Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast

GUESTS: Oz Choudhri, Enterprise Mobility and Oliver Mackprang, MILES MobilityABOUT THIS EPISODEAs regular listeners know, RIDE is not an automotive podcast. However, this episode is all about cars.We all know the story: despite growing congestion on our roads, cars spend something like 95% of the day parked.They're also expensive to run and own. Indeed, for many people a car is famously the second-largest financial commitment after their house or home.So what if we could use cars when we need them, leaving the ownership to someone else, that someone else being a car club or a car-sharing operator happy to assume the responsibility for the total cost of ownership of these high value assets.In this episode of RIDE, we look at a clear example of usership rather than ownership, with two experts in car-sharing: Oz Choudhri, head of mobility solutions at Enterprise Mobility, and Oliver Mackprang, CEO of Berlin-based MILES Mobility. In this episode we discuss:The differences between car club, car sharing, leasing, and rentalThe challenges and opportunities of free floating and station-based or back-to-base modelsHow car sharing fits into the wider mobility ecosystemWhy car-sharing may be an attractive option for businesses, taking away the burden of fleet management, and helping with metrics such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environment, social and governance (ESG).You can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

GUESTS: Mark Preston, StreetDrone; Dan Goff, Kodiak Robotics; Lukas Neckermann, PAVE Europe & Neckermann Strategic AdvisorsABOUT THIS EPISODEAutonomous passenger cars are just one aspect of autonomous vehicle development. The autonomous vehicles we discuss in this episode are autonomous trucks pulling heavy loads.Martin and guest co-host Lukas Neckermann chat to Dan Goff of Kodiak Robotics and Mark Preston from StreetDrone about the use of AV technology in first-mile, last-mile, and long-haul freight and logistics.StreetDrone develops technology for autonomous logistics applications, with vehicles using its solutions for first- and last-mile short-distance heavy load haulage on private and off-highway roads in industrial compounds such as ports, notably the Port of Rotterdam, and factories, such as Nissan's Sunderland car factory.It's from Kodiak Robotics that we get the 18,000-mile reference in the title; the "Kodiak Driver" enables autonomous long-haul highway driving for Class 8 trucks - that is, US big-rig 18-wheelers. And it does this on an 18,000-mile network of highways that covers almost a fifth of the US Interstate System, taking in 14 states and spanning four time zones.ABOUT THE GUESTSMark Preston is Co-Founder and CTO of autonomous truck systems supplier StreetDrone, and Director of Lola Cars Motorsport. He began his career in Formula 1, with stints as Head of R&D at Arrows, Principal Designer at McLaren Racing, and Founder & Technical Director of the Super Aguri Formula 1 team. After F1, he became the most decorated Team Principal in the history of Formula E.Connect with Mark on LinkedInDan Goff is Director of External Affairs at Kodiak Robotics. His career includes time at Accenture, the role of Deputy Director of the Illinois Department of Commerce, and the Board of the ACLU of Illinois.Connect with Dan Goff on LinkedInLukas Neckermann runs Neckermann Strategic Advisors, and is a co-founder of PAVE Europe.Connect with Lukas on LinkedInPicture credit: Marcin JozwiakYou can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

GUEST: Inderveer Singh, CEO, EVage MotorsABOUT THIS EPISODEEVage Motors pitches itself not as an electric commercial vehicle company, but as "a tech-driven, innovations-led, purpose-powered, new-age electric mobility solution company."And the solution it's developing is to the problem of city pollution. EVage founders - who established the company in Chandigarh, northern India in 2014 - note that although cities occupy just 5% of the world's land mass, they are home to 50% of the world's population. They also struggle from poor air quality, and commercial vehicles alone are responsible for over a third of atmospheric pollution - hence EVage's focus on delivering sustainable commercial vehicles. In this episode, you'll hear co-founder & CEO Inderveer Singh talk about:

Guest: Gunnar Froh, CEO, Wunder MobilityABOUT THIS EPISODEWunder Mobility provides white label software-as-a-service (SAAS) and hardware for vehicle sharing operators with fleets of e-bikes, e-scooters, e-mopeds, and cars. Based in Hamburg, the company was founded almost a decade ago and has now provided solutions for over 200 cities around the world.We sat down with Gunnar Froh, Wunder Mobility's founder and CEO to talk about the evolution of shared mobility, the role of electrification and autonomous technology, ChatGPT and AI, carpooling and public transportation, the 15-minute city, and the need for solutions for extra-urban and rural mobility.You can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

GUEST: Tristan Rousselle, Founder & CEO, AryballeABOUT THIS EPISODEWhat is digital nose technology? And what role could it play in future mobility?Our guest on this episode is Tristan Rousselle, founder and CEO of Aryballe, a digital olfaction firm that uses biochemical sensors, advanced optics, and machine learning to detect odour and turn it into data. This data is worth little, however, without a database behind it, and Aryballe's USP is a searchable digital library of smells.In this episode, we talk about Aryballe's digital nose technology, the origins of the company, how digital olfaction can be used in automotive and future mobility applications, domestic robots with noses in their fingers, and of course, cheese, wine, and fish odours.Connect with Tristan on LinkedInSHOW NOTESHumans Can Identify More Than 1 Trillion Smellshttps://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/humans-can-identify-more-1-trillion-smellsEuropean Union-funded Rose project, in which Aryballe is a lead participant (Restoring Odorant detection and recognition in Smell dEficits)https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/964529Moorfields patient receives world's first 3D printed eyehttps://www.moorfields.nhs.uk/news/moorfields-patient-receives-world-s-first-3d-printed-eye?Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2004 awarded jointly to Richard Axel and Linda Buck for their discoveries of “odorant receptors and the organization of the olfactory system.” https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2004/press-release/  You can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

GUEST: Professor Carlos MorenoABOUT THIS EPISODEWhen we first conceived the Ride podcast, one of the topics at the top of the list was the 15-minute city. This episode features an interview with Professor Carlos Moreno of the Pantheon-Sorbonne in Paris, the man credited with conceiving the 15-minute city.Until just a few years ago, the 15-minute city was a compelling urban planning theory around which new and future mobility solutions would be developed. It was only really known about by mobility nerds.The idea of the 15-minute city is ambitious, yet simple: citizens and communities should have everything they need in daily life - such as work, recreation, shops, public services - within a 15-minute walk or bicycle ride from home or any point in the city.But in the last couple of years, the 15-minute city has gone on to become mainstream news, a highly controversial issue which has divided communities, with views often unsurprisingly matching political affiliation - and it's attracted the ire of conspiracy theorists and tabloid media in particular.But it's a concept that's widely misunderstood, by the public and by urban planners alike, and it's frequently bundled into, or confused with often unpopular or poorly conceived traffic and transport policies. As a result, the term 15-minute city has become a synonym for a so-called war on motorists.This interview has been rescheduled a couple of times, and our interest in speaking to Professor Moreno has changed from initially wanting to find out more about the concept, to asking why he thinks it's become so controversial, and to give him the opportunity to present his side of the story.You can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

