M:bility | Magazine - Q4 2019
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Right now noone knows how the future will pan out and which mobility service will come out on top, so companies are acting with caution. Everyone is putting lots of eggs in different baskets
their populations, automakers need to be prepared with a reliable new revenue stream. They must also be prepared to radically reimagine their entire business structures. “Many are questioning how to run what they call a two-speed organisation,” continued Ackermann. “The old vehicle sales business model was very stable, often selling not to a customer directly but through a retail outlet.” Now, however,
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automakers branching out to explore MaaS projects must learn how to interact with customers at a very high frequency. As a result, Ackermann explained, traditional automotive industry players are tending to run their fledgling MaaS offerings almost as a separate entity. “Volkswagen has done so with MOIA, General Motors created Maven, and Toyota and Daimler are doing the same,” he said.
Many believe that customers will end up spending far less on mobility in the future, despite being more mobile
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“They set up these services outside of their established operations so they can have the flexibility and freedom to run differently. They need to find new ways to meet customer demands.” This, Ackermann believes, is the most effective way forward as companies across the industry attempt to navigate this as-yet uncertain new mobility landscape. “The challenges and marketplace are very different,” he added. “BMW and Toyota, for instance, are well established industry-wise from a business perspective and are not moving as fast as the mobility sector. There have been so many new entrants to the market and so much has changed already.”
The Wild West In the long run, automakers would be wise to consider a more integrated approach, which is no easy task. “It is tough to connect an outside entity with the core business,” explained Ackermann. “Right now noone knows how the future will pan out and which mobility service will come out on top, so companies are acting with caution. Everyone is putting lots of eggs in different baskets.” In
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