The European Green Deal defines 4 key elements for a sustainable mobility and automotive industry, namely: climate neutrality, zero pollution Europe, sustainable transport, and the transition to a circular economy. Digital technologies are a significant enabler for attaining the sustainability goals in mobility and transportation. The EC is taking initiatives to ensure that digital technologies such as AI, 5G, IoT and cloud/edge computing can accelerate the transition of the automotive industry to electrical, autonomous, connected, and shared vehicles. The current COVID-19 situation accelerates this trend. The AI4CSM project will develop advanced electronic components and systems (ECS) and architectures for future mass-market ECAS vehicles. This fuels the digital transformation in the automotive sector to support the mobility trends and accelerate the transition towards a sustainable green and digital economy. Having assembled some of Europe’s best partners from industry, research and academia, AI4CSM will deliver key innovations in technical areas including: sensor fusion and perception platforms; efficient propulsion and energy modules; advanced connectivity for cooperative mobility applications; vehicle/edge/cloud computing integration concepts; new digital platforms for efficient and federated computing; and intelligent components based on trustworthy AI techniques and methods. ECAS vehicles enabled by embedded intelligence and functional integration for future mobility, becomes the pivotal factor for the automotive sector to address the Green Deal principles. AI4CSM consists of 8 collaborative R&D clusters, gathering 41 partners from 10 countries. AI4CSM will reinforce user acceptance and affordability by convenience and services for the major transition to a diverse mobility. AI4CSM addresses the increasing demand of mobility, supporting future traffic concepts and strengthen the European automotive manufacturing base as a global industry leader.

Movement is at the heart of any city. Urban mobility faces significant challenges from two global megatrends: growing urbanisation and ageing population. Light electric vehicles (EL-Vs) could represent a viable solution to traffic congestion and pollution in cities. However, their successful integration into the urban transport system requires a clear understanding of the individual consumer needs. By involving human science and transportation specialists, the STEVE partners have developed a framework to interpret these forces. Focus will be on mature cities of medium size (Torino: 800.000 inhabitants, Villach 60.000, Calvià 60.000, Venaria 35.000), where STEVE will generate data to support the design of next generation EL Vs, and provoke the mind-shift necessary for swift market penetration of them. The primary idea of STEVE is to implement and test a human-centric approach to electro-Mobility-as-a-Service (eMaaS), according to the “Move2Me” vision of the consortium. This will provide low-cost and financially sustainable EL V solutions and “gamified” services, to enhance users’ awareness, engagement and vehicle energy efficiency. A core item of STEVE is a low-cost electric quadricycle developed by a worldwide OEM in Turin, with start-of-production expected in 2018 at a market price of €8000. The quadricycle will integrate high-technology contents with respect to the current competitors, and will be pilot-tested, together with many other EL-Vs, during extensive demonstration phases in the four STEVE cities STEVE will guarantee a strong impact in terms of business development and jobs, and enhance the European competitiveness in the eMaaS sector while also leveraging Manufacturing. The consortium will also give a primary role to SMEs: while large enterprises will provide the underlying technologies, the services will be mainly designed and operated by SMEs, deeply involved in the local supply chains and adaptable to the specific customers’ needs.