Looking around the streets of Rotterdam you are constantly reminded by the fact that we are moving towards a sharing economy. Especially for mobility, people are getting more and more used to not actually owning the vehicles they use. Donkey republic, Felix and LEV are just a few of many apps that allow you to rent bikes, scooters and even small, electric cars on a pay-per minute basis. The app helps you to locate the nearest vehicle and unlock it. You then use it to get where you want to go and as soon as you have arrived and leave the vehicle behind it is no longer your responsibility, nor do you pay for it.

Now what if you add autonomous vehicles to that trend? Instead of having an app that locates a nearby vehicle, you will be able to simply order the vehicle. It will then pick you up, drive you to your destination and go on to the next appointment. Of course, this just sounds like an ordinary taxi-service, simply without a driver. So why would that reform the car industry and not just the taxi business? Well, that has to do with costs and benefits. Apart from the initial purchasing costs of a car, actually owning a car is expensive as well. Even though, on average, cars are stationery for 96% of the time. The most important benefit of owning a private car, on the other hand, is that it is always available for you. So as soon as the fleet of on demand autonomous vehicles is large enough to provide a similar level of freedom in mobility, private car ownership loses its competitive advantage and will decrease. Price Waterhouse Cooper (2013) calculated that the vehicle fleet could decrease by as much as 99% if autonomous cars were fully adopted. If this is true car manufacturers should probably reform their entire business model, since demand will decrease so tremendously.

Price Waterhouse Cooper, 2013. [online] Detroit Chamber. Available at : http://www.detroitchamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/AutofactsAnalystNoteUSFeb2013FINAL.pdf