Prospective design in the automotive sector and the trajectory of the Bluecar project: an electric car sharing system

Many authors have questioned the abilities of the automotive industry to design new eco-friendly vehicles (Beaume and Midler, 2009; Calabrese, 2012; Freyssenet 2009, 2011). Experiments as Bluecar and Autolib in Paris are giving signs that certain projects are oriented toward sustainable targets. The Bluecar and Autolib, an electric car sharing system, is the outgrowth of an historical process. Instead of studying this system of mobility as an innovation in its final state, this article analyses this sharing system as a product service process (Manzini and Vezzoli, 2003). This paper discusses the issue of industrial design in the product development process for the automotive sector. Then it presents some iconic electric concept cars and the first trial rental sharing systems. Finally, the Bluecar and the Autolib electric car sharing system illustrate how the activities of the industrial designers were involved in the development process that ended in a new product and service.