SIAM hosts its 9th Lecture on ‘Navigating towards Connected Mobility’ on a virtual platform

Mumbai: The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) conducted its 9th lecture on ‘Navigating towards Connected Mobility’, on a virtual platform. It encompasses the emerging landscape of smart micro-mobility and the reality of autonomous driving including the emerging landscape of connected vehicles for attaining safer roads and accident-free mobility.

The panel comprised of industry veterans, including the likes of Mr. Jan Lühmann (Regulatory Affairs Coordinator, Volkswagen AG), Mr. Abhishek Gupta (Global ‘Automotive’ and ‘Mobility X’ Research Lead (Accenture Research) Accenture Growth & Strategy, Accenture), Dr. Nagendra R Velaga (Associate Professor, Transportation systems Engineering Civil Engineering Department, IIT-Bombay), Mr. Aurindam Bhattacharya (Group Leader (IoT), C-DOT), Dr. VenetaVassileva (Safety Manager, ACEM -The European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers), Mr. Antonio Perlot (Secretary-General, ACEM – The European Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers), Mr. NavidTalib (Chairman, SIAM Connected Vehicle Group & Plant Operations Head – Honda Cars India) and Mr. Prashant K Banerjee (Executive Director SIAM).

The sessions delved into topics such as acceptance and preference for Connected and Micro Mobility in international markets, vis-à-vis the domestic market scenario. The lecture series also brought to light that the Indian consumers today are not only preferring vehicles having connected features but are also ready to pay a premium to avail such features if given a choice.

While the participants recognized the fact that although automobiles are becoming smarter by the day, many experts still believe that achieving completely autonomous and connected mobility in India is going to take longer than what was earlier anticipated. All participants consensually agreed to the fact that the necessary road infrastructure, technological and IoT ecosystem needs to developed to fast track the transition towards connected mobility.

The panelists shared their valuable insights on the following Topics:
1. The Reality of Autonomous Driving
2. ITS India – Challenges & Opportunities
3. Emerging Landscape of Connected Vehicles in Europe
4. Emerging Landscape of Micro-mobility

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Prashant K Banerjee (Executive Director, SIAM), said, “Keeping in view Indian consumers growing demand for connected vehicles, the country is poised to become one of the first few to fully adopt connected mobility in the future. India is also currently one of the biggest automotive markets in the world. One must also consider that along with other various benefits, connected vehicles would also help reduce the number of road fatalities, which has been one of the key focus areas for the government, as well as of SIAM, over the past few years. However, for a holistic transition towards connected and autonomous mobility to take place, technological advancements are not enough. Major up-gradations in highways and city road infrastructure to support connected mobility are equally important.”