Groupe Chronos

In her latest blog, Robin Chase called out the three major American automobile companies - If I were CEO of a Big-Three Car Company. This text is also cited in 25 Ways to Jump-start the Auto Industry, where relevant and original suggestions are made about how to get the auto industry out of the worst crisis it's ever known.

Thank you Robin for this wonderful exercise. Your three points are right on target. They are part of what the French Socialist Party charmingly called the "necessary mental thawing" at this time of the explosion of the crisis. The auto industry must get out of the rut of the past, return to ground zero, and start again with a sound basis. An increased cost of oil has significantly increased the advantages. Not only to encourage car makers to produce fuel-efficient engines, but to bring them towards thinking of mobility alternatives to the expensive individual automobile. I dare not speak to the second point, as Robin's authority on car sharing is carved in stone. However, I admire the dexterity Robin demonstrated by introducing, in passing, potential new avenues for the industry. Her blog was simply the declaration of the 'Era of Service' for the automobile as well as a reflection on what could be in the domain of 'Automotive Service' within the global mobility system. The third point is also in this slipstream. Robin insists on a crucial issue, that the car manufacturers have retreated and are on the defensive. They think that the solutions to get them out of this crisis is embedded information and navigation systems which are solely the property of their clients. This way of thinking most difficult obstacle to overcome for vehicle manufacturers. They believe that this openness will make them vulnerable, while on the contrary, compartmentalization is their Achilles heel.

That makes sense! Today in the United States, the automobile accounts for 94% of the household transportation budget (i.e. 6% for buses, trains, subways, bicycles, taxis, airplanes - NYT The Costs of Owning a Car). How do drivers/ car owners not to feel dominant and decisive under these circumstances? This is obviously not just a question of WiFi access in the car or a cell phone in the pocket of the motorist. This shows, once again, the full capacity of the automobile to integrate into a larger mobility system. Regardless of the quantity of trips made by car, if the automobile is not part of a greater system, and if manufacturers do not come around quickly, they are doomed to be marginalized.

Other actors are, by contrast, currently working on the integration of the car into their own system. This is true for the SNCF, which for example, thinks about the full-range of services the car could provide and then acts; whether through it investments in the leading French carpool (Greencove), its involvement in Autolib', or its position on taxis. But, this is true with many of the world leaders in the rail industry. Japanese JR East, which also launched the first car sharing solutions at its rail stations (Japan: Railway stations in networks of cars). In addition, this month Deutsche Bahn is the first in Cologne and Stuttgart to launch a fleet of Mito vehicles, which will grow to 200 vehicles.

If we go to the major three American automakers, we mustn't comfort them with false illusions. Their salvation is in a switch from cars to car services. Which means, in no uncertain terms, that they will never again reach the level of sales they once had - their industrial production of glorious yesterdays has come to an end. A full range of services surrounding the car is a logical means of attaining profitability, which has never been the concern of the individual. It will therefore mean a reduction of the number of car for the same number of people being transported. There will be less congestion and therefore will render the car more efficient. These new performance levels open up new prospects for business, but inevitably restrict the number of cars in circulation. This message then is even more difficult to be heard by the manufacturers. We know this because on this side of the Atlantic, it's the same thing.

Read the original text in French.