standards will not only simplify the process for the industry but will also ensure the highest level of safety for competitors worldwide.”

diesel cars, and that this holds true for most of the newest (Euro 6) models. The results show that excess emissions from diesel passenger cars in particular – which previous TRUE results show produce up to 18 times the EU limits – rise in higher temperatures, amplifying the severe health and environmental impacts of excess emissions.

Sheila Watson, Deputy Director of the FIA Foundation, commented: “Dirty diesel vehicles have been manufactured and sold for decades, and these excess emissions alone are responsible for some 38,000 deaths each year. These new results show the legacy of that deception and the growing challenges cities face. This poses huge implications for cities all around the world as we face hotter and hotter summers in a climate crisis.”

Sheila Watson, Yoann Bernard and Paris Deputy Mayors Christophe Najdovski and Aurélie Solans.

A new study conducted by the City Insights department of Ford Mobility Europe has revealed why some road junctions are more dangerous than others, with researchers pointing the finger at ‘hidden’ factors such as overgrown trees, poor road surfaces and narrow lanes as risk factors.

The insights are the result from the latest part of an extensive two-year study into how connected vehicles and big data analytics can help make travelling in cities easier and safer.

They show how relatively simple improvements to roads and junctions could help address safety issues identified at major traffic incident hot-spots across London.

Mobility experts from Ford’s City Insights team last year revealed how ‘near-miss’ event data, identified by indicators such as sharp braking or hazard light usage, collected from a year-long study of connected vehicles across London could – when correlated with historical accident data – be used to identify which stretches of road were most likely to experience a road safety incident in the future.

“Using data to identify where safety incidents are most likely to occur is one thing – proving the concept works is another,” said Jon Scott, project leader of City Insights. “We have now taken the innovative predictive road safety concept we introduced last year one step further by engaging with civil engineering experts to better understand the reasons behind safety incidents at these locations and make suggestions on how to address them.”

Working with UK-based traffic management company Traffic Watch UK, the City Insights team captured and analysed road-user activity from eight of the highest-ranking safety hot-spots.

From the information gathered they were able to identify driver behaviours and road conditions that could be contributing to an increase in safety incidents at those locations.

These included traffic signal jumping by drivers and cyclists, Illegible road signs due to overgrown trees or incorrect orientation, poor road surface conditions and narrow lanes.

AUTO #28 Q3 / 2019

01

UP FRONT Gallery News Opinion

DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

INSIDE THE FIA FAMILY Automobile Club d’Italia

AUTO GRAPH The world’s leading start-ups

FINAL LAP Remembering Anthoine Hubert

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FIA President Jean Todt pays tribute to former French President Chirac On behalf of the FIA, Federation President Jean Todt has paid tribute to the significant road safety achievements of former French President Jacques Chirac, who died in September, aged 86.

Chirac acted as prime minister of France from 1974-76 and again from 1986-88, was mayor of Paris from 1977-95 and finally served as President of France from 1995-2007.

A sometimes controversial figure, Chirac’s political career ended under a cloud when he was found guilty of corruption charges in 2011 but during his time as President one of his major achievements was to significantly cut the number of road deaths and injuries on the roads of France.

Having been injured in a road crash in 1978 Chirac was inspired to tackle France’s spiralling accident figures and affter his re-election as President in 2002, Chirac announced that road safety improvement would be one of the three main priorities of his second term.

He instituted strict enforcement of laws around drink-driving and speeding and within a year new road safety laws brought in sweeping changes, including the launch of provisional licenses for young drivers and a network of automated speed cameras.

According to an OECD report on speed and crash risk, published last year, between 2002 and 2005 road deaths in France decreased by 25-35% in rural areas, 38% on urban motorways and 14% on urban roads. In the decade 2003-13, speed cameras prevented 23,000 deaths, according to Sécurité Routière.

Paying tribute to the former French leader, FIA President Jean Todt said: “The entire FIA community pays tribute to the former President of the French Republic Jacques Chirac, who died on September 26th, and in particular we remember his courageous actions for road safety launched in 2002, which saved many lives on the roads of France.”

Late former French President Jacques Chirac who has been saluted by the FIA for his road safety achievements.

Hyundai builds solar panel into car roof Hyundai Motor Company is to launch a new hybrid version of its Sonata model with a built-in solar roof charging system. This eco-friendly technology will provide vehicles with additional electrical power as well as increasing fuel efficiency and driving range.

Hyundai Motor’s solar roof charging system also supports the vehicle’s electric power source, improving fuel efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions.

According to the Korean brand it will roll out the technology to other vehicles across its range.

This is the latest example of a smart solution from Hyundai advancing the mobility industry towards a more sustainable future.

FIA Foundation supports new air pollution initiative A new philanthropic initiative, the first dedicated to addressing air pollution, has been launched with the support of the FIA Foundation.

The Clean Air Fund was launched at the United Nations Climate Summit in New York, raising $50 million in initial funding to address the global outdoor air pollution crisis responsible for 4.2 million deaths worldwide – more than from malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/Aids combined.

The global philanthropic initiative will support organisations around the world to combat air pollution, improve human health and accelerate decarbonisation.

Hyundai’s solar roof system can increase driving range.

“Solar roof technology is a good example of how Hyundai Motor is moving towards becoming a clean mobility provider,” said Heui Won Yang, Hyundai Motor Group Senior Vice President and head of Body Tech Unit. “The technology allows customers to actively tackle emissions issues.

We are striving to further expand this technology beyond the eco-friendly vehicle line-up to those with internal combustion engines.”

The solar roof system features a structure of silicon solar panels that are mounted onto the car’s roof. Able to operate even while the car is moving, the solar roof system can charge 30 to 60 per cent of the battery per day over six hours and is expected to increase drivers’ travel distance by an extra 1,300km annually.

The system is composed of a solar panel and a controller. Electricity is produced when solar energy activates the solar panel’s surface, which converts this energy by using photons of light.

The fund works with a coalition of philanthropic foundation partners who have interests in health, children, mobility, climate change and equity, bringing them together to strengthen their collective investment, voice and impact.

Alongside the FIA Foundation, funding partners include the IKEA Foundation, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Oak Foundation, and Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity.

“Currently, half of the world’s population is living in cities, exposing them to high concentrations of pollutants from vehicles, industry and energy production,” said Sheila Watson, Deputy Director of the FIA Foundation. “Of them, more than 300 million are children who live in areas where pollution exceeds

The FIA Foundation’s Sheila Watson at the launch of the Clean Air Fund.

international guidelines by at least six times. This has a terrible impact on their health, potentially leaving them with a lifetime dogged by respiratory, cardiac and even developmental issues.

“The FIA Foundation is delighted to be one of the first funders of this new and welcome Clean Air Fund, and we will support it as it works on these issues across the world.”

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Toyota unveils autonomous transport for 2020 Olympics Toyota has announced that it will supply up to 20 specially-designed ‘Tokyo 2020’ versions of its e-Palette multi-purpose vehicle to support athlete mobility at the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020, where it will provide automated, loop-line transportation in the Olympic and Paralympic villages for athletes and related staff.

The battery-electric, automated vehicles have been adapted specifically for use during the Games based in part on feedback from athletes about their mobility needs in past games.

First announced in 2018, e-Palette is Toyota’s first vehicle developed specifically for autonomous mobility as a service application. It reflects Toyota’s ongoing transition to a mobility company and combines electrification, connected networks and advanced driving technologies to support new shared mobility businesses and business models.

“Olympic and Paralympic athletes work tirelessly to achieve the impossible, and we wanted to provide them with a vehicle specifically

The Toyota e-Palette will be used at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games to transport athletes and Paralympians.

designed and calibrated to fit their mobility needs during Tokyo 2020,” said Takahiro Muta, development leader for the project. “Throughout the development process athletes, especially Paralympians, helped us to better understand how we could adapt and upgrade the e-Palette to better meet the need for simple, convenient and comfortable mobility.”

The ‘Tokyo 2020 Version’ e-Palette has been adapted to meet the unique needs of the Olympic and Paralympic villages, featuring large doors and electric ramps to allow groups of athletes, including Paralympians, to board quickly and easily. The vehicle will be controlled by an automated driving system capable of operating up to 20 kilometres per hour, supported by an on-board safety operator.

Renault, Waymo and Paris explore plan for autonomous airport link to city

Groupe Renault, Google driverless vehicle subsidiary Waymo and the Paris region have joined forces to look at establishing an autonomous mobility service between the French capital’s Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport and La Défense in the heart of the city.

The distance from La Défense, where many of France’s largest companies are based, to the airport is about 32km (20 miles), and the journey can take up to an hour and a half because of frequent traffic jams.

“This autonomous mobility

Renault’s EZ-GO robotaxi could feature in a new airport link to city plan.

service is likely to play a key role for the mobility of Île-de-France inhabitants and tourists, and therefore for the international attractiveness of our region, which is investing €100 million to develop the infrastructure on which autonomous vehicles will operate,” said Valérie Pécresse, President of the Paris Region and of Île-de-France Mobilités. “I hope that we will be able to bring this project to a successful

conclusion for the Paris Olympic Games [in 2024].”

Renault has recently showcased a range of autonomous concepts, including the EZ-GO robotaxi, a concept for a shared autonomous vehicle, which the automaker said could be operated by private or public companies, complementary to passenger cars and public transport options such as the metro or buses.

Hadi Zablit, SVP, Business Development at Groupe Renault said: “Tomorrow’s mobility will be electric, connected, autonomous and shared.

Driven by this conviction we will, with our partner Waymo, work on this major project in coordination with the Paris Region, as well as the stakeholders of the SAM experiment programme. And, as a French manufacturer, we are very proud to contribute to the influence and evolution of Paris and the Île-deFrance region.”

Adam Frost, Chief Automotive Programs and Partnerships Officer, Waymo added: “France is a recognised global mobility leader, and we look forward to working with the Paris Region and Groupe Renault to explore deploying the Waymo Driver on the critical business route stretching from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport to La Défense.”

Honda unveils safer airbag design to protect against frontal impacts Honda has announced the development of an innovative new passenger front airbag technology designed to better protect occupants in a wide range of frontal collision scenarios, including angled crashes between vehicles or a vehicle and another object. Honda plans to begin applying its advanced airbag design to new products in the United States in 2020.

Developed and tested at Honda R&D Americas in Ohio in partnership with Autoliv, one of the company’s safety systems suppliers, the airbag has been designed to reduce the potential for injuries that can occur in a variety of frontal impacts.

According to the company, it is particularly beneficial in angled frontal impacts in which lateral collision forces can cause an occupant’s head to rotate severely or slide off the airbag, increasing the chance of serious injury.

Unlike conventional airbag systems that rely on a single inflatable compartment, the new system utilises four major components: three inflated compartments – a centre chamber and two outward-projecting side chambers that create a wide base across the dash – along with a ‘sail panel’ that stretches between the two side chambers at their outermost edge. Operating like a baseball catcher’s mitt, the sail panel catches and decelerates the occupant’s head while also engaging the side chambers, pulling them inward to cradle and protect the head.

“This technology represents Honda’s continuing effort to advance safety performance in a variety of crash scenarios, reflecting the innovative thinking our engineers are bringing to the challenge of reducing traffic injuries and fatalities,” said Jim Keller, President of Honda R&D Americas, Inc.

Honda’s US-developed airbag technology works like a baseball catcher’s mitt to cradle a car occupant’s head.

AUTO #28 Q3 / 2019

01

UP FRONT Gallery News Opinion

DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

FIA President tours the Americas Road safety, future mobility and motor sport development on the agenda

During the summer, FIA President Jean Todt embarked on a tour of the Americas, visiting six countries across the region to discuss strategies for road safety improvements, motor sport development and to see the emerging shape of future mobility.

The President’s tour began in New York, where he met with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed to discuss the current global road safety situation. While in New York he also met with Tijjani MuhammadBande of Nigeria, who was appointed President of the UN General Assembly on September 1, and Luis Alfonso de Alba, the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the 2019 Climate Summit.

The next stop took the FIA President to Ecuador for the 21st edition of the FIA Congress of the Americas, held in Quito from August 1-4. Alongside FIA Deputy President for Sport Graham Stoker, FIA Deputy President for Automobile Mobility and Tourism Thierry Willemarck, FIA Vice-Presidents José Abed (North America) and Carlos Garcia Remohi (South America), Region III President Tim Shearman and Region IV President Jorge Tomasi Crisci and supported by ANETA President Galo Garcia Feraud and FIA ASN Development Task Force President Andrew Papadopoulos, President Todt led a wide-ranging series of meetings on motor sport development in the region. The congress, attended by 150 delegates from ASNs, ACNs and Mobility Clubs from 25 countries, also identified key mobility challenges for clubs across the Americas.

Finally, the delegates agreed to adopt the ‘Quito Agreement’, a declaration that will lead to concrete action to promote safe and sustainable mobility across America.

“Road traffic injuries are the leading cause of death for children aged 5-14 years in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador,

Mexico, Paraguay and Uruguay, and for people aged 15-49 in Argentina, Ecuador and Paraguay,” said President Todt. “Adhesion to UN treaties will immediately introduce minimum vehicle road safety standards and recent research shows more than 25,000 Latin American lives could be saved and over 170,000 serious injuries prevented by 2030 if UN vehicle safety regulations were applied by four key countries in the region – Argentina, Chile, Mexico and Brazil.”

While in Ecuador, the FIA President also took time to meet with representatives of the Ministry of Public Health to discuss the country’s progress in improving road safety.

The tour next moved to Colombia where he was welcomed by the Touring y Automóvil Club de Colombia (ACC) President Ricardo Morales Rubio and ACC Director General Alfredo Albornoz.

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Alongside the President of the Inter-American Development Bank Luis Alberto Moreno and José Abed, Vice-President of the FIA for North America, President Todt met with the country’s President Iván Duque Márquez. Fruitful discussions were held around key road safety issues and, in particular, the need for Colombia to adhere to the UN conventions and the WP29 standards. As a result, President Duque Márquez expressed his personal commitment to prevent risk situations on the country’s roads.

As part of his visit to the country and to support Colombia in improving road safety, President Todt, together with the National Government, signed the Pact for Road Safety of Children and Adolescents.

The pact, supported by the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety, the Police Road Traffic Directorate and the Road Safety Business Committee (CESV), which represents over 100 multinational and local companies, is part of the overall strategy of the national government to generate a public policy in line with the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

On the sporting side, a successful meeting was held with representatives from the Antioquia

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Department, who are financing the construction of an FIA-certified race track in the municipality of Bello in Medellín, Colombia.

The visit to Colombia was followed by two days in Jamaica, hosted by the Jamaica Automobile Association (JAA). During the visit President Todt gathered the 11 countries of the Caribbean region to discuss road

In New York, President Todt met with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

A trip to Silicon Valley to companies paving the way for new forms of mobility included visits to Lucid Motors and Zoox (below).

President Todt with Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez.

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safety imperatives. The party then travelled to Cuba as guests of the Federación de Automovilismo y Kartismo de Cuba (FAKC) chaired by Ernesto ‘Quico’ Dobarganes. While there President Todt met with representatives of a number UN agencies and with the Minister of Transport, Eduardo Rodríguez Dávila.

After the short flight to Mexico City, President Todt, alongside José Abed, President of club OMDAI, and José Aguilar, President of the Federation for Sport of Mexico, held a press conference to welcome the renewal of Formula 1’s partnership with the Mexican Grand Prix.

From Mexico City back to the US, where with FIA Secretary General for Automobile Mobility and Tourism, Andrew McKellar, the President visited a number of companies in San Francisco’s Silicon Valley, all of which are paving the way for new forms of mobility. These included Ridecell, Lucid Motors, Zoox, Intel, Google-Waymo and Tesla.

“It was a fascinating opportunity to see and experience the groundbreaking advances taking place in automated driving, the transition to electric powertrains and the growing importance of connected technologies, which can have relevance for mobility and motor sport,” concluded President Todt.

“We made some very worthwhile new connections and I am hopeful that we will be able to use these to harness new opportunities and valuable content for the FIA.”

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DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

FIA renews support for Girls on Track

FIA President Jean Todt and Women in Motorsport Commission President Michèle Mouton with some of the Girls on Track participants.

The FIA has pledged further support for the Girls on Track programme designed to boost the participation of young women in motor sport.

The project was discussed at a conference for the EU Erasmus+ supported FIA European Young Women Programme, a federation-backed initiative to champion gender equality and increase the participation of women in motor sport at grassroots level, at the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels in October.

and bikes was brought together with glass parking boxes for collectors’ vehicles, specialist workshops and lifestyle shops.

Located on the site of the former Württemberg state airport in Böblingen, Motorworld Region Stuttgart it is the largest private and maker-neutral classic car and sports car centre in Europe. The concept also comprises hotel and

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

FIA Women in Motorsport Commission President and former Vice-World Rally Champion Michèle Mouton opened the conference, with FIA President Jean Todt and European Commissioner for Transport Violeta Bulc among those attending.

Following a review of the two-year project key outcomes were presented, including a comprehensive sociological survey and a set of recommendations to the sport’s stakeholders and public institutions on how to challenge gender stereotypes around sport and better promote equality.

“We have to look at increasing the number of girls participating at the base level [of motor sport],” said Ms Mouton. “This was very much part of the philosophy of our EU-supported Girls on Track Karting Challenge; getting young girls inspired and having a go, and challenging themselves by doing something perhaps only their brother had done.”

With the FIA receiving funding from the Erasmus+ programme, its Women in Motorsport Commission launched the Yokohama-backed FIA Girls on Track Karting Challenge in March 2018.

The programme – partnered by eight European national sporting authorities – welcomed 1200 girls aged 13-18 to participate in one of 22 urban karting slalom events held across nine countries, before a six-strong European Team was selected at the final in Le Mans. That team attended two Driver Training Camps to help enhance their

Motorworld welcomes World Motor Sport Council to Cologne Germany’s Motorworld Group welcomed the World Motorsport Council to its Cologne site at the start of October for the third of its four scheduled annual meetings.

Motorworld Köln-Rheinland opened on the site of the former Butzweilerhof airport in June last year and among its attractions is the Michael Schumacher Private Collection – one of the world’s most notable motor sport collections, and thus a fitting location for the council to take decisions that will shape the world of motor sport for the future.

The Motorworld concept began in 2009 with the launch of Motorworld Region Stuttgart, where trade with classic cars, premium vehicles, sports cars, collectors’ cars

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Members of the World Motorsport Council at Motorworld KölnRheinland.

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President Todt spoke in support of the FIA European Young Women Programme.

Ms Mouton described the success of the Girls on Track Karting Challenge.

motor sport careers. A survey revealed positive feedback from participants in the karting events, with a 96.4 per cent satisfaction rate.

“I am delighted to confirm that we will continue with Girls on Track into the future,” said the FIA’s Deputy President for Sport, Graham Stoker. “We are also looking at establishing an elite academy to help young women along the pathway of the sport. I’m confident we can deliver vital support to women, making a positive contribution to gender equality.”

conference facilities and restaurants, making it a popular meeting and event location for companies’ customer and employee events, exhibitions, trade fairs, product presentations, gala dinners and conferences.

In June 2018, Motorworld Köln-Rheinland opened on the site of the former Butzweilerhof airport. In keeping with the Motorworld concept, a broad range of tenants and partners can also be found here, including the free-to-the-public Michael Schumacher collection.

Further locations are currently under construction, including Motorworld München. From 2020, it will become a unique meeting place for connoisseurs of a premium quality driving culture, and at the same time Munich’s most versatile event venue. Also under development are Motorworld Zeche Ewald-Ruhr in Herten, Motorworld Mallorca and Motorworld Luxembourg.

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Portfolio of power 03

FIA Manufacturers’ Commission President François Fillon hopes that its work will benefit the automotive industry and motor sport..