GUESTS: Chris Borroni-Bird, Afreecar; Prodip Chatterjee, Nunam; Sukhjeevan Uppal, eTukTuk ABOUT THIS EPISODEMobility for all means just that - it shouldn't be available only to those fortunate enough to be free of the physical or financial impairments that might prevent access to mobility. Yet one billion people - an eighth of the world's population - survive on less than $2/day. They desperately need electric power - and affordable personal mobility.This episode of Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast is all about the provision of clean, affordable mobility in emerging markets. Our three expert guests for this episode dedicate their time to delivering just that:Dr Chris Borroni-Bird, founder of Afreecar LLCProdip Chatterjee, co-founder of NunamSukhjeevan Uppal, Chief Technology Officer at eTukTukTopics in this episode include:Next-generation tuktuks - and more, including bicycles and handcarts;Electrifying mobility in emerging markets;Developing affordable vehicles;New mobility business models - including the use of blockchain;And the role that could be played by used electric vehicle batteries.ABOUT THE GUESTSDr Chris Borroni-Bird, founder of Afreecar LLC, has developed advanced vehicle concepts and technology at General Motors, Qualcomm, and the Google Self-Driving Project that became Waymo. His latest project, Afreecar, is a philanthropic initiative which seeks to provide affordable mobility to people in Africa who can't afford a carConnect with Chris on LinkedInProdip Chatterjee is co-founder of Nunam, a German-Indian start-up that develops affordable energy storage solutions using second life batteries. With Audi, Nunam has been exploring the potential for used EV batteries to electrify rickshaws in IndiaConnect with Prodip on LinkedInSukhjeevan Uppal is Chief Technology Officer at eTukTuk, a company whose name appears to describe what it does, namely, make electric tuktuks - but as you'll hear in this episode, there's more to it than thatConnect with Sukhjeevan on LinkedInYou can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

GUESTS: Dan Sturges and Lukas NeckermannABOUT THIS EPISODELifelong car fan and vehicle designer Dan Sturges discusses his new book, ‘Near to Far: A design for a new equitable and sustainable transportation system'. The book is both the culmination of a life in vehicle design and the automotive industry, and something a manifesto for the future of mobility.You'll note the reference to Dan being a car fan, but not a petrolhead, for reasons that will become clear.The list of organisations which he has worked is long; a transportation designer, entrepreneur, and educator, his career started as an automobile designer at General Motors, and has since included time at, among others, ITS at UC Davis, GEM cars, Segway, Calstart, IntraGO, Local Motors, Acorn Delivery, and the US Transportation Research Board committee for New Public Transportation Systems and Technology.Dan has become increasingly disillusioned by the increase not just in the number of vehicles on the road, but also the size of those vehicles, many of which are disproportionately large for everyday use. And it's that term, everyday use, which Dan seeks to address in his book. The references to vehicle size here lean towards what's offered to North American buyers, but even in Europe, it's difficult to think of a vehicle that got smaller from one generation to the next.In this episode, Dan talks about how you can be a mobility advocate and a car fan – they're not mutually exclusive; how car designers can help in the transition from ownership to usership; and why the transition is impossible without a holistic mobility ecosystem that incorporates new vehicles, new infrastructure, and new business models.Also on this episode is Lukas Neckermann, of Neckermann Strategic Advisors – Lukas is, as many listeners will know, a major advocate of urban mobility, and like Dan, has a background in the automotive industry.EPISODE NOTESYou can learn more about Dan's book - Near to Far: A design for a new equitable and sustainable transportation system - by following this link, and by checking local Amazon stores for availability.ABOUT THE GUESTSDan SturgesDan is a mobility designer, educator, and entrepreneur. Learn more about Dan here - and connect with him on LinkedInLukas NeckermannLukas is a consultant, speaker, mobility advocate and the author of several books on the future of mobility.Learn more about Neckermann Associates hereConnect with Lukas on LinkedInYou can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

GUESTS: Sandra Witzel, CMO SkedGo, and Baroness Tanni Grey-ThompsonABOUT THIS EPISODE"Mobility for all" is an oft-used and well-intentioned phrase – but images of urban mobility and new mobility solutions rarely feature people with impaired mobility, or anyone living with a disability, raising questions about the concept of mobility for all.People living with disabilities face any number of challenges in the quest to get around, whether that's related to urban planning, physical barriers and obstructions, infrastructure issues, ageing transport networks, poorly designed solutions, untrained transit support staff, or personal safety – to name but a few...According to UN data, around a billion people worldwide live with disabilities - nearly 15% of the global population, and that rises to nearly 20% in low- and middle-income countries. The World Health Organization says around 75 million people worldwide need a wheelchair, but only 5-15% have access to one.But accessibility in mobility is about so much more than wheelchairs – it's about the many more hidden disabilities; it's about reduced mobility, impaired vision and hearing, provisions for the elderly and infirm - and about planning for inclusive mobility, rather than making it an afterthought. ABOUT THE GUESTSPrior to taking up a seat in the House of Lords, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson represented Great Britain as a wheelchair racer at five Paralympic Games, winning a total of 16 medals: 11 gold, four silver and a bronze; at the World Championships, she won six gold, five silver and two bronze; and she won the London Marathon six times.Connect with Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson on LinkedInSandra Witzel is an advocate for mobility as a service; she's the co-founder of Women in Mobility UK; and she's a frustrated public transport user, with impaired mobility caused by life with Musculo-skeletal issues. Chief Marketing Officer and board member at mobility app SkedGo, she's also a certified and award-winning health coach. Connect with Sandra Witzel on LinkedInSHOW NOTESUp Down London Lift status at Transport for London stationshttps://www.updownlondon.com/Step-Free LondonStep-free map and future accesshttps://stepfreelondon.uk/map/ Briometrix Mobility MapsEffort-based Mobility Maps which display colour-coded footpath networks, indicating the degree of difficulty for a person in a wheelchair to traverse the pathway.https://briometrix.com/HandimapRoute planning app that takes into account the accessibility of sidewalks, crossings and paths, as well as obstacles (urban furniture, works...)https://www.handimap.fr/You can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

GUEST: Stefan Krause, CEO, B-ONABOUT THIS EPISODEStefan Krause returns to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast for a more in-depth discussion about B-ON, the challenges and opportunities of last mile delivery and fleet electrification, and the importance on zero emission strategies of regional policy such as Europe's regulation on combustion engines, and the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).B-ON has over 20,000 vehicles on the road, delivering everything from milk and groceries, to post and packages - and it has a fascinating backstory, growing out of dedicated electric last mile delivery vehicle maker StreetScooter.ABOUT THIS EPISODE'S GUESTStefan Krause's CV includes seven years at BMW, where he was Chief Finance Officer, and a driving force behind the launch of BMW's all electric i3, and eight years at Deutsche Bank, where he was the global Chief Finance Officer and a member of the board of management. He's also been CFO and COO of Faraday Future; CEO of Canoo, a company he founded; and President and COO of Fisker.Connect with Stefan on LinkedInYou can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

