Data was the driver at MOVE 2025 in London, with major names from the automotive sector taking part in the exhibition and conference that looked at how connectivity is revolutionising transport, including passenger cars.
Taking place at ExCeL, the annual event’s wide remit takes in EVs, autonomous vehicles, mobility as a service (MaaS), micromobility, energy and charging and battery tech. Regulation, intelligent infrastructure and connectivity and much more were also covered at the show, which is billed as the world’s number one converged mobility event.
While the automotive aftermarket is still adapting to ADAS, MOVE provided a window on how 5G connectivity is among the forces changing the way people access and use transport, and how vehicle-generated data is offering innovative solutions for a wide range of safety issues and more.
Major automotive names sponsoring MOVE 2025 included Autel, Mitsubishi and Tata. Meanwhile, among the exhibitors were the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and the Department for Transport (DfT), along with a number of UK local authorities, making sure industry and government were on hand too.
Around 5,000 visitors were able to hear from 550 speakers across 24 stages, with attendees also able to find out more from 250 companies and organisations from across the transport spectrum in the exhibition. Participants included Halfords Mobility, the British Vehicle Rental & Leasing Association (BVRLA), with VMs like Nissan and Volvo taking part across the speaker programme, alongside countless companies that exist in the future mobility space.
Alongside established organisations, 200 new companies were given a showcase in the Start-up Village.
The show kicked off on Wednesday 18th June with a keynote address from Minister for the Future of Roads Lilian Greenwood: “By 2027, we will have one of the most robust safety frameworks for self-driving in the world.” She added: “The future is now. We’re acting fast to give people real choice in how they move.”
After this, sessions on AI and the future of mobility, transitioning to electric fleets and much more followed. A mix of individual speakers and panels covered everything from transport technology and planning to digital highways and hubs and smart infrastructure design. Elsewhere, speakers considered how car dealers are embracing e-commerce, and what how this could impact on the rest of the automotive sector. Toyota, Volvo, Nissan and Hyundai were seen here, alongside the likes of Octopus Energy and DHL.
In the exhibition, Stellantis Ventures offered up a showcase taking in AI, next-generation batteries, and accessible mobility, with a Citroën Ami on the stand. Alongside it stood a Fiat 500e, which used to demonstrate modular battery swapping. Staying with Fiat, also on display was a Grande Panda, the only car on the market with a front-mounted spiral A/C charging cable.
Nearby, Bosch was focusing on how it can help repairers. “We are presenting our service portfolio for fleet customers, used car dealers and franchised dealers,” said Dana Maurizio, Channel Marketing Manager at Bosch. “We are showing how we can use data from the vehicle to optimise battery life, or to detect damage.”
Accessing this data is increasingly crucial for repairers. “Cost pressure is increasing for our customers,” observed Maurizio. “One of the major KPIs is reducing total cost of ownership. This data can help to predict maintenance needs, reducing downtime and optimising processes. Repairers who can offer these solutions will be the ones being chosen.”
Another famous name staking its claim in this space was Michelin Mobility Intelligence which was highlighting how data can improve overall road safety. “We are able to leverage our expertise in data and mobility data to make roads safer and more sustainable,” said Chief Revenue Officer Gregoire Heugel.
Offering an example, Heugel observed: “Michelin Connected Fleet is our entity in charge of helping fleets to optimise their operations. We take data from the vehicle, analyse it, and this helps fleets to optimise the total cost of ownership, monitor CO2 emissions, and make everything safer.” He added: “It’s not science fiction, it’s not the future, it's happening today.”
This was a key message right across the seminar programmes, with even the last panel session hosted by Cars of the Future’s Neil Kennett on the final day looking at the need for reliable 5G connectivity for driverless transport.
Finally, anyone the automotive sector still sceptical about the potential impact of all this needed to see the queue that went around the proverbial block outside Nokia’s stand. Why was everyone there? So they could have a go at remotely driving a car live from the floor at ExCeL.
Where was the car in question? Estonia, of course.
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