Going Off Road: Are We Leaving Cars Behind?
In 2018, two different scooter-share start-ups received billion dollar valuations. In 2019, global automotive sales remain in a state of flux. In China, currently the world’s largest automotive market, cities like Guangzhou and regions like Shandong are embracing bikesharing and testing autonomous highway vehicles while major domestic brands are describing the ridesharing model as potentially ‘unsustainable’.
With the launch of air-taxis further transforming the landscape, it’s becoming rapidly apparent that the era of owned cars as a default mode of transportation may be drawing to an end.Typically, evolutions in transport have been framed in terms of transformations of standard automotive models – electric or autonomous cars, for example, or ride-sharing. But, a combination of factors (climate, generational shifts) may create a different future.
For today’s brands and communicators, the key takeaway is to be mindful of how strategies could be transformed by such changes in infrastructure. A quarter of all podcast listening, by way of example, occurs either in the car or on public transport. Roughly 85% of British motorists surveyed listen to radio. If transport shifts to a different model, media consumption is likely to be similarly impacted – including the evolution of new transport communities and specialist groups.
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