E-Mobility Generates New Services and Business Models, Increasing Sustainability

High-tech cars are driving the automotive industry success. Technical features, emotions and branding are important elements of the automotive success story and value chain. The present customer is still interested in cars delivering speed, power, status symbols, individual comfort, daily convenience or a better personal image. All well-known brands like Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, General Motors, Toyota and all others are working hard to improve their fleet‘s sustainability. E-mobility is a welcome technology improving manufacturer‘s sustainability. Investment banks, consulting companies and research institutes predicted market penetration rates from 2% to 25% until 2020. E-mobility might be driven and commercialized by regulations and governmental sponsoring, but in the moment the customer‘s ease of use is low compared to traditional cars. Does a green e-car deliver real customer value? Is the automotive value chain transferable? Who is the real target group? Little information is available on customer experiences, specific needs and personal use. How to reach the market penetration of 25%? Thinking about the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) of E-mobility will help to solve the issue. Large cities are concerned about the future of traffic and its impact on the people. The highways are crowed and driving a car is expensive. Many young people cannot afford driver permission, an own car or a downtown garage. There is no real infrastructure for e-vehicles. Automotive retailers are selling and distributing cars, a customer-oriented service is very often missing. There is a strong brand loyalty and a low automotive retailer loyalty. The automotive industry should face the situation and not wait for customers or retailers pushing the market. After identifying target groups and their needs, new business models will appear like car sharing solutions, mobility shops, e-mobility provider services or e-infrastructure services. The service-oriented e-value chain will generate the new services and increase sustainability, customer comfort and customer binding at the same time.