Overview
As the world becomes more populated, connected, polluted and city-centric, the need for effective and efficient movement of people and goods has become more pressing for a range of stakeholders.
The application of disruptive technologies in transport is enabling the rise of multiple new mobility trends: connected and autonomous vehicles, mobility-as-a-service (MaaS), on-demand transportation, electric vehicles, ride-sharing, ride-hailing, micromobility, drone delivery and more.
These trends, and the technologies that enable them, are developing in different ways in different global markets, but one fact is clear: Mobility is undergoing a transformation that will have global impact across many industry sectors. Having a practical and objective view of how these trends will progress is critical as private and public sector organizations address the opportunities and challenges ahead.
L.E.K. Consulting’s New Mobility practice is a leading adviser to governments, investors, disruptors and industry incumbents on the commercial impacts of these trends and making choices on how to develop winning strategies.
Key questions and challenges
Our clients in the new mobility ecosystem are asking a number of critical questions:
- What are the relevant new-mobility trends, at what scale and in which geographies will these be adopted, and over what horizon?
- Which service models are likely to prevail across the mobility landscape in 5 to 10+ years, and why?
- What are potential future outcomes that may result from new mobility, and what risks and opportunities does this present to my organization?
- What are the infrastructure impacts and new requirements that will emerge?
- How will shifting value chain dynamics encourage new service models to arise and flourish, and what barriers exist to change?
- How should existing business models adapt and change, and in response to what triggers?
- Are there M&A opportunities or internal developments that could be strategically important for adapting to future mobility scenarios?
- What will government’s role be — both in the development of integrated mobility across public and private transport, and in encouraging improved air quality and low-carbon vehicle adoption?
- How are consumers/businesses using different models of transport and logistics services, and what are the broader societal impacts?
- What should my organization do to respond to new mobility in the near and long term?
- How should my organization evolve in this context?
Government
- Policy and strategy
- Future scenario planning
- Design of pilots and trials
- Business cases
- Economic modeling
- Organizational capability
- Customer experience
- Contracting
- Regulation
- Pricing and payments
Investors and new mobility entrants
- Commercial assessment
- Long-term investment strategy, including M&A
- Market analysis and forecasting
- Business cases
- Economic modeling
- Consumer behavior modeling
- Growth strategy, including new modes, new customers, new geographies
- Public sector interface strategy
- Unit economics assessment and improvement
Incumbent industries
- Challenge/disruption assessment
- Growth strategy/opportunity development
- Business model transition strategy
- Data strategy
- Long-term planning
- Organizational capability
- Customer experience
- Market analysis/forecasting
- Business cases
As new mobility trends impact a wide range of industries, we collaborate with our colleagues in other practices. In particular, we work closely with global L.E.K. experts in the following areas: Travel & Transport, Technology, Energy & Environment, Financial Services, Industrials, Mergers & Acquisitions, Digital, Organization & Performance, Transformation and Disruption Management.
In addition, clients benefit from our combined strategic and technical capabilities. By collaborating with our Advanced Analytics & Big Data team, we process vast data sets (structured and unstructured) to deliver commercial insights that clients can use to make informed and evidence-based decisions and to transform key business processes.
Examples of our work
L.E.K. has a proven track record of providing strategic advice pragmatic advice with real impact. We have delivered scores of new mobility projects for a wide range of clients, including:
- City, state and national governments/transport agencies
- Ground and aerial transportation companies, including disruptors and incumbent participants
- Participants in the automotive value chains, including Tier 1s and OEMs, lessors and finance providers, and dealerships/aftermarket providers
- Global infrastructure owners/investors across all major asset classes
- Transport operators across established and emerging transport modes
- Energy, charging and battery storage companies
- Financial services organizations, including insurance and car finance
- Retailers and distributors
A selection of our recent work includes:
- Strategy: L.E.K. developed a unified new mobility strategy for a leading global automotive company. The work assessed a range of participation choices available to the group following the prioritization of strategic options, detailed business case development and a series of strategic alignment workshops with senior stakeholders.
- Policy planning: L.E.K. advised a government transport agency on the development of a public 10-to-20-year roadmap, which documented the potential impact disruptive technologies may have on the role of government and the transport market. See also, International scan of automated and zero emissions vehicles for Infrastructure Victoria, Australia
- On-demand transport pilots: L.E.K. advised a government transport agency on the design and delivery of its on-demand pilot program, from inception to contract signing. The program resulted in eight on-demand pilots being launched from October 2017 and was nominated for an industry award.
- Commercial assessments of global ride-hailing markets:
- L.E.K. conducted a commercial assessment for a leading North American ride-hailing/ride-sharing company. The work covered various factors, including platform economics, usage by demographic and basis of competition.
- L.E.K. conducted a strategic review of a leading European ride-hailing/taxi technology company, including proposition development, competitive dynamics, international expansion strategy.
- L.E.K. conducted a commercial assessment of a leading Asian ride-hailing and food-delivery platform, including platform economics, competitive environment and growth levers.
- Commercial assessments for infrastructure assets affected by new mobility trends:
- For three European airports, L.E.K. created a 30-year forecast of their expected modal access evolution and assessed the implications of the forecast on the airports’ future investments and master plans.
- L.E.K. undertook detailed modelling of the potential impacts of autonomous vehicles on an Australian toll road asset. The work also included an analysis of the potential road capacity impacts of autonomous vehicles.
- Transport pricing strategies and future payment technology: L.E.K. advised a government transport agency on the planning and delivery of a contactless smartcard ticketing system and next-generation fare collection system.
- Transition to electric vehicles:
- L.E.K. conducted an initial assessment of the commercial vehicle and fleet management services market. The work assessed the entry attractiveness of this market, and identified differentiated opportunities for the client to capitalize on the advancement of electric commercial vehicles.
- See also, International scan of automated and zero emissions vehicles for Infrastructure Victoria, Australia