GUEST: Alain Visser, Chief Executive, Lynk & CoABOUT THIS EPISODEOur guest for this episode is Alain Visser, the founder and CEO of Lynk & Co, a car company that's trying to do things a little differently.Lynk & Co is part of the Geely Auto Group, which itself is part of Li Shufu's Huangzhou, China-based Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. The Group's brand portfolio includes Geely Auto, Proton, Lotus, Volvo Cars, Polestar, and London Electric Vehicle Company, as well as several others.Lynk & Co was founded in 2016 by Alain Visser, who has decades of auto industry experience. He's worked at Ford, GM, and Volvo Cars, and he's now on a mission to position Lynk & Co as a global mobility brand, offering customers the opportunity to subscribe, buy, or borrow a Lynk & Co vehicle.There's only one Lynk & Co model, the 01, offered in blue or black, with no other options. There are no Lynk & Co dealerships. Instead, Lynk & Co has what it calls Clubs, located in big city centres.If you choose the membership option, it's on a month-by-month basis, which the company says you can cancel anytime. What sets this apart from other car brand subscription models is that members can share their car with others and lower their monthly costs.Lynk & Co is currently operational in China and Europe. In 2024, it will add the UK to its European markets, and has Clubs in Italy, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, and the Netherlands.In this episode, Alain Visser explains why he's the automaker CEO who would prefer to not sell you a car.ABOUT ALAIN VISSERAlain Visser's extensive experience in the automotive industry includes leading roles in automaker sales and marketing. He spent 17 years at Ford Motor Company, nine years at General Motors, and four years at Volvo Cars. He established Lynk & Co in 2016. You can connect with Alain on LinkedInEPISODE NOTESRoger Atkins: "Mass adoption of EV's would be a big mistake" LINKBill Ford: "A future beyond traffic gridlock" LINKLukas Neckermann: "Global automotive production today is no higher than it was a decade ago. The industry is stagnant, and trending downward." LINKMarco Te Brommelstroet, of the urban planning platform Lab of Thought: “Electric cars are not here to save the planet. They are here to save the car industry.” LINKYou can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

GUESTS: Jona Christians, Sono Motors; Alain Visser, Lynk & Co; Marcus Welz, Hyundai Motor Europe; and Patrick Ayad, Hogan LovellsABOUT THIS EPISODEFor over a century, automakers have been selling a dream - namely, a means of mobility. But as the focus of mobility shifts from a reliance on personal transportation to a clean, zero-emissions seamless multi-modal journey, can the automakers pivot, and remain relevant, while still selling a dream?This discussion about the evolution of sustainable mobility in Europe, featured:Jona Christians, CEO & Co-Founder of Sono MotorsAlain Visser, CEO, Lynk & CoMarcus Welz, Vice President Smart Mobility, Hyundai Motor EuropePatrick Ayad, Global Leader Mobility & Transportation, Hogan LovellsThis panel discussed electrification, ownership versus usership, sustainability, ESG, and the challenges of developing different and competing zero emission propulsion technologies such as battery and fuel cell EVs. We asked: Should technology development be driven by regulation or market forces? And we challenged the panel: Do automakers really “get” mobility?CONNECT WITH THE EXPERTSConnect with Jona Christians on LinkedInConnect with Alain Visser on LinkedInConnect with Marcus Welz on LinkedInConnect with Patrick Ayad on LinkedInThis is the fourth and final instalment in a series of Ride podcast episodes recorded live at Reuters Automotive Europe 2022. Thanks to Jona, Alain, Marcus, and Patrick for taking part in this discussion, and thanks to Reuters Events for collaborating on this recording.Learn more about Reuters Events at Reutersevents.comYou can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

GUESTS: Dr Thomas Becker, BMW Group; Monica Perez Lobo, Toyota Motor Europe; Kunal Phalpher, Li-Metal.ABOUT THIS EPISODEThis episode of the Ride podcast is brought to you in partnership with Reuters Events. It was recorded at Reuters Automotive Europe 2022 in Munich earlier this year, where Ride hosted a panel on ensuring net zero throughout the automotive value chain, featuring:Dr Thomas Becker, VP Sustainability, Mobility at BMW Group; Monica Perez Lobo, VP Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Toyota Motor Europe;Kunal Phalpher, President of Li-Metal and Advisor to Li-Cycle.*For consumers, clean mobility is all about zero emissions at the point of use. There's a perfectly reasonable expectation that everything that happens before and after they own or use the vehicle is equally clean. For the various industry stakeholders providing those zero emissions vehicles, it's all about ensuring a net zero value chain, from raw material sourcing through to end of life vehicle handling--and that means establishing and implementing business strategies and partnerships to meet net-zero emissions targets.During the discussion, we talked aboutWhat net zero means for each organisation;How and whether companies can ensure net zero runs throughout the value chain, with correct practices and net zero activities even at the very distant ends of the supply chain, such as battery raw material mining at one end, and EV battery recycling at the other;We discussed the pursuit of different zero emission vehicle technologies, and their reliance on infrastructure development as well as consumer demand;And we talked about the complexity of balancing the three Rs - reduce, reuse, recycle.ABOUT THE SPEAKERSDr Thomas Becker: Connect with Thomas on LinkedIn hereMonica Perez Lobo: Connect with Monica on LinkedIn hereKunal Phalpher: Connect with Kunal on LinkedIn here*Shortly after this interview was recorded, Kunal changed roles from Chief Strategy officer at Li-Cycle, a lithium-ion battery recycling company, to President of Li-Metal, a lithium metal and lithium metal anode company. He remains an Advisor to Li-Cycle.Thank you to Reuters Events for collaborating on this recording. Learn more about Reuters Events at Reutersevents.comYou can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

