The Network of Experts in Automotive Innovation: History, Motivation, Mission, and Research Lines
摘要
The global mobility sector is undergoing a profound reinvention driven by two converging forces: the urgency of sustainability and the disruptive advance of digital technologies. This chapter examines three interrelated domains shaping this transformation—transport electrification, smart mobility, and vehicle design under new challenges—and situates them in the Mexican context through the role of the Network of Experts in Automotive Innovation. Electrification is redefining the energy–mobility nexus with advances in batteries, power electronics, and energy management, offering pathways to decarbonization while raising challenges in infrastructure, cost, and lifecycle sustainability. Smart mobility complements this shift by integrating connectivity, automation, and digital platforms to achieve safer, more efficient, and inclusive systems. Vehicle design is being reinvented, with passive safety now addressing batteries, hydrogen tanks, and high-voltage electronics, while autonomous seating configurations demand new crash protection paradigms. Simultaneously, the decarbonization of combustion through dual-fuel engines, biofuels, and hydrogen ensures that non-electrified sectors remain part of the sustainability agenda. In Mexico, the Network of Experts in Automotive Innovation plays a central role in this reinvention. By bringing together academia, industry, and government, it accelerates research, fosters human capital formation, and strengthens the country’s innovation capacity in mobility. The Network ensures that national strategies respond to global challenges while addressing local priorities, positioning Mexico not only as a manufacturing hub but also as an active contributor to the international transition toward sustainable and intelligent mobility.