The digitization of mobility in China

The digitization of mobility in China

Digitization in all its forms is the „hot“ topic of the past years. Browsing through the relevant magazines, websites and blogs, one quickly gets the impression that the USA and Europe are taking a leading role in this. But if you take a look at the Middle Kingdom, the picture is different. In a Spiegel (eg. Der Speigel Newspaper) column from last year, Sascha Lobo introduces the following teaser:

“China is highly successful digitally, not least because of its authoritarian society. Our future is being created in this country – and if it’s not to become gloomy, something has to change in Germany.“

The introduction is deliberately provocative. However, there is a little bit of truth in it. While China was still known for its copycats some time ago, it now boasts numerous digital products and services of its own. Not least the big tech giants Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu play a driving role in this. The relatively weakly regulated market, low barriers to entry and government support in the form of equity stakes and development plans also help to drive digitisation forward with their own ideas. Services such as the digital rental of power banks, umbrellas, bicycles or e-scooters are exactly what Chinese consumers need. These services are of course almost always paid for digitally with AliPay.

Digitization of mobility

In times of the diesel crisis and tentative attempts in the field of electric mobility in Germany, China is developing into a pioneer in the field of innovative mobility. This is not by chance. The change towards innovative, networked and clean mobility is desired by the government and also makes sense in the view of the country’s almost 1.4 billion inhabitants, the immensely high level of air pollution in the rich conurbations and the goal of becoming a high-tech superpower.

To get air pollution under control, alternative driving systems are very much in demand. The Süddeutsche Zeitung, for example, already wrote a year ago that China was a big step ahead of the German automotive industry in terms of electric mobility. In addition to massive investments in battery factories throughout the country, electric mobility is also being systematically promoted through research and funding. The aim is to significantly increase the proportion of electric and hybrid vehicles. In order to achieve this goal, infrastructure is also being expanded and the registration of environmentally friendly vehicles promoted. The path to becoming the world market leader in environmentally friendly transportation appears to be on track.

Mobility is more than driving a car

In times of digitalisation, however, it is not enough to focus on pure locomotion – whether classically behind the wheel or even autonomously. The overall product and the mobility mix are essential. Thus t3n online quotes the former BMW engineer and former Byton boss Carsten Breitfeld with the words: “The real topic of the future is not electric cars”. Byton is trying to take advantage of a globalized world. So design and vehicle concept come from Munich, technology from the Valley and batteries including production sites from China. The People’s Republic has a majority stake in Byton and is driving the project forward in its own country through generous investments, favorable conditions and government support.Breitfeld sees the vehicle as a fully networked platform and companies like Byton as a mobility provider around which a host of new business models are to be developed.

Individual mobility on the advance

In addition to electric mobility, autonomous driving and networked vehicles, app-based mobility services are very well received in Asia and by the People’s Republic. Almost every city dweller in China owns a smartphone with which he can reserve a driver at Didi or a bicycle at Ofo (Alibaba) and Mobike (Tencent) within minutes. While ownership used to be enormously important, the concept of the Sharing Economy is now becoming increasingly popular with various target groups.

We are facing exciting times in terms of newly conceived mobility. The arms race between car manufacturers and technology giants is already underway. It is worth taking a look at China and observing the progress made there – but not without critically examining the boom. The openness of Chinese society towards new technologies and digital services has played a major role in this rapid development. But the attitude towards data protection also differs fundamentally from European standards. Both are factors that create a good breeding ground for the rapid development of innovative services in China, but which cannot be directly transferred to other parts of the world. The challenge will therefore be to develop new technologies that meet with sufficient acceptance and at the same time offer practical solutions to the mobility challenges of the future.

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