Happy new year! This week in mobility... let’s look at the mobility industry in 2022 and what to expect this year. We’ll be back with our regularly scheduled programming next week.
2022 Recap
2022 was a big year in the mobility space. Electric vehicles went mainstream, flying off the proverbial shelves, while automakers poured hundreds of billions of investments into them. This included everything from batteries and charging infrastructure to supply chain and manufacturing. Micromobility saw an uptick with e-bikes, which progressed toward widespread adoption. AV companies expanded, shut down, and baffled our expectations. Governments invested heavily in transportation and supporting next-generation technologies. And Tesla showed us a robot, shed billions of dollars of value, and watched as its CEO found other priorities.
2023 Look Ahead
Will car prices stabilize? Will China or the US come out ahead in autonomous vehicle technology? How have policy decisions in 2022 affected the outlook for mobility technology development? Here are just a few things on our radar to watch for this year:
Supply chains and batteries will stay in focus. With a continued push towards electrification globally in 2023, we should see significant improvements in battery supply chains and manufacturing. We’re hoping for higher-energy-density, faster-charging batteries and pack-level innovations to get more traction.
Charging will have its moment. Charging hasn’t traditionally been the hottest investment, with initial ventures focused on supporting early adopters of EVs. But with interest in the vehicle segment increasing, we expect to see the charging playing field expand this year. With less risk from deploying charging infrastructure, there’s sure to be a hotbed of investment around associated technological development and rollout.
Autonomy will continue to be the industry’s North Star. The autonomous vehicle industry took a few hits in 2022: the shutdown of Argo AI, an investigation into Cruise, significant layoffs and churn at TuSimple, and a debated sale at Aurora. That said, we’ve also seen big advances technologically by Waymo and Cruise in the US and several Chinese competitors across the Pacific, which could be a good sign for how the space will continue to evolve this year.
The winners and losers have yet to be determined. The broader mobility industry is still ripe for a shakeout. While we should see additional commitments from automakers, government support, and public interest in EVs this year, the massive EV wave has brought several new entrants, all of which will likely not make it with us into 2024. As consumers and investors narrow in on their true needs in this next transport era, you’ll see this shakeout play out. For example, in areas like battery technology, where there are hundreds of startups racing to succeed, not all can make it, especially against major players like LG that already have a stronghold in the space.
It’ll be a wild, fantastic year again for mobility. We’ll have to wait and see what happens. Make sure to stay subscribed, so you don’t miss a beat. Happy reading and happy new year!