GUESTS: Philippe Brunet, Renault Group; Felix Reinshagen, NavVis; Dr Michael Kohnhäuser, BMW GroupABOUT THIS EPISODEThis episode of Ride is brought to you in partnership with Reuters Events, and was recorded at Reuters Automotive Europe 2022 in Munich earlier this year. Ride was invited to moderate a discussion on producing cost-effective EVs, with a panel featuring:Dr Michael Kohnhäuser, Head of Innovation Management and Digitization Production Drive at BMW GroupPhilippe Brunet, Alliance SVP, Powertrain and EV Engineering at Groupe RenaultFelix Reinshagen, CEO and Co-founder of NavVisThe cost of producing an EV is currently anywhere up to 50% more than an equivalent combustion engine vehicle (read more here and here). The battery alone can account for 30% to 50% of the value of the vehicle.There are some costs which automakers cannot control, at least in the short to medium term. But what automakers can do is optimise their manufacturing processes, making them as cost-effective as possible. And that's where the factory of the future and digital manufacturing techniques come into play, as well as more immediate solutions such as digital twin technology.Groupe Renault has been working with Google since 2019 on digitizing its Industry 4.0 processes, using cloud and artificial intelligence to manage supply and demand throughout its supply chain, manufacturing, and logistics. And BMW Group has recently announced that all of its vehicle plants will be digitised using 3D laser scanning by early 2023, using scanning technology and software supplied by NavVis.During the discussion, we talked about:How to achieve production cost parity between EVs and ICEs; How to reduce time to market; The role of the battery;And what cost effective means when it comes to producing EVs.ABOUT THE SPEAKERSPhilippe Brunet: Connect with Philippe Brunet on LinkedIn hereFelix Reinshagen: Connect with Felix Reinshagen on LinkedIn here Michael Kohnhäuser: Connect with Michael Kohnhäuser on LinkedIn here  Thank you to Reuters Events for collaborating on this recording.  Learn more about Reuters Events at reutersevents.com.You can subscribe to Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast wherever you get your podcasts. Feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.

GUEST: YANN VINCENT, CEO OF AUTOMOTIVE CELLS COMPANY (ACC)ABOUT THIS EPISODEThis episode of Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast is brought to you in partnership with Reuters Events. It was recorded at Reuters Automotive Europe 2022 in Munich, where we had the opportunity to interview Yann Vincent, the CEO of Automotive Cells Company (ACC).According to Vincent: "ACC was created two years ago in August 2020 with a very simple objective, which is to build a European champion for engineering and manufacturing batteries in Europe."This wide ranging conversation covered the challenges that any battery maker faces in scaling production and the challenges a European supplier will face in a market dominated by companies from Asia. We also talked about sustainability, recycling, and long-term planning in an industry of rapidly evolving technologies.We'd like to thank Yann Vincent for taking part in this discussion, and Reuters Events for collaborating with us for this episode of Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast.Learn more about Reuters Events at Reutersevents.com And you can subscribe to Ride wherever you get your podcasts - and feel free to share it, like it, give it a rating, sign up to the Ride LinkedIn page, and check out our website, ridemobilitypodcast.com.ABOUT THE GUESTYann Vincent is the Chief Executive Officer of ACC. He joined Renault in 1982 where he held various functions; he was appointed Director of Quality in 2005, and Chief Operating Officer of Renault Groupe subsidiary AvtoVAZ in March 2008.He joined Alstom Transport in 2009, where he was responsible for operations and performance and a Member of the Executive Committee. From 2014 to 2020, he was lndustrial Director of Groupe PSA.Vincent was appointed Chief Executive Officer of ACC in September 2020.Connect with Yann Vincent on LinkedIn.

GUESTS: Lukas Neckermann, David Woessner, Olaf SakkersABOUT THIS EPISODEFor a consumer, the best price is no price at all. After all, free is the magic number.But we all know that nothing in life is ever really free. Free is always factored into the cost somewhere along the line. But promoting something as free hides that cost, and leads to a complacency that comes with consequences.Free parking encourages us to use our cars. And free delivery prevents us thinking twice about buying something, especially if free returns are also part of the deal.In the quest to go emission-free and carbon-free, is it possible to also enjoy the other things that we like to have for free?After all, we all know there's no such thing as a free lunch.Ride caught up recently with future mobility investors David Woessner, of Future Of, and Olaf Sakkers, of Red Blue Capital, and Lukas Neckermann, the COO of Splyt, the mobility super app enabler. We recorded this conversation at the end of an event and just managed to bring the discussion to a close before the stand we were using was dismantled around us.REFERENCESHere are links to support some of the comments made during the show:DW.com "Fast Fashion - Dumped in Chile's Atacama Desert"theguardian.com "Past the parcel: how the end of free returns will change the way we shop"CNBC "Why ‘free' shipping isn't free"thedrive.com "Zillow's Satellite View Shows the Ghosts of Neighborhoods Erased By America's Highways"fastcompany.com "America has eight parking spaces for every car. Here's how cities are rethinking that land""The high cost of free parking" (YouTube)CONNECT WITH THE GUESTSYou can connect with the show's guests on LinkedIn by using these links: David WoessnerOlaf Sakkers Lukas Neckermann 

GUEST: Augustin Guilisasti, founder and CEO of Human ForestABOUT THIS EPISODEIf you've spent any time in London in the last couple of years, you'll have seen green electric bikes bearing the name Human Forest. But it's not an exclusively London thing – as well as increasing the size of its electric bike share fleet across London, the company has its sights set on other cities.In this episode, we're joined by Agustin Guilisasti, founder and CEO of Human Forest – we talk about the Human Forest business model, the importance of sustainability, the company's plans for growth, and why Agustin believes Human Forest is the "Spotify of micromobility."Connect with Agustin on LinkedIn

GUESTS: Stefan Krause, B-ON, and Mark Thomas, RidecellABOUT THIS EPISODEImproving the efficiency of urban mobility means improving not just the way we move people, but also the way we move goods – from the shipment of everything from domestic grocery deliveries to supermarket stock to online electronics orders, there are major efficiencies to be found. Some are simple, and involve management, practices and processes; others are more costly and complex, from connectivity and electrification to autonomous vehicle technology. We recently had the chance to speak to executives at two companies involved in improving commercial fleet efficiency – Stefan Krause, of B-ON, and Mark Thomas, of RideCell.ABOUT THE GUESTSStefan Krause is CEO of B-ON – an electric package delivery vehicle company that grew out of StreetScooter. Stefan's CV includes time as CFO at BMW Group - where he helped bring the BMW i3 to market - and CFO at Deutsche Bank, as well as senior roles at Faraday Future and Fisker, and founder of Canoo.Reach out to Stefan on LinkedInMark Thomas is EVP Marketing & Alliances at Ridecell. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mark's automotive background is steeped in connectivity. Prior to Ridecell, Mark was at Cisco, Here, and Nokia.Connect with Mark on LinkedIn

GUEST: Hui Zhang, Group Vice President, NioABOUT THIS EPISODEAs the established global automakers struggle to transition from the combustion engine to zero emission motoring, there's a growing number of well financed electric vehicle startups gaining ground in the EV marketplace, and among them, a number of Chinese automakers.Chinese EV brands are now growing fast in China where the government's push on New Energy Vehicles has seen the domestic EV market grow exponentially.The Ride podcast recently caught up with Hui Zhang, Group Vice President of Chinese EV start-up and battery swap champion, Nio.

