In a world where fast paced urbanization means that more than 60% or 70% of the population, depending of the region, will live in towns and cities by 2030, moving people is not the only task that needs to be rethought. A new era is also beginning for transporting goods: rapidity, flexibility and reliability are the watchwords of the new requirements for consumers at a time that is also seeing a rapid rise in online purchasing. This is accompanied by ever faster and more accurate delivery times with increasingly strict regulatory constraints in towns and city centers.
Providing sustainable mobility for all, today and tomorrow is Groupe Renault’s credo. To accomplish this, we are committed to offering mobility solutions that meet the needs of the many and staying true to our DNA. Tomorrow’s mobility will be electric, connected, autonomous and shared. This naturally includes the delivery of goods, and in particular what is known as “the last mile”.
Renault EZ-PRO: Urban delivery goes robo (Image: J. Oppenheim/Renault)
Our vision for the future of last-mile delivery builds on our experience of nearly 120 years in the utility vehicle domain and our passion for innovating in order to make our customers’ lives easier. It is nourished by our DNA which places people at the heart of the design of our vehicles. It is also based on our openness to partners, who we work with in an open innovation approach that makes it possible to go further as we explore new horizons.
This is what makes this vision unique. It is articulated around four strong axes:
- We believe that urban last mile delivery sector is one of the most important areas to disrupt in order to create a future that is clean, free of un-needed congestion, and efficient.
- We believe that commercial delivery is flexible, and that a same platform can be used either in B2B and B2C scenarios.
- We believe that delivery of parcels has to be seamless. End users can choose precisely where, when and how to have goods delivered.
- Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we believe the future of last-mile delivery still has a human touch – someone who remains an essential link in the delivery chain.
Renault’s vision is today illustrated by EZ-PRO, a robo-vehicle concept for last mile urban delivery that includes a concierge, in a robo-vehicle scenario with human touch.
Source: Renault Media