EY advancing future of transportation with launch of blockchain-based integrated mobility platform

EY has announced the launch of Tesseract, an integrated mobility platform underpinned by blockchain technology. The platform facilitates fractional vehicle ownership, shared use and seamless multi-modal transport, and will help lay the groundwork for how autonomous vehicle fleets can be owned in the future and provide access to a variety of on-demand mobility options.

EY’s Tesseract solves core mobility issues such as how to share vehicle ownership with widespread shared-use and how a multitude of mobility options can be integrated. As participants on a single platform, multiple stakeholders such as OEMs, mobility and transport companies, and cities and infrastructure providers among others, will have the opportunity to create new value and revenue streams. Along with shared ownership, consumer demands for expanded mobility services are met, giving them access to the right type of vehicle for their ideal journey, on demand.

EY Global Automotive & Transportation Leader Randy Miller says: “The future of the automotive and transportation industry will be integrated, on-demand, personalised and autonomous. Tesseract is a groundbreaking, innovative platform that benefits every stakeholder across the mobility ecosystem. We want Tesseract to break down barriers to entry for all stakeholders, provide the means for mobility as a service and facilitate a truly integrated ecosystem that puts consumers first in the future mobility marketplace.”

With Tesseract, single vehicles, fleets and other transport services are available on the platform. Vehicles and trips are digitally logged on the blockchain, and transactions are automatically settled between owners, operators and third-party service providers through a single-source, usage-based payment system. Ownership of the assets is flexible and can be on a full or fractional share basis.

Miller says: “Tesseract will allow operators to innovate, commercialise and scale new mobility businesses and revenue models. Vehicle utilisation will increase, reducing wastage and ultimately creating a greener, more sustainable transport world.”

With new the business models and income streams that will be created, funding of expensive assets such as batteries and charging infrastructure will become much easier. Investors, crowd-funders and everyday users will be able to earn money from their investment based on others’ usage of vehicles and individuals who could not previously afford a car will now be able to own a share of a vehicle.

Paul Brody, EY Global Innovation Leader, Blockchain, says: “The time has come for blockchain to reshape the automotive industry. Using blockchain for automotive services permits true peer-to-peer interactions between owners with minimal infrastructure requirements. Data can be stored permanently and managed securely while automated permission and transaction processing will be made much easier.”

Ronald Attard, EY Malta Country Managing Partner, outlined: “Car makers are undergoing a dramatic transformation as they re-focus their business models from vehicle ownership to mobility-as-a-service. Blockchain will be a key enabler of this shift, providing an all-inclusive eco-system that could enable ownership, financing, registration, insurance and service transactions all through a single platform.

“The launch of EY’s new platform is one of the building blocks that could facilitate this vision. Blockchain has the power create new business models and make a great many things more secure, accountable and efficient: financial services, energy, trade finance, cybersecurity, and government services to name a few. We have been raising awareness of the potential the technology could offer Malta for over two years and are firmly behind the government’s ambition to turn Malta into a leading global blockchain hub.”