“Connected cars offer a lot of potential”
An interview with technology expert Sascha Pallenberg
Sascha, what are the biggest tech trends in Asia at the moment?
It has to be the use of messenger apps as a hub for all mobile online activities. You only have to look at how Line, and especially We-Chat, work to realise that these apps are more or less the extent of the internet for many users in Asia. No matter whether it’s a mobile payment, booking a table in a restaurant, buying cinema tickets or booking an Uber, or even more complex services and purchases, the majority of people in Asia do all this through messenger apps.
In your expert opinion, which technologies are likely to develop rapidly in the near future like the smartphone did in 2008?
That would surely have to be artificial intelligence - but in such a way that you will hardly notice it. Within the next two to three years, the overwhelming majority of interactions with customers will be performed by artificial intelligence. This might sound alarming at first, but this development can’t be stopped. It is therefore important that we have clear rules and designations of the kind I have long been calling for.
How will sitting in a traffic jam on the A2 on a Friday afternoon in 2030 differ to today?
In 2030 there will barely be any traffic jams. Autonomous vehicles combined with intelligent traffic routing will avoid standstills on our roads. For us car drivers, this means we will reach our destination more quickly, with less stress and with a more even temper.
“The passenger economy market is going to be huge.”
What tech trends will unite cars and E-commerce in the future?
As cars become even more connected, we will witness the advent of the platform economy. Services will be ordered via apps directly through our cars, and media content and series will be consumed in them too. We could even see variants that have been almost inconceivable to date. This might come across as very visionary, but why not travel into town for free in an autonomous vehicle when you want to eat in a certain restaurant? This example is not part of what we call the platform economy, but the passenger economy. The market for this will be huge.
To what extent does digitalisation connect traditional companies such as OTTO and Daimler who, at first glance, seem to be at home in completely different industries?
Why shouldn’t our customers have the opportunity in the future to browse and buy the products on otto.de while they are on the move in our cars? Of course, only if autonomous vehicles are ready for the market and it is not a distraction - in other words, if we have reached a stage where we no longer have to focus on the traffic. I see great potential here for future partnerships.
