VDIK dialogue series "Future of Mobility": Autonomous driving – Europe would be ready, but … As „Road to Automechanika“ the VDIK, represented by its president Imelda Labbé, and Messe Frankfurt, represented by the Automechanika director, Olaf Mußhoff, presented the dialogue on the future of autonomous driving, because: This will also require "aftersales" in the form of service and maintenance, and even more so than standard passenger cars, since the performance of autonomous vehicles is given as 80,000 to 120,000 kilometers per year. And here Automechanika comes into play, with 4,500 exhibitors from over 80 countries. Moreover Mußhoff expects visitors from 170 nations, who are likely to account for 70% of the attendees. The remaining 30% come from Germany. And he hopes: „Es wird die beste und coolste Automechanika.“ Which develops with the industry and also includes autonomous driving, where service and aftersales, as mentioned, are likely to become very relevant. And this is gaining massive momentum outside Europe, as the first talk “Autonomous Driving in Europe – Status and Perspectives” by Prof. Dr. Andreas Herrmann, University of St. Gallen, director of the Future Mobility Center, showed. The automotive business model has never really been reinvented in its history It began with the sobering fact that the car, along with its business model, has never been wholly reinvented: It is built as hardware and then leased and sold as a new car or later as a lease return. Herrmann puts it succinctly: „Der Mensch kauft das Auto und fährt das Auto.“ And the vehicles are increasing: there are now over 1.4 billion, and with the vehicle density passenger-kilometers also rise, which leads Herrmann to pivot to the topic: 90% of all accidents are human-made. There are as many as 3,000 serious accidents per year caused by spilled hot beverages in cars!