Evolution–Revolution–Transformation: A Business Strategy Analysis of the Automated Driving Industry

Abstract

With automated vehicles having similarly much technology promise, business opportunity, customer expectation, and implementation challenge, this contribution aims to consider all those different aspects pertaining to what can be called the next stage of personal mobility. A widely used business analysis methodology, Porter’s Five Forces Framework, is applied to discuss the automated vehicle industry and its different players and forces. It becomes evident that there are several different directions toward automated driving, i.e. an evolutionary, a revolutionary, and a transformative path, which are pursued by different players, who do not necessarily compete with one another as it is often suggested. In order to accomplish safe and convenient future mobility, broad collaboration is recommended.