Urbanization Process Accelerates Changes in Investment Ideas for American Automobile Manufacturers

With the acceleration of urbanization, people’s lives are also undergoing changes in subtle changes. All of this is changing the thinking of automakers. Ford Motor Company in the United States found that in cities such as London, there are days when consumers think that taking a train is the most reasonable. On other days, car rentals have become more practical. As a result, the company is adding additional investment in the production of electric buses, and at the same time it will conduct research on whether to start production, sales of electric bicycles or management of electric bicycle sharing systems.

Large auto companies, including GM, Ford and Chrysler, are responding to some data. The data shows that young people are delaying the age of learning cars, while more young professionals are moving into difficult driving downtown. Sheryl Connelly, Ford's director of future trends research, said the company noticed that in the 30 years to 2008, the proportion of 16-year-olds with US licenses had dropped from 50% to 30%. The company then began to study the impact of these changes. The results of the study have forced Ford Motor Co. to admit that in cities such as London, commuters on some days may think that it is most reasonable to take a train. On other days, car rentals will become more practical. "The future of mobility will be multi-modal," Connelly said. "It will be driven by circumstances and intentions."

As a result, car manufacturers are increasingly participating in local car sharing services. These services are designed to serve city professionals who occasionally need to drive but prefer to avoid owning the car alone. It is understood that Ford has reached an agreement with car sharing service provider Zipcar to provide cars for the latter's car rental service sites on American university campuses.

For those companies that have caused steady transitions in many parts of the United States and are almost entirely dependent on private cars, this new thinking marks a dramatic change. As Peter Kosak, executive director of the mobility department of GM’s cities, puts it, the increasing intensity of global urbanization (including the apparent shift to the decaying urban center of the United States) will dramatically change the mindset of automakers. . One of the company’s responses was to invest in Proterra, a North Carolina-based electric bus manufacturer. In November 2012, GM added this investment.

GM also conducted research on whether to start production, sales of electric bicycles or management of electric bike sharing systems. The survey shows that in Europe and the United States, the demand for electric bicycles shows an increasing trend. This trend has led automakers to start thinking about how to share a slice of the market.