Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com | LinkedIn | Twitter
The 8th edition of the Financial Times event “Future of the Car” starts on Monday, May 9, and will include Elon Musk from Tesla, Peter Rawlinson from Lucid and many other OEM CEOs. The summit will focus on three main themes: Scaling Electric Vehicles, Hitting Carbon Neutrality Targets, and Building the ‘Personal’ Car. Besides the CEOs previously mentioned, also Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, Stellantis, and Volvo will be speaking at the event.
“The Financial Times Future of the Car summit is where visionary OEMs, industry shakers and challenger brands come together to examine the technology, consumer and business model trends forever changing the way cars are made and sold,” Financial Times says.

Monday, May 9
At 10:40 (GMT+1) Volkswagen’s CEO will share “insights on how Volkswagen Group’s NEW AUTO strategy is the foundation for tapping into future profit pools”: Volkswagen’s transformation into a tech company.
Later, at 11:20 (GMT +1), Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan will have a 30-minutes interview where he will discuss “What does the car of the future look like?“. “Join the CEO of Volvo to hear how the next wave of technology will allow us to set new standards for sustainable, safe and personal mobility and explore how to design cars around the needs of the next generation of customers and make the industry carbon-free.”
At 1:15 PM, Mercedes Benz CEO Ola Källenius, will be interviewed by Joe Miller to discuss the strategic transformation of Mercedes-Benz: “The transformation of Mercedes-Benz as a pure-play company focused on luxury cars and premium vans is picking up speed. Ola Källenius illustrates his strategic view as the company prepares to go all-electric within this decade.”
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Tuesday, May 10
The first interview on Tuesday will be with Carlos Tavares, Stellantis Group CEO, made by Peter Campbell, Global Motor Industry correspondent for Financial Times. Also Toyota Motor’ Chief Scientist Gill Pratt will be interviewed on Tuesday by Peter Campbell to talk about Energy security and carbon neutrality.
Later on the day, at 6:oo (GMT +1), there will be a Keynote conversation with JB Straubel and Elon Musk. JB is Redwood Materials CEO and the conversation will be moderated by Peter Campbell. Immediately after it, Elon Musk will be interviewed during 45 minutes about Tesla’s ambition to become the largest carmaker on earth.
Wednesday, May 11
Polestar’s keynote presentation is scheduled to start at 09:05 (GMT +1): Car design must go political – if it’s not sustainable it is not premium. “Polestar’s CEO Thomas Ingenlath is a designer who became CEO, and now drives the car industry towards greater transparency on CO2 emissions and aims to introduce a truly climate neutral car in 8 years.”
Later on the day, Lucid’s CEO Peter Rawlinson will discuss with Patrick McGee (FT’s San Francisco Correspondent) about the vehicles efficiency: Efficiency is the New Imperative for EVs. “This new benchmark stands in stark contrast to other EV offerings from legacy automakers and highlights why efficiency, in miles per kilowatt hour, is the most appropriate and valid measure of an EV company’s technological prowess.”
The compositor Hans Zimmer is also among the speakers being scheduled to talk about the Hollywood composer’s work with BMW to create sounds for electric vehicles, both inside and outside the car at 7:00 PM (GMT +1).
Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com | LinkedIn | Twitter