During the Fall 2025 Commercial Vehicle Business Summit session, featuring Kathryn Schifferle of Work Truck Solutions and Steve Greenfield of Automotive Ventures, the conversation focused on how the automotive industry is evolving globally, offering insight into how mobility ecosystems worldwide are learning, adapting, and collaborating in an increasingly software-driven age.
Global Markets: Innovation through Observation
Emerging economies, in particular, are uniquely positioned. With fewer legacy systems and regulatory constraints, they can innovate from almost a “blank slate.” Historically, the U.S. has set the pace in automotive advancement, providing a model and catalyst for international markets seeking advisory support, strategic partnerships, and investment.
As Greenfield observed, “We can’t tell the future, but we can see how the automotive ecosystem has evolved in various markets around the world, draw parallels, and then try to extrapolate those parallels into insights that would help these international markets.”
Dealership Models Reimagined
One of the session’s most surprising revelations came from the discussion of international dealership models. Unlike their U.S. counterparts, whose businesses frequently depend on sprawling lots and inventory financing, global dealers often operate leaner. “You’ll see that a commercial vehicle dealer might have three parking spots or something,” Greenfield noted, “and it’s still enough for a family to survive on in terms of profitability.”
This leaner model speaks to a shift in thinking: in an era of data-driven supply chains and custom ordering, the traditional “inventory-first” model may no longer be sustainable. The future of dealerships, whether in São Paulo, Singapore, or Seattle, might rely more on deeper integration with digital tools like predictive analytics and just-in-time ordering.
The real opportunity, however, lies in mutual learning: how established U.S. networks can adopt leaner, tech-enabled operations, while international markets benefit from American expertise in scaling service and standardization.
AI’s Next Phase: From Curiosity to Core Function
Artificial intelligence continues to reshape every corner of the automotive ecosystem. In sales, logistics, and manufacturing, AI’s evolution is moving from curiosity to capability. As Greenfield observed, “I think the unlock is yet to really hit us… I think the unlock will be phase one productivity gains for every employee, especially those employees who are doing repetitive tasks, and it doesn’t matter what role.”
In other words, AI isn’t replacing the workforce; it’s amplifying it. Dealership teams, fleet managers, and logistics coordinators will soon be supported by AI copilots capable of analyzing customer data, optimizing inventory, and automating routine operations. For an industry often constrained by inefficiency, these productivity gains signal a shift toward smarter, more human-centered operations, where technology expands capacity rather than replaces it.
Customization and the Rise of the Software-Defined Vehicle
As technology becomes normalized, consumer expectations for personalization continue to grow. The SDV (Software-Defined Vehicle) is no longer a futuristic concept; it’s an industry reality. Automakers across the globe are designing vehicles around customizable, consumer-centric operating stacks.
This signals a significant transformation in business: from short-term vehicle sales to lifecycle monetization. OEMs are now competing not only on engineering excellence but also on user experience, one that is digital, emotional, and continuously updatable. Dealers, too, will need to evolve from mechanical service providers to software enablement hubs.
Greenfield captured the essence of this shift: “To really unlock customization—your driving or cabin experience being quite different than mine—is all going to be based on software and configuration.”
This personalization doesn’t just add luxury; it creates loyalty. As consumers grow accustomed to vehicles that learn and evolve over time, the relationship between driver, dealer, and OEM becomes long-term, data-driven, and deeply personalized.
Looking Ahead: The Future of Mobility
The conversation between Schifferle and Greenfield illuminated a powerful truth: the future of mobility isn’t about any single breakthrough. It’s about convergence. Technology, business models, and consumer expectations are aligning faster than at any time in automotive history.
Markets will continue to grow and cross-innovate. Creativity will push the bounds of technology, from tool to teammate. And vehicles, once defined purely by hardware, will evolve into ecosystems of software, service, and experience.
The Fall 2025 CVBS session didn’t just outline what’s next. It reminded us why transformation matters: because mobility, at its best, reflects our shared capacity to connect, advance, and redefine what progress means on a global scale.
