The latest forecast from McKinsey Consulting on the disruptive trends unfolding in the automotive sector is very much along the lines of what I have been saying for quite a while.  It predictions comes packaged in a nice, easy to consume slick video presentation shown below.

Among the major disruptions, the ones I see having direct and tremendous social and roadsafety implications are ridesharing and vehicle automation, both aided by a confluence of technology and consumer aversion for driving/owning automobiles. Of course, the pace of disruption will be dictated by the Federal policies and that means our lawmakers must remain nimble and be willing to set aside their political ideologies to help the industry as it leaps forward.

Scenarios for growth of vehicle automation. Source: McKinsey

Check out the full report here

Image courtesy: via BusinessInsider

Given the great amount of public interest in automated vehicles, global automakers are no longer kidding around. Off late, they are investing a great amount of  time and resources, particularly in the research shops at Hyundai, GM and Toyota, in developing technologies to support this ambitious agenda. The chart below shows the spike in number of patents related to autonomous driving from the auto OEMs. The chart was part of a survey report by Thomson Reuters IP & Science, “The State of Innovation in the Automotive Industry 2015,” which analyzed patent applications and mapped trends in five key areas: Propulsion, navigation, handling, safety and security, and entertainment.

Image Courtesy: Businessinsider.com

According to Reuters, Overall, Asians and Germans dominated the top 10 companies for patent applications, while GM, ranked seventh, was the only U.S. company making the list. The automotive sector saw the number of patent filings around the world grow by double-digits year-on-year over the past five years, the Thomson Reuters report said. While Google Inc has dominated headlines in self-driving cars, Toyota, GM and Hyundai received the most patents in this area, said Bob Stembridge, one of the report’s authors.

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Date: Thursday, August 14, 2014
Time: 11:00 AM PT | 2:00 PM ET

Join Governing and ITS America Thursday, Aug. 14 at 2:00 p.m. EST for a state and local government market briefing webinar to learn what and where the biggest transportation infrastructure opportunities are; the outlook for the intelligent infrastructure market — from autonomous vehicles and connected cars to “cities on sensors,” smart traffic, parking and emergency response opportunities; the latest on the federal highway trust fund stopgap measures and what it means for states; and how to keep up with new opportunities as soon as they happen and grow your state and local business

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• What and where the biggest transportation infrastructure opportunities are for companies
• How new transportation funding models are spurring growth
• The outlook for the intelligent infrastructure market—from autonomous vehicles and connected cars to “cities on sensors,” smart traffic, parking and emergency response opportunities
• The latest on the federal highway trust fund stopgap measures and what it means for states
• How to keep up with new opportunities as soon as they happen and grow your state and local business

This webinar will help you map your state and local strategy for the year ahead, so join us August 14 and bring your questions for our market experts.

SPEAKERS:
Marina Leight
Associate Publisher
Transportation Infrastructure, Governing
Joseph Morris
Director of Market Intelligence
Governing Institute

Scott Belcher
President and CEO
ITS America

For questions or more information, contact:
Anne Dunlap-Kahren
916-932-1488
adunlap-kahren@governing.com

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Related articles

• The Future of Car Technology
• Mercedes-Benz presents autonomous Future Truck 2025 research vehicle; “Highway Pilot”
• Mercedes Future Truck 2025 Is A Self Driving Truck
• Belle Isle traffic to go high-tech for transport conference

(via WSJ on YouTube)

[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7lkmBLtxoo’]

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(Source: Detroit Free Press)

Mike Thompson of Detroit Free Press (Freep.com) has nicely captured the sentiments of the American public (at least, the sensible ones) about Chrysler repaying the $5.9 billion bailout money.  God knows how much bickering will happen when the political leadership decides to spend it on other programs.

Image courtesy: Free.com - Mike Thompson: Taxpayers get their money back from Chrysler

Note: For what it is worth, I’d also add this: It is nice to see the taxpayer $$ safely return to the government’s coffers, unlike what happened with some of the Wall Street beneficiaries.  This timely intervention from the U.S. Government not only prevented an American icon from vanishing without a trace, but it also saved thousands of jobs in a city that is already reeling from some really bad economic decisions.