As an intensely busy year draws to a close, FIA Manufacturers’ Commission President François Fillon reflects on advances with the Green NCAP programme in Mobility and, in Sport, the FIA’s mission to drive innovation in its championships through a portfolio approach to manufacturer involvement

Another year for the FIA’s Manufacturers’ Commission has come and gone, and I am pleased to say that the Commission has allowed us to engage in topics of discussion that are extremely relevant to today’s global automotive industry, both from a mobility and motor sport perspective.

The Commission met twice in 2019, first on March 6 at the FIA’s base in Geneva, on the occasion of the Geneva Motor Show, and the second on September 11 in Frankfurt, on the occasion of the Frankfurt Motor Show.

At the forefront of discussions for both meetings were updates on the ongoing work of the FIA’s Sport Department, mainly concerning updates on the ‘FIA Portfolio Strategy’ initiative – of which more later – the FIA’s Sport research into Clean Fuels for racing applications and an overall update on the evolution of the FIA championships.

For the FIA Mobility Department, the Commission offers a platform where the FIA can discuss with car manufacturers some of the pressing concerns facing mobility clubs.

In that respect, members of the Commission were presented with

the results of the Green NCAP pilot project, an initiative supported by the FIA which aims to provide the most comprehensive independent information to consumers in relation to the environmental performance of vehicles. We also continued discussions on the importance for the automotive sector to agree on a basic set of safety standards that all vehicles, no matter where they are sold, should incorporate.

At a time when the future of diesel vehicles is being discussed, the Commission addressed the potential contribution of modern diesel technologies as one of the options for consumers: evidence shows that new diesel can reduce their emissions to levels also achieved by petrol cars, while maintaining their inherent CO2 advantage.

The automotive industry is going through one of its most significant changes, in the form of the global electrification movement. As manufacturers continue to pour investment into the research of EV powertrains and related components for their road-homologated vehicles, it is cardinal for the FIA to be able to offer championships that

The Commission has studied results from the Green NCAP project (left) and is analysing the state of all FIA series, such as Formula E, through a Portfolio Strategy.

reflect the current global vehicle car park and, as such, this implies a need to offer technical regulations, sporting formats and event promotions which reflect the ability to race with full EVs. It would nevertheless be unwise to simply convert most if not all of our championships to mandate the use of EVs. That is why FIA Sport embarked on the Portfolio Strategy, which aims to analyse the current state of all FIA championships through myriad criteria, focused on the level of powertrain technology utilised, the level of ‘investment’ manufacturers in the championship (ie: is it a manufacturer-supported series or is it customer racing?) and to what extent the championship’s promotion reaches the fans.

As this current scenario was mapped, a total of 14 meetings with the manufacturers’ representatives at the Commission were held to make presentations and to get their views on how each championship should evolve from a technological and promotional point of view, based on their own road car portfolio.

Based on this feedback the work was distilled into a new presentation showcasing the suggested evolution of each championship. This was then delivered to the Commission at the meeting in Frankfurt.

As we continue to work on improving the level of engaging and relevant discussions at the heart of the Commission, I am confident that we will be able to make impactful moves within the FIA and, hopefully, to the general automotive Industry as a whole.

AUTO #28 Q3 / 2019

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DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

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02

HOLLYWOOD SEQUEL With a world rally and rallycross champion father, Oliver Solberg was always destined to have his name in lights. But thanks to an impressive campaign in the 2019 FIA European Rally Championship and a cameo at this year’s Wales/GB WRC round, the 18-year-old looks ready for a starring role on rallying’s biggest stages

TEXT

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ANTHONY PEACOCK

From the very beginning, there was little doubt about what Oliver Solberg would do when he grew up. The young Norwegian is just like his father, 2003 World Rally Champion Petter Solberg, with archetypal Scandinavian looks and an outgoing, effervescent, endlessly talkative personality.

One thing they don’t have in common is driving style, though. Like most drivers of his flourishing generation, Oliver’s style is more neat and economical than that of his flamboyant dad, who grew up in an era when the cars definitely had to be wrestled rather than coaxed.

As one chapter opens, another closes. This year’s Wales Rally GB – an event that Petter won four times – was Oliver’s first WRC event and Petter’s last, with the 44-year-old having embarked on an extensive farewell tour this season. But it all depended on just one thing.

A couple of weeks before Wales Rally GB, Oliver tackled his driving test: in Sweden, which is renowned for having one of the toughest licence examinations in the world.

“I’ve never felt more nervous in my life!” remembers Oliver, who only turned 18 two days before passing the test. “Everything was booked for Rally GB, with so many people coming. Can you imagine if I’d failed?”

Most of all, he would have let down his dad,

as Petter and Oliver were competing in the same team to mark this historic occasion, each driving a Volkswagen Polo R5.

While it’s well-known that having a famous surname is often a mixed blessing in motor sport, Oliver sees only the positives. “I get a lot of help from my dad,” he points out. “Not just giving me advice about what to do, but also about what not to do. I can learn from his mistakes and try not to make them myself, which is really useful.”

SUBARU CONNECTION

One area in which Oliver has definitely followed in Petter’s footsteps is driving for Subaru: the team that Petter made his own, winning the last WRC title for the self-styled ‘Ferrari of rallying’ back in 2003: more than 15 years ago.

Earlier this year, Oliver signed an agreement with Subaru USA to compete in the American Rally Association Championship with the iconic Impreza. Although Oliver is in many ways a typical 18-year-old millennial, immersed in social media and popular culture, he’s got a lot of knowledge about the history of rallying and respect for its legends.

“It’s not that I deliberately set out to do what my dad did, but when the opportunity in America came up, I thought that this was a great chance to get more experience of different cars and surfaces,” says Oliver. “I must admit though, that when I put on my Subaru overall for the first time and saw myself in blue and yellow, I did get a bit emotional. It definitely felt like a special moment; a real link to the story of my dad.”

The path that Oliver has taken to get to where he is now is an unconventional one, focused on

Solberg’s WRC debut in Wales did not go to plan, but he was happy to be there after passing his Swedish driving test.

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gaining as wide a variety of experience as possible.

His debut in the World Rally Championship was straight in at WRC2 level – just one rung down from the leading World Rally Car class – without passing through the Junior WRC or any other intermediate steps.

Yet from birth, he was surrounded by motor sport. Not just from his dad, but also from his mum Pernilla, a successful rally driver in her own right who comes from a widely-recognised Swedish rallying dynasty.

“Mum is the glue that holds our team together; she makes this whole thing possible,” says Oliver.

“I’ve learned a lot from her over the years as well, from my whole family in fact.”

Oliver’s essential grounding in motor sport came from cross-karts – essentially jacked-up go-karts for gravel – which presented the perfect

introduction to the art of sliding, left-foot braking and Scandinavian flicking. From there, he moved into actual cars, starting his first season in 2017 in Latvia aged 15, thanks to a well-known loophole that allows young drivers to compete on stage rallies there without a regular driving licence.

Piloting a two-wheel-drive Peugeot 208 R2, it was a strong season for Oliver in Latvia,

Oliver Solberg is following in the footsteps of famous father Petter, marking himself out as a future rally star.

‘For me, it was all about rallying right from the start. It was my dream for as long as I can remember’

scoring points and stage wins against much more experienced drivers. By the end of that year, he had already made his World Rally Car debut – becoming probably the youngest driver ever to compete in one – at the Bettega Memorial Rallysprint in Italy with a Ford Fiesta WRC. He certainly made a spectacular impact, sticking his car on its roof in the final before being classified second. The crowd loved it, and Oliver – born to be a showman, just like his dad – played to them. A new ‘Hollywood’ star was born.

Last year, Oliver continued his learning curve in Latvia with the Peugeot, then this year he stepped up to four-wheel drive, tailoring a programme in a Volkswagen Polo R5 together with his commitments in the USA. The overall wins started coming and people started to pay some serious attention. His co-driver, Northern Irishman Aaron Johnston, describes Oliver as a “sensational talent”. ‘Gymkhana’ hero Ken Block calls him “one of the next big names in rallying”.

Unlike Carlos Sainz Jr, who likes rallying but deliberately chose a different path to avoid the inevitable comparisons with his famous father, Oliver has always been clear about what he wants.

“For me, it was all about rallying right from the start,” explains Oliver. “It was really my dream for as long as I can remember. I tried a few other things, such as rallycross and stuff like that, but it was never the same.”

One of his fellow competitors at that Bettega Rallysprint two years ago was a 17-year-old Kalle Rovanperä: in fact with the same team and car as him. And with Kalle rumoured to have already secured a factory WRC seat at Toyota next year – aged only 19 – this is where the real comparisons are going to be made in future, as Oliver is only too well aware. Indeed, he brings the subject of Kalle up himself.

“Of course Kalle is a great driver and a big talent,” he points out. “We know each other and I would say we’re friends, but we’re not really close: we just speak from time to time. We’re each doing our own thing and that’s absolutely fine. Hopefully we can have some good battles together in the future. The fact that some young drivers are coming through now is really good for the next chapter of the sport.”

While Petter bowed out with an emotional WRC2 win at Wales Rally GB, the event was not the dream debut Oliver had hoped for owing to problems early on. But at least he made it to the rally. For a moment, shortly before setting off for Wales, things were looking doubtful. In fact, Oliver’s world had just fallen apart.

He failed the theory test back home in Sweden.

No driving licence, no party. But then he was invited to come back the following day and try again. Having spent another night revising, he returned and blitzed it. That unruffled ability to soak up pressure and apply himself is what will make him a real star.

AUTO #28 Q3 / 2019

03

UP FRONT Gallery News Opinion

DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

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STRONG SUIT With its new protective clothing standard, the FIA is making racewear safer, stronger and able to contend with the most challenging environments TEXT

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MARC CUTLER

Under a new FIA standard, from 2020 race suits must be able to withstand direct flame for at least 12 seconds.

At the 2018 Punta Del Este E-Prix Audi driver Lucas Di Grassi was fined €10,000 and given three penalty points on his racing licence for not wearing the correct fireproof underwear.

Some observers claimed that the penalty was harsh but Di Grassi immediately accepted it.

“It was a mistake on my part,” he said at the time.

“It was a decision that I took today because of the extreme heat and I ran out of underwear, and I didn’t think this would be an issue. But of course I must be aware that I should wear compliance [kit] during a race.”

There is a reason Di Grassi didn’t protest the penalty when others around him did – he knows these rules are there for the safety of him and his fellow drivers.

From 2020, all drivers in Formula E (Season 6), Formula One, the World Rally Championship (Priority 1 driver and co-driver) and World Endurance Championship (season 2020-21) will have to pay more attention to what they wear.

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DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

The FIA has released a new Protective Clothing Standard (8856-2018) which will be mandatory for drivers in those championships, and for Formula 2, World Rallycross and the FIA World Cup for Cross Country events from 2021.

This means that drivers can only wear clothing – race suits, underwear, gloves, shoes – that have passed new stringent tests.

LIGHT YEARS AHEAD These latest developments in protective clothing have been almost 20 years in the making, with the new standard developed by the FIA alongside leading racewear manufacturers to ensure the highest levels of safety.

In previous years, drivers would wear heavy suits, but in recent years they have moved to more advanced materials such as Nomex – a lightweight artificial fibre solution. These used to be homologated under the 8856-2000 standard,

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‘The test on drivers’ suits was challenging. The suit had to meet the new standard while still having the same materials, weight and breathability’ published 18 years ago, but the new update has necessitated a major upgrade in all racewear.

The new FIA Standard 8856-2018 offers several advances by enhancing the tests that each piece of clothing must pass. One major improvement has been to what is called Heat Transfer Index (HTI), which has increased by 20 per cent. Nuno Costa, the FIA’s Head of Competitor Safety, says

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this was key when transitioning from the previous standard, to help protect drivers against direct flames and second-degree burns.

“The problem we had with the previous standard is that while we were doing heat transmission on the overalls and gloves, for underwear, balaclavas, socks and shoes we only had a requirement with the density of the material,” explains Costa. “Along the years the drivers started to wear materials better adjusted to the body for comfort, so density was not relevant anymore.”

The move away from using dense materials in favour of slim-fitting race suits is partially down to drivers wanting to save on weight in the car. In F1, racewear manufacturer Puma developed a new, lighter and disposable race suit that weighs just 650g, while Lewis Hamilton has been known to ask racewear manufacturers to take the seams out of his race underwear to save 10g.

Underwear has been a key focus for the new

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Materials used in various race garments were flame tested as part of the FIA’s new criteria.

standard because it is now part of the heat transmission test, which means it has to meet a whole new set of requirements.

“What we decided to do for the new standard is to introduce a new heat transmitting test on underwear,” says Costa. “We are stretching the materials to represent the way vests and pants are being worn by the drivers in the car. So even if the driver wears a material that is stretched we can still ensure that we are giving the right protection.”

This has made the new underwear standards particularly difficult to pass as it involves testing heat transmission under stretching while the garment has a flame applied to it for a minimum of five seconds to achieve a temperature rise of 24°C. It’s one of the key areas that manufacturers have struggled with because of the tension that the underwear is put under during the test. This is partly down to how they make the underwear, which has prompted manufacturers to find new technology to produce it.

Alpinestars was among the leading racewear manufacturers working hard to meet the new standard for next season.

Underwear material had to be stretched as well as made to withstand direct heat for a set period of time.

“It’s more about the knitting of the material, not so much about the type of material used now,” explains Costa.

CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENTS The strict design requirements that each manufacturer must adhere to are part of what makes the standard rigorous, which is why each piece of protective clothing is subjected to these tests. The HTI test stipulates that a driver’s suit must withstand a direct flame for a minimum of 12 seconds, while the underwear, socks and balaclava must withstand a minimum of five seconds, the shoes 11 seconds, and the gloves 11 seconds with exception of the palm which must withstand eight seconds.

This has proved a major challenge for the manufacturers. Nico Buzzatti, Quality Manager at racewear manufacturer Alpinestars, explains: “The HTI test on the drivers’ suits was the most challenging of the tests we experienced. We had to ensure that the suit was able to meet the more rigorous standard while still keeping the same low weight, by continuing to develop new materials, and ensuring that they still delivered the same high levels of breathability for which we are known.”

Modern race suits are light and breathable to improve the comfort and safety of drivers in the car. The dilemma was how to maintain this while meeting the new tougher standards.

“If the overalls are too thick the drivers may start getting fatigued because of the lower breathability level of the garment,” explains Costa. “That is why comfort is so important, the overalls need to be still wearable for the type of events that we have in FIA championships.”

As racing drivers are competing at high speed in a precision environment they can often feel even the slightest bit of discomfort in the cockpit. This is why Alpinestars works with drivers to provide bespoke clothing to manage this.

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UP FRONT Gallery News Opinion

DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

The new standard applies of course to race suits, but also to underwear and balaclavas, plus gloves, socks and shoes.

Alpinestars is the first manufacturer to have passed the tests for all of its pro-level racewear products.

“Often the driver’s body shape and the structure of the seat causes discomfort, so we will move the position of a seam by 1mm or 2mm to combat this,” explains Buzzatti. “We also make the suits extremely breathable by incorporating honeycomb structured linings and, where possible, strategically-positioned breathable stretch panels located in the lower back, crotch, and underarm areas which provides more freedom of movement.”

These demands can be slightly different for rally drivers because they often work on the car during stages, spending a large amount of time leaning over or even laying on the floor which can be a rough and dirty surface.

“The main focus for Alpinestars is to ensure that a suit will be as flexible as possible for rally drivers,” says Buzzatti. “Our WRC suits feature extensive stretch panels on the lower back, crotch and knee area for optimal levels of comfort.”

Under the new standard each piece of clothing will only have a validity period of 10 years according to the FIA, after research demonstrated that the clothing may lose its safety performance following prolonged usage.

To ensure that each product purchased and worn by drivers on a race weekend is genuine, there will be a new marking system in place that makes it easier than ever for officials and National Sporting Authorities to identify original products.

In the future, there are also plans to have a helmet extrication system in the driver’s balaclava, which enables a helmet to be removed from the driver’s head without transmitting loads to their neck and in turn reduces the chances of causing further injury.

“Until now there wasn’t standard requirements to approve products that reduce the loads transmitted to the neck while removing the helmet,” says Costa. “For that reason, the FIA Medical Commission asked the safety department to come up with design requirements and performance assessments.”

Even though fires are not usually a sight seen in top-level motor sport these days due to advances in car design, Costa believes this does not mean there should be a relaxed attitude towards protective clothing. The new standard gives drivers access to the safest race suits they’ve ever worn, with a minor cost increase, and their improvements demonstrate how the FIA is constantly evolving safety research in these areas.

Manufacturers have already homologated a number of products to the new standards with the FIA. Alpinestars is the first manufacturer to have passed the tests for all of its pro-level products, but the other manufacturers are not far behind. With the new Formula E season starting in November, and all drivers having to abide by the new standards, the race is on to meet them.

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Tough Stuff / Protective racewear clothing must pass the following tests to meet the new FIA standard: TEST

TYPE

Flame Resistance

Material is subjected to a direct flame for a prescribed amount of time.

Heat Transmission

Material must withstand a direct flame for a minimum of 12 seconds, while the underwear, socks and balaclava must withstand a minimum of five seconds, the shoes 11 seconds, and gloves 11 seconds with exception of the palm which must withstand eight seconds.

Heat Transmission for Undergarments

Material is tested to see how it performs when fixed on a surface and stretched, then subjected to heat.

Mechanical Resistance

Test to see how much the material bends and stretches under load.

Thread Flame Resistance

Test to see resistance of sewing thread on exposure to a flame.

Tensile Strength of Structural Seams

Strength of seams tested using a tensile-testing machine.

Tensile Strength of Shoulder Handles

Strength of shoulder handles tested under tension, which is increased gradually until rupture.

Dimensional Change

Material tested to see the dimensional change when subjected to washing and drying procedures.

Convective Heat Resistance

Convective heat resistance properties of non-textile materials tested with a temperature of 260°C.

Glove Fingers

Flame-resistance of the seam of the fingers of the glove is tested.

Eddie Stobart Proud supplier to the FIA

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COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

COVER STORY:

/ Mobility as a Service P32—35

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Travel disrupted

Cities with solutions

Part of the MaaS club

Driven to change

How an wealth of new technologies are changing our transport systems

As city congestion increases globally, MaaS is providing the way forward

Automobile clubs are playing an important consumer role in the running of MaaS

How car manufacturers are embracing and adapting to Mobility as a Service

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MOVING IN A NEW DIRECTION Thanks to smart technology and shared mobility, the way we navigate our congested cities is set to become easier, greener and cleaner in the future. And government organisations, public and private transport companies, car manufacturers and mobility clubs are all embracing the transformation

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AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

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Ride sharing, personal e-mobility, big data, automation – an explosion of new technologies is leading to a fundamental shift in the way we navigate our cities and the rise of what has been dubbed Mobility as a Service.

But what exactly does that entail and how close are we to truly integrated travel networks? AUTO investigates

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It’s a pattern followed by millions of people in thousands of cities around the world, a daily commute that involves climbing behind the wheel of a privately-owned vehicle and crawling through dense and unpredictable traffic to a train or bus station, where parking may or may not be available and at which train or bus timetables are often frustratingly fluid. And finally, once ejected from public transport, there’s an inevitable ‘final-mile’ slog before arriving at a chosen destination.

The vagaries of the morning and evening commute have been testing the resolve of city dwellers for as long as industrialised cities have

required citizens to journey from outlying residential belts to centralised business districts, and for as long urban travel has involved multiple modes of independently scheduled transport.

The paradigm, though, is changing. The advent of smartphone technology and the connectivity mobile devices have provided has led to the rise of a new concept of urban transit, one where a plethora of transport modes are interlinked, creating the tantalising prospect of a seamless journey that is not only more efficient but which also has the potential to transform the urban landscapes in which we live. Welcome to the world of Mobility as a Service, or MaaS. “Mobility as a Service is the aggregation of multiple mobility services into a single, ondemand point of access,” explains FIA Secretary General for Automobile Mobility and Tourism Andrew McKellar. “Through the use of a mobile application and a single payment channel, a MaaS platform can put consumer and service provider together, streamlining choice in transport options. “ln essence, Maas has the potential to significantly alter the mobility landscape by catering to all transport tastes and demands, be that for public transport, micro-mobility, or ride sharing.”