GUESTS: Andy Wilman, The Grand Tour; Scott Mansell, Driver61; Mat Watson, Carwow; Jack Carter, TikTokABOUT THIS EPISODEIn 2015, Top Gear was one of the most successful British television exports, YouTube seemed young and inexperienced, at just ten years old, and TikTok hadn't even been released.Seven years later, the media landscape looks very different, creating a new challenge for automakers and other providers of mobility: how can they best promote their products and grow or maintain brand awareness in the face of  today's rapidly-evolving media? What is the impact of alternative forms of mobility? And how do changes in vehicle technology affect marketing and promotion, as the roar of a combustion engine is replaced by the near-silent acceleration of an electric vehicle, and as the automakers turn their attention from the driver's car to the driverless car?This episode of Ride, produced in collaboration with Motor Industry Communicators Association (MICA), features Andy Wilman (The Grand Tour), Scott Mansell (Driver61), Mat Watson (Carwow), and Jack Carter (TikTok).ABOUT THE GUESTSAndy Wilman - Top Gear and The Grand Tour producer.  Andy boasts over 20 years' experience at the pinnacle of bringing automotive content to a mass audience, from re-launching Top Gear on BBC TV in 2002 to executive producing The Grand Tour for Amazon Prime.Mat Watson – the face of the Carwow YouTube channel - “the world's biggest automotive channel” - which has led in blending car entertainment and vehicle sales.Jack Carter – TikTok's automotive lead explains how the platform is bringing automotive content to life for younger (and, increasingly, also less young) audiences.Scott Mansell – motorsport content expert whose Driver61 YouTube channel has grown by 350,000 subscribers in a year and amassed 46,000,000 views.

GUEST: Silvia Fischer, VP Smart Mobility, FREE NOWABOUT THIS EPISODEMobility super apps are something we've talked about before on the podcast – these are apps which combine all forms of travel in a city to enable you to plan, reserve, and pay for your journey, regardless of the mode of transport and operator.We've seen the likes of Uber and Lyft add food delivery to their apps – and Uber is understood to be preparing the addition of long-distance travel bookings such as intercity trains, buses and planes. It already offers escooters, ebikes, and boats. And it has its sights set on becoming a one-stop shop for travel – a mobility super app.But it's not alone – and one of the largest such apps in Europe is FREE NOW. The company grew out of the Daimler/BMW mobility joint-venture of 2019 that pooled the two companies' mobility services, but FREE NOW traces its roots back to taxi hailing apps mytaxi and Hailo. FREE NOW is a fully integrated multi-mobility platform, providing access to eScooters, eBikes, eMopeds and car sharing, including partnerships with SIXT and Dott.FREE NOW has more than 54 million users in 16 markets and in over 170 cities - and it has 1,850 employees, including Silvia Fischer, FREE NOW's VP Smart Mobility.Connect with Silvia Fischer on LinkedIn

GUEST: Raoul Schmidt-Lamontain, Heidelberg's Mayor for Climate Protection, Environment and MobilityABOUT THIS EPISODEThe city of Heidelberg is a picturesque Roman city in the South-West of Germany. A university town, the city has a population of around 160,000 people, and boasts a castle, a cathedral, and an ancient stone bridge that straddles the River Neckar.The city has for the last few years been on a campaign to reduce and ultimately eliminate emissions, earning itself the moniker of the city where cars are no longer welcome.In this episode, Martin talks to Raoul Schmidt-Lamontain, Heidelberg's Mayor for Climate Protection, Environment and Mobility, about sustainable mobility, the integration of new mobility business models and technologies into public transportation, the role of electric vehicles, and what the city is doing to help people get around using anything other than a private car.Connect with Raoul Schmidt-Lamontain on LinkedIn

GUESTS: Bonny Simi, Joby Aviation, and Robin Riedel, McKinseyABOUT THIS EPISODEIt's the stuff of childhood dreams: the flying car that slashes journey time, avoiding traffic, and taking you directly to your destination.Now, decades later, it doesn't seem so far-fetched. In fact, there's an entire industry building up around a new sector of flight, although as you'll hear in this episode, it has very little to do with mainstream aircraft - or, for that matter, cars…It's called advanced air mobility (AAM), also known as urban air mobility (UAM), and to learn more about why it's attracting so much interest, and more importantly, so many billions of dollars of investment, Ride played host to Bonny Simi of Joby Aviation, and Robin Riedel of McKinsey.ABOUT THE GUESTSBonny Simi heads up Joby Aviation's Air Operations and People. Before joining Joby, Bonny held a number of strategic and operational roles at American airline JetBlue, and founded JetBlue Technology Ventures. Bonny has piloted Boeing, Airbus and Embraer aircraft at both United Airlines and JetBlue Airways — and she's also an Emmy-nominated sports reporter and a three-time Olympic Luge competitor.Connect with Bonny on LinkedInRobin Riedel co-leads the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility in the Americas and is a global leader of the Disruptive Aerospace sector within McKinsey's Aerospace & Defense Practice. In his pre-McKinsey life, Robin led commercial and operations teams at a major airline, and like Bonny, is also a certified commercial airline pilot.Connect with Robin on LinkedIn

GUEST: Carl-Magnus Norden, Founder and Executive Chairman, Volta TrucksABOUT THIS EPISODEOne of the most exciting things as mobility evolves is the appearance of not only new technologies, and new business models, but also new brands. In this episode, we talk to Carl-Magnus Norden, founder and executive chairman of electric truck start-up Volta Trucks, about:The challenges of launching an all-new truck brandThe challenges of commercial vehicle electrificationTruck-as-a-Service and the rise of the "X as a Service" business modelThe impact of autonomous technology on commercial vehiclesHeadquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Volta Trucks recently unveiled the 7.5 and 12t variants of the Volta Zero fully-electric commercial vehicle, which will sit alongside the 16t variant. The company will begin deliveries of the Volta Zero in 2023.ABOUT THIS EPISODE'S GUEST: Carl-Magnus NordenCarl-Magnus Norden founded Volta Trucks in 2019 "to decarbonise last-mile logistics and to make city centre environments safer, more pleasant and sustainable places to live and work."Connect with Carl-Magnus on LinkedIn

GUESTS: Lance Bultena, Hogan Lovells, and Pierre Lahutte, NavyaABOUT THIS EPISODEClimate change, diversity, and human rights are three of the leading ESG issues, and they feed into one of the core aspects of contemporary business development, namely sustainability. And in the wake of COP26, Covid-19, and now the war that Russia is waging on Ukraine, sustainability is both more important than ever, and arguably more difficult to deliver than ever.For the best part of two decades, ESG - which stands for Environment, Social, and Governance - has played an increasingly important role in shareholder reporting. But now ESG has become an essential aspect of corporate strategy as business moves from pure shareholder capitalism into stakeholder capitalism, which considers everyone the business touches, rather than just the shareholders.The term ESG was coined in 2004 by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan; a year later, a study was published titled, “Who cares Wins” - and that sums up this discussion perfectly. Get it right, and ESG can deliver improved financial performance, higher value delivery, and reduced stock price volatility in a world where the rise in ESG investment has been what McKinsey describes as "meteoric."ESG has been referred to as the latest evolution of CSR, Corporate Social Responsibility - the difference between the two being that while CSR is intended to make a company accountable for its efforts, ESG makes a company's efforts measurable.This episode of Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast is all about ESG, what it is, and why it's so important for future mobility stakeholders.ABOUT THE GUESTSLance D. Bultena  is Global Director of Thought Leadership, Mobility and Transportation at Hogan Lovells. Connect with Lance on LinkedInPierre LaHutte is Chief Strategy & Development Officer at Navya. He's also a Board Member at Forsee Power, FRIEM and Groupe BERTO, and Co-Founder of AMILU FARMConnect with Pierre on LinkedIn

