Experiences Per Mile (EPM) Advisory Council Issues Groundbreaking New Report on a Consumer-Driven Mobility Transformation 2020-2030

Since the Fall of 2019, I am proud to share that SBD Automotive has collaborated with HARMAN to launch and facilitate the Experiences Per Mile (EPM) Advisory Council. As consumers increasingly prioritize connected automotive and mobility experiences, the council and its dynamic members have stepped in to fill a critical void in our industry by connecting and collaborating with one another to prioritize the end consumer.

As we have worked together as an independent organization, each and every member has realized that no one company can solve all of the connected car or mobility challenges alone, or frankly “see it all” when it comes to having a 360 view of the consumer experience before, during, and after an end-to-end journey. Whether the journey starts on a phone app, continues inside a connected car, includes various forms of mobility or modality, the overall experience can still be painful and isolating for the end user, is ripe for disruptive innovation, and there are massive opportunities to improve efficiencies, increase satisfaction, and ultimately give the consumer valuable, “time back.” 

The EPM Advisory Council counts over 21 member companies ranging from automotive OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers, mapping companies, to a diverse set of leading service providers throughout the broader mobility ecosystem. Today the council published a new report analyzing what the future of mobility transformation will look like in the decade ahead. The report titled, “Experiences Per Mile 2030: Ensuring the Next Decade of Mobility Transformation Puts the Consumer First and Foremost,” features findings that address the massive mobility transformation currently underway – and why collaborative consumer-centric innovation is critical in enabling hyper-individualized user experiences.

The report finds that while the industry is being disrupted by Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric initiatives and investment - "CASE" or "ACES" too often fails to fully contemplate the impact on the holistic consumer experience across each of these 4 letters. As the shift from cars ‘being connected’ to cars being ‘consumer experiences’ continues to grow, consumer expectations are increasingly centered around experiences over features.

The report recommends the following actions and recommendations for the overall mobility ecosystem:

 ·      Take a 360-degree Customer View: Real change can only occur if automotive manufacturers and mobility providers start first and foremost with the experience needs of the end consumer—both owners and users of mobility solutions

 ·      Seamless Integration Across Multiple Mobility Components: Expectations outside the industry are setting consumer expectations for what the ideal mobility experience should be: IDs built around their digital life, opt-in data flow across broader industries and services, simplified account management based on choice and liquid integration with a single click

 ·      Open Innovation Sandboxes: Testing new mobility experiences is extremely difficult—it requires a real- world environment where experiments can be conducted in a way that ensures safety, while minimizing reputational, Intellectual Property (IP) and legal risk to companies involved

 ·      Partnerships: Successful mobility experiences include seamless integration of components to ensure a holistic mobility journey can be delivered. Too often when individual corporations try to “own” the end-to-end journey, the outcomes for mobility users inevitably suffers

 ·      Embrace the Challenges of Autonomy: Creating value at the speed of need and laying the foundation for 2030+ autonomous systems will have the potential to massively disrupt the mobility experience as we know it today. Autonomy offers new benefits for travelers and business professionals and increases access for the elderly those with specialized needs

 ·      Business Model Disruption: The business model will need to change drastically to support the new focus on mobility experience. Vehicle manufacturers will need to embrace commercial opportunities that move beyond a one-time sale into one that includes lifetime value, subscriptions and in-vehicle commerce opportunities via third parties and new software- based enhancements

 ·      Shift from IQ to EQ Leadership: The automotive industry has traditionally favored IQ leadership (“know how”) but will increasingly need to seek out leaders who also have strong EQ skills (“know you”)

 In the coming months, the council will tackle an ambitious initiative to Embrace Transparent and Quantifiable Metrics. Automakers sell one of the most expensive products in the world yet are largely flying blind with little-to-no insights on how their products are actually being used, enjoyed, cursed, valued or any on-going accepted metric of satisfaction. The council will further recommend new ways to define, describe and measure the mobility experience via simple, transparent, and shared metrics which consumers can understand and embrace (and protect their privacy and cybersecurity along the way). 

 We are looking to add new leaders and companies to this growing EPM movement. To get involved, receive more information, or download the EPM 2030 Whitepaper please visit www.experiencespermile.org.