David Zipper of urban development hub CityLab and a Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Taubman Center for State and Local Government adds that the development of MaaS has a variety of potential benefits. “If MaaS can be fully delivered, the benefits are clear – less driving, less congestion, the reclamation of public space, increased safety on roads and decreased pollution.”

WORKING TOGETHER At its core, MaaS relies on a digital platform, an app, that integrates end-to-end trip planning, booking, electronic ticketing and payment services. It’s a marked departure from where most cities are today, and from how mobility has been delivered until now.

However, building such systems relies on a number of factors including widespread availability of 4G and 5G networks, secure, real-time information on travel options, schedules and updates, and cashless payment systems.

To enable these conditions a diverse range of agencies need to co-operate. These include private transportation providers such as Uber and Lyft, public transport operators, local authorities with responsibility for transportation and city planning, telecoms operators and payment processors.

All of these major players co-exist within the transportation systems of big cities, but as yet they frequently operate in silos, with ride share and on-demand services running in direct competition with public mass transit systems. Stitching the necessary public/private partnerships together is a process fraught with difficulty.

“There is a real tension there and it’s coming to the surface,” says Zipper. “If you look at the United

David Zipper of urban development hub CityLab says the benefits of MaaS are clear.

States, what Uber and Lyft have both announced in recent times is an overhaul of their app so that they can become, as the Uber CEO likes to talk about, the Amazon of transportation, so that however you want to travel, whatever service you want to use, you can find it on the their app.

Those companies will carefully curate the services they have available, so that you’re not going to be thinking about using a competitor’s scooter service. They’re building what’s known as ‘walled gardens’ in their app and that’s because they want to have that brand loyalty. It’s not clear to me that is in the public interest, because, by definition, those companies are making it a little trickier for people to figure out the best way of getting from point A to point B. I think that’s a little dangerous.”

For Zipper, the answer lies more in service aggregation apps that do not rely on brand loyalties but on bringing together a variety of providers into a holistic environment.

Citymapper is one such app.

‘MaaS has the potential to significantly alter the mobility landscape by catering to all transport tastes and demands‘ Launched in 2011 in London, Citymapper seeks to integrate urban modes of transport, pulling data from local authorities and other providers, with an emphasis on public transport. Following expansion to New York in 2013 the service now operates in 39 cities worldwide. It is not alone, however, and over the past decade aggregation apps such as Whim, which began in Helsinki and now also operates in Birmingham, Vienna, Antwerp, Tokyo and Singapore, have grown in number and popularity.

“These apps cull information from as many mobility companies as they can. Unlike Uber and Lyft, these platforms don’t offer a transportation service themselves, which means they have less at stake in which e-scooter company you choose to use, or whether you jump on an Uber or the bus,” says Zipper.

The Citymapper app, which integrates urban modes of transport, is now operating in 39 cities worldwide.

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To avoid the walled garden approach Zipper adds that government must lead the way in the development of MaaS systems.

“There is a real role for governments here,” he says. “For example, I’ve heard that Antwerp is considering requiring that any mobility service that gets a permit in the city must integrate with at least two third-party MaaS providers. Cities have every right to require that the operator of that system make unlocking available on other platforms as well, so that people can access that system as easily as possible.

“It’s great to see Uber, Lyft and [bike and scooter sharers] Lime and Bird competing on the quality and availability of their service, but what I don’t like is seeing them compete on the extent to which valuable services are available or not available on their platform. That is not the kind of competition that leads to optimal outcomes for citizens and I think government should step in to ensure that we get a productive kind of competition rather than one that leads to walled gardens.”

The rise of MaaS has been predicated on the disruption sparked by smartphone technology and the resulting analysis of data generated by users to create efficient alternative transport platforms. The ownership and use of that data is also something that feeds into a city’s ability to build an integrated and dynamic MaaS system.

“It’s a big question, a real challenge,” says Zipper. “For example, in Denver, Colorado, the transit agency there has arranged to allow Uber to sell tickets to public transit on the Uber app.

It’s unclear to me what information, if any, Denver RTD, the transit agency, is going to get about how those tickets are purchased, which are the more popular routes, where and when demand lies. It’s unclear what information is going to be shared.

Jumping across the Atlantic, Berlin has been very proactive in MaaS. In June, BVG, the main public transport agency in Berlin, launched an app called Jelbi. That app is interesting because it’s created by the public agency. They wanted to develop the app themselves because it wanted to have the information about trips, so it could improve the overall system and be the mobility manager. That’s a really interesting approach that I think we’d perhaps be wise to follow.”

AUTONOMOUS ROLE The growth of Mobility as a Service has relied not just on the integration of existing modes of transportation but also the development of new modes such as ride sharing, hailing and e-scooters, as well as the impending arrival of autonomous systems.

For Henri Coron, Chief Development Officer of Navya, a French company developing self-driving vehicles, autonomy does not currently encompass streets awash with self-driving vehicles but instead involves ‘final mile’ systems that compliment other forms of transport.

“The heart of a Mobility as a Service is a good public transport system,” he says. “But while cities

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‘It will take a generation to get rid of cars from cities, from 20 to 25 years, but it is what will happen‘

such as Tokyo have perfected this, in most cities public transport is not good. It’s old, constantly delayed and the networks are underdeveloped. If we want to service the cities of the future we have to enhance our public transport systems and integrate that with complimentary alternative modes for the first and last mile. That is what we are doing: developing that final mile system.”

With more than 290 employees in France and the United States, Navya has been developing autonomous driving systems for passenger and goods transport since 2015 and now operates in 24 countries.

“We are still not level five [a fully autonomous system in which the vehicle’s performance equals that of a human driver], we are at level four,” says Coron of vehicles that are designed to perform all safety-critical driving functions and monitor roadway conditions for an entire trip, though within a defined ‘operational design domain’.

“It will be fully comprehensive and integrated into the system when we get rid of the operator.

To do this we need to enhance our technology and we are nearly there,” insists Coron. “After that the question is: where do the vehicles operate?

We have authorisation to go on the open road in 18 countries. Our first strategy was to target private locations such as industrial sites, airports and large facilities, but every government we spoke to wanted to have their experimentation on the open road. We are 24 months away from a real service that will be fully efficient. We know it will take a generation to get rid of cars from cities, from 20 to 25 years, but it is what will happen.”

For Zipper, autonomous vehicles are likely to be a key factor in future urban mobility.

“My perspective is that when autonomous vehicles do hit the market, they’re going to be

E-scooters, such as those run by Lime (above) are increasing in popularity.

Right: Navya has been developing autonomous driving systems and now operates in 24 countries.

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expensive and, for most people, if you’re going to take an autonomous vehicle trip, it’s going to be in a taxi-related way and that means for those who commute in urban areas autonomous vehicle trips will be part of an overall MaaS platform.”

Another new player in the mobility landscape is the e-scooter. But while personal mobility systems are growing rapidly they come with some concerns – most notably over safety and parking.

Earlier this year authorities in Paris began a clampdown on e-scooter use in a city in which 20,000 e-scooters are available on the streets.

From July 1, a spot fine of €35 euros ($40) could be levied on bad parking, while those caught on the sidewalk could be handed a €135 penalty. A speed limit of 20 km/h was also imposed across the capital. Meanwhile, the US city of Atlanta banned the use of e-scooters between the hours of 9pm and 4am after four deaths were linked to unsafe use of the vehicles.

But while a number of roadblocks still appear to be in the way of the development of truly integrated transport systems – openness of data, the security of public/private partnerships, the safety aspects of personal mobility solution and the technological barriers to automation – the benefits of MaaS for cities and citizens remain compelling.

“If I look forward to an urban centre of 15 years in the future I think physically it could look quite different because you’re going to see a large amount of space that would today be allocated towards streets converted to other modes,” says Zipper. “It could be to sidewalk cafes, it could be parks and areas for children to play, and the space that is used for people to move would be allocated predominantly toward modes that are going to move a lot of people in relatively little space – walking, biking, using a scooter and, of course, public transportation.

“Those modes are going to reclaim a lot of space in cities and the question of how you commute to work, which has been answered in one way for 100 years – you drive or you take transit or you bike – will seem increasingly absurd because people are going to mix up their commute much more than they have in the past.

I don’t think cars are going away, by any stretch – not at all in the rural areas and not by much in suburban areas, but they could decline in urban areas, perhaps by 10%, and that would be huge.”

FIA Secretary General Andrew McKellar concludes: “The speed, depth and breadth of the change we are witnessing in the mobility and transport sector is set to have a profound effect on the way we live, with much talk about automation and the use of data-driven algorithms poised to transform the way we get around.

“MaaS is an innovative, real-world example of how data is changing mobility. Real-time analytics and intelligent transport systems are all fed by user data, often derived from mobility service applications. Thanks to this information, we are getting one step closer to the FIA’s vision of a safer, more sustainable and more accessible mobility future.”

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SEAMLESS CITIES TEXT

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RORY MITCHELL

Major cities are using Mobility as a Service to build integrated transport solutions and deal with future challenges

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Since November 2017 residents of Helsinki in Finland have had access to a service called Whim, an app they can download to their phone to plan and pay for all modes of public and private transport within the city. It combines trains, buses, taxis, car rentals and bicycle hire services with route planning and payment options all in one convenient place.

Anyone with the app can enter a destination, select their preferred mode of getting there and simply go. Users can either pre-pay for the services as part of a monthly subscription or pay as they go using a account linked to the service, the end goal being to make it convenient for people to get around the city.

The brains behind the service, Sampo Hietanen, says the app is designed to make people think of alternatives to their personal cars. “We want to

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Its founding members include the FIA, ERTICO – ITS Europe and the Finnish Ministry of Transport, and since 2015 it has extended to include members beyond Europe, leaders of private industry and progressive public authorities in cities, FIA automotive clubs and transport operators. Jacob Bangsgaard, CEO of ERTICO – ITS Europe and Chairman of the MaaS Alliance, says getting these companies on board is crucial to the roll-out of MaaS. “This is an important characteristic of the Alliance as we need the engagement of transport operators, service providers and users to get the full picture and achieve an extended roll-out of MaaS,” explains Bangsgaard. “Through the Alliance’s work we want to contribute to the reduction of traffic congestion and carbon emissions, offering high-quality transport for citizens and businesses.”

Global technology group Siemens, a member of the MaaS alliance, believes that the reduction of traffic and congestion is one of the major challenges that big cities face. As city populations grow, new technological solutions must be sought to provide people with multiple alternatives at the most efficient and cheapest rate possible.

“Urban population is expected to exceed 70 per cent of the total population by 2050 – if left unimpeded, car congestion could grow dramatically,” says Karen Giese, Siemens Smart Cities Program Manager. “As cities continue to grow, we will continue to run out of available space to accommodate the increased movement of more people.”

prove that we can beat the service level of a car, or at least be comparable to it,” he explains.

Much like how Netflix changed the way we pay and consume media, Whim represents a new way of thinking about transport: Mobility as a Service (MaaS). Rather than having to locate, book and pay for each mode of transportation separately, MaaS platforms let users plan and book door-todoor trips using a single app.

The deployment of these apps in big cities has become more popular since the success of Whim, with many automotive clubs and transport companies offering similar alternatives. It has also seen the creation of the MaaS Alliance, a partnership between public and private companies which aims to create the foundations for a common approach to MaaS across Europe from a legal, technical and market perspective.

TRANSPORT INTEGRATION With cities becoming more gridlocked around the world and governments looking to reduce the amount of pollution created, MaaS offers a new way of tackling congestion using existing applications.

Rather than cities building more road infrastructure to help cope with the increasing number of people living and commuting within them, MaaS builds on the existing transport infrastructure to provide people with alternatives.

“One of the most relevant added values of MaaS solutions in big cities is the integration with the public transport system, which improves their efficiency,” says Bangsgaard. “MaaS encourages users to experience alternatives like shared mobility services and this positively reflects at the environmental level.”

In the last few years, journey planning apps that enable users to identify and compare different transport options to get to their destinations have become more commonplace, and statistics show how consumers have increasingly embraced new mobility options and apps over the last decade.

Car sharing users have doubled in Europe, rising from five million in 2016 to 11 million in 2018 according to a report from Dutch banking group ING, while more than 1,000 public bike share schemes operate in 50 countries. Ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft have also seen

MaaS Alliance Chairman Jacob Bangsgaard (left) is encouraging companies to join its transport revolution.

similar rapid growth, with Uber reaching 17 million registered users in 2017 and expanding to 500 cities in over 70 countries in six years of operation.

Uber is a MaaS Alliance member and is seen as complimentary to its vision of having an on-demand mobility service that globally connects people to the existing public transport infrastructure. The technical interoperability of how these services work is one of the key methods the MaaS Alliance is using to advance uptake, which would enable a seamless way of paying from one city to the next.

“The main fronts of the Alliance’s activities are to drive the technical interoperability of mobility services and MaaS solutions, exchange knowledge about the promising business and governance models, and advocate for the right regulatory framework for MaaS and multimodal transport services,” says Bangsgaard. “Eventually all those aspects support scalability of MaaS

‘We want to prove that we can beat the service level of a car, or at least be comparable to it‘

As urban popuations expand, action must be taken to tackle growing congestion says Siemens Smart Cities Program Manager Karen Giese.

business and brings us closer to our vision of a roaming MaaS ecosystem.”

The UK’s Transport for London (TfL) has exhibited how this could work on a large scale already with its Oyster system, whereby people can ‘tap in’ and ‘tap out’ either using the pre-paid Oyster card or through contactless on their bank card, phone or smart watch.

It is such a successful means of payment that TfL became one of the fastest-growing contactless merchants in Europe, with it reaching a billion journeys made using the system in 2017. This use of contactless technology effectively makes it a universal ticketing arrangement according to former Head of Foresight for TfL, Iain Macbeth.

“What a lot of people haven’t understood is as you move towards contactless, your funds aren’t held by TfL, they are held by the bank,” he says.

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“What that means is that contactless then becomes a universal ticketing arrangement if you use a TfL system, because anywhere in the world you don’t have to go to a ticketing office, you just tap in and tap out with your contactless device and as long as you have the funds it works.

“Perhaps the bit that isn’t understood is the back office transactions that happen, in that TfL guarantee to charge you the lowest possible fee.

As long as you touch in and touch out each time you make a trip throughout the day, it will cap that over a 24-hour period to the price of the cheapest travel card.”

This is where the element of social equity comes into play with the Oyster system, as some operators offer a monthly or yearly season ticket at a set price and that gives the user a discount.

According to Macbeth, the problem with those arrangements is that it’s only accessible to people on high incomes or who have access to cheap loan facilities through their employers. The Oyster system guarantees that everybody in any income group gets the lowest fare all the time – much like the way other MaaS operators work.

“TfL already gets the cheapest possible rates from the banks,” says Macbeth. “When a MaaS operator comes back and says we can give you a discount on transport, they don’t have access to the rates that we do, which is tricky to overcome.”

But although MaaS operators will find it challenging to implement systems where there are established means of transport, Siemens believes that it is important for MaaS solutions to move beyond the affordability barrier. This ensures that cities provide a system that not only supports but promotes the idea of shared transportation for everyone, especially to those who could not previously afford individual vehicles.

“For those citizens, instead of having to travel on public transport systems that may result in long and complicated journeys, shifting the overall focus away from roads and private cars should result in more attractive and equitable options,” says Giese. “In addition, as MaaS develops, more autonomous technologies emerge and smarter infrastructure continues to evolve, the technology is anticipated to significantly reduce road crashes.”

POTENTIAL ROADBLOCKS Most cities will have varying priorities for implementing MaaS solutions, which will be based on their culture, geographic character and numerous other factors. This is one of the areas that Siemens is working on with the FIA and cities; to decide which objectives cities need to achieve and then find the right technology and policy solutions to meet them.

“With the FIA, we have spoken with a few clubs around the world and have found that each of the cities have very different priorities for mobility,” says Giese. “Toronto, for example, is focused on reducing congestion for vehicles in the downtown core and would like to evaluate the impacts of more shared car services and bicycle use, while Singapore wants to improve mobility and safety

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Different cities have different transport needs: Toronto is evaluating shared car and bike services as a way of tackling congestion.

for its citizens, and is looking at a lot of micro mobility solutions within the city.”

Safety is one of the key issues for MaaS solutions being implemented moving forward, as transportation technologies evolve rapidly.

According to Giese, this is one of the gaps from a traffic engineering point of view where technology companies have a solution, but cities are reluctant to implement it straight away.

“There is some chaos and lack of consensus on how new technologies should be implemented and integrated into the city environment,” says Giese. “We’re starting to see private companies such as transportation networks wanting to take off running, and develop and implement systems as soon as they deem their technology is ready.

“Their primary aim is the success of their business model. City agencies, on the other hand, are responsible for the safety of their citizens, and have a responsibility to monitor the entire system and are rightfully hesitant to allow them to do so without understanding the risks.”

The trials and tribulations of Uber in big cities are well documented, and even though the company has a healthy growth in users it is facing increased scrutiny over the safety of the service.

This is a key point because accelerating MaaS is not just about business models – aspects like liability frameworks, passenger rights, protection and privacy safety need to be clearly defined.

This is an area where FIA automotive clubs benefit because of their consumer protection, something the MaaS Alliance says is the reason why the FIA is an important member.

“The clubs that make up the FIA are beginning

Transport for London’s Oyster system is a prime example of how contactless technology can successfully work in public transport.

to gather valuable insights from its roll-out,” explains Bangsgaard. “Clubs are also consumer protection organisations, so ‘user-centricity’ is in their DNA. For that reason, the FIA is an important member of the Alliance.”

This consumer protection aspect is what separates the automotive clubs’ interests from the big tech companies, as Google and Amazon start to become players in the industry. As these large tech companies offer more services that can gather data on consumers, MaaS is playing in that wider context of whether people want executive decisions about their transport being made by big tech companies.

Macbeth believes that this could be one of the challenges that cities face in the long term as technology develops beyond interacting with a screen, and services such as voice recognition and wearables start to become used more widely to access these services.

“Are they going to have the technical capabilities to respond to those changes in customer interfaces?” asks Macbeth. “It may well be that people are so used to voice activation in the home and the office that it will become the default application to access public transport or MaaS services. And if you’re not up to scratch on that, do they outsource that part of the operation to somebody who can do that for them?”

New and upcoming concepts will also start to bring MaaS solutions to areas outside consumer apps, which will focus more on the movement of goods in urban areas, according to Bangsgaard.

“In addition to benefiting people, the MaaS concept can be equally applied in freight and logistics where it can contribute to the efficiency of the transport of goods across Europe,” says Bangsgaard. “New upcoming and developing concepts and technologies need to be further taken into account, for example e-mobility, drones and automated vehicles, which have great potential to add to the sustainable aspect of MaaS.” Even though there will be resistance from both public and private sectors during MaaS’ progress, pioneers such as the MaaS Alliance, together with smart mobility company Siemens, are leading the dramatic changes to the urban transport landscape.

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DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

SHARING MOBILITY As cities around the world look for ways to cut congestion, automobile clubs are developing solutions to stay competitive and relevant to consumers

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MARC CUTLER

Mobility as a Service (MaaS) is expected to replace 2.3 billion private car journeys annually by 2023, according to a recent report by forecasting company Juniper Research. This is why automotive clubs around the world are embracing MaaS solutions, ensuring they are not left behind as modern transport moves forward.

It’s a move FIA Secretary General for Automobile, Tourism and Mobility Andrew McKellar say presents clear opportunities.

“A MaaS platform offers an opportunity to innovate and reach out to not only current members, but also potential new members,” he says. “Statistics show that younger generations and urban populations are less likely to own their personal vehicle. With urbanisation levels set to increase, this trend is unlikely to change soon.

“By being data aggregators and deploying their own MaaS app, clubs can build on their core business and refresh their value proposition by refining and personalising their offer to members.

That being said, MaaS isn’t for everyone and clubs need to look at their market’s demand and supply profile before implementing such projects.”

