More than half of the world’s small businesses believe in 20 years their commercial fleets will be fully autonomous while two-thirds say they will be all electric.
Those are among the findings of a global study of 3,257 business LCV operators by the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance of small to medium-sized businesses as they strive to keep up with the growth of e-commerce. One of the key conclusions is that most of the organizations surveyed believe they need smarter technology to improve delivery efficiencies.
Some 18% of small business leaders say the pace of change in the world of e-commerce and the rising demand for deliveries is the biggest business challenge they face logistically, with 17% citing the ability to keep up with regulation changes. Customer expectations over delivery times concerned 12% of respondents while 11% saw rising urban traffic congestion as a key worry.
A large minority of 40% said their organizations are well prepared for e-commerce while 30% say they have much more work to do in getting up to speed with smarter technology. Of businesses with more than 25 vehicles in their fleets, 45% say they need smarter technology to improve efficiencies in the face of the new challenges.
Regarding connectivity, 70% of all small businesses believe that better connectivity could improve their business and 29% of respondents also believe the capacity for vehicles in their fleets to communicate with each other is a key advantage, while 21% hope to use their vehicles as a third screen.
A majority of 55% predict their fleets will be fully autonomous in the next 20 years with 38% believing this may happen in as little as 10 years.
Ashwani Gupta, senior vice-president of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi LCV business, said: “As on-demand consumerism continues to rise, this is a crucial moment to ensure small businesses feel empowered to succeed in e-commerce. We’ve heard from business leaders themselves that prioritizing smarter technology for fleets will help to reach their customers with increased speed and scale – factors that are becoming ever more crucial for survival in this space.”
— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in London. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_
By Paul Myles
Source: https://www.tu-auto.com
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