13 December 2018 Conference gathers leading research on “the new mobility”; Synocus shares learnings

The organizers of the New Mobility conference John Paul MacDuffie of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and Takahiro Fujimoto, University of Tokyo, invited Johan Wallin, Managing Partner, Synocus, to contribute to a seminar addressing the transformation of the mobility sector. The one-day conference, drawing from the Program on Vehicle and Mobility Innovation (PVMI), one of the largest and longest-established international research networks on the auto industry, gathered practitioners engaged in mobility activities not only in Japan but also in Asia, Europe, and North America. The conference explored two themes:

1. “Connecting the Ground and High-Sky” – focusing on the technological convergence and intermingling of competition and collaboration for automotive and high-tech sectors.
2. “Disruption and Strategic Options in Fast-Moving Mobility Ecosystems” – focusing on the rapid emergence of “ride-hailing” as a business model and the intense competition for dominance in various markets, emphasizing the Asian context.

Finnish experiences on Public-Private partnerships in urban mobility ecosystems were discussed and compared to Singapore, Japan and UK. The conclusions from the discussions were that the world is increasingly fragmented when considering mobility services, and Finland has been a pioneer in testing new forms of service concepts. Several of the participating experts voiced their interest in visiting Finland and continuing the dialogue with Synocus to share experiences and learning from this rapidly transitioning market.