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Despite the caveat, a number of clubs are already embracing the change.

The Royal Dutch Automobile Club (ANWB) has established the Dutch Mobility Alliance, which aims to keep the Netherlands accessible by advocating for more investment in mobility.

The Alliance already has the support of 23 organisations and MaaS is one of the solutions that is in its ‘Mobility Vision’ for the future.

“Mobility is changing very rapidly, especially in cities,” says Ferry Smith, ANWB Director of International Affairs. “We simply need MaaS

The RACC’s CityTrips app, launched last year in Barcelona, offers access to all shared mobility services including bikes.

solutions because with the increase of population in the cities, a lack of space will force us to use the available space in an efficient way.”

The Real Automòbil Club de Catalunya (RACC) is combating this space problem in big cities in Spain, offering a MaaS app called CityTrips, which provides consumers with access to all shared mobility services such as bikes, scooters, mopeds, cars and public transport. Customers plan their journey, combining all modes of transport to see which is the most time-efficient method and least expensive.

“CityTrips was conceived to improve mobility in urban environments,” says Miquel Roca, RACC Innovation Projects Director. “It promotes, popularises and facilitates user access and discovery of alternative forms of shared transport.

It is the solution with the broadest range of mobility options.”

After launching in Barcelona last year, CityTrips has already expanded to Madrid and Valencia and gained over 60,000 users, alongside attention from the MaaS Alliance which named it the ‘MaaS of the Month’ in September.

According to Roca, one of the reasons why the RACC decided to introduce the app is because of the move away from being solely automobile clubs and becoming ‘Mobility Clubs’ that respond to the global trend of consumers increasingly demanding more “as a service” products.

“The effects of congestion, emissions and urbanisation lead to an increasingly unsustainable mobility model as we know it today,” explains Roca. “Therefore, it is necessary to transform

‘Arevo demonstrates to members that the RACV has a legitimate voice in the future of mobility and enables us to evolve‘

CityTrips combines different transport apps all in one place, negating the need to switch between them.

the way we move in our cities to become more sustainable, more efficient, cleaner and healthier.

We consider CityTrips as a great opportunity to position the RACC at the forefront of innovation and future mobility.”

The advantage of an app like CityTrips instead of using Google or Apple Maps is that it combines different transport apps all in one place, negating the need to switch between them. This can be advantageous for tourists, which is one of the user segments CityTrips intends to address.

“When arriving at a new city, one of the first ‘pains’ a traveller has to face is understanding how best to move around the city,” says Roca.

“In this respect, the fragmentation of services is something that can be mitigated by CityTrips.”

A similar concept called Arevo journey planner was introduced in Australia by the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV). Users can plan their journey on a range of private and public transport services which make it easier for people in Melbourne to get around. They can also set preferences when planning their routes across the city to be either the most convenient, most economical, or most environmentally friendly to a destination.

Since launching in February earlier this year the app has already reached more than 60,000 users. According to RACV General Manager, Elizabeth Kim, part of this success has been down to the trust that the public has in the automobile club.

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DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

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In Melbourne, the RACV’s Arevo app allows users to plan their journey on a range private and public transport services, including the city’s trams.

“With Arevo, RACV leverages our trusted voice in the Victorian community to demonstrate the myriad ways of getting around, with long-term ambitions to alleviate congestion and encourage smarter use of private transport,” says Kim. “It demonstrates to members that we have a legitimate voice in the future of mobility and enables us to continue to evolve.”

CONFIDENCE FOR CONSUMERS This established level of trust that comes with clubs associating themselves with a service is one of the advantages that they will have in the MaaS space, because by nature they are protecting the consumers’ rights and therefore not solely looking to make a business model work like other companies would.

“Clubs hold a privileged position to embrace this opportunity, leveraging on a strong, wellknown and reliable brand, good institutional relations with local administrations and policy makers,” explains Roca. “Uber, Lyft and similar apps have a ‘walled garden’ approach, where included mobility services are all owned by the same operator, thus excluding other services.

“From the consumer perspective, ‘walled garden’ approaches have developed controversial strategies as part of their business model (e.g.

Uber’s surge pricing). In this context, a MaaS offering from a ‘certified by automobile clubs’ where clubs are seen as ‘advocates of end users’ will undoubtedly add a superior level of confidence to consumers.”

There is also scope for clubs to enter partnerships, which is something the RACC is doing as part of its geographical expansion approach. This joint approach is helping

accelerate the MaaS opportunities for clubs and generates economies of scale on the supply and demand sides.

“CityTrips has been conceived, by design, to be scaled to grow and integrate mobility services in more cities, in Spain and other countries,” explains Roca. “Users increasingly rely on mobility services being offered in different cities, and as they get used to check what is available at CityTrips, the ambition of the project is to add more cities and more mobility services.”

While this approach enables more clubs to determine how best they can implement MaaS solutions into their city, ANWB’s Smith believes it will depend on the current mobility situation in which the club operates.

“In some countries there are other challenges that have to be taken care of, so there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to this,” says Smith. “The basis of an efficient MaaS system is the availability of mobility data. Integrating mobility data from many stakeholders is a real challenge. You have to build trust and develop an eco-system that guarantees the interests of all involved. That’s the phase we’re in today.”

With MaaS gaining support among sector players, ensuring that each offering has a sustainable business model will be the biggest challenge.

“Several business models are being considered and tested, subscription models being one of the most promising,” says Roca. “At this stage, it is unclear which is going to be the right business model and who will be the relevant players.

Collaboration between public and private entities will be key to success. In any case, it is important for clubs to investigate and advance in this area to keep relevance in the mobility space.”

Arevo users can set preferences when planning their routes for them to be the most convenient, economical or environmentally friendly.

‘A MaaS offering where clubs are seen as ‘advocates of end users’ will undoubtedly add a superior level of confidence to consumers‘

AUTO #28 Q3 / 2019

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DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

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TEXT

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MATT YOUSON

BREAK WITH TRADITION 04

A changing society is altering our relationship with the car and forcing car makers to reassess their relationship with their customers. Will we still aspire to car ownership 20 years from now – or is the rise of Mobility as a Service rendering the traditional model of motor manufacturers obsolete?

Car keys or app? The question reads like a non sequitur, but it isn’t. These are interesting times for the automotive industry. While the last quarter of a century has witnessed unprecedented changes in car technology, the traditional driving experience has not dramatically altered. Indeed, one could argue that, despite some shading around the edges, the model of car use and, by extension, car ownership has seen little movement since the car become an object of mass desire and, shortly after, one of mass consumption. This, though, is about to change.

The rise of smart cities, the sharing economy and the concept of Mobility as a Service all challenge the prevailing model of car ownership.

It also represents an existential threat to the car makers which service that traditional model.

Combined with environmental concerns,

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SEAT’s Minimó concept is an electric car/motorcycle crossover designed for shared mobility, which features swappable battery packs (above) to counter heavy utilisation.

‘Tomorrow’s cities don’t need driverless cars; they need carless drivers‘ CARLO VAN DE WEIJER, DIRECTOR OF THE STRATEGIC AREA SMART MOBILITY AT EINDHOVEN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

a changing urban environment and social demographics, private ownership of cars no longer has an across-the-board appeal. While the industry has yet to reach an assumed point of maximum production overall growth has slowed, and strong demand in emerging economies masks a stagnation in traditional car buying markets.

Car ownership isn’t about to go the way of the fax machine or the 35mm camera – but nor are car makers going to stand around assuming a degree of entitlement. Given the number of technology companies with deep pockets and aspirations to hack a niche out of the traditional automotive enclave, motor manufacturers have little choice but to embrace change.

“I am sure that mobility will become more and more of an individuality factor,” says Audi Chairman Bram Schot. “Autonomous driving will

fundamentally change society, the role of cars and our mobility behaviour going forward. A new kind of individual traffic using robot taxis might be an option, for example. That can potentially make traffic more efficient by maximising vehicle capacity utilisation. At the same time, it would require less space for parking and reduce the time each car spends idle. Why should cars only be used for 30 per cent of their service life? They could also be used for 70 per cent of that time.

That will spawn new business models in the future. Maybe down the road Audi will also sell kilometres driven per hour.”

While autonomy is the biggest game in town for the automotive industry, the popularity of ride-sharing apps such as Uber and Lyft has not gone unnoticed. A synthesis of the two concepts, the so-called ‘robo-taxi’ hovers on the horizon as autonomy alone does not necessarily address the issues of urban congestion. As Carlo van de Weijer, director of the Strategic Area Smart Mobility at Eindhoven University of Technology, says, “Tomorrow’s cities don’t need driverless cars; they need carless drivers.”

The response from the automotive industry to this particular challenge has been to dive in, backing the belief that its understanding of vehicle engineering will ultimately out-compete the technology industry’s expertise in connectivity.

It promises to be an interesting battle.

The last few years have seen a wave of investment and joint ventures from traditional car manufacturers, keen to hedge their bets with a slice of the nascent Mobility as a Service market.

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TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

Renault’s Paris-Saclay Autonomous Lab aims to evaluate an autonomous transport system for wider use.

These are significant undertakings, with car makers redirecting their research capital from traditional development towards new areas of study, often working together to ward off the perceived external threat of Big Tech players such as Google and Baidu.

One such joint venture announced this year sees the pooling of mobility assets by Daimler and BMW. Traditionally rivals in the luxury segment, the two car makers are investing more than $1 billion across five mobility projects covering autonomy, ride-hailing, electric scooters, car charging and car sharing.

“The 60 million customers we already have today will benefit from a seamlessly integrated, sustainable ecosystem of car-sharing, ridehailing, parking, charging and multimodal transport services,” said Harald Krüger, outgoing Chairman of BMW at the project’s launch. “We have a clear vision: these five services will merge ever more closely to form a single mobility service portfolio with an all-electric, self-driving fleet of vehicles that charge and park autonomously and interconnect with the other modes of transport. This service portfolio will be a key cornerstone in our strategy as a mobility provider. The co-operation is the perfect way for us to maximise our chances in a growing market, while sharing the investments.”

AUTONOMOUS LAB These are very much early days for the automotive industry’s push into Mobility as a Service, filled with aspirational statements and demonstrations of new technology but little in the way of deployable services. Within the

‘Volvo’s research suggests every shared car will replace between eight and 13 privately-owned cars’

Audi Chairman Bram Schot believes autonomous driving will change society and the role of cars.

concepts, however, are plenty of signposts that point towards how we might choose to travel in the future.

At the time of writing, Renault is running a trial in partnership with the Paris-Saclay research hub. The tech cluster, comprising research facilities, universities and grandes écoles, will have a pair of autonomous taxis running around the distributed urban campus.

Based on Renault’s electric Zoe model, the Zoe Cabs will form an on-demand mobility service for a panel of approximately 100 people, hailing the cabs via a service-specific intuitive mobile app.

The ‘Paris-Saclay Autonomous Lab’ aims to evaluate a comprehensive autonomous transportation system, comprising the vehicles, supervision system, connected infrastructure and interaction with the end-user. Renault’s hope is that this will provide data for a larger-scale roll-out of the technology in the future.

The subjects involved in the study – a crosssection of the campus’ general population including students, teachers, researchers, admin staff and business people – have agreed to take at least eight trips over the four-week trial, ordered via the app, which allows both ridehailing and forward booking. While the vehicles have a ‘safety officer’ on board, the intention is

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for the electric cars to operate autonomously.

Interestingly, Renault’s project seeks to look at more than the transportation technology, also studying the social aspects of Mobility as a Service. Emphasising the sharing aspect of MaaS, the controlling algorithms may stop for extra passengers en route, with one Zoe configured to give each passenger something akin to a private compartment, and the other with a more gregarious environment that has passengers seating face-to-face. Both versions feature tablet screens designed to provide passengers with trip data, notifications and entertainment.

The Paris-Saclay Autonomous Lab experiment is very much in line with the futuristic image of Mobility as a Service, featuring as it does autonomous, electric vehicles. It is, however, perfectly possibly to decouple the car technology from the social concept. One could argue that the more vital technology in the process is that contained within the app.

Volvo began a car-sharing scheme in 1998, partnered with Hertz. Sunfleet is a station-based sharing scheme with more than 1,700 cars scattered around 50 Swedish cities. Using two decades of data from that service, Volvo this year launched M, its app-based successor, which, following a Beta-test over the summer, launched in Uppsala and the Greater Stockholm areas at the end of September. Using the slogan ‘stream cars like music’, it offers subscribers rentals by the minute and the possibility of pop-up stations during peak periods. Volvo’s research suggests every shared car will replace between eight and 13 privately owned cars.

“Volvo Cars is becoming more than just a car company,” insists Håkan Samuelsson, Volvo Cars CEO. “We recognise that urban consumers are rethinking traditional car ownership. M is part of our answer. We are evolving to become a direct-to-consumer services provider under our new mission ‘Freedom to Move’.

“Mobility is undergoing a fundamental transformation and Volvo Cars is leading that change,” he adds. “The launch of M creates new sources of revenue for Volvo Cars and will be integral to the company’s ambition to build more than five million direct consumer relationships by the middle of the next decade.”

M offers drivers a choice of price plans very similar to mobile phone contracts, with different plans available for light, normal and heavy users, with hourly, daily and weekend rates. The light user scheme has no monthly fee and charges users an hourly rate of 135SEK (€12.50), or a day rate of 1295SEK (€120). Heavier use comes with a monthly subscription fee and a reduced hourly and day rate. M touts itself as a method by which drivers are freed from the usual responsibilities of car ownership, such as maintenance, paperwork and depreciation.

Every use includes fuel, insurance tolls and a 300km distance allowance.

M is initially offering the XC40, XC60, XC90, V60 and V90 models in its range, the mix of which will be refined as the learning technology

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within the app gathers user data. It is also the app that will control use, opening car doors with a swipe. Volvo, however, is keen to suggest that M is more than simply a more convenient model of car rental, or a competitor for Uber or Lyft.

“The services currently available mainly offer alternatives to a taxi or public transit,” says Bodil Eriksson, CEO of Volvo Car Mobility. “We’re focused on the way people use the cars they own, which sets us apart. We aim to provide a real alternative to that experience. It should enable us to live life on our terms, getting things done and maximising precious time. We see the opportunity to offer a premium experience.”

Volvo quote data suggesting a privately-owned car, used in an urban environment, spends 95 per cent of its time parked. Part of its push to establish M suggests an easily accessible mobility service will help the clearance of clogged streets, ease congestion and make cities greener and more pleasant spaces.

Both Volvo’s M scheme and Renault’s trials use vehicles adapted from current stock. There is, however, a strong possibility that the future of Mobility as a Service will revolve around vehicles

purpose-built for the task. In February, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, SEAT unveiled its Minimó concept, an electric car/ motorcycle crossover that the Spanish manufacturer touts as the first purpose-designed vehicle for shared mobility services.

URBAN SOLUTION Like most Mobility as a Service projects, Minimó is very clear that the target market is overwhelmingly urban. In a recent report, the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs projected a rapid increase in urban density over the next 30 years.

The Revision of World Urbanization Prospects study forecasts 68 per cent of the world population will live in urban areas, up from 55 per cent in 2018, potentially adding 2.5 billion urban residents by 2050. Given this possibility, it isn’t difficult to see where demand for an alternative to car ownership is going to be strongest.

By using a quadricycle layout, SEAT reduced the two-seater vehicle’s physical footprint to 3.1m2, approximately half that of a normal city

Volvo views itself as a leader in the car-sharing segment having run its Sunfleet scheme, featuring models like the XC60, in Sweden since 1998.

‘We are evolving to become a direct-to-consumer services provider‘

HÅKAN SAMUELSSON, VOLVO CARS CEO

Top: BMW and Daimler have teamed up to invest heavily in joint mobility projects – a move supported by former BMW Chairman Harald Krüger at the project’s launch.

car. It features the high-seated position popular with urban driving, but also has forward pivot doors, designed to allow easy access and egress in tight spots.

The electric powertrain fits in with a model that sees urban areas banning polluting vehicles in the near future. Minimó, however, focuses on the Mobility as a Service aspects of that with swappable battery packs, catering for the type of heavy utilisation not generally seen in privately cars. A production version of the vehicle is set to launch in 2021 and while this will be a driven vehicle, SEAT say the Minimó platform is ready for ‘level four autonomy.’

On a one-to-five scale where level one is lane-keeping assistance or adaptive cruise control and level five is full vehicle autonomy without driver input, level four is defined as full autonomous driving in which the vehicle may request driver assistance. Significantly, it is the level at which the vehicle is assumed to be capable of handling highly complex urban driving environments.

“The industry is adapting to changes in the way customers view personal transport,” says SEAT president Luca De Meo. “With the Minimó, the vision of our first product designed to purpose, SEAT is addressing those challenges, combining autonomous driving technologies with electric powertrain systems to create the future of urban mobility.”

While every car maker talks brightly about the potential of Mobility as a Service, the elephant in the room is that, ultimately, it means a dramatic downsizing of the global car fleet.

For an industry based around economies-ofscale, this doesn’t necessarily imply that every motor manufacturer will have to cope with reduced volume, but rather it could mean a consolidation in which there are fewer car makers, full stop. If Mobility as a Service becomes the preferred path for urban transportation – and apps do replace car keys – then it’s going to be only the best and brightest that survive.

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AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

Matching the pace of change

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Speth’s arrival signalled the group’s determination to change, as it invested in new technology to the tune of €3.2 billion. The technological shift came at a price, however, with volumes being cut and staff being shed. Both were difficult decisions but according to Speth were crucial “in order to safeguard our future and ensure we are able to maximise the opportunity created by the growing demand for autonomous, electric and shared technology cars.”

Furthermore, to guarantee a future for both brands, it was necessary to enter into partnerships within the industry due to the enormous cost of developing cleaner engines and pursuing electrification. Again, the financial toll has been heavy with the group posting a US$4bn loss at the start of this year due to a drop in demand for SUVs in China and strict regulations on emissions impacting sales of diesel cars.

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EDOARDO NASTRI

Charged with taking heritage brands built for speed and utility into the next generation of mobility, Jaguar Land Rover CEO Dr Ralf Speth has focused on innovation and experimentation. The results have been challenging but ultimate rewarding and hugely popular

When one thinks of the consistent power of Jaguar and Land Rover, the former marque’s strengths lie in its mix of pace and luxury, while the latter is defined by adherence to an aesthetic that marries fashion with go-anywhere off-road capability. Shaping those blends for the future is no easy task, especially in light of the growing trends of electrification and autonomy – two imperatives that in some ways stand in opposition to the DNA of both brands. As such, the process has involved intensive planning and investment to give new life to the product range, without abandoning each brand’s USP. “We must eliminate the old ways of doing things, make the best use of our resources and of everyone who works for the group,” said Ralf Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, at the opening of the new Jaguar styling centre in Gaydon, England.

“One of the best ways to innovate is to get people from different backgrounds to work together. Bringing together designers,

engineers and purchasing people means you get better quality and get the product on the market quicker.”

The desire to innovate is one aspect of Ralf Speth’s personality. Jaguar Land Rover’s top man was appointed CEO in 2010 and since then he has embarked on a process of change that has led to the updating of the two brands through new products and massive investment in technology.

After graduating in engineering economics at the University of Rosenheim in his native Germany, Speth worked as a consultant for several years for a variety of companies before joining BMW in 1980. He took on various roles, the last one being Vice-President of Land Rover, which the German company then owned. After 20 years with the German marque, Speth moved to Ford in 2000, and in 2007 he became director of production at the American Premier Automotive Group. Three years later, the Indian Tata company bought the Jaguar and Land Rover brands and Speth returned to JLR, this time as CEO.

Jaguar’s first electric car, the I-Pace, received global recognition after going into production in 2018.

BRAVE NEW WORLD Speth announced a partnership with BMW to create the next generation of electric motors. The agreement makes provision for the sharing of development costs for the new ‘eDrive’ motor.

