Driverless cars, Electric vehicles, and Car Sharing
The world is changing as we know it. There was a time when the car itself was considered a huge invention. People couldn’t even imagine a car being more convenient and luxurious than it was. However, with gradual upgrades, now we are looking into a completely different future. This is the future of driverless, electric and shared cars.
And we are entering the future right now. Tesla’s commitment to deliver electric vehicles. General Motors acquisition of a car-sharing innovator. Uber’s investment in driverless technology. All the big auto and e-hailing companies investing their time and energy to stay on top of the innovation.
How are driverless cars changing the landscape of car sharing services?
Why is Uber ready to invest millions in developing a driverless car technology? Well, it is doing so because driverless cars have the potential of earning huge profits. How? They would do so by reducing operational costs of e-hailing services.
One of the biggest cost of car sharing services are the human drivers. By using driverless cars, such services can avoid this cost. Hence, they can make millions in the long-run. There are various studies that have measured the effectiveness of driverless cars. Some claim that such cars have the capability of reducing the cost to 20% of human-driven cars.
The potential of Electric cars
Tesla has been the front-runner for innovation in cars. This includes electric cars as well. Electric cars have huge potential for mobility services. This can be attributed to the low cost of building, operating and maintaining these cars.
Most car rides are limited to two passengers at the most. If electric cars were to be built big enough to occupy two people, it would be able to deliver cheap mobility services. One of the problems associated with electric cars is the vehicle range and battery life. Since most rides do not cross the vehicle range or battery life, as of now this is not an issue. Also, the technology can further be developed to extend its limits.
How do electric and driverless cars work together?
You might think that electric cars and driverless vehicles are two separate technologies. Well, they are. But, you can combine them to realize greater benefits than ever. Since electric cars are computerized, they are much more likely to adapt to a driverless technology than a normal car.
Therefore, many companies are looking to combine the two. This will greatly reduce building and maintenance cost. Current valuations of the future of driverless and electric cars are profitable. However, with all the major companies doing it, for them to ensure maximum profits, they must get the first-mover advantage. Just like Apple was the first to offer uniqueness to customers, the company that first delivers electric and driverless technology embedded in car sharing will be the winner.
Regardless of what happens and who wins, the future is bright for the masses.
References
Mui, C. (2016, December 14). The Virtuous Cycle Between Driverless Cars, Electric Vehicles and Car-Sharing Services. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/chunkamui/2016/02/08/the-virtuous-cycle-between-driverless-cars-electric-vehicles-and-car-sharing-services/#4291b0477143
Bews, L. (2016, December 27). Driverless electric cars could ‘cut air pollution to almost zero and make car parks obsolete within 10 years’. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/driverless-electric-cars-air-pollution-almost-zero-car-parks-obsolete-within-10-years-a7496596.html