Automotive Mobility Ecosystem

1. Definition and Evolution of Scope

The automotive mobility ecosystem refers to a value co-creation system collaboratively established across vehicle manufacturing, mobility services, digital technology, and aftermarket services centered around automotive mobility scenarios. Its core concept is undergoing a profound evolution—progressively shifting from the early closed "ecosystem" model dominated by carmakers towards an open, user experience-centric ecosystem network driven by multi-stakeholder collaboration. Zhang Yongwei, Secretary-General and Vice Chairman of China EV100, pointed out that automotive industry competitiveness has shaped a "new triangle" model: vehicle technology and manufacturing, digital and AI technology, and the automotive service sector, which together form the core dimensions of future competition.

2. Core Architecture and Key Players

The automotive mobility ecosystem encompasses four major pillars: mobility services, infrastructure, aftermarket services, and digital platforms. The mobility services layer includes emerging formats such as e-hailing, car-sharing, on-demand transit, and robotaxis, essentially representing the digital upgrading of traditional mobility modes. The infrastructure layer involves the intelligent upgrading of charging networks, car parks, and road infrastructure, supporting vehicle operational demands throughout their complete lifecycle. The aftermarket service layer covers car washing, routine maintenance, motor insurance, financing, and other segments. With the commercial deployment of autonomous driving, "frictionless vehicle servicing" is transitioning from concept to reality—as seen in the "autonomous driving + smart car care" model piloted by Tuhu Car Care and Huawei, where users place orders via a mobile app and the vehicle autonomously drives to the workshop, completes its service, and returns without human intervention throughout the process. The digital platform layer leverages the Internet of Vehicles (IoV), big data, and AI algorithms to achieve cross-entity collaboration, driving the transition from "users seeking services" to "services finding users".

3. Autonomous Driving-Driven Scenario Transformation

Autonomous driving is emerging as the pivotal catalyst reshaping the mobility ecosystem. According to the "Autonomous Driving Mobility Ecosystem 2025" report, vehicle ownership services such as parking, charging, maintenance, and insurance form a vast yet fragmented "automotive aftermarket" ecosystem. Once vehicles gain autonomous perception and decision-making capabilities, they transform from passive transport tools into intelligent mobile entities, creating an urgent need for a highly automated new service ecosystem.

• Smart Parking: Car parks are regarded as the "first stop" for autonomous driving deployment. Keytop has proposed a rethink of car park design—shifting from a "human-centric" to a "vehicle-centric" layout, enabling automated valet parking and human-vehicle segregation through dedicated zones such as drop-off bays and waiting areas.

• Automated Charging: Wanbang Digital Energy has teamed up with carmakers like BMW to roll out lateral automatic charging systems, completing the entire workflow of "auto-parking, auto-plugging, plug-and-charge, seamless payment, and auto-departure", resolving the "last-metre" bottleneck of EV charging.

• Motor Insurance Restructuring: Future motor insurance underwriting will shift from assessing "driver behaviour" to evaluating "machine algorithm reliability", with liability expanding from individual drivers to shared accountability among carmakers, software developers, and hardware suppliers.

4. Open Ecosystems and Cross-Industry Integration

Open ecosystems are fast becoming an industry standard. Through its "CarIoT" platform, Xiaomi has opened up its in-car hardware interfaces and smart home connectivity, establishing cross-ecosystem partnerships with brands including BYD, GAC Toyota, and GWM. This breaks away from the traditionally closed, proprietary model of carmakers, allowing outdoor lifestyle accessories to be universally compatible across different marques.

5. Development Trends

By 2028, China's automotive service sector is projected to reach a market valuation exceeding RM8,000,000,000,000, emerging as a high-potential "second automotive industry". The 2025 to 2027 window is widely viewed as the "golden three years" for autonomous driving commercialisation, as the mobility ecosystem transitions from a "technology closed-loop" to a "service closed-loop". The integrated synergy across parking, charging, maintenance, and insurance will drive the continuous evolution of cars from mere modes of transport into dynamic "mobile living spaces".