Joining forces in this way allows Jaguar Land Rover to reduce the costs of designing, producing and getting to market these lowemission power units for their models. The partnership could actually be extended to included diesel, petrol and hybrid engines.

Speth’s interest in electrification stems from the ever-more stringent CO2 emissions regulations imposed by the EU and it led to the announcement of a new strategy, which has produced cars of a type not seen before such as the Jaguar I-Pace, the first electric car in the history of the British manufacturer.

The I-Pace was presented as a concept at the 2016 Los Angeles Motor Show and went into production in 2018. The new car won a number of major awards including 2019 Car of the Year and World Car of the Year 2019.

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TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

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AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

Left: De Meo with the Seat Minimo concept EV, which is scheduled for production in 2021.

Below: Meanwhile the zero-emissions Mii city car will debut in 2020.

“Starting next year, every new Jaguar Land Rover model will feature a battery-powered version,” confirms Speth. “Customers will be able to choose a pure electric model, or a hybrid plug-in or hybrid, as well as traditional combustion engines with much reduced consumption and emission figures.”

And the strategy goes further. The new Jaguar XJ, the company’s historic flagship model, will also be 100 per cent electric. It’s a decision taken with China in mind, where saloon cars are popular in what is the world’s biggest market for zeroemission cars.

“The XJ has always been known for its elegance and sporty drive and the next generation will feature an electric power unit that will make it even more responsive, comfortable and kind on the environment,” says Speth.

The development is part of JLR’s Destination Zero plan. “We want to eliminate CO2 emissions during the production phase of every model and gradually move away from combustion engines to hybrid units and then electric ones,” said Speth at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

“We’re also working on eliminating accidents with the new assisted driving technology. Our aim is to make the world we live in safer and healthier, also making the atmosphere cleaner through incessant innovation, adapting our products and services to the world we live in, which is changing rapidly.”

The Jaguar Land Rover boss reckons that internal combustion engines will make way for electric vehicles that are autonomous, connected and shared. “Today’s industrial revolution will be driven by the demand to be carbon neutral, to improve air quality, create less waste and increase ease of use, via automation and

Above: Jaguar’s everpopular XJ will feature an electric version in its next incarnation.

Left: Land Rover has developed a radical new version of its classic Defender to join its roster of fashionable SUVs.

innovation. Over the past 10 years, we have halved CO2 emissions for all the cars in our range. We are closing the cycle on our use of materials, sure that we can reduce wastefulness, making the best use of precious resources, by getting the most from them and reusing them across all the products in the Jaguar and Land Rover range.”

When it comes to autonomous cars, the German CEO has formed a strategic partnership with Waymo, the US-based Alphabet company that produces software for driverless cars.

“With the Jaguar I-Pace, we have designed a world-class car that can meet the dreams of our customers around the world. Our passion for intelligent mobility requires working long term with expert partners. We are working with Waymo and we intend extending the boundaries of technology. Together, we can offer an attractive, autonomous, spacious and ecological car.”

Road tests of the first autonomous Jaguar began in 2018 and, according to reports, the electric crossover should be part of the Waymo fleet of robot vehicles as from next year. After

The British marque has been involved in the electric Formula E series for several seasons in a collaboration with Williams Engineering.

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‘Our aim is to make the world we live in safer and healthier’

the American company, the group is looking to other possible collaborations.

For a sporty brand like Jaguar, it’s vital to be involved in racing, especially if it’s a futuristic form of the sport that reflects the innovative spirit of Speth and his team. The British company has been competing in the electric Formula E Championship since the 2016-2017 season in collaboration with Williams Engineering, under the name of Panasonic Jaguar Racing.

In 2018, it also launched the Jaguar I-Pace Trophy, a one-make series for 20 drivers that runs at Formula E events. There’s an extreme version of the I-Pace in the pipeline designed by the company’s Special Vehicle Operations. The word from headquarters is that it will definitely be built.

“It’s not a case of if, but when.”

These race series serve as a test bed for the management and potential problems of running an electric power unit.

“Thanks to these challenges, we have managed to increase our knowledge of accumulators, cooling systems and management software and we continue to learn,” says Speth.

“Today, we are preparing for tomorrow. Our intention is to go for sustainable and intelligent mobility. We have to create a safer and better world for everyone.”

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CLASH OF THE TITANS 05

Ahead of Season 6 of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, AUTO talks to Porsche and Mercedes about joining the series and asks whether the manufacturers that have dominated Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship can do the same in what’s been called ‘the world’s most unpredictable racing series’…

TEXT

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LUKE SMITH

Porsche motor sport boss Pascal Zurlinden says the new Formula E team has benefited from the makes’ LMP1 experience...

...While that same team spirit will also transfer to the new series, believes Porsche Motorsport vice-president Fritz Enzinger.

The start of the new ABB FIA Formula E Championship season in Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, on November 22 marks the beginning of a chapter more than two years in the making as two motor sport juggernauts join the all-electric series’ grid.

Mercedes and Porsche announced their plans to enter Formula E within five days of each other in July 2017, aligning with manufacturers such as BMW, Audi, DS, Nissan and Jaguar as the ongoing shift towards electric mobility gathers momentum.

Mercedes has ruled the Formula 1 world for the past six seasons. Porsche conquered the FIA World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours. But can they succeed in a series that has established itself as one of the most competitive championships in global motor sport and which has been branded ‘the world’s most unpredictable racing series’?

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The timing of Mercedes’ entry to Formula E is symbolic, even if only by coincidence. Just weeks after celebrating a record-breaking sixth successive set of Formula 1 title wins, firmly establishing itself as one of the greatest teams in Grand Prix history, it will now embark on a whole new adventure in Formula E where it is starting back from square one.

Well, almost. The Mercedes-affiliated HWA Racelab squad joined Formula E for Season 5 as a customer of the Venturi team, giving the operation a year to learn before evolving into the fully-fledged factory team.

“I think operationally it’s great to have the experience,” says Ian James, Mercedes’ Formula E team principal. “But coming in now as a manufacturer, and essentially as a new team into the sport, that’s where we’re going to have a significant challenge on our hands in our inaugural season. There are aspects that we’ll be learning from scratch again – and will be learning through the season. How quickly we learn and adapt will be the significant factor in our performance.”

Much of Mercedes’ recent F1 success was rooted in how quickly it adapted to the V6 hybrid regulations that were introduced in 2014. The complex power unit was produced by its High Performance Powertrains arm in Brixworth, which has also overseen the development of the Formula E powertrain. In a series that uses spec chassis, the powertrain tends to be the greatest determinant of car performance.

“The initial power unit concepts were developed at Mercedes HPP in 2018, so it’s been a long journey since then,” says James. “We had the first glimpse of the Mercedes Benz Silver Arrow 01 at a track test in April this year. Since then, we’ve been developing the hardware and software through track, and over the last couple of months it’s about the hardware side of things coming to a conclusion.”

SOLID FOUNDATIONS Mercedes is not alone in drawing on its championship-winning experience ahead of the new Formula E season. Porsche’s team is largely made up of the same engineers who were part of its LMP1 programme that folded at the end of 2017, having established the Porsche 919 Hybrid as one of the greatest sports cars of its era through three Le Mans victories and three WEC title wins. While it is entering Formula E as a brand-new team, the core of the old LMP1 project lends it significant strength.

“We have not had to assemble the team from scratch,” says Pascal Zurlinden, director of factory motor sport at Porsche. “The engineers were able to make use of their LMP1 experience when developing the Porsche Formula E powertrain.

During the LMP1 project, we laid the foundations for Porsche’s future involvement in Formula E. The team used the insights gained during the LMP1 time in the development of the new powertrain.”

The weight of expectation will be heavy on both manufacturers given their recent success

Mercedes Formula E team principal Ian James says the squad draws inspiration from the F1 outfit’s many successes.

‘Coming in now as a manufacturer, essentially as a new team, we’re going to have a significant challenge on our hands’

and reputation. For Fritz Enzinger, vice-president of Porsche Motorsport, there is a similar desire to transfer much of the camaraderie and principles from the LMP1 programme to the new Formula E project.

“Part of Porsche’s DNA is our team spirit, which is also one of the main aspects when it comes to our former LMP1 successes,” says Enzinger. “We wanted to transfer this team spirit to Formula E, which we definitely have achieved during the past one-and-a-half years of preparation for the works entry in the first fully-electric street racing series.

“I am very proud of every team member and their contribution, dedication and hard work they put into this future-oriented project. We are highly motivated for our debut season in Formula E.” While James embraces the ethos from Mercedes’ F1 success, he is also eager to give

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Stoffel Vandoorne will move across from the Mercedesaffiliated HWA team to the works outfit...

...While F2 champion Nyck de Vries is bringing his potential to Mercedes as well.

the Formula E team its own identity – and own reputation for succeeding on-track.

“There’s an expectation there because we’re proud to be wearing the Mercedes star just as the Formula 1 team does, and they’ve had an incredible run of success in the last few years with a huge amount of hard work and effort,” he explains. “There are certain values and principles and a certain approach that underpins all of that.

It’s important that we’re not an electric copy of Formula 1. We need to adapt and make sure what we do is relevant and specific. But having that basis and experience to be able to draw on is a huge benefit to us.”

Both manufacturers have taken different approaches to their driver line-ups for this season. Porsche has called on two known quantities in factory drivers Andre Lotterer and

Neel Jani, both of whom raced for its LMP1 team and have prior Formula E experience. Porsche has also brought on board former Andretti Formula E and Venturi test driver Simone de Silvestro in a test and development role.

Mercedes has retained Stoffel Vandoorne following a solid first season with HWA, scoring one pole position and one podium, as well as snapping up Formula 2 champion Nyck de Vries to offer a more youthful approach.

MEASURED APPROACH All four drivers know what it takes to win races and championships, but success is far from guaranteed in Formula E, which has become known for its unpredictability. Seven of the 11 teams on the grid won at least one race last

Mercedes High Performance Powertrains, which developed the latest F1 V6 hybrid, has also overseen the Formula E power unit.

season, with six of them taking victory in the first six rounds. Giants such as Audi, Nissan and BMW have all fared well, but struggled to truly dominate.

Expectations must therefore be kept in check.

“One thing I’ve learned through observing Formula E is how unpredictable it is – that’s part of its charm,” says James. “At the end of the day, we’ve now got a field of world-class teams from some of the major OEMs and some strong independent teams. We need to be measured in our approach to it. Internally, we’re clear with ourselves, we’re managing expectations for our inaugural season.”

Porsche is taking a similar approach, seeing itself as the ‘new kid on the block’. “We are entering a competition with teams and manufacturers who have already been active in the series for up to five years, and therefore have an enormous lead in terms of experience,” says Zurlinden. “This makes it a great challenge. The concentration of manufacturers in Formula E is higher than in any other race series.

“The first year will be a ‘rookie’ year for us because 20 per cent of what we need to know will only become apparent when we actually start racing. However, we will be well prepared and hope to achieve a podium in our first season.”

Besides the desire to prove themselves against many of the world’s biggest car manufacturers, there is also plenty for Mercedes and Porsche to gain in Formula E as the global shift towards electric mobility continues.

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Both manufacturers are committed to producing more electric cars in the future. Mercedes has established its EQ sub-brand, with a target of manufacturing 10 electric models by 2022.

Porsche recently launched its first fully-electric sports car, the Porsche Taycan, as part of its ‘Mission E’ blueprint for electrification.

“Porsche expects its involvement in Formula E to result in synergy effects and vital inspiration for future production models,” explains Zurlinden.

“The challenge in Formula E is to achieve maximum efficiency in utilisation of the available energy through the hardware, software and manual management by the driver. The tasks at the race track and on the road are therefore quite similar.”

“It obviously helps when there’s a certain level of authenticity to what we’re doing,” adds James.

“It’s a tech transfer that genuinely goes from racing into road cars, or vice-versa. Now that we’ve got the initial power unit development completed and we’re focusing on race readiness for Season 6, we’re looking at how we kick off that knowledge transfer.

“I think once we get that started then you’ll see very quickly the synergy develop and that transfer happening. The fundamentals that

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AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

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Porsche hopes to achieve a podium in its ‘rookie’ season of Formula E.

‘Porsche expects its involvement in Formula E to result in synergy effects and vital inspiration for future production models’

underpin the Formula E power unit are the same as those that underpin the road car power unit.”

Following the completion of final collective testing in Valencia in October, attention has turned to the opening race of the Formula E season in Ad Diriyah as the teams’ preparations come to fruition.

But Mercedes and Porsche are under no illusions. Replicating their respective F1 and WEC success in motor sport’s most unpredictable series could be their greatest challenge yet.

In Andre Lotterer (above) and Neel Jani, Porsche has two drivers with LMP1 and Formula E race experience.

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Health and safety According to the World Health Organisation’s recent Global Status Report on Road Safety, fatalities are continuing to rise. The WHO’s Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that while efforts to tackle the crisis are working in high-income countries, developing nations are being left behind due to political inaction

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JUSTIN HYNES

The most recent Global Status Report on Road Safety 2018 indicated that road deaths continue to rise, with an annual 1.35 million fatalities.

Does that increase discourage you or is it a function of reduced fatalities against increasing motorisation?

The annual number of road traffic fatalities of around 1.35 million remains unacceptably high. These deaths are an inadmissible price to pay for mobility. However, I am hopeful as we are also seeing signs of progress in road safety. Although this total number of deaths has continued to rise, the rates of death relative to the increased world population are actually stabilizing. This suggests that road safety efforts are having some effect. While we are still not where we should be, I see this as a sign of moving towards progress.

The report noted that efforts in high- and middle-income countries are yielding positive results and mitigating the situation. Is the problem worsening in low-income nations and what are the chief causes of this?

Indeed, the report indicates that no lowincome country has reduced its number of road traffic deaths in the last three years.

This is a source of great concern.

The main reason is lack of political action.

As countries develop economically, their road networks rapidly expand and the number of vehicles on the roads increases dramatically.

Unfortunately, safety is not always considered as an integral part of this process. Political leaders should realise that road safety is good for development. They should take inspiration and learn from countries that have good road safety records. We must ensure safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport for all.

Globally, pedestrians and cyclists account for 26 per cent of all road traffic deaths, with that figure as high as 44 per cent in Africa. What are the solutions to this from the WHO’s perspective?

The solutions we propose for vulnerable road users are often the same as those we propose for all road users. They include better laws and stronger enforcement on major risks like speeding, drinking and driving, and failing to use seat-belts, motorcycle helmets and child car seats. We also advocate for safer roads and vehicles and good emergency trauma care services.

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At the same time there should be tailored interventions specifically for pedestrians and cyclists, like dedicated walking and cycling lanes. These must take priority when designing cities and building infrastructure.

The headline news always focuses on the worsening situation, but were there positives contained in the report? What gains have been made, where, and how?

The report shows there is a lot to be positive about. Road traffic deaths have decreased in 23 middle-income countries and in 25 high-income countries. That’s progress.

These countries have provided greater attention to law enforcement. Laws – such as on speeding or drinking and driving – are important, but they can only save lives when they are well enforced. These countries are also assessing and investing in safer roads and cars to ensure that they meet international standards of at least three stars. And, in addition, these countries are improving emergency trauma care. All of these interventions combined save lives and reduce serious injuries.

Road safety efforts have often been constrained by lack of funding for education, advocacy for legislation change, and infrastructure. Are you encouraged by the establishment of mechanisms such as the UN’s Road Safety Trust Fund?

To be honest, I don’t think funding is the main constraint; I would say it is rather a lack of political will. Of course, funding from donors such as the FIA and Bloomberg Philanthropies has been instrumental in facilitating concrete changes in countries and communities. These include advocating for new laws at national level or updating infrastructure around schools at local level. So yes, it is my hope that the UN’s Road Safety Trust Fund will also contribute in a tangible way to these types of activities.

One of the key numbers people tend to forget in the road safety debate is that, according to WHO, 50 million people are injured each year on the world’s roads. Can you talk a little about the health burden of those figures on economies and healthcare services?

Road traffic deaths and injuries can cost a nation as much as three per cent of GDP. That’s an enormous burden for national economies. When I visit hospitals in Africa and Asia, it’s apparent that a lot of resources are dedicated to the care and treatment of road traffic crash victims, who are often young.

Some of those people affected live with a permanent disability and require long-term rehabilitation. In settings where people do not have access to universal health coverage, a person disabled in a road traffic crash can throw his or her entire family into poverty. Of course, this is in addition to the physical pain

A parallel health issue associated with increased motorisation is worsening air quality. Are you encouraged by efforts to tackle this in developed nations through emission zones, restrictions on diesel-fuelled vehicles and the promotion of electric vehicles, or is more drastic action required?

There is definitely a link between road safety and air quality. When roads are made safe for all users, people actually walk and cycle more. That not only reduces air pollution but also allows people to reap the health benefits of increased physical activity, reducing diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

WHO estimates that outdoor air pollution causes 4.2 million premature deaths worldwide every year and around 90 per cent of these are in low- and middle-income countries. Of course, the sources of air pollution are many, including industrial emissions, coal-fired power plants and the burning of waste, but cars and other forms of road transport play their part too.

I am encouraged by many examples of cities and countries around the world introducing transport policies to reduce air pollution.

For example, encouraging a shift away from diesel vehicles to low-emissions vehicles and fuels, and in particular to electric cars.

and suffering experienced from the injury, as well as the long-term economic and social losses when people are unable to work or contribute to the family or community needs.

That’s why prevention of these injuries and deaths is so important. It’s seems such a waste to use scarce resources on an issue that is largely preventable.

Earlier this year we celebrated the fifth edition of the UN’s Road Safety Week. WHO is a supporter of this effort. What effect do you believe this kind of activity can have at a local level in improving road behaviour?

WHO is proud to lead such high-profile road safety events as Road Safety Week, which is celebrated worldwide. It’s an opportunity to put road safety high on the political agenda, which is of course right where it belongs.

When campaigns such as this are taken up by officials from government, NGOs, automobile clubs, universities and schools, and private companies in many communities, they can have a real impact. When combined with effective government action at national level, these campaigns can make a big difference in raising awareness and changing behaviour at the local level.

I’m also very grateful to the FIA for its commitment to road safety and to my friend Jean Todt for his leadership as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety. We have a very constructive working relationship and I’m convinced that working together we can continue to have a major impact on road safety.

An extension of road safety is associated air pollution – Dr Adhanom Ghebreyesus is pleased that more cities are adopting transport policies to tackle this.

‘Political leaders should realise that road safety is good for development. They should learn from countries with good safety records’

Last year you spoke about the relevance of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and in particular the importance of the third goal, Good Health and Well Being For All, in achieving all of the other goals. Can you elaborate on why this is so and is there a possibly road map to bringing about universal health coverage?

At least half of the world’s population still do not have full coverage of essential health services. This is unacceptable. Individuals should receive the health services they need without suffering financial hardship.

People need to be protected from the consequences of paying for health services out of their own pockets, and thereby being pushed into poverty. Achieving universal health coverage is one of the targets the nations of the world set when adopting the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015.

Countries that progress towards universal health coverage will make progress towards the other health-related targets, and towards the other goals.

Good health allows children to learn and adults to earn, helps people escape from poverty and provides the basis for long-term economic development. Universal health coverage is firmly based on the 1948 WHO Constitution, which declares health a fundamental human right and commits to ensuring the highest attainable level of health for all. WHO is supporting countries to develop their health systems to move towards and sustain universal health coverage.

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The goal of safety

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Football legend Didier Drogba is the latest international star to lend his support to the FIA’s #3500LIVES road safety campaign. The Ivorian striker talks to AUTO about launching his message of Watch Out For Kids at this year’s Italian Grand Prix, the importance of improving safety in Africa and how personal loss has reinforced his commitment to the cause…

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You’re the latest ambassador to join the #3500LIVES campaign and your message of Watch Out For Kids was launched at this year’s Italian Grand Prix. Why is the campaign important to you?

It’s important to raise awareness about road safety, especially in the environment of motor sport but also in real life as well. As a Formula 1 fan, I follow all the races and sometimes it’s easy to get carried away and feel like you can use a bit of speed too. But it’s important to have all the elements for security around you. They have that in racing and we should be aware of it when we are on the road.

