Page 22 - ATZ WORLDWIDE

COVER STORY INTERVIEW

© Moritz Reich | Continental

“Tokyo 2020 could be the breakthrough

for people movers”

Fully automated driving will make our roads safer and allow drivers to take part in other activities. The global
population is growing and there are more and more vehicles on the roads, but autonomous cars will help to
improve traffic flows. In this interview, Ralph Lauxmann from Continental explains what new mobility concepts
involving people movers could look like, whether SAE level 3 or level 4 offers the right amount of added value
for consumers and why Germany’s transport minister Alexander Dobrindt is working flat out.

ATZ _ Ralph Lauxmann, do we need new be folded away. These vehicles will be within inner city areas in a similar way
mobility concepts? designed for longer journeys and will to individual transport solutions. They
LAUXMANN _ At Continental we believe bring people from the countryside or the will complement existing local public
that the car market will divide into two suburbs to the edge of the city. On the transport systems.
different categories. On the one hand, other hand, there will be autonomous
there will be highly automated vehicles people movers that do not have a steer- Do people have different expectations of
in private ownership that have evolved ing wheel or pedals and are operated by people movers than they do of public transport?
from existing cars, but may have rotat- mobility service providers. These vehi- People movers will have much higher lev-
ing seats and a steering wheel that can cles will move people and goods about els of availability than traditional public
20