The connected car will revolutionise tomorrow's mobility and society. According to the Bosch Group, by 2025 it will save thousands of lives, drastically reduce stress, cut costs and, above all, help the environment.
It saves human lives, prevents accidents, solves problems and protects the environment. No, it's not a new superhero. More simply, it's the connected car. In other words, the car of the future — rigorously electric-powered, or in any case sustainable, and in constant contact with both other vehicles and infrastructure. A single device forming part of a more complex organism that goes by the name of mobility 2.0.
The Bosch Group, the long-established global supplier of mobility-related solutions and services, has been engaged for more than twenty years in developing the technology that will lead, by 2025, to the car being 100 per cent connected to its surrounding reality. That commitment has enabled the German giant, in partnership with the Prognos research institute, which specialises in the transport sector, to concretely envision the future and assess what networked vehicles will be capable of. Vehicles that, within ten years, will undoubtedly feature autonomous driving, emergency braking assistance — already a must today — and full integration with portable devices. The study, based on the trends revolutionising mobility in Germany, the United States and China, as well as on the evolution of twelve hi-tech solutions for private transport, found that in 2025 it will no longer be only computers, smartphones and the web that play an active part in everyday life, but also — and above all — connected cars.
The connected car will become a kind of "control unit" for managing everyday experiences and needs. From its traditional function as a means of transport, it will evolve into the role of hub and solution for multiple requirements, ranging from optimising leisure time to controlling the smart home, from dealing with the unexpected to protecting the environment, from organising work to storing energy for purposes other than mobility. In addition, it will save lives. More precisely, in 2025 alone, as many as 11,000 people will be "spared" by the new technologies, and 260,000 accidents will be averted through the car's communication with other vehicles. A revolution. Or rather, an evolution towards better mobility.
Road rage? Say goodbye to it. Thanks to autonomous driving, congestion on urban roads will no longer be a source of stress. In Germany alone, every city dweller will be able to devote an average of 95 hours — otherwise spent in traffic jams — to pursuing hobbies or working in the car. That is enough time, for film enthusiasts, to marathon all eight seasons of Game of Thrones! And parking? Child's play for the networked connected car. Information shared between vehicles will make it possible to save up to 480 million (!) kilometres of empty driving — equivalent to the distance from Earth to Venus and back. With consequent, enormous environmental benefits.
Internet connectivity in assistance systems will make it possible to save up to 4.43 billion euros in material costs and collision damage, of which 100 million will be due to smartphone integration alone. An evolution that will deliver major savings for insurance companies and, consequently, for vehicle owners. The most radical change, however, will come in the environmental sphere. Consider that, today, the Black Forest national park — a green "lung" of more than 100 square kilometres in southern Germany — absorbs 400,000 tonnes of CO2 every three years. Well, within ten years, networked mobility functions will make it possible to reduce emissions by the same amount. Highly automated vehicles require less fuel (or energy), while technologies that streamline logistics cut the number of vehicles on the road. The only downside of the connected car? You have to wait until 2025 to see it fully in action.