reinventing the car as a service - summary

REINVENTING THE CAR AS A SERVICE

Strategy to allow for sustainability in the Auto Industry

BACKGROUND

The automobile industry has suffered severely in the economic downturn

Part of the reason for this is that the auto makers failed to innovate and provide the type of cars market wants

BUT many trend-watchers state people are buying less cars in general They are holding on to their current cars longer and looking for

alternatives to buying new ones

©Mauro Forcolin 2009

PROPOSITION

Rather than selling cars, auto-makers should provide “personal transport service” to it’s customers

Customers would not have to buy and “own” cars, to make use of the car “service” and other related services

Customer will have control of a car, but not necessarily the identical one over time. Cars will be interchanged to optimise efficiency across the entire

fleet


CURRENT STATE

There are many options to have ascess to a car service without ownership Leasing

Greenwheels

Carsharing.net

Etc.

BUT the car is always manufactured as an item to be owned and then replaced for a new one Efficiency is geared towards individual cars, not across the

designmanufactureservice process

Devaluation is still a hurdle to investment


BUSINESS CHANGE

Cars no longer have to built and maintained as individual items

Rather than repair, they can be replaced Component parts are reused where most needed

Efficiency strategy across entire fleet rather than single car

“New” loses its meaning; cars can be “built” from parts taken from those brought in for servicing

Auto-makers become “auto-assemblers” Jobs will remain in both assembling and disassembling cars


DESIGN FACTORS 1

Focus on inter-changeability and processes to optimise assembly and disassembly “assembly” & “disassembly” lines working together in factories

No need for entirely new models as changes can be introduced gradually across the field

Engineers can accurately determine the lifetime of particular parts Cars can be assembled so that chance of failure across all car is

consistent

Lowers risk/cost of performing repairs when 1 thing fail while the rest works fine


DESIGN FACTORS 2

Particular cars/parts can be phased out prior to their failing

Once the statistical chance of failure is high enough, they can be

removed from the fleet

Knowing extent of component use and in which environment

are necessary to create an efficient system

Accurate and robust lifecycle of components must be maintained


DESIGN FACTORS 3

Make as few things as possible distinguishable between “new” & “used” Interiors: as that is where users interact with the car & leave their

personal marks

Exterior paint/colour schemes – especially for government orgs & companies

Keep “feels like new” sensation across all cars Customers will not be attached to an “individual” car, so as long as

key features seem new, the rest won’t matter


KEY TECHNOLOGY - RFID

RFID tags on each component allow it to be tracked and it’s history viewed Can be used to recombine parts of equal age/wear

Keep track of parts needed vs. available in all cars in fleet

Determine if certain environments abuse cars by the level of damage over time

Customers can see the various configurations their car has been in before they had it A source to build communities & sense of continuity

For a premium, customers can request specific configurations

Integration with services using same technology


PROCESS EVOLUTION

1. All components are

new


2. Most components

come from fleet

• Manufacturing becomes

interconnected

KEY MARKETS

Local, State & Federal Governments Have a requirement to reduce carbon footprint yet still need large

number of vehicles

No interest in maintaining fleets themselves

Environmentally-conscious consumers Interested in the service quality & renewability rather than ownership

Rental & car-share schemes Can focus providing service rather than fleet maintenance


BUSINESS MODEL

Subscription payments which change depending on extras customisation: pay to keep exact interior or request a particular

car part (i.e. engine that belonged to a celebrity)

Leverage RFID technology imbedded in cars Buy services in bulk to resell to customers

Parking, road tolls/reserved lanes, theft tracking, car insurance, etc.

Collect & sell customer habits for targeted advertising & services

Benefits & subsidies by reduced CO2 fleet & using “green” manufacturing methods Reduce number of “new” replacement parts that have to be

made


BRANDING

A car that is constantly re-invented from it’s previous existences Symbolic of cyclical renewal & sustainability

Yet each incarnation can be special Driven by a particular person or was part of a specific event can

add value/desire

Removable “car bling” you can take with you

More than just a car; rich services provide for all those hassles associated to car driving Focus is NOT on making having a car pleasurable, but on

forgetting one has a car at all


THE END

Or the beginning…

if these ideas are put into practice