GUESTS: Hrag Sarkissian, eSkootr Championship (eSC) and Nicola Scimeca, YCOMABOUT THIS EPISODEThis year will see the birth of an all-new racing series for an all-new sport, when the eSkootr Championship kicks off at London's Printwork's  on 13 and 14 May 2022.The first ever micromobility racing series will feature 30 male and female riders competing in mixed heats on the the S1-X eSkootr, designed by YCOM. Using F1 technology, the S1-X has a Williams Advanced Engineering battery and two 6kW motors, enabling speeds of over 100 kph (62mph) and sharp cornering, thanks to its 55-degree-plus lean capability. Shortly before the official launch of the race series, Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast spoke to Hrag Sarkissian, the founder and CEO of eSkootr Championship (eSC), and Nicola Scimeca, founder and Chief Business Development Officer of YCOM, about the all-new eSkootr Championship, its role in raising awareness of micromobility, and the importance of sustainability not only in the race series, but in future mobility in general.ABOUT THE GUESTSHrag Sarkissian, co-founder and CEO of eSkootr Championship (eSC). Born in New York, Lebanese-Armernian Hrag has successfully grown an extensive portfolio of innovation-led businesses. His experience in motorsport and tech helps him to leverage the benefits of sustainable technology and micromobility.Connect with Hrag on LinkedInNicola Scimeca is the founder and Chief Business Development Officer at YCOM. He founded YCOM in 2008 to develop and manufacture the most extreme cars in the world.Connect with Nicola on LinkedInFURTHER READINGAfter the inaugural race in London, the races will head to Switzerland., France, Italy, Spain, and the USA. Learn more about eSkootr Championship at https://official.esc.live

GUESTS: Arwed Schmidt, EasyMile; George Ivanov, Waymo; Lukas Neckermann, PAVE EuropeABOUT THIS EPISODE“Education is a key piece of the puzzle for autonomous vehicles,” says Lukas Neckermann, co-initiator of PAVE Europe.PAVE – Partners for Automated Vehicle Education – was established in the US as a coalition of industry, non-profits, and academics with the aim of informing the public about automated vehicles and their potential.It's a consortium of stakeholders from across the autonomous vehicle value chain, including automakers, suppliers, tech companies, lidar makers, sensor suppliers, software companies, operators, and insurance companies.PAVE Europe has been established as a sister organisation to PAVE in the US, intended specifically to address autonomous technology in Europe. This edition of Ride features EasyMile and Waymo, two of the founding members of PAVE Europe, as well as Lukas Neckermann, a consultant, COO of Splyt, friend of the podcast – and most importantly for this episode, a co-initiator of PAVE Europe.

GUEST: Peter Norton, author, "Autonorama"ABOUT THIS EPISODE“AUTONORAMA—The Illusory Promise of High-Tech Driving” (Island Press, 2021) is the new book by Peter Norton, an associate professor at the University of Virginia. In Autonorama, Peter looks at the history of the future of high-tech driving. He begins with the automotive Utopia depicted by the spectacular General Motors Futurama exhibition at the World's Fair of 1939, that promised better living, new places to go, and new ways of getting there. He then takes us to later similar exhibitions that first floated the idea of congestion-free, crash-free transportation, and then the myriad opportunities on offer in a world of automated driving, where everyone in the vehicle could relax and do anything other than drive, while state-of-the-art technology took on the role of driving the car.Peter writes: “This book is not an entry into the debate about whether the automated driving revolution is good or bad, or whether it will yield (as a perennial question would have it) a transport “heaven” or a transport “hell.” It is a plea to stop asking such questions.”In this episode, Peter talks through some of the key themes in his book, and shares some broader ideas about the development of technologies and business models for the future of mobility.Peter Norton is associate professor of history in the Department of Engineering and Society at the University of Virginia, where he teaches history of technology, social dimensions of engineering, research, and professional ethics. Follow this link to learn more about Peter's work at University of Virginia, and this link for Peter's page on LinkedIn.

GUEST: Mujeeb Ijaz , Founder & CEO of ONE.aiABOUT THIS EPISODEOne of the major barriers to entry for anyone switching to an electric vehicle (EV) for the first time is the issue of range.In this episode, we talk to the founder and CEO of Our Next Energy (ONE.ai), the Detroit-headquartered battery startup that made headlines when it completed a 752-mile (1,210 km) test drive through the US state of Michigan on a single charge, in the Gemini 1, a Tesla Model S equipped with a ONE battery. A separate test recorded an even higher single-charge range, of 882 miles.This conversation covers the history of ONE.ai and the development of the long-range battery, the company's plans, potential use cases, sustainability in terms of cobalt- and nickel-free production and second-life, and of course the issues of charging and range.Connect with Mujeeb on LinkedIn.Watch a short film of the ONE.ai test drive here.

GUEST: Alex RoyABOUT THIS EPISODEAlex Roy, the outspoken ex-Cannonball Run record-holder turned autonomous vehicle (AV) advocate shares his thoughts on a wide range of AV-related topics.In this fast-paced episode, we bombard Alex with questions about the current state of autonomous technology, AV business models, safety, accessibility, jobs, connectivity, parking, the tired "race to autonomy" adage, and the role of autonomous driving in the future of urban mobility.We also talk about Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS), super-apps, elevators, and Alex's "asleep in the back" autonomous vehicle technology test.Alex Roy is founder of the Human Driving Association, Director of Special Operations at Argo.ai, author of The Driver: My Dangerous Pursuit of Speed and Truth in the Outlaw Racing World, and producer of Apex: The Secret Race Across America.You can listen to Alex Roy on the Autonocast and the No Parking Podcast, read his thoughts on Ground Truth, connect with him on LinkedIn, and follow him on social media by searching for AlexRoy144.

