Automakers Grapple with Urbanization

Panelists like Barb Samardzich, vice president of product development at Ford Europe, said that that automakers will have to "radically change their business models":

Looking into the 2050 timeframe, one thing is for certain, the transportation system will be an eco-system that integrates all modes of travel together," said Samardzich, in an article by Automobile News reporter Nick Gibbs. The subject of the panel was "Future Mobility", so the prognosticating wasn't coming from left field. Yet the panel was surprisingly in synch with their message.

"The four panelists all cited the shift toward urban living as the force behind integrated and connected transport. "Urbanization is the megatrend we have to take into account," said Claus Ehlers, director of society, vehicle concepts and human factors at Daimler."