It’s an impressive campaign and I’m really proud to join this group of superstars of sport and other areas. At the launch of my message in Monza, Nico Rosberg was there, which was wonderful, but it also involves stars such as Yohan Blake and celebrities from a wide variety of sports. To be able to bring all those legends together for such a great cause, it really gives great momentum to the quest for road safety and great visibility. I’ll do everything I can to help spread the message of security on the world’s roads.

Your message is focused on children. You have legions of young fans around the world. Was that also a key aspect of your involvement?

I have five kids so I know how important they are to me and I think it’s the same for everyone in this world. It’s about safety for everyone.

A short while ago I lost a friend, a very good friend, a young guy who was just 33 years old.

He was killed in a motorcycle accident on the road. He was not wearing a helmet and I think that could have saved him. It was heartbreaking and I don’t want to see that happen to anybody.

I’ve been working on this project for some months and that happened during the period we began on this campaign, so it was devastating. I can’t do anything else than think about him and what could have been done if he was wearing a helmet. That’s why I’m here.

How did you come to be involved in the #3500LIVES campaign?

I met FIA President Jean Todt through a mutual friend and we spoke about how we could use my image to have an impact across the world, but more specifically in Africa, spreading good messages about safe road behaviour. I’m really happy to be part of it. These are the kind of messages that not only impact on society, but more importantly they can help save lives.

The deployment of the new visual will be focused on Africa, where 44 per cent of all road traffic deaths on the continent involve cyclists and pedestrians. Your own foundation, the FIA Foundation and the Prudence Foundation will also contribute to spread the campaign’s message for safer roads across the region.

How crucial is it to improve safety in Africa?

It’s massively important. We are talking about road safety and first of all the roads have to be

As a father of five the football legend is motivated to improve road safety, particularly in Africa.

‘I lost a good friend in a motorcycle accident during the period we began on this campaign. That's why I'm here’

Didier Drogba was joined by FIA President Jean Todt and F1's stars at the Italian GP at the launch of his #3500LIVES message.

better in Africa. We must speak about all the other things we have to do for road safety, such as wearing helmets and using seat belts, but we also need to improve the infrastructure in Africa to give people safe roads to use. It’s a big part of the solution.

After 20 years at the highest levels of football, you brought your playing career to a close last year. That’s a hard thing for a professional sportsman to do. Do you miss playing?

I think I will miss it for the rest of my life. But it’s the end of a cycle, as a player, and since last year I’ve embarked on a new life in which I’m meeting some very interesting people, such as Jean Todt, and I’m working on a few projects for the future, so I’m still busy.

You’ve spoken about your desire to play a role in the Ivorian Football Association (FIF) to develop football in your home country. Is that an ambition you still hold?

I need to speak with a lot of people to understand what the needs are. If I’m able to go for it, to have a little impact and make some improvement on what has been done recently, then why not? Let’s see.

Finally, tell us a little bit about your passion for motor sport. Your first professional football contract was with Le Mans, wasn’t it?

It was and I still have the noise of the cars in my ears after all these years! I lived in Le Mans for four years and it’s a city of sport – football, basketball and of course motor racing with the Le Mans 24 Hours. It is a massive event there and I grew up with it, so I’m a big fan.

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AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

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Charging the earth BEN BARRY

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While electric vehicles represent a positive step forward for sustainability mobility, the high technology involved in powering the next generation of car still comes at a cost – with demand for precious metals and rare earth minerals soaring. However, it is an issue motor manufacturers are tackling…

Taken at face value, electric cars appear to be a silver bullet for all the environmental ills of the internal combustion engine. They produce zero exhaust emissions and don’t require fossil fuels, after all. Unfortunately, EVs are far from immune from environmental and geopolitical issues.

The most publicised relate to how much of the electricity consumed is generated by burning coal. Less well known is the pressure that EV batteries and electric motors increasingly place on precious metals and rare earths.

So far, the relatively small percentage of pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) sold globally has minimised these consequences, accounting for around four per cent of the global vehicle fleet. But technological improvements, falling prices and greater choice continue to make EVs and hybrids of all types more appealing to a broader

customer base. Investment banking firm JP Morgan estimates BEVs and PHEVs will account for 12 per cent of the global mix by 2025, or 32 per cent with full- and mild-hybrids factored.

What’s more, tightening emissions regulations and government mandates will likely seeThe cars futuristic-looking Technology with only an internal combustion engineMcLaren account Centre was planned with for just 41 per cent of the market by 2030, says JP environmental protection Morgan, a figure which may well be conservative. very much in mind.

Inevitably, then, the rapidly-increasing market share of electrified vehicles over the coming decade will place more pressure on these resources.

Thankfully, car manufacturers are already responding to the new-found challenges with inventive solutions and strategies, even if significant hurdles remain.

Key challenges centre around the batteries and electric motors used in electrified vehicles.

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Most hybrid and electric cars now use lithium-ion batteries to store energy, which contain two critical materials: lithium and cobalt.

Lithium is a light, low-density precious metal and demand for it has soared not only because of batteries in electric cars, but those in laptops and smartphones too. The soft silver and white reactive alkali element is typically found in compound form with other minerals in igneous rock or oceans and salt lakes, and most commonly sourced from hard-rock mines in Australia, or from salt flats or briny lakes within the South American Lithium Triangle of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile.

Mining leaves an obvious environmental footprint, but neither is extraction from salt flats entirely without impact. The process is highly water intensive (water is pumped into the ground to bring mineral-rich brine to the surface) and can lead to toxic leaks.

With demand for lithium predicted to increase by five times today’s levels to an estimated 1.3 million metric tonnes by 2025, the pressure on extracting lithium will only increase.

“We would basically need to absorb the entire world’s lithium-ion production,” says Tesla boss Elon Musk of the challenge of ramping up production from 2018’s 245,000 cars to a target of half a million annually.

Lithium is a relatively abundant element, however, which could be generated primarily from sea water or brine with a far lower environmental impact. The problems surrounding its supply and extraction are not to be underestimated, but do appear relatively surmountable.

COBALT CONUNDRUM Cobalt used in lithium-ion batteries is a more politically charged conundrum and has been dubbed the blood-diamond of batteries. Like lithium, cobalt is found in the Earth’s crust in chemically combined form, but it is also a by-product of copper and nickel production.

It is used in batteries to maintain the structural integrity of negative cathodes and prevent overheating. A typical electric car battery uses 6-12kg of cobalt and its price has risen from around £17,000 per tonne in 2013 to approximately £45,000 today.

Most critically, 60 per cent of cobalt is currently sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo, leaving car makers both ethically and economically exposed to the politically unstable country for this essential battery ingredient.

Not only is the mining itself damaging to the environment – both in its asset-stripping of the landscape and the toxic waste and harmful particles it produces – but the mining practices themselves are often unethical, including child labour in some artisanal mines where cobalt is hand-mined. Indeed, some 20 per cent of the cobalt sourced from the DRC is hand-mined.

Given the complexity of modern supply chains, it can be difficult to precisely account for every step of production.

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Tesla’s Model 3 (left and above) uses less than three per cent cobalt in its battery; the aim is to eliminate the substance altogether.

In response, car makers including Volvo, Daimler and BMW have joined the Responsible Cobalt Initiative to minimise the companies’ exposure to these risks. BMW has also defined pricing structures and supply contracts for the next 15 years in an effort to guarantee stability.

“We have secured access to cobalt beyond 2025 to 2035 with mining companies and we have price corridors already,” explains BMW R&D boss Klaus Fröhlich, “so we have clear access to that raw material – nobody in the car industry has that. And because we are sustainable, we have defined with the mining company how they are mining cobalt, both ecologically and also looking at working conditions for people.”

Along with regulating the supply of cobalt, car makers are attempting to reduce its use.

Kia has reduced the 20 per cent of both cobalt and manganese once contained in its battery chemistries to 10 per cent each over recent years, while increasing nickel content to 80 per cent.

Elon Musk has claimed batteries for the Tesla Model 3 use less than three per cent cobalt (thanks to a mix of nickel and aluminium) and that Tesla’s next-generation batteries will eliminate the substance altogether.

Eliminating cobalt entirely is no easy task,

Cobalt mines can damage the environment, producing toxic waste and harmful particles.

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however. It reduces the life of the battery cell, meaning a car maker is more likely to need to replace it under the lengthy battery warranties that have helped build consumer confidence in electrified vehicles. The likelihood of the battery combusting also increases.

Solid-state lithium-ion cells represent a viable alternative and the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance has invested in Ionic Materials. The specialist in solid-state lithium-ion batteries has pioneered a solid plastic electrolyte to replace the unstable liquid electrolyte and requires little or no cobalt to be used.

However, BMW’s Fröhlich expects conventional lithium-ion batteries to be dominant for some time to come. “In my honest opinion we will not see solid-state batteries [in mass production] before 2030. Perhaps we will see some pilot projects by 2025, but they will have lower performance and higher cost,” he says.

As such, cobalt looks set to be a crucial component of electrical vehicles in the near

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BMW R&D boss Klaus Frohlich expects lithium-ion batteries to dominate the EV market for some time.

The German make’s chairman, Oliver Zipse, has pushed for it to source and use ethically produced minerals.

to medium term. New sources of the mineral that are set to be tapped in Idaho, Alaska and Australia soon after 2020 will help ease the dependence on supplies from the Congo.

A further area of concern in the production of electrified vehicles relates to the rare earths used in their electric motors. Rare earths are a group of 17 minerals (plus the related scandium and yttrium) and 90 per cent of electrified vehicles use rare earth-based magnets. Typically 30 per

cent of elements used in magnets at the heart of high-output electric motors are neodymium, terbium and dysprosium. Their role is to maintain the motors’ magnetic properties even at high operating temperatures.

Despite their name, rare earths are not particularly scarce. However, mining them can be environmentally hazardous, as proven when regulators found the open-pit Mountain Pass mine in California had contaminated nearby desert with radioactive wastewater. It stopped processing material in 2002, before reopening in 2017.

Nonetheless, today China accounts for over 80 per cent of the global supply of rare earth materials. Even rare earths mined outside China are often transported to China for processing.

It means that along with the environmental concerns surrounding the extraction of rare earths, car makers are also disproportionately exposed to trade wars and sanctions.

BMW is again attempting to shield the company from such exposure, and at this year’s

‘Electric vehicles can only make a real contribution to climate protection when the entire value chain is sustainable’

Frankfurt motor show chairman Oliver Zipse stated that no rare earth minerals would be used in the fifth generation of its eDrive system and that the manufacturer would purchase cobalt only from mines in Australia and Morocco.

“Electric vehicles can only make a real contribution to climate protection when the entire value chain is sustainable,” he explained.

Toyota, meanwhile, has developed new magnets with significantly reduced neodymium content for its electric motors, spurred into action not only by environmental and geopolitical concerns, but also because it predicts demand for rare earth elements will outstrip supply by 2025.

The Japanese maker’s new-generation magnets entirely eliminate terbium and dysprosium and significantly reduce neodymium content. This has been achieved by substituting the less expensive and more abundant lanthanum and cerium, and by reducing neodymium by making each grain a tenth smaller compared with previous magnets while also increasing the gap between each grain by a factor of ten. The result is claimed to actually exceed the magnetic performance of previous designs.

It’s a promising indication that innovation can help overcome some of the biggest challenges surrounding the production of electrified vehicles, even if issues regarding the extraction of raw materials are unlikely to vanish entirely given the inevitable exponential increase in EVs over the coming decade.

BMW is planning to eliminate rare minerals from its eDrive system, used in cars such as the iNEXT.

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Clubbing together for safety While road safety improvements benefit from large-scale government interventions, safety gains are equally achievable as a result of ‘thinking globally and acting locally’, as Botswana motoring club Emergency Assist 991 has proved

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KATE TURNER

Botswana’s reputation is of vast African plains, where you’re more likely to see a rhino than a car.

However, the serenity of the scenery masks the tragedy played out on the country’s roads and across the entire Sub-Saharan Africa region.

More than 477 people are killed on Botswana’s roads each year, despite a population of just 2.3 million, according to the latest World Health Organization estimates. Road traffic crashes are the leading killer of school-age children and adolescents in the country, mirroring the shocking reality that children in Sub-Saharan Africa are twice as likely to be killed on the roads as their peers anywhere else in the world.

Tackling the road safety crisis needs direct government commitment, funding and action.

A vital way to unlock and encourage support is through scalable projects with demonstrable impact, led by local stakeholders such as NGOs and automobile clubs.

Earlier this year, the Botswana FIA member club Emergency Assist 991 (EA991) launched the Safer Roads to Schools – Too Young to Die project to reduce child pedestrian injuries and deaths, along with regional child injury prevention charity Amend. The project uses funding through the

FIA Road Safety Grants Programme, supported by the FIA Foundation, to enable grassroots FIA members to address road safety challenges and support the United Nations Decade of Action at the local level. The programme has, so far, supported over 350 road safety initiatives in more than 95 countries.

EA991 used its local expertise to identify three schools – Mogoditshane, Itumeleng and Taung primary schools – in the capital city of Gaborone where surrounding roads posed a high risk to student safety and where, in addition to engineering improvements, high-quality road safety education and practical learning for pupils and teachers would add value and impact to the project. It is the latest in a series of linked projects in the country to address safety around schools, seeking to support localised infrastructure improvements as a means to encourage long-term, sustainable investment in national road safety.

The project uses the Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) methodology, a joint initiative between Amend and iRAP to assess the level of safety around schools and help identify where safe road infrastructure is required. In Botswana,

Botswana FIA member club EA991 and Amend’s Too Young to Die project is helping to improve road safety around schools.

the implementation is a collaboration between Amend and the Society of Road Safety Ambassadors (SORSA). The objective of infrastructure changes is to slow traffic speeds to 30 km/h or below and to protect child pedestrians with simple, cost-efficient and, most crucially, proven interventions, such as safe crossings, sidewalks and road humps.

Jeffrey Witte, Executive Director of Amend, explains: “Every day, thousands of children are killed and injured on Africa’s roads. But we know how to prevent these injuries: safe infrastructure in school areas and the enforcement of 30 km/h speed zones around schools saves lives.”

The work is designed to guide small infrastructure improvements, but beyond the

‘No young person should be denied their future by the scourge of road traffic injury’

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EA991 targeted primary schools in the capital, Gaborone, where students were at high risk of injury.

immediate goal of protecting pupils on their journeys to school, the Too Young to Die project has an important wider role: to shift perceptions about road safety, and demonstrate the public and economic benefits to encourage longterm sustainable investment in safety by the government of Botswana.

The project was launched with the support of decision-makers and legislators at every level, from the local, such as the Village Development Community and neighbourhood schools, to the regional Gaborone City Council, right up to the Government’s Department of Road Transport Safety and traffic police.

Zoleka Mandela and First Lady of Botswana Neo Masisi, along with pupils (right), at the launch of new road infrastructure at Diphetogo Primary School, Gaborone.

SPREADING THE WORD The impact of this project, through its stakeholder support, has now reached the highest levels of the country’s decision-making process. Botswana’s National Road Safety Council has given its endorsement and commitment to further support the initiative, after asking EA991 to give evidence and brief the council on the project following its launch.

“We are delighted to see such an uptake from our key road safety stakeholders here in Botswana and we continue to build meaningful partnerships like that to ensure scale-up of the initiative,” says Simon Modisaemang, Director of EA991. “Our project utilises an evidence-based approach proven to save lives and combat road traffic injury in many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, and we will carry on advocating to see changes happening across the country.”

In addition to the implementation of physical protection, each school in the EA991 project will run educational activities for children to familiarise themselves with use of the new

infrastructure as well as sustained support for safer behaviour through a teaching resource developed by the Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport (EASST), another Child Health Initiative partner, providing activities to introduce road safety messages and behaviours to children.

This club-led investment is the continuation of similar infrastructure projects by Amend in the country. In June, the First Lady of Botswana, Neo Masisi, joined Child Health Initiative Global Ambassador Zoleka Mandela and the FIA Foundation at Diphetogo Primary School, Gaborone to launch new infrastructure designed to prevent road traffic injuries and fatalities around the school.

Speaking at the time, she gave her support to the initiative and the wider need to invest in safe road infrastructure, stressing children’s fundamental right to safely access education: “I think of my own daughter and going to school is the most important journey of her life,” she said.

“And yet for far too many, this journey is costing them their lives. We must not accept speeds of over 30 km/h near our schools. Over this speed their lives are at risk. It should be a given that our children are protected.”

FIA Foundation Deputy Director Avi Silverman, who also spoke at the launch, added: “Our partners here in Botswana are implementing the solutions that we know are proven to save lives and combat road traffic injury. What’s needed is political commitment and financing to bring these solutions to scale.

“Every single child should have a safe journey to school. No young person should be denied their future by the scourge of road traffic injury.

Governments and the international community can act, and they must.”

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MAXIMUM ATTACK 06

Mika Häkkinen channelled a near-death crash at the 1995 Australian Grand Prix into an all-or-nothing quest for Formula 1 world championship glory. All that stood in his way was a rival reckoned to be one of the greatest of all time. The flying Finn reveals how he beat Michael Schumacher and wrote his own legend…

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TONY THOMAS

In a different age of Formula 1, the Mika Häkkinen story would have come to a crashing halt on Dequetteville Terrace, Adelaide.

On the Friday afternoon of November 10, 1995, during practice for the Australian Grand Prix, Mika’s McLaren lay crumpled against the barriers after a violent, high-speed accident – its driver apparently lifeless in the cockpit.

A cut left-rear tyre, which failed at 130mph, had rendered Häkkinen’s red-and-white machine uncontrollable as he powered towards the kerbs on the exit of the fast right-hand Brewery Bend.

The horrifyingly sudden impact that followed would have killed any driver in a less stout vehicle from previous decades.

Häkkinen survived – only just, and despite the wild buffeting of his head from side to side in the

split-second post-crash – though it was only thanks to brilliantly administered medical intervention that he didn’t die in the following minutes.

Still, with a fractured skull and associated trauma, it seemed unlikely, when he came around the next day in the Royal Adelaide Hospital, that he would race again at the highest level. McLaren team boss Ron Dennis and his wife Lisa had stood vigil at Häkkinen’s bedside throughout Mika’s darkest night, his recovery their sole concern.

He would spend the next eight weeks in hospital and no one could have imagined he would be back behind the wheel barely a month after discharge, setting competitive times in a private Paul Ricard test, despite a lazy left eye and a sense of balance that had only been restored after an operation on tiny inner-ear bones.

Mika-McLarenMercedes proved to be a mighty combination in F1 during the late 1990s.

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In his first head-to-head laps against new team-mate David Coulthard, Mika was faster, setting the tone for a season over which the qualifying tally would end up 12-4 in his favour.

Any doubts others might have held about Häkkinen’s ability to recover from a near-death experience were swiftly banished, while Mika himself – still yet to win a grand prix despite his emerging superstar status – found renewed purpose through adversity.

“I think the strength to come back was very much psychological strength,” he explains.

“There had been a lot of good support from McLaren, from the management and from the family. But there was something else. I think I had raced for so many years and got so far, that I just felt: ‘There is no way I’m going to slow down now. I’m just going to go for it – flat-out’.

And that drove me through.”

For Mika, the pursuit of the Formula 1 world title had become nothing less than a path to redemption, following the horror of Adelaide.

The support he had received during recovery, from the team that had become a home, had instilled a sense of mission in his racing, beyond simply proving he was quick. Post-accident, it was different. It was personal.

“You know,” he says, in those deep sing-song Finnish tones, “after the accident my attitude to people changed quite a lot. I started looking them in the eye and listening to what they were saying. Before that I was just ‘OK, I will keep my foot on the throttle, I’m the best, I’m going to win every race’. But the accident helped me realise ‘oh s**t, I have a team around me’ and that with the team, we will win.”

The only problem was that in his way was a rival, Michael Schumacher – still regarded by some as the greatest of all – also in pursuit of his own grail of achieving a first drivers’ title for Ferrari in almost 20 years.

