DIGITAL disruption is revolutionising the global mobility market with mobility an investment priority for automotive OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) joining the race.
They are investing heavily in shared mobility and launching their own carsharing, ridesharing and eHailing sub-brands to create more revenue streams, says Frost & Sullivan in its latest analysis.
In its report Global Mobility Market – Strategic Profiles of Key Participants, 2016, Frost & Sullivan finds that the revenue generated from the global carsharing, ridesharing (EU and NA) and eHailing segments will grow at compound annual growth rates of 19.5 per cent, 24.5 per cent, and 10.9 per cent, respectively, between 2016 and 2025.
Key players profiled in the study are Car2go, Zipcar, DriveNow, Enjoy, in carsharing; Heetch, BlaBlaCar, Flinc, Faxi, Kangaride, Zimride and Via in ridesharing; Uber, Grab, Careem, Easytaxi and Gett in ride hailing.
Mobility research analyst Albert Geraldine Priya says: “Urbanisation, congestion and pollution are changing customer mind-sets about vehicle ownership and fuelling new mobility solutions to lessen negative environmental impact.
“The convenience, flexibility and security of mobility services, and the advent of autonomous cars/taxis, will significantly reduce car ownership and increase adoption of new mobility services.”
As competition increases, the market will experience consolidation. Partnerships with OEMs will be inevitable as they look at taxi hailing fleets as a route to commercialise self-driving technologies.
New business models will emerge, such as those targeting specific ridesharing customer segments or that combine the benefits of ridesharing and taxi hailing.
Key demand and growth opportunities in the market will include:
- Ridesharing to become a multi-billion-dollar industry by 2025
- Carsharing market opportunities in developing regions; current carsharing/ridesharing activity is concentrated in North America and Europe. For instance, Car2go launched in China recently and GM has invested in a car rental technology company in China.
- Significant room for innovation for shared mobility app developers and white label software providers
- Boom in automaker investments in ride hailing and autonomous technology
Priya observed: “The mobility market is not without challenges; local carsharing players that operate on a small scale will likely be acquired by bigger players, unclear regulations for the ridehailing market restrain ridesharing operators, and ambiguity caused by interchangeable use of the terms ridesharing and ridehailing create problems for ridesharing (carpooling) companies that do not work for a profit.
“Nevertheless, government support in terms of clearer regulations, subsidies, and infrastructure support, including parking spaces, high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, and discounted parking, will eventually ease these issues and foster mobility market growth.”