GUEST: NICK O'SULLIVAN, JOYRIDEABOUT THIS EPISODEWhen you think of next-generation urban mobility solutions, you often think of the big e-scooter, e-bike, and ride-hailing operators that have made their way from start-ups to household names, some of them even reaching that almost mythical unicorn status with a valuation of a billion dollars or more.But behind so many of the services that people use lie white-label software platforms. One such company is Toronto-based Joyride. Established in 2014 as a bike-share management system, Joyride has grown into a provider of white label apps and back-end data and fleet management for shared micromobility services in over 200 markets. Nick O'Sullivan is Head of Customer Success at Joyride; in this episode, we talk about the role of micromobility in city transportation, and the complexities of working with such a wide number of city regulators and transit authorities. We also discuss the potential for mobility super-apps, and the outlook for shared and privately-owned micromobility solutions.Connect with Nick on LinkedInProduction note: We recorded this conversation with Nick out and about, so please excuse the background noise.

GUEST: Sam Abuelsamid, Principal Research Analyst, Guidehouse InsightsABOUT THIS EPISODEThe fountain of knowledge that is Sam Abuelsamid joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about electric vehicles, ranging from raw materials to EV marketing strategies, via range, charging networks and technologies, battery swap, affordability, and repairability. And Jonny gets the chance to share and air some of his experiences as a new EV driver."There's much more to sustainable transportation than pulling out an internal combustion engine and transmission, and dropping in an electric motor and a battery," notes Sam.Sam is Principal Research Analyst at Guidehouse Insights, where he leads the E-Mobility Research Service with a focus on transportation electrification, automated driving and mobility services.Connect with Sam on LinkedIn

GUEST: Daniel Barel, CEO, REE AutomotiveABOUT THIS EPISODEYou won't buy a REE car you. You won't drive around in a vehicle with a REE badge on the front. But you will soon be able to ride in a vehicle built on REE modular technology, including the REECorner, a by-wire electrification technology that enables anything from a very small vehicle such as a micro shuttle right through to Class 6 trucks.In 2021, REE went public on the NASDAQ, via a SPAC (special purpose acquisition company) deal with 10X Capital. REE's partners include Hino Motors, Magna International, JB Poindexter, Navya, and American Axle & Manufacturing.In this episode, Daniel Barel, the co-founder and CEO of REE Automotive, discusses electrification, modular platforms, urban mobility, commercial vehicles, last-mile delivery, and the company's ambitious plans to generate revenue of $19 billion by 2026.Connect with Daniel on LinkedInProduction note: This interview was recorded out and about, so there is some background noise.

GUEST: Eric Boullier, CEO, CircleABOUT THIS EPISODE"I switched from 400 kilometres per hour to 70 kph" - Eric Boullier, formerly Team Principal of the Renault and Lotus F1 teams, and Racing Director of McLaren F1, is now the founder and CEO of Circle, an all-new free-floating car-sharing start-up company using purpose-built electric vehicles.Free-floating sharing is a term you hear in relation to e-scooters and e-bikes—using an app, the user finds the nearest e-scooter, for example, starts riding it and leaves it at their destination. But just as they found it in a random location, the user doesn't need to find a docking station to secure it when they're done. They scan the QR code, maybe take a picture of the scooter, end the ride on the app, and they're automatically billed for that ride. But free-floating is relatively new to car-sharing.Car-sharing has been tried in several cities in recent years, to varying degrees of success. What's interesting about Circle is that instead of using an existing vehicle, Boullier and his team have decided to develop their own car. They've taken an innovative approach to the vehicle itself, and they've made a very bold decision on their battery strategy.In this episode of Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast, Eric Boullier outlines why he thinks his new start-up, Circle, has found the right formula.Connect with Eric on LinkedIn

GUEST: Jim Adler, Toyota VenturesAbout this episodeThe evolution of mobility, and the rising importance of software and services are having a massive impact on the way automakers think and operate. So much so, in fact, that they know they need to offer more than just a century's expertise in mechanical engineering and manufacturing - and that means tapping into the world of start-ups.That's why corporate venture capital is now an established part of the automotive industry, and most major automakers now operate investment divisions, such as BMW i Ventures, Jaguar Land Rover InMotion Ventures, and Porsche Ventures.We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Jim Adler, the managing director and founder of Toyota‘s standalone early-stage venture capital firm, Toyota Ventures.Jim and his team at Toyota Ventures are interested in AI and autonomy, mobility-robotics, cloud, smart cities, digital health, fintech, energy, and materials, and they have a significant interest in climate. The portfolio of over 40-companies includes May Mobility, Perceptive Automata, and Burro, a maker of fruit harvesting robots. Toyota Ventures was also an early investor in Joby Aviation, which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in August 2021.This interview was recorded "out in the wild," , rather than our usual studio set-up, hence the presence of some background noise, but it doesn't detract from the conversation and the excellent insight that Jim had to share with us.

GUEST: Andy Palmer, Switch Mobility About the showHaving spent 42 years in the business of developing, making, and selling vehicles, Andy Palmer is a titan of the auto industry. During his 42 year career, he rose to almost the very top of the Nissan C-suite, where he introduced a raft of vehicles, including the Nissan Leaf EV and the e-NV200 electric taxi. He subsequently spent six years as the CEO of Aston Martin, where he campaigned for the Rapide E high-performance EV, and is now the CEO of electric bus maker Switch Mobility.Andy Palmer is a long-standing advocate of clean zero emission mobility. But more than that, he's a proponent of net carbon zero. And that's the focus of this episode: it's not enough to produce zero emission vehicles—to make an impact, he says, you have to be a net zero hero, and that means your vehicles have to be net carbon zero. To achieve what used to be called “well-to-wheel” requires a new way of thinking about everything from design, development, and manufacturing, to marketing, sales, and business model.

GUESTS: Pierre LaHutte, Navya and Andrew Grant, BloombergNEFAbout this episodeFully autonomous and electric pods that seat up to 12 or 15 people are just about the perfect embodiment of a driverless future first imagined many decades ago. But they're already here, and in use.With a design that puts function over form, these highly configurable and versatile vehicles will play a key role in the race to zero emission urban mobility.Running initially on fixed routes in small locations, and on campuses and at airports, autonomous shuttles present an opportunity to replace large under-used diesel buses with an efficient, zero emission alternative.This episode is all about the role of autonomous shuttles in the future of urban mobility, and to help us understand the evolution of these vehicles, we're joined by Pierre LaHutte, Chief Executive of autonomous shuttle maker Navya, and Andrew Grant, Head of Intelligent Mobility at BloombergNEF.About the guestsPierre LaHutte is the CEO of Navya. Until January 2019, he was at Iveco, where he served as Iveco Brand President and CNH Industrial Group Executive Council member. Pierre also sits on the board of Forsee Power, FRIEM and Groupe BERTO. Connect with Pierre on LinkedInAndrew Grant is an expert on future and next-generation mobility, and currently heads up Intelligent Mobility at BloombergNEF.Connect with Andrew on LinkedIn