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McLaren, resurgent after the lull that followed the Senna-Prost-Honda glory years, were up against a Scuderia finally being moulded into a hungry, ordered, consistent winning machine under the leadership of Jean Todt. The scales of performance were finely poised between these two racing battalions: Mika-McLaren-Mercedes was a mighty combination, but so, too, was a Schumacher-driven Ferrari crafted by a crack engineering team that boasted Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne and Gilles Simon.

A taste of what lay ahead came in the final race of 1997, at Jerez, in Spain, where Häkkinen finally took his first win, to cast a monkey off his and McLaren’s backs that had been hanging around for the four winless years since he joined, from Lotus.

“To see the celebration of the team after all those years of hard work, I could understand that they had a weight lifted from their shoulders,” he recalls. “It felt good for my soul – ‘now I’m a winner in Formula 1’ – but it wasn’t the time to uncork the champagne bottle just yet. I had my next mission: to win the world championship.

So I pushed the emotions away.”

He continued to keep them in check as he rode a silver wave through 1998, at the helm of the superb MP4-13 masterminded by Adrian Newey to suit that year’s newly introduced ‘narrow track’ technical regulations. Channelling a verbalized mantra of “maximum attack” Häkkinen stormed to eight wins from 16 races, but never had a moment to breathe as Schumacher and Ferrari took the drivers’ title to a last-round Suzuka showdown.

“Every time I had to fight against him I was

THE GREAT WAR

So the stage was set for a few fleeting seasons at the turn of the millennium, during which Formula 1 would be distilled to its most gladiatorial essence: Schumacher versus Häkkinen, mano a mano, red against silver, Ferrari versus McLaren.

From 1998 to 2000, Michael and Mika went at it in an all-or-nothing battle that could be traced back to when they first locked horns during junior racing days in the early ’90s – though a decade on, the stakes were altogether higher.

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A show of support for Häkkinen following his near-fatal Australia '95 crash, fronted by McLaren boss Ron Dennis and team-mate Mark Blundell.

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absolutely on the limit,” Häkkinen says. “There was never a situation where I walked into a grand prix and said ‘OK, you have a good car, a good engine, a good team and we’re just gonna come here and win. I knew that every time when I came to a grand prix The [always ‘The’] Michael would be there and that he would be ready to attack. And he didn’t have so many bad days.

A tough, tough competitor.”

The Ferrari threat – even the neutered one offered in ’99 when Eddie Irvine took over lead driver duties in the wake of the British Grand Prix that left Schumacher with a broken leg and kept him out for six races – was fierce and relentless. Häkkinen edged that year’s title by just two points, with five wins to Irvine’s four – again after a last-round Suzuka shoot-out.

Rapture. Back-to-back titles. Mission accomplished for the high-flying Finn. But the emotional strain of the contest had been memorably laid bare at that year’s Italian Grand Prix, where McLaren arrived as favourites on Ferrari’s hallowed home turf, Monza. This particular battle, inside the lion’s den, was too tough. Häkkinen cracked.

Lap 30 brought the remarkable sight of Mika – a monosyllabic man-machine to his detractors – hunched behind the barriers, in tears, having spun his McLaren from the lead into retirement.

“That was so disappointing,” he reflects.

“First of all, I was not well before the race, so I was not 100 per cent physically. I didn’t speak about it, but I knew there was a risk, because Monza is a circuit where if you go off you don’t normally come back. Anyhow, our tactic for the race was to do a qualifying lap, every lap, so I was at top speed – I mean every time, every corner on the limit – and the moment when I spun off it was under braking from 350km/h to second gear.”

His undoing was a switch of gearbox ratios between qualifying and race. As he dropped to first for the chicane, he realised that “the ratios were so different that it locked the rear tyres.

I shouldn’t have gone to first, but then there was nothing I could have done. I slid sideways, I got stuck on the gravel and the game was over.”

The dam burst. “Monza was always very high pressure for us,” Mika continues. “Sometimes the fans pulled their trousers down in the grandstand showing their backside, which was quite funny. But other times they were spitting on the windows of the car coming to the race. I felt: ‘Hey, come on we’re just doing a sport here’. So I was so anxious to win and show these Italian fans that we don’t deserve people spitting on the windows. So when I went off I was disappointed with myself and of course the tears come out.

Tough guys aren’t supposed to cry or whatever, but in that moment I was physically so exhausted I couldn’t do anything else.”

It was a rare glimpse behind the façade and it revealed a warm and emotional human being, one whose studied cockpit cool was a racing hallmark – but whose full persona was far more rounded than he dared show to any but the most trusted of confidantes.

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There was intense rivalry between Häkkinen and Schumacher, but also respect for each other's abilities.

‘I knew every time I came to a grand prix 'The Michael' would be ready to attack. And he didn't have so many bad days.

A tough, tough competitor’

The 'Flying Finn's' F1 debut came with Lotus at the 1991 US GP. But he would have to wait until '97 for that first win with McLaren.

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Häkkinen rejoiced at the 'weight lifted from McLaren's shoulders' following his breakthrough F1 win at Jerez in 1997...

...But much more was to come with the first of two back-to-back championship wins in 1998 following eight race victories.

“When I was racing,” Mika says, “often I wasn’t confident enough with my English to really express what I wanted to say. And sometimes I thought ‘Oh my God, I don’t want to start explaining about why we are not winning’. Now, later on in my life, I feel very differently. I see that people are really interested and I can say what I want to say. And that motivates me to talk about the past – especially if we talk about winning!”

Naturally talk then turns to Mika’s most famous win of all – one that, in the eyes of some observers, produced what might just have been the single most fabulous moment of F1’s history – Spa 2000.

At that Belgian venue of legends, the two greatest drivers of their era – competitive intensity

matched only by respect for each other’s abilities – conjured a flash of grand prix magic that seared itself into the sport’s soul.

Lap 40 and Häkkinen is closing on Schumacher for the lead. The championship context: Häkkinen, 64 points; Schumacher, 62.

Each is chasing a rare prize. For Mika the prospect of a championship hat-trick; for Michael, the first Ferrari drivers’ title since Jody Scheckter’s in 1979. Both are double world champions at the peak of their powers. Polesitter Mika has half-spun on lap 13, but senses there’s an opportunity to close down, then pass Schumacher, six seconds up the road.

“What an amazing race that was,” says Häkkinen, cracking into his famous lop-sided grin. “I’ll never forget it. Conditions were very difficult – dry, wet, changing – but we got the set-up right and it was great. The moment when I tried to overtake him before the end of the race [lap 40] he was really blocking me very heavily.”

'BIG BALLS' MOMENT

Title number two was sealed in style at the Suzuka finale in '99, after Eddie Irvine's championship hopes floundered.

‘When I was racing, often I wasn't confident enough with my English to really express what I wanted to say’

The cars touched at nearly 200mph – Schumacher’s right-rear kissing Häkkinen’s left front-wing endplate (McLaren displayed the tyre-scuffed body part in a trophy cabinet thereafter).

“And I was shocked because it was not 80km/h. It was like 300 easily and at those type of speeds if you lose control it’s guaranteed you will hurt yourself and seriously.”

Thoughts of self-preservation were not at the forefront of Häkkinen’s mind on that day, however, because what followed a lap later required what he describes as “big balls”.

The moment, of course, was the pass at 200mph on the run up to Les Combes, into the wet-dry braking zone, with an unwitting Ricardo Zonta separating the duellists.

“Adrenaline is an important part of your performance when it comes to sport,” Häkkinen says, “but it has to be something that you can control to be able to make good decisions. And I was able to turn that moment on the previous lap to my advantage. And of course it gave me more courage to be able to say ‘OK, you want to play the game? Let’s play the game’.

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“Eau Rouge corner at that time was flat in sixth gear in qualifying but in a race configuration it was not flat because the tyres were a bit worn and the suspension was already tired. But in that moment I said to myself when I was chasing him: ‘OK, I’m going to have to do it flat, otherwise I’m never going to have enough speed to be able to overtake him’ and I went flat. And when I was going through Eau Rouge – I will never forget this – I couldn’t believe what a stress the whole machine was going through. I thought it was going to explode. I was holding the steering as hard as I could and keeping the correct line, because if I lost the line I would have flown off, I think into the centre of Spa! So I managed to get it right and as soon as I was on the straight following Michael I thought ‘That’s it.

Now I’m going to go for it,’ and at the same time I could see Zonta and I thought ‘OK, now I have a plan A and I have a plan B’.

“But when I actually did overtake I was very worried because the inside line was wet but the racing line was dry and that was the line where The Michael was and I thought if he’s going to push now, there’s no way I can brake as late as he can. I was hoping that he would be so surprised that he was going to brake early and

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he was going to give up. And he did. It gave me just an unbelievable feeling.”

It was the peak of one of Formula 1’s most enduring rivalries, but for Häkkinen, the Spa victory would mark his high watermark in grand prix racing. Schumacher went on to win the next four races and closed out the season in resounding style.

A final Häkkinen victory came at the 2001 British Grand Prix, but Mika was subdued all season and quit F1, drained, at the end of the year.

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‘When I was going through Eau Rouge I couldn't believe what a stress the whole machine was going through. I thought it was going to explode’

A rare display of emotion from Häkkinen followed his retirement at the 1999 Italian GP. Below: Putting Schumacher in his place at Spa in 2000.

– even agreeing terms with Williams and two years later testing a McLaren – before ultimately heeding advice from Jackie Stewart never to come back.

“And he was right, you know,” says Mika with emphatic zeal, “because really you can only lose. Formula 1 has given me so much and when I go to the F1 paddock now, I’m not thinking ‘oh my God why didn’t I win the world championship in 2000?’ I walk in there and say ‘thank you Formula 1’. What I experienced was unbelievable.”

Revolutionary.

Nissan LEAF

SIMPLY AMAZING

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EDOARDO NASTRI

Engineer, industrialist, autocrat and auteur, the late Ferdinand Piëch, who died earlier this year at the age of 82, was one of the last great leviathans of the automotive world

In an age when motor manufacture is conducted by vast conglomerates scattered across the globe and brand decisions are made by cohorts of management graduates, Ferdinand Piëch, who died in August at the age of 82, was perhaps the last of a breed of single-minded visionaries who controlled every aspect of a brand’s ethos, from drawing board to showroom and from race track to road.

Piëch spent his life in the motor industry, in various roles and in several different sectors from motor sport to finance. On top of that, it was down to him that some brands, Audi for example, went through a complete transformation and became the benchmark for excellence in this area. In 1999, he was nominated as Car Executive of the Century and was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2014.

Born in Austria in 1937 as the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, Piëch was immersed in the business from his earliest years. He graduated in mechanical engineering at the University of Zurich in ‘62, writing a thesis on the development of a Formula 1 engine. In fact, an eight-cylinder engine similar to the one he wrote about was making its debut in the Porsche 804 at around the same time. After graduating, Piëch worked for the family firm, Porsche. From 1963-71 he had various roles and worked on several projects.

He set up and led a specialist team that produced legendary cars like the Porsche 906 and 917.

The 917 would play a key role in Porsche’s history. In 1967, the CSI, then the independent sporting body of the FIA, wanted to increase the number of competitors taking part in races while making motor sport safer. It created a new international championship open to cars of which a minimum of 25 had to be produced. Piëch dreamed of winning Le Mans and began working night and day on the 917 project. In the first part of 1969, the CSI inspected cars in the factory and homologation was denied as only three were complete, with the remaining cars either on the production line or in parts.

Main: Ferdinand Piëch dedicated his life to the motor industry.

The Austrian (far left) oversaw development of Porsche’s legendary 917.

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UP FRONT Gallery News Opinion

DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

‘From the moment he joined, Piëch set about transforming Audi into one of the benchmark brands in the premium car category’

The Audi Quattro ruled in rallying with world titles claimed by Hannu Mikkola and Stig Blomqvist (above).

Then on April 20th, thanks to Piëch’s tenacity, the 25 completed cars were wheeled out into the factory courtyard. The 917 was developed in just 10 months as the first 12-cylinder car from the German constructor and featured hi-tech materials such as magnesium, titanium and exotic alloys as a result of the company’s experience in hillclimbs.

LANDMARK SUCCESSES Despite teething troubles in its early racing days, the Porsche 917 eventually metamorphosed into a dominant force in sports car racing. In 1970, in the hands of Germany’s Hans Hermann and Englishman Richard Attwood, it won the Le Mans 24 Hours and Piëch’s dream became a reality.

The feat was repeated the following year, this

time with Austria’s Helmut Marko and Dutch driver Gijs van Lennep at the wheel.

Later in 1970, Piëch left his role as technical director at Porsche to set up his own engineering firm developing engines, including a new fivecylinder design. The following year he moved to Audi, which since a 1964 buyout of Auto Union had been owned by Volkswagen. Based at the firm’s Ingolstadt HQ, Piëch was tasked with revitalising the model range. That led to the arrival of iconic models such as the Audi Quattro, 80 and 100.

From the moment he joined, Piëch set about transforming Audi into one of the benchmark brands in the premium car category, focusing on quality, technology and design. His manifesto for change began with the insistence that four-wheel drive was suitable for mass-market cars and not just off-road vehicles.

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

INSIDE THE FIA FAMILY Automobile Club d’Italia

AUTO GRAPH The world’s leading start-ups

FINAL LAP Remembering Anthoine Hubert

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Work on the idea started in 1977, when Piëch began elaborating on this technology alongside engineer Jorg Bensinger, his right-hand man at Audi. Prototype testing on the slippery roads of Finland proved that a four-wheel-drive system produced a clear improvement in terms of safety and ease of driving. Then, just as had happened with the Porsche 917, synchronicity played its part. In 1979, the FIA decided that four-wheeldrive cars would be eligible to compete in the World Rally Championship.

Piëch, now head of technical development at Audi, decided that rather than implement a four-wheel-drive system on an existing model, a clean-sheet design was required. And so the Quattro, the first mass-produced all-wheel-drive car, was born. It was a prime example of Piëch’s belief that motor sport provided the perfect rapid prototyping playground. Enlisting rally star Hannu Mikkola to help with the project, Piëch told the future champion: “I can get an answer from you in three months. If I put it in development, it takes a year!”

Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Quattro was launched at the 1980 Geneva Motor Show and made its debut on the world’s rally stages that same year. Within two years the car was sweeping all before it. Following the introduction of new Group B rules the Quattro, like the Porsche 917, became a dominant force, taking the Constructors’ WRC crown in 1982 and ’84.

Mikkola took the 1983 Drivers’ title, while Stig Blomqvist triumphed in ‘84.

Success at Audi led to Piëch being called up to revitalise Volkswagen, joining as Managing Director in 1993. The Austrian took on the task when the Wolfsburg company was on the verge of bankruptcy, shackled with financial problems and losing billions each year.

Piëch got rid of almost the entire board and introduced a whole new range of cars based on a modular construction technique, meaning the group was able to share up to 65 per cent of parts used and thus make huge savings.

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As Audi’s head of technical development, PiÍch (below left) was behind iconic cars such as the 100.

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UP FRONT Gallery News Opinion

DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

INSIDE THE FIA FAMILY Automobile Club d’Italia

AUTO GRAPH The world’s leading start-ups

FINAL LAP Remembering Anthoine Hubert

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‘I have relied on my instincts, anticipating what customers wanted and what technology was required to turn various models into a success’

The 917’s victory at Le Mans in 1970 (left) was a dream come true for die-hard race fan Piëch (below).

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With Piëch at the helm, VW acquired sporting marques such as Bugatti, manufacturer of the Veyron.

He also focused on his relationship with the workforce and in the toughest times of this restructuring process persuaded the unions to accept what became known as the ‘Volkswagen week’, saving 30,000 jobs by implementing a flexible four-day week and significantly reducing the wage bill.

LIFELONG PASSION In the mid-2000s Piëch embarked on perhaps his most ambitious plan yet – a buyout of Volkswagen. The result was years of commercial and legal wrangling, but in 2013 Porsche SE, a family holding company, became the controlling owner of VW, although in the end it is VW that owns the Porsche brand.

“His life was always filled with passion for automobiles and for those who built them,” said his wife Ursula Piëch at the time of his death.

The engineer’s drive certainly worked and he succeeded in turning the loss-making company into one that posted profits of over €2.6 billion.

On top of that, the Volkswagen group grew substantially through a series of acquisitions to the degree that it now vies with Toyota for the title of largest car producer in the world.

Leading a trusted management board, Piëch acquired mainstream brands such as Škoda and Seat, luxury brands like Bentley and extreme sports marques including Bugatti and Lamborghini, as well as famous motorcycle brand Ducati. It was Piëch who drove the mission to revive Volkswagen in North America,

launching the new Beetle in 1998, the brand’s most iconic model. The sales campaign was an outstanding success.

Despite the onerous responsibility of managing this vast industrial conglomerate, Piëch never lost his love of racing and was a familiar figure at many events where his group was represented. He would often talk about the enjoyment he derived from watching the internecine battle between Audi and Porsche in the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Apart from his enthusiasm for racing, Piëch was also renowned for his love of road cars which he viewed as engineering marvels. “I have always

But there was the odd blip too – Piëch’s obsession with the VW Phaeton failed to produce results.

seen myself as someone who was suited to looking after these products and I’ve always been fascinated by their engineering perfection,” he said. “As for the market, I have tended to rely on my instincts and many times I have managed to anticipate what the customers wanted and what technology was required to turn various models into a sales success.

Business and politics did not distract me from the focal point of our mission: to develop and produce intelligent and attractive cars.”

His mania for perfection and attention to detail did, however, lead him into some projects that proved disastrous. Among these was the Audi A2, the first city car with aluminium bodywork, whose design and technology proved too futuristic with the result that it cost too much to be a sales success.

Then there was the VW Phaeton, a veritable obsession for Piëch, who wanted the volume car maker to turn its hand to producing a premium luxury saloon car. The result was a consistent failure – in 2011, 11,166 units were produced, but that number had dropped by two-thirds three years later. A glass-sided futuristic plant was built in Dresden to produce the car, but it went out of production in 2016 after 14 years.

After several internal skirmishes and just before the dieselgate scandal, Piëch suddenly resigned from all his roles in April 2015, standing down as President, a post he had held since 2002. Contrary to his wishes, the Volkswagen management had voted to extend its contract with CEO Martin Winterkorn. In 2017, Piëch sold his personal shares in Porsche to his brother Hans Michel, thus ending his relationship with the German marque that he had helped turn into one of the most important in the world.

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FA M I LY

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Shaping Italy’s journey

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The dawn of the automobile age coincided with seismic changes in Italy’s development, and for more than a century the car has helped drive economic growth, industrial development, societal change and sporting prowess in the country. And throughout, the Automobile Club d’Italia has been inextricably linked with the process

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AUTO #28 Q3 / 2019

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UP FRONT Gallery News Opinion

With the exception perhaps of the United States, there are few countries whose course has been so profoundly influenced by the rise of the automobile as Italy. The dawn of the car took place in the immediate aftermath of the country’s unification, and the transformation of what until the second half of the 19th century had been a relatively agrarian and underdeveloped corner of Europe into an industrial powerhouse (specifically in the north of Italy) was in large part inspired by Italian passion for this new form of transport.

From the initial explosion of early independent manufacturers such as Aquila Italiana, Fratelli Ceirano and Diatto, to the formation of future giant Fiat in 1899 and the launch of famous names such as Alfa Romeo (born in the early 1900s as Società Anonima Italiana Darracq) and

DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

Lancia, the motor industry totally altered the economic landscape of the cities of Milan and Turin. A new engine for the growth of a young nation state was created.

Interwoven with the rise of motorisation and the demand for vehicles, road networks and accessibility was the Italian Automobile Club (Automobile Club d’Italia, ACI). Born out of the founding of the Turin Automobile Club in 1898, national club the

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

ACI President Angelo Sticchi Damiani values the club’s rich motoring and motor sport heritage while also looking to the future.

