Interview with Philipp von Hirschheydt

What does “Experience Connected Mobility” mean for you?
Connectivity holds one of the greatest transformations in mobility. Intelligent, software-based functions offer unprecedented possibilities. Vehicles of all kinds are learning to communicate with each other and act in alliance. We are talking about the software-defined vehicle, around which an entire ecosystem is being created from the road to the cloud. This enables exciting mobility experience, ensures greater road safety and provides the framework for the development toward autonomous mobility. In the automotive industry, we are not only shaping this change at the technological level. Business models and the relationships between companies along the entire value chain are also undergoing fundamental change. Customers and suppliers are becoming development partners. New market participants enhance the transformation through their approaches, their expertise and their solutions. The key lies in collaboration and partnership. After all, only a closely networked industry can also take advantage of the full potential of connected and software-defined mobility. The IAA Mobility offers us the opportunity to make this change tangible for people while also strengthening our network in the industry and beyond.

What do you hope to achieve at IAA MOBILITY 2023?
The IAA puts mobility in the global spotlight. As a platform for dialog, it represents an important gauge of the mood in industry, politics and society. We want to take this opportunity to show how we are already implementing the mobility of the future today and to gather feedback on our solutions for sustainable and software-driven mobility in direct dialog with customers, the media, partners and society. In particular, our focus is on how to make mobility safer and more autonomous while also providing an exciting user experience. Together with our customers and partners, we want to strengthen the discussion about how we manage complexity and scale solutions for the future.

Which essential topic of the future receives too little attention from the public?
The central building block for successfully shaping the future is the joint innovation performance across the value chain in the mobility industry. Digitalization and connectivity open up a wealth of opportunities and possibilities. In terms of implementing new solutions, however, this transformation is leading to immense complexity and huge development efforts in many areas. No company can meet these challenges in isolation. Collaborative partnerships, open source solutions, standards and fair practices with regard to essential intellectual property must become even more central issues, particularly in Germany and throughout Europe. For ideas and inventive spirit to become actual solutions, we need a collaborative environment and not barriers. If we set the right course here, we can continue to be technologically competitive at the global scale and actively shape the future.

In which area of mobility do you see the greatest potential and where do you see the greatest need to catch up?
Sustainability and software-based mobility are the central fields for the future. Digitalization and connectivity ensure greater safety and exciting user experiences. They are key to autonomous driving while also advancing sustainable mobility. Intelligent connectivity can make traffic more efficient and further bridge the gap between personal mobility and public transport. The goal must be to make the user experience as convenient and intuitive as possible for all forms of mobility. We can only achieve this in close cooperation within the industry and with the public.

IAA MOBILITY is the leading global mobility platform. It connects innovators from all spectrums of mobility. Who do you want to network with in September and why?
As a technology company and automotive supplier, we see the IAA Mobility as a platform to maintain and further expand our network of customers and partners. It is particularly exciting for us to look beyond the automotive industry, for example toward software and tech companies. In addition to the dialog within the industry, we also make use of the IAA Mobility for discussions with the media, politicians and society.

The world is fundamentally changing. Innovation and the endeavors in the mobility sector are bigger than ever before. What is your vision of the world in 20 years?
Mobility is a basic human need. In terms of sustainability and digitalization, it is currently undergoing the greatest transformation in its history. By jointly focusing on implementing the transformation in industry and society, we can create a world in which we travel safely, comfortably, autonomously and without emissions. Here, personal mobility and public transport complement each other seamlessly. For mobility users, it is no longer traffic jams or timetables, but their individual preferences that are the decisive factor in choosing between their own vehicle, rail, or other mobility options.