Moderator Urs Gredig opened the discussion with a diagnosis that neatly captured the starting point. The automotive industry, he noted, is facing three transformations at once: the shift from combustion engines to electric vehicles, the move from hardware to software, and the transition from human-driven cars to autonomous mobility. Each of these developments brings its own technological, regulatory and societal challenges.

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Sabrina Steiner, Senior Vice President Strategy at MOIA (Volkswagen Autonomous Mobility), emphasised that autonomous driving has already become a technological reality. “We see in China and the United States that the technology is there, it works well and is being very well received.” In Europe, adoption is progressing more slowly – not due to technological shortcomings, but because of stringent safety and approval requirements. “Europe is the holy grail,” Steiner said, “because safety and regulation are taken particularly seriously here.” In the long term, autonomous driving could significantly reduce the number of traffic accidents.

Stefanie Berliner, Head of DACH at the Danish autonomous mobility provider Holo, cautioned against inflated expectations. Fully autonomous driving at Level 5, she stressed, is “still a long way off.” The key development step today lies at Level 4: driverless vehicles operating in clearly defined areas, supported by human remote supervision. Autonomous driving, Berliner argued, should be seen less as a standalone technology and more as a tool to better integrate individual and public transport. “It is an opportunity to break down silos and rethink mobility.”

From a political perspective, Martin Candinas, Member of the Swiss National Council (Die Mitte), underlined that innovation depends on reliable framework conditions. “We must ensure the right conditions so that such companies can operate successfully in Switzerland.” Stable investment in infrastructure is essential: “If we cut spending on rail and road, we are effectively indebting future generations.” Switzerland’s separate funding mechanisms for road and rail, he noted, are regarded internationally as a model that must not be weakened.

Helmut Ruhl, CEO of the AMAG Group, offered a nuanced assessment of the automotive industry. The sector, he said, is “in the middle of one of those ten years in which more will change than in the previous hundred.” Despite current economic headwinds, the transformation is unavoidable. AMAG, Ruhl argued, demonstrates that competitiveness is possible even under difficult conditions: “This year, in a very weak market, we will achieve the second-highest market share in our history.” At sufficient scale, autonomous driving could become a genuine “game changer”, with costs per kilometre potentially falling by up to 80 per cent.

Judith Häberli, Co-Founder of Urban Connect, shifted the focus to companies as key enablers of new mobility models. Employers, she argued, can implement multimodal solutions faster than public authorities. “If offerings are reliable, cost-efficient and user-friendly, willingness to adopt them is high.” Autonomous shuttle services, in particular, could help close gaps in first- and last-mile transport.

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There was broad agreement that autonomous driving does not necessarily lead to increased traffic volumes. What matters is strategic deployment. “The concern is justified,” Berliner said, “which is precisely why collaboration between policymakers, cities and businesses is essential.” Autonomous mobility has the potential to increase vehicle utilisation, reduce the need for parking space and better integrate traffic into existing systems.

The discussion made clear that the future of mobility will not be decided by technology alone. It will also require political commitment, economic cooperation and social acceptance – along with the willingness to move beyond fragmented systems and think of mobility as an integrated whole.

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