The subscription model in the automotive industry: a tool for co-creators identification

12 RESEARCH FUNDAMENTALS Introducing the research project The mobility industry has been hardly revolutionised through time. No surprise, the introduction of the internal combustion engine (ICE) in the middle of the nineteenth century represents the very last truly disruptive innovation in the sector, as it has been underlined by the famous quote by Henry Ford: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses”. Nevertheless, the automotive industry is currently facing a structural transformation that is expected to shake the individual mobility paradigm of the past century (Urry, 2004). In fact, the benefits that people have experienced since the democratization of car usage have become so embedded in our daily life (Gärling & Axhausen, 2003) that hypothesise its dismission seems to be almost impossible. Indeed, mainly due to digitalization, individual mobility is migrating from an all-purpose to fit-for-purpose mobility, supporting the servitization of the industry (McKinsey & Company, 2016). At the same time, regulators are forcing manufacturers to accelerate the mass introduction of alternatives to internal combustion engines (ICE), primary with the aim of reducing the carbon emissions. The quest for a solution seems to indicate that electric vehicles (EV) could provide a valid alternative, although this technology still requires further development before ensuring the required performances (The Boston Consulting Group, 2017). Recently, car manufacturers have started to offer vehicle subscription-based services as a new form of car ownership (Edmunds, 2018). Combining hassle-free access to the car with the flexibility of choosing the perfect type of vehicle for every occasion, they rapidly