Exploring modular mobility: Industry advancements, research trends, and future directions on modular autonomous vehicles

Modular autonomous vehicles (MAVs) represent a transformative paradigm within the rapidly evolving field of autonomous mobility. By integrating modularity, MAVs offer unique advantages that have the potential to reshape urban transport systems and stimulate innovation in both passenger and logistics applications. Although scholarly publications on MAVs have emerged mostly within the past six years, these pioneering studies provide critical insights for envisioning the future of modular mobility. This paper presents a comprehensive review of industry and academic contributions to MAV development up to 2025, spanning conceptualization, design, and real-world applications. It systematically defines MAVs and outlines their technical framework, emphasizing breakthroughs in vehicle design, system architecture, and business models introduced by the automotive industry and new mobility providers. In parallel, it synthesizes academic research on key themes, including passenger and logistics transport, and explores their integration into future mobility ecosystems. Furthermore, this study conducts a comparative analysis of pioneering industry initiatives (NEXT and Lohr's Cristal) regarding their technical specifications and real-world deployments, demonstrating how their divergent designs serve complementary roles in hierarchical transit networks while outlining a multi-stage strategic roadmap for vehicle standardization and freight-logistics integration. The paper concludes with forward-looking policy recommendations aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of modular mobility systems.