Purpose-built vehicles: an evaluation of the existing knowledge and an analysis of the market potential

New mobility services such as ride-pooling depend on new vehicle concepts in order to make their service available to as many potential customers as possible and to be economically profitable at the same time. One possible approach would be purpose-built vehicles. With their purpose-built designs, significant cost reductions would be possible, but most importantly, the requirements and needs of service operators and users could be met. When a new type of vehicle is designed, many questions arise initially, including what existing knowledge can be built upon and how the market potential of the new development can be assessed. This is where the study starts and tries to provide answers. A survey is designed to record the existing expert knowledge based on comprehensive literature research. After all, there are not yet many publications on the topic, and much information tends to be disseminated internally. In the course of a current market review and determination of demand, the sales potential of such a vehicle class is explained. For this purpose, current fleet data, mileage, and expert opinions are obtained. Finally, the paper shows the current status quo of purpose-built vehicles and points out the next necessary development steps.