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

INSIDE THE FIA FAMILY Automobile Club d’Italia

Unione Automobilistica Italiana (UAI or Italian Motorists Association) followed in February 1904 and finally the organisation known as the Automobile Club d’Italia was established on 23rd January, 1905.

In the 115 years that have followed since, the ACI’s growth and success has resolutely tracked the exponential growth of motorisation in Italy, expanding to meet seismic cultural and societal shifts.

Along the way the ACI has always significantly contributed to developing mobility, increasing road safety, fostering tourism, motoring sport and all those services needed by people who travel for work, leisure or holiday.

“Today, with almost one million members, the ACI is the largest association in Italy and continues to play an active role in the history and future of motor sport and mobility, thanks to its culture,

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In September, the ACI marked the 90th edition of the Italian GP with a gathering of drivers and Ferrari race cars in Milan.

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experience, professionalism and technology,” says ACI President Angelo Sticchi Damiani.

Aware of the importance of the past and of one of the richest motoring heritages, President Sticchi Damiani is particularly proud to have created ACI Storico, ‘a club within the club’ to conserve the cultural and historical value of cars.

“The culture and history of the car is part of our DNA, and ACI Storico was founded to guarantee to all enthusiasts a partner with no economic interest and one that is able to enhance and protect the passion for real vintage cars,” he explains.

“We want to prevent the great number of old, unsafe and highly polluting cars from travelling every day and try to get owners to obtain a classic car certification to pay less taxes and benefit from reduced insurance costs.”

to be achieved by means of incentives to purchase new cars and scrapping the less safe, more polluting older ones.”

But renewing the car fleet is just one factor in achieving safe, environmentally-friendly and affordable mobility – of this the President is certain.

If the definition of sustainability needs to include safety, an action plan on this aspect must go hand in hand with a focus on vehicle safety (particularly given the adoption of new technologies), driver behaviour and mobility planning.

GUIDING LIGHT With regards to mobility planning, for example, the ACI President is in no doubt that a more efficient reorganisation of the roads would improve safety and living conditions in cities.

“In order to guarantee good life conditions in urban areas, we believe it is essential to reorganise urban roads in two levels: a road network for motor vehicles and a separate network for vulnerable users, allowing at the same time appropriate and protected spaces for such new transport tools as scooters and e-bikes.”

In a bid to create sustainable mobility opportunities for all – and within the context of the current transport debate – automobile clubs like the ACI have been playing an increasingly key role in influencing national policy and decision-making.

For more than 50 years, the ACI, together with ISTAT (Italian Institute of Statistics), has published an annual report on road crash statistics, which represents a primary source of information for all national and local research.

“Road authorities and managers

‘The culture and history of the car is part of our DNA’

Advancing sustainable mobility is a main focus of the Club’s agenda, demonstrated by its support of the FIA Smart Cities initiative on two separate occasions in recent years.

The initiative, which has at its heart the promotion of safe, sustainable and accessible mobility for all road users, was most recently held in Rome in early 2019, prior to the Formula E race taking place same weekend. In a country with the oldest car fleet operating in Europe – of the 51.6 million vehicles circulating the countries roads, 39 million exceed the average age of 11 years - supporting such initiatives gives the club an important platform to promote safer, cleaner and greener mobility.

“Four cars out of 10 travelling on our roads are pre-Euro4 vehicles and that has a significant impact on road safety and the environment,” says Sticchi Damiani. “A single Euro1 motor vehicle pollutes as much as 28 Euro6 cars and in case of an accident the risk of death is four times higher. The ACI strongly advocates for vehicle fleet renewal,

The ACI has strived to improve road safety, with school children involved in a campaign to respect road users.

Formed in 1905, the ACI’s growth has tracked Italy’s industrial expansion due to the rise of motorisation.

can look at the data to examine safety standards of the road infrastructure and find out more effectively critical spots that need intervention,” says Sticchi Damiani.

“Local authorities can also use the report to better define their policies on the relevant road network, while research institutes and universities can use the report for their research activities and often turn to us to get more in-depth data.”

In a country such as Italy where driver distraction causes 80 per cent of all road accidents, road safety advocacy is unsurprisingly of paramount importance.

“The main cause of distraction lies in using cell phones to talk or text while driving,” says the club

AUTO #28 Q3 / 2019

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UP FRONT Gallery News Opinion

President. “According to ACI studies, this is responsible for three in every four accidents. In order to tackle this emergency, in 2016 we launched an awareness campaign, whose hashtags #GuardaLaStrada (look out for the road) and #mollastotelefono (drop your phone) are simple and direct. Its success was enormous, exceeding all expectations, and in just one year we had 17 million contacts and six million viewers.

But more importantly, we promoted a co-ordinated action at national and international level that reached its climax with the FIA #parkyourphone campaign.”

Road safety campaigns are at the heart of the ACI’s work, adds the President.

Since 2017 – and with the support of the FIA Road Safety Grant Programme – the club has been focusing on the message of the FIA’s #3500LIVES global road safety campaign ‘Check your Vision’, to highlight the essential role of vision in road safety, particularly when faced with glare and in poorly-lit conditions.

More recently, at the time of the Italian Grand Prix, the ACI supported the campaign’s new message ‘Watch out for kids’ – promoted by international football star Didier Drogba – and spread the safety message (#lastradaèpertutti ‘roads are for all’) through a number of posters displayed at the Malpensa international airport, in cooperation with the FIA and the automobile clubs of Milan and Varese.

If the club is firmly rooted in the history and development of mobility in Italy, the same can be said of its relationship with its sporting heritage, as the ACI has one of the world’s richest racing traditions.

“We have 10 FIA-homologated circuits, 67 karting circuits including 12 CIK homologated ones, and an average of more than 900 events each year in the national calendar,” says Sticchi Damiani. “Then there are 37,000 licence holders and more than 20,000 drivers, over 900 races per year, 97 circuits, 9,500 officers and volunteers.

“Over the past five years, the number of members has increased by 19 per cent. We were the first to take up the FIA’s challenge of organising a Formula 4 championship, which today represents a global reference point for this market segment. The same

DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

INSIDE THE FIA FAMILY Automobile Club d’Italia

AUTO GRAPH The world’s leading start-ups

FINAL LAP Remembering Anthoine Hubert

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goes for Formula Regional.”

The Italian passion for motor sport is rooted in the traditional disciplines of circuit racing and rallying, but the ACI President says the club is always seeking to innovate and in recent times has actively pursued the development of low-cost motor sport categories in a bid to counter

‘I can hardly imagine a future without a Formula One Italian Grand Prix’

ACI President Angelo Sticchi Damiani with Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey (left) and FIA President Jean Todt and Giuseppe Redaelli, President, Autodromo di Monza (right), at the ‘90 Years of Emotion’ event.

the effects of economic downturn and also to legitimise events that would otherwise not fall under the ASN’s aegis.

“Rallying, circuit racing and karting are still the most popular disciplines in Italy, together with historic racing,” he explains. “Along with our dedication to providing value in the Italian championships, for the benefit of our stakeholders, drivers, manufacturers, organisers and spectators, we are also deeply involved in growing low-cost motor sport activities – mostly slalom and off-road events – in order to bring unauthorised events under the ASN umbrella. That activity is performed in close cooperation with the Ministry of Transport, the Italian CONI and local authorities.

FOCUS ON YOUTH “The ACI strongly believes in the importance of education and teaching road and sporting driving to the youngest. We are therefore actively involved in training – both teachers and students – on road

safety in schools.

“This commitment also entails hundreds of safe driving courses held every year all over the country and in the Safe Driving Centres based at the circuits of Vallelunga (Rome) and Lainate (Milan). Support and guidance for young people is one of our major activities because there is no future if we do not invest in young people.“ To encourage and train young talented drivers, the club is focusing

on three projects: Karting in Piazza, for children aged eight to 16, with the kart simulating some situations in ordinary road traffic; Rally Italia Talent, a real talent show where children of all ages register with a daily license, performing selective tests alongside a professional driver; and ACI Team Italia, the flagship programme that brings together the best pilots from all disciplines and accompanies them on a path of growth. All three projects contribute

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culture of education and road safety.

However, costs must be reduced and categories simplified.”

From grassroots events and karting up to the pinnacle of motor sport, Formula One, the ACI’s President sees a clear path for young talented drivers who want to climb the racing ladder. He also views major international events such as the Italian Grand Prix as being essential in giving junior drivers something to aspire to.

“To have in our country the most important motor sport events (F1, rallying and karting etc) is important for us in terms of communication and visibility,” says Sticchi Damiani.

“It allows us to increase the interest of sponsors, the media and companies, creating synergies to grow our motor sport movement.

“In September we announced the renewal of Monza’s contract in Piazza Duomo, in Milan, in front of thousands of people, and it was a great moment for us as a sporting federation. The organisation of a grand prix is a challenge, but I can hardly imagine a future without a Formula One Italian Grand Prix.”

to promoting motor sport through the media, social media and the general public.

Another key element of the ACI’s dedication to the next generation of racers is the national FIA Formula 4 Championship, launched in 2014.

“Our F4 Championship now has 14 teams and 37 drivers,” says Sticchi Damiani. “It should be remembered that the F4 championships were created to provide a fully-regulated series

The ACI recently helped negotiate an extension to Monza’s contract to host the Italian GP in a country where motor sport is a passion.

at a capped cost, and this is important in attracting young drivers and allowing the ASN to properly set their championships.

“We can continue the growth of F4 by working harder on the synergy with Formula Regional, on sponsorship, new partners, more collaboration with F2 and F1 teams and their academies.”

The F4 championship in Italy is somewhat fortunate in having a rich feed of talent from the country’s

vibrant karting scene. The country has long been a hotbed of karting activity, though Sticchi Damiani feels costs need to be controlled.

“Historically karting is the most important grassroots activity for us.

It allows us to approach young talented drivers all over Italy, and to attract talent from abroad. Our focus is on implementing the promotional activities for the development of karting as a sport, but also as a means of spreading the

GLOBAL PLAYER Looking to the future, Sticchi Damiani says the club will continue to maximise efforts to consolidate its international leadership position.

“The ACI has always played a central role in the development of mobility and motor sport,” he says. ”And within motor sport, we will work to have increasingly competitive and high-quality championships in all categories.”

For Sticchi Damiani, international events such as the new FIA Motorsport Games, held in Vallelunga in November, are also essential in reinforcing the club’s position as a global point of reference within the FIA family.

“For the ACI, it was an honour to host the first edition of the FIA Motorsport Games. It was another important event for Italy and Rome, especiallty with opening ceremony being held near the Colosseum following a parade in the centre of Rome.

“To be an important ASN for the FIA is a great responsibility but also a great honour for us. It pushes our organisation to work hard, to organise events and cooperate with the FIA at an international level.”

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UP FRONT Gallery News Opinion

DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

08

OVERALL STATS

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

INSIDE THE FIA FAMILY Automobile Club d’Italia

AUTO GRAPH The world’s leading start-ups

FINAL LAP Remembering Anthoine Hubert

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STARS OF THE START-UP WORLD

WORLD’S TOP 20 AUTOMOTIVE START-UPS

> Three of the top 20 start-ups are based in China, with Shanghai being the leading city.

1

2

3

Chehaoduo

Fair

WM Motor

guazi.com

fair.com

wm-motor.com

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

7

8

9

Lixiang

Souche

BYTON

lixiang.com

souche.com

byton.com

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

Online car trading platform which directly links individual car sellers and buyers.

Founded in 2015, based in Beijing, China.

> The top 20 start-ups all come from China, America or Taiwan.

$3.4 billion

> Eight of the top 20 start-ups specialise in electric and/or smart vehicles. > Sixteen of the top 20 start-ups were formed in the last five years.

Formerly known as Chehejia, a car company that specialises in developing electric vehicles.

Founded in 2015, based in Beijing, China.

> The average total funding amount of the top 20 start-ups is $1.036 billion

$1.2 billion

Car leasing company that offers a subscription scheme, enabling drivers to access a fleet of cars.

Founded in 2016,based in Santa Monica, California.

$1.6 billion

Specialises in providing new and second-hand car trading services for customers.

Founded in 2012, based in Hangzhou, China.

$1.2 billion

Energy vehicle product and travel solution provider. Also operates automobile tech development. Founded in 2015, based in Shanghai, China.

$1.6 billion

Operates as an EV company that designs cars, marketed as fully connected smart devices on wheels. Founded in 2016, based in Nanjing, China.

$1.2 billion

13

14

15

16

17

Hozon

Tuhu

Pateo

Root Insurance

Proterra

Automobile after-sales products and services provider. Has 13,000 cooperative stores.

Founded in 2011, based in Shanghai, China.

Uses artificial intelligence to provide automobile solutions.

Chinese Telematics industry pioneer. Founded in 2009, based in Shanghai, China.

Insurance carrier that uses an app to rate drivers based on how they perform at the wheel.

Founded in 2015, based in Columbus, Ohio.

hozonauto.com

tuhu.cn

pateo.com.cn

joinroot.com

proterra.com/

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

Hozon Auto manufactures cost-effective, intelligent all-electric vehicles.

Founded in 2014, based in Shanghai, China.

$608 million

$574 million

$540 million

$527 million

A leader in the design and manufacture of zero-emission, battery-electric buses.

Founded in 2004, based in Burlingame, California.

$481 million

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Automotive start-ups are among the most heavilybacked companies in the world with billions of dollars invested through individuals and other firms. But which ones are leading the way and where are they based? AUTO investigates...

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TOP FIVE AUTOMOTIVE START-UPS IN EUROPE

(SEPT 2018 – AUG 2019)

1

1

Frontier Car Group

Onward Rides

frontiercargroup.com

onwardrides.com

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

2

2

Operates used automotive marketplaces. Founded in 2016, based in Berlin.

$170 million Youxia Motor

Xiaopeng Motors

The world’s most widely used real-time 3D development platform for car manufacturers.

Founded in 2004, based in San Francisco, California.

youxiamotors.com

xiaopeng.com

unity3d.com

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

$1.3 billion

10 LeSee

$1.3 billion

11 AIWAYS

$1.3 billion

12 Aurora

The first concept car from LeEco, designed to showcase the future of mobility. Founded as a sub-organisation of LeEco, based in Beijing, China.

Manufacturer of smart electric cars, covering travel services, automobile retail and energy operation. Founded in 2017, based in Shanghai, China.

leeco.com

ai-ways.com

aurora.tech

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

$1.1 billion

$735 million

Safe transport for those who need assistance. Founded in 2018, based in California.

$1.5 million

Unity Technologies

Electric vehicle and technology company that designs and manufactures smart cars.

Founded in 2014, based in Guangzhou, China.

Designs and manufactures electric vehicles. One of the earliest companies to do so in China. Founded in 2014, based in Minhang.

TOP FIVE AUTOMOTIVE START-UPS OVER LAST 12 MONTHS

Promotes self-driving technology and the benefits of using this technology.

Founded in 2017, based in Palo Alto, California.

$690 million

18

19

20

Gogoro

Nikola Motor Company

Zhidou

Wejo

autopro

Unlocks the value in car data. Founded in 2013, based in Chester, UK.

Creating a new car buying experience. Founded in 2018, based in Washington, US.

wejo.com

itsautopro.com

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

3

3

Prima.it

CarDog inc.

prima.it

parkapp.ru

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

4

4

WayRay

Just Auto Insurance

wayray.com

just.insure

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

5

5

Lilium

CarSong

$118 million

A direct car insurance company. Founded in 2013, based in Milan, Italy.

$110 million

Develops holographic AR technologies. Founded in 2012, based in Zurich.

$108 million

$1 million

New car-based, hands-free payment system. Founded in 2018, based in New York.

$600,000

Uses driving standards to set insurance deals. Founded in 2019, based in Los Angeles.

$450,000

Builds heavy-duty transport trucks that use hybrid hydrogen-electric powertrains.

Founded in 2015, based in Phoenix, Arizona.

Offers EVs targeted at people who opt for ‘micro-travelling’ when they holiday (short, expertly planned trips). Founded in 2015, based in Ninghai, China.

gogoro.com

nikolamotor.com

en.evcar.com

lilium.com

carsoug.com

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

Total Funding Amount:

Delivers consumer innovations to improve how the world’s most popular cities distribute and utilise energy. Founded in 2011, based in Taipei, Taiwan.

$480 million

$461 million

$424 million

On-demand air mobility service. Founded in 2015, based in Webling, Germany.

$101 million

Online marketplace for used cars. Founded in 2018, based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

$300,000

All Stats: Crunchbase

AUTO #28 Q3 / 2019

09

UP FRONT Gallery News Opinion

DRIVING FORCES Oliver Solberg

TECH REPORT New FIA standards for racewear

COVER STORY Mobility as a Service: the rise of a new travel system; city centre solutions; how auto clubs are adapting; and car makers moving to MaaS

Anthoine Hubert

AUTO FOCUS JLR CEO on future innovation; Formula E’s new big guns; WHO’s road safety goals; #3500LIVES – Didier Drogba; Making car batteries ‘greener’; Child road safety in Botswana

REAR VIEW Mika Häkkinen Ferdinand Piëch

AUTO GRAPH The world’s leading start-ups

FINAL LAP Remembering Anthoine Hubert

09

1996-2019

Remembering the GP3 Series champion whose life was tragically cut short in a Formula 2 crash at Spa this summer

INSIDE THE FIA FAMILY Automobile Club d’Italia

The world of motor sport was deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic loss of French rising star of racing Anthoine Hubert, following a crash during the FIA Formula 2 feature race at Spa-Francorchamps at the end of August.

Born in Lyon on September 22 1996, Anthoine developed a passion for motor sport early in life, encouraged by his amateur rally driving father François. Anthoine began karting at the age of 10 and was soon competing in the top levels of the category, often against rivals such as Max Verstappen, Pierre Gasly and Charles Leclerc.

He made the move to singleseaters in 2013 and was an

immediate success, taking a remarkable 11 wins from 21 races to claim that year’s French Formula 4 Championship title.

After two seasons in Formula Renault, Hubert took on the FIA European Formula 3 Championship, scoring a single win in a season dominated by Lance Stroll.

Hubert then joined the Formula 1 schedule as part of the ART Grand Prix team for his maiden season in GP3. The young Frenchman put in an impressive showing, claiming four podium finishes and ending the season in fourth overall.

The performance brought him to the attention of F1 teams and in May the following year – midway through

what would be a title-winning second GP3 campaign that netted two wins, 11 podiums and points in all but four races – he was signed by the Renault Sport Academy.

For 2019, he moved to the FIA Formula 2 Championship, the final step on the FIA’s ladder towards the pinnacle of motor sport that is F1.

Joining BWT Arden he scored wins in Monaco and, emotionally, on home soil at the Paul Ricard circuit in the South of France.

Going into the weekend at Spa, the ninth of this season’s 12 rounds, Hubert lay eight in the overall standings and following a tricky mid-season period was targeting a positive end to his first year in the category.

It wasn’t to be, however. On lap two of the feature race, Hubert was involved in a high-speed collision with Ecuadorian-American racer Juan Manuel Correa. Both drivers were seriously hurt in the incident but following transfer to the circuit’s medical centre, Anthoine succumbed to his injuries.

Paying tribute to the 22-year-old racer, FIA President Jean Todt said: “Heartbreaking sadness for the tragic passing of Anthoine Hubert during the FIA Formula 2 Championship race in Spa. From the FIA my deepest condolences to his family and the Arden team. All our thoughts for the best recovery are with Juan Manuel Correa.”

Hubert’s loss was deeply felt across a motor sport community all too aware of the inherent dangers still present in what has become a remarkably safer sport.

As well as tributes from fellow racers and friends from Formula 1 to former karting colleagues, Hubert was honoured with silent tributes ahead of a range of motor sport events around the world, from F1 to IndyCar. Eulogising the young racer, a Renault Academy statement described Hubert as a “huge talent” whose “smile and sunny personality lit up our formidable group of young drivers”. The Frenchman was on course to further light up the world of motor sport in years to come, but sadly his star shone all too briefly.

He will be missed.

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