Car designers shift focus to mobility over vehicles, say experts

Car manufacturers will shift their focus from being carmakers to become ‘mobility providers’, automotive industry experts predict.

This move is in response to an oversupply in Western car markets, as well as a new generation of city-dwelling consumers interested in more flexible transport.

Peugeot recently rolled out an on-demand hire scheme, where customers can hire vehicles including pedal bikes, scooters and cars. The system is being trialled in Chiswick and Bristol before a planned national roll-out next year.

Peugeot’s UK managing director Jon Goodman says of the scheme, ‘We have to face up to the fact that people’s requirements are changing. This is the future of mobility and as exciting as any car launch we’ve ever done.’

Walter de Silva, head of VW Group design, says, ‘In ten years we won’t talk about cars, we’ll talk about mobility – micro-mobility, personal mobility, global mobility. I’m sure.’

Read about mobility design in full in automotive journalist Guy Bird’s insight piece in the next issue of Design Week, out tomorrow.

Start the discussionStart the discussion
  • Post a comment

Latest articles