For founders building the future of mobility, the struggles of Europe's once-dominant automotive sector offer a powerful lesson: even giants can falter without speed, focus, and collaboration.

Last year, I wrote about how we navigate a world that's never been more complex - markets gripped by uncertainty, valuations stretched, and every founder trying to make sense of a capital-raising landscape changing faster than the rules of golf. Not much has changed in tone one year on, but the context has shifted significantly.

Over the past few years, companies like Auto Trader have made real strides in improving carbon literacy across the automotive sector. Nearly 1,400 of their 1,800 staff are trained in Carbon Literacy, and over 5,000 employees are trained across 200 organisations.

The global automotive sector is entering a new phase of disruption - this time driven not by technology or a pandemic but by geopolitics.

In August 2024, we analysed how Carvana pulled off a remarkable turnaround from the brink of collapse. Back then, Carvana had just posted its first profits and stunned observers with triple-digit growth in units sold and a swing to positive earnings.

Just 12 months ago, Carcare was firmly in scale-up mode. The product had strong validation in Sweden, and early UK pilots showed promise...