GUESTS: Carla Bailo - Center for Automotive Research (CAR); Joost Vantomme, European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), and Sam Fiorani - AutoForecast SolutionsAbout this episodeIn our trailer for this podcast series, we used the now-famous quote by Mary Barra, Chief Executive of General Motors, who said the auto industry would change more over the next 5-10 years than it had in the previous 50.Mobility is changing, too, thanks to the rapid rise in cities around the world of micromobility solutions such as shared e-bikes and e-scooters, autonomous microshuttles, ride-hailing and ride-sharing, mobility as a service solutions, and of course, a reduction in travel in the face of the workplace evolution.So where does that leave the automaker? It's a simple question, but there's no simple answer.  Nevertheless, we're confident our three guests will be able to shed some light.About the guestsCarla Bailo is the Chief Executive of the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based Center for Automotive Research (CAR)Connect with Carla on LinkedInJoost Vantomme is Director, Smart Mobility at the Brussels-headquartered European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA)Join Joost on LinkedInSam Fiorani is Vice President, Global Vehicle Forecasting at AutoForecast SolutionsFind Sam on LinkedIn

GUESTS: Tom Standage, The Economist and Olaf Sakkers, RedBlue CapitalIn this episode, Martin and Jonny are joined by the authors of two new books on the evolution and future of urban mobility. Each has taken a very different angle on urban mobility, the perfect basis for a discussion on how we got to where we are, and how we're going to get to where we need to be to overcome the growing list of urban mobility challenges.(And you'll be pleasantly surprised by the amount of time we spent talking about horses, CATs and DOGs…)Tom StandageTom Standage is the deputy editor of The Economist. He's also the author of a number of books, the most recent, A Brief History of Motion, published in 2021 by Bloomsbury Publishing.Olaf SakkersIn 2021, having spent six years at global venture capital fund Maniv Mobility, Olaf Sakkers hooked up with Prescott Watson and founded RedBlue Capital, an early-stage mobility-focused venture capital firm. Olaf is the author of the recently published book Mobility Disruption Framework.

GUESTS: Richard Corbett of Voi Technology, Adam Norris of Pure Electric, and Kersten Heineke of the McKinsey Center for Future MobilityThe term "micromobility" was first coined by Horace Dediu of Micromobility Industries, and refers to minimalist personal mobility, using vehicles weighing no more than 500kg.Micromobility is now widely accepted as part of our vocabulary, but ask for a definition, and you'll get a wide range of responses. You can be sure, however, that the definition will include e-scooters.And that's thanks to the e-scooter boom that's taken place over the last few years, with a growing number of towns and cities around the world offering e-scooters since they first appeared on the streets of LA and San Francisco in about 2018.Motorized scooters are nothing new, of course - they've been around for over a century - but it was a start-up in Singapore that brought free-floating rentable electric scooters to life in 2016, and a revolution was born.It's safe to say that e-scooters are here to stay – but what does that mean for the cities with no e-scooter strategy in place that find themselves suddenly hosting e-scooter providers?And even if a city does have a micromobility strategy, how does it integrate micromobility start-ups into its long-established public transport services?Then there's the detail: pay-as-you-go or subscription, docked or free-floating? Not to mention regulation, safety, and monitoring… And that's before we've even had time to think about profitability. For city regulators, each of these needs careful thought, planning, and time – in stark contrast to the fast-moving world in which many of the micromobility start-ups like to operate.We're delighted to welcome to the RIDE podcast three experts on micromobility:Richard Corbett of Voi TechnologiesAdam Norris of Pure ElectricKersten Heineke of the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility

The MaaS Alliance defines Mobility as a Service ('MaaS') as “the integration of various forms of transport services into a single mobility service, accessible on demand.”MaaS may still widely be considered a new concept, but it's been around for a good decade and a half, and appears to be on the verge of mainstream success.In this episode, we're joined by MaaS pioneer Sampo Hietanen of Helsinki-headquartered MaaS Global, Pedro Somma of São Paulo-based Quicko, and Tu Le of Sino Auto Insights in Beijing. This wide-ranging discussion ranges from the current state of mobility as a service and the outlook for the mobility super-app, to the role of the automaker, the importance of rural mobility, and the future of the MaaS market.

About this episodeAs cities begin to tackle the complex issue of car-free mobility in an urban environment, there's a growing number of new mobility solutions: shared electric scooters, shared bicycles, shared e-bikes. But there's also a growing trend for privately owned solutions, including electric unicycles and skateboards, as well as electric scooters and electric bikes.In this episode, Jonny and Martin talk to Kevin McLaughlin, the CEO and founder of e-bike rental company, Zygg. Kevin is joined by urban mobility expert Lukas Neckermann.About the guestsKevin McLaughlin is Chief Executive at Zygg (https://www.ridezygg.com), a Toronto-based subscription e-bike service. Kevin has extensive experience in urban mobility, from car-sharing and financial services to bikes – he helped launch Free2Move in North America, and founded Zygg in 2019.Lukas Neckermann is Chief Operating Officer of Splyt (https://splyt.com/en/) and Managing Director of Neckermann Strategic Advisors (https://www.neckermann.net). He has over 20 years of leadership experience in automotive, media, and financial services; he's authored three books on the mobility revolution, and advises companies of all sizes in the fields of smart cities and smart mobility.

About this episodeUrban mobility is changing – fast. From new technologies and new business models, to increasing environmental and regulatory pressure, changing commuter trends, and fast-moving consumer expectations, major issues are influencing the way we get around. Connectivity, automation, and electrification are driving innovation, and shared mobility brings new business models, but we can expect a complete transformation of urban mobility, from what we ride on or in, to where we ride to, why we're riding at all, and how far we need to ride to do whatever it is we're going to do.In this episode, Martin and Jonny talk to two experts in urban mobility about what they see as the key changes changing the shape of urban mobility as we know it. About the guestsLukas Neckermann is Chief Operating Officer of Splyt (https://splyt.com/en/) and Managing Director of Neckermann Strategic Advisors (https://www.neckermann.net). He has over 20 years of leadership experience in automotive, media, and financial services; he's authored three books on the mobility revolution; and he advises companies of all sizes in the fields of smart cities and smart mobility.Malte Ackermann's career in urban mobility has included work as a start-up consultant and product owner, and time spent at Daimler's Moovel/car2go unit, and Daimler Financial Services. Malte is a Professor in Automotive Management: Mobility-as-a-Service at Nürtingen-Geislingen University, and has just published a book on the subject, titled: “Mobility-as-a-Service - The Convergence of Automotive and Mobility Industries.” (https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783030755898) 

Welcome to Ride!In Ride: The Urban Mobility Podcast, hosts Jonny Combe and Martin Kahl will take leading mobility industry decision makers, influencers, and experts on a journey through specific topics shaping the future of urban mobility. In each episode, Martin, Jonny and special guests will discuss how a topic will affect our daily lives and businesses, impact the environment, reshape existing mobility infrastructure, and ultimately redefine our cities.