“It’s always been the outlaws that drive the change.” –Hugo Spowers, Riversimple

This morning was my favorite portion of the EV conference.  Sharing the stage first set was Jay Rogers from Local Motors, Dr. Shimizu of SIMdrive and Hugo Spowers from Riversimple and 40fires.  Each speaker told a unique story and sometimes disagreed with the others (bring it on!), which made for great chemistry and an inspiring morning. 

There’s too much to share for one blogpost, so please stay tuned for more.  Meanwhile what can I say tonight?   Here’s a quick recap on the first set:

SIMdrive’s been massaging the EV question for awhile now and have already produced 10 prototypes!  The latest beats Porsche in acceleration tests, so delete your misconceptions about EVs and speed.  Dr. Shimizu explained that we must produce EVs that also are comfortable and have spacious interiors to incite purchasing.  You would think SIMdrive’s secret sauce is in their ingenious technology platform, but nope, not it.  Their secret sauce is the business model; but I’ll have to leave you in suspense for now. 

Next up was Riversimple.  Hugo Spower’s explained their philosophy: “If you sell a car, you make more money by selling more cards.  It maximizes resource usage, and this isn’t sustainable.”  Therefore Riversimple’s business model is to see mobility as a service in cities with populations under 300 thousand.  Starting 2012 with Ludlow and two others, they’ll begin creating service infrastructures that in a few years will make for a full skeleton of spots that can then support intercity cars.

Local Motors’ approach is to create local jobs, local micro-factories and local cars.  They run specified contests to co-create designs particular to regional terrain, weather conditions and usage requirements.  This eliminates the need/challenge/cost to build ‘world cars’ that are safe everywhere.  And related to safety, Local Motors and Habitat for Humanity have something in common, but it’s not what you think it is.  More on that soon. 

Are they outlaws?  No Jesse James here.  These are people who’ve had enough of the old way and are determined to be a part of the solution. 

Anne Asensio commented that this event represents “the first community about the community.”  And Jay Rogers predicted, “Today’s discussion will be remembered for a very long time.” 

I look forward to sharing with you more about this event after ECF.  BTW, I’m at Disneyland Paris now and will clock in tomorrow with a fresh report. 3D Perspectives and Twitter #ecf2010 are the places to watch.

Best,

Kate

I’ll bet that when Karl Benz first imagined his Motorwagen, he was thinking only about getting from point A to B.  Yet because of its novelty and price, the automobile quickly became a status symbol, allowing misters to outrank cavaliers.

When Ford started mass producing cars, you couldn’t really call the automobile ‘your own’ as there was one model in one color.  Would you like black, or black?

Later people were able to extend their identities onto cars a little more by choosing from a collection of models, colors and options.  In this way the automobile went from being a simple transportation means and status symbol to becoming an outward expression of your personality.  Don’t we all categorize the types of people who drive speedy red cars and big trucks? 

And now . . . and now I’m going to throw an idea at you that you may not agree with, but that I think is worth some chew time.  Your car is not a car.

Jonathan Dutton and Anne Asensio explain this concept best in the below video (taken at the 2010 Paris Motor Show).  They talk about the car becoming the “digital extension of your life”, the “sport for the purpose of your trip,” and a “physical platform.”

If your car is a physical mobility platform, then you can add all kinds of services and plugins to make it uniquely yours, which as Anne says will be the “21st century pleasure of automobile.”

Do you agree?  Will you start to view your car as your device, a big iPhone on wheels . . .?

Best,

Kate

Whilst walking around the Paris Auto Show, Kate and I just happened to bump into Anne Asensio who leads the DS Design Studio…actually we went looking for her as we knew she’d have some great insights into this year’s show and the future trends in mobility.

I asked Anne a few questions about the role of industrial designers in sustainable mobility, the evolution of the car thanks to its electrification and finally how is it all going to change the way that designers, engineers and suppliers will work, and even the way the car is sold.

I love listening to Anne. She understands the Auto industry so well thanks to her previous job at GM and has a great positive vision for the future of mobility, i.e. cars!

What’s key it that the car will be re-invented, but that’s not all, I believe (and I’m far from alone) that the whole industry’s business model will radically change – let’s face it, it has to if it wants to be sustainable and keep people truly mobile (instead of an average of 10km/h in cities).

Before the Auto Show I spent two days with Riversimple and SIM Drive, one with HEV & MaaS (hydrogen electric vehicle and Mobility as a Service), and the other with a BEV (battery electric vehicle) platform for retro-fitting. The platform was interesting as for me it conjured up the days when coach builders made some of the most beautiful cars in the world without being constrained by the monocoque, maybe we’ll see this soon?

The companies had many similarities especially on how to develop their technologies by harnessing the world’s talent. They believe that developing the car on a virtual platform on-line is the only way for customers to have to product they want that is right for the environment.

I also couldn’t resist checking out the fabulous Tesla Roadster, how much do I want one….?!!! And by the way they’re our customer and will be presenting at the Dassault Systèmes Customer Conference in Florida this November.  Check out their video:

So do you agree that these are radical times for the mobility market?

Sustainably yours,
Jonathan