The Assessor Mag Autumn 2024 Web - Flipbook - Page 21
and uncertainty about the technology.
While we’re seeing encouraging
trends in cost reduction, particularly
in battery technology, signi昀椀cant
obstacles remain. Access to off-road
parking at residential properties and
the availability of domestic electricity
tariffs are signi昀椀cant issues throughout
Europe. Additionally, the high costs
associated with public charging
stations can often be prohibitively
expensive for many users. My personal
situation, with access to off-street
parking and a solar PV array for
charging, represents a privilege that
most potential buyers don’t share.
What stands out most notably in the
evolution of electric vehicles has been
the remarkable pace of new market
entrants. The fundamental architecture
of electric vehicles has created
opportunities for new manufacturers to
enter the market, leading to a rapidly
evolving and increasingly competitive
landscape that has accelerated
innovation across the industry.
We’re seeing regional and
national governments introduce
restrictions or bans on the sales
of internal combustion engine
vehicles after certain dates. Is
this the right approach, or should
market forces lead the transition
to clean mobility?
The transition to cleaner, potentially
more expensive technologies is unlikely
to be driven purely by market forces,
making some degree of regulatory
intervention necessary to seed the
market. However, the current approach
of implementing outright bans on
speci昀椀c technologies while attempting
to prescribe solutions through
regulation is fundamentally misguided.
Instead of working collaboratively
toward our shared goals, this approach
risks shutting down potentially viable
solutions simply because they don’t
align with current regulatory fashion or
understanding.
Regulation should focus on de昀椀ning
clear objectives, such as zero tailpipe
emissions or total lifecycle emission
targets, rather than mandating speci昀椀c
technical solutions. We must remain
open to all innovative approaches that
could achieve clean mobility rather
than prematurely excluding potentially
valuable solutions through overly
prescriptive regulation.
Electri昀椀cation appears to be
inevitable, but few automakers
can compete by producing BEV
only, and BEV is not suitable for
all markets, in terms of cost,
infrastructure, terrain… How will
the transition play out?
The transition is already unfolding in
European and UK markets, where we’re
witnessing a softening of regulations
around hybrid vehicles. This trend is
likely to continue, with a mix of hybrid
ICE and full BEV solutions becoming
the predominant mobility options
for the next two decades. Looking
forward, my hope is that regulators will
adopt a more collaborative approach
and allow market forces to shape the
nature of clean mobility beyond 2050,
rather than attempting to prescribe
speci昀椀c technical solutions.
Thatcham Research is all about
automotive risk intelligence.
What do you see as the key risks
that automakers and suppliers
need to mitigate against in the
transition to clean mobility?
And how can automakers and
suppliers ensure their products
are truly sustainable?
Risk is an inherent aspect of life, and
the sustainable continuation of human
activity requires both understanding
and insuring against these risks. This
principle applies equally to mobility,
where risk understanding facilitates
societal adoption through insurance.
While identifying speci昀椀c key risks can
be challenging due to their multiplicity,
we must consider several critical risk
areas throughout a product’s lifecycle,
notably occupant safety, technology
security, damage susceptibility,
and repair cost-effectiveness. By
addressing these risk factors during
the design phase, we can maintain
societal mobility while ensuring the
sustainability of our technological
solutions.
You’re speaking at the FISITA
World Mobility Summit in
www.iaea-online.org/news/the-assessor | AUTUMN 2024 | THE ASSESSORS JOURNAL
November 2024. The event is
titled, ‘To EV, or not to EV?’ With
that in mind, what will be your
key message to delegates?
The central message is the critical
importance of collaborative effort
throughout the technology design
process. Too often, stakeholders work
in isolation, attempting to resolve
con昀氀icts only at the end of design
cycles. This approach is fundamentally
昀氀awed. Understanding and addressing
risk areas through the design process,
taking an engineering approach
to eliminating risks, bene昀椀ts both
昀椀nancial and societal interests. This
collaborative approach represents
the only viable path to achieving
widespread adoption of these essential
new technologies.
The 2025 FISITA World Mobility
Conference will take place in
Barcelona, Spain, 3-5 June 2025.
JOURNAL
FISITA is the international
membership organisation for the
technology of mobility community.
Committed to promoting
excellence in mobility engineering
by cultivating international
engagement and peer group
collaboration in a pre-competitive
environment – businesses working
together for the good of society
by ensuring mobility remains
sustainable and accessible to all.
Established in 1948, FISITA is
the international network for
automotive engineers, with a
reach to over 200,000 engineers in
35 countries.
FISITA Corporate Members are
an elite group of automotive and
mobility technology companies
and organisations who are leading
the way to the technology of
tomorrow, today.
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