The car brands in the Volkswagen Group–VW, Škoda, SEAT and Audi–are promoting last-mile ‘micromobility’ solutions including e-scooters. Why? Because the car era is coming to an end, at least for cities. That is the obvious conclusion from a July 3 posting from the group which states: “Answers are needed to avoid the threat of traffic collapse on the one hand and to meet the changing demands of modern mobility on the other.”
The statement worries about the “capacity utilization of the roads” and, instead of insisting that more roads should be built–a demand automakers have long made but which only led to greater congestion through the agency of ‘induced demand’ – the company is seeking to remain relevant to millennials and others by jumping on the micromobility bandwagon. The group released a number of micromobility products at last year’s Geneva Motor Show and has today promoted them in a group posting.
“On its way from being the world’s largest automobile manufacturer to a leading provider of sustainable mobility, the Volkswagen Group has developed a whole range of innovative products and services for urban areas,” says the posting, which has a graphic fretting about “impending driving bans.”