The automotive industry is an industry that has always been on the move. From the construction of the first car in 1885 by Carl Benz to the launch of the first plug-in hybrid car, the development of automotive technology has always played an important role in the development of the automotive industry. Time and again, innovations were applied in both the design and engineering of cars. Great examples are the development of ESP by Mercedes, BMW and Toyota and, somewhat more recently, the development of Goodyear Oxygene car tyres especially suited for self-driving cars.
The affordable long-range EV is coming
Again, the future of the auto industry is brimming with developments already underway by car manufacturers and suppliers. Right now, we see car manufacturers putting a lot of money into developing 100% electric driving cars (EVs). Tesla has undoubtedly been at the forefront of this. The development of the popular Tesla Model S with a range of more than 400 kilometres has been a good wake-up call for other car manufacturers. Until recently, cars with such a long range on a single battery charge were hardly on sale, or unaffordable. Meanwhile, however, Porsche, Audi, Hyundai and Volkswagen, among others, have all developed (or are in concept) electric cars with a range of around 400 km, some of which are also reasonably affordable for the average motorist.
Solar panels on the car roof
The batteries of those electric cars all need to be charged at some point eventually. And what better place to do that than solar panels? That way you never have to stress looking for the nearest charging point again, and you can also just drive if you forgot to connect your car to the charger the night before. Hence, car manufacturers such as Germany's Sono Motors have plunged into developing an electric car with solar panels that provide the required energy. According to Sono Motors, the Sion is the first car that can charge its own batteries with solar energy. This is done through the solar panels attached all over the exterior of the car, so that the car charges throughout the day. The price is surprisingly low at €16,000, although this does not include batteries. You still have to buy those separately.
Perhaps this car could cause the popularity of electric cars to rise among private drivers. Research commissioned by the newspaper Trouw in 2017 showed that between 2010 and now, around 2,000 private car owners in the Netherlands bought a 100% electric car.
The high price and low range were 2 major factors that deterred private car owners from buying an electric car. And that's even though more than 150,000 new cars and 1.65 million used cars are sold on fuel every year. So there is still a long way to go before we will see electric cars driving all around us. However, the number will slowly increase in the coming years as car manufacturers such as Tesla, Volkswagen, Lightyear and Sono Motors work on affordable cars with a long range.
More efficient transport with autonomous trucks
Besides developing all-electric cars, car manufacturers are currently developing self-driving cars, buses and trucks. The most interesting applications here are in the area of increasing efficiency in the transport sector. For example, transport company Schenker is conducting a "platooning" pilot in Germany. This involves a convoy of self-driving trucks covering a distance of 145 kilometres with the lead truck indicating the speed. The other trucks are connected to the lead truck via GPS and Wi-Fi and automatically adjust their speed. In the Netherlands, Amsterdam-based Albert Heijn stores are already being supplied by e-trucks. So it is waiting for the next step: large-scale deployment of e-trucks and autonomous driving to supply shops.
Autonomous driving for individuals is developing in a different way. Motorists in the Netherlands are concerned about the safety of autonomous cars, leading to a lack of confidence. Recently in Arizona, a self-driving Uber containing a test driver drove into a woman crossing the road who died as a result of the accident. Reports like this confirm the suspicion that the technology is still far from perfect.
When is the time ripe for the autonomous car?
The autonomy of cars can be divided into different levels, from non-self-driving to fully self-driving. Tesla's autopilot is at level 2 which means the car can drive partially autonomously and the driver does the rest. Currently, there are not many cars that have more autonomy. Communication between autonomous vehicles and between the vehicle and the infrastructure is one of the most important preconditions for the large-scale introduction of self-driving cars to succeed. The Dutch government is taking all kinds of initiatives in this area, making the Netherlands the best prepared country for introducing autonomous driving. In addition, a self-driving car produces huge amounts of (privacy-sensitive) data, the use of which must be regulated, and liability is also quite a tricky issue - because who is actually liable?
Before the roads are completely transformed with communication points for our cars and the right solutions for storing/using this data, the time of autonomous cars is not here yet.
What forms of transport do we see in the near future?
Electric cars, with or without solar panels, seem to be the most feasible option for private motorists in the near future. And although car manufacturers are also busy testing autonomous cars, we won't see them appearing on Dutch roads any time soon. There is not yet enough trust among motorists for that, and besides, the focus at the moment is also very much on electric driving. Autonomous convoys of trucks seem somewhat more realistic if we look at the tests currently being carried out on Dutch roads, as does the deployment of autonomous electric vehicles in urban transport. However, this still seems to be a few years away as well.
