Service Innovation for Sustainable Urban Electromobility

This paper explores how economically sustainable service innovation can accelerate the uptake of electromobility in urban areas with limited public transport. Employing a systemic-relational framework, we partnered with municipalities, industry stakeholders, and academic institutions to design and deploy integrated solutions across four domains: charging infrastructure, business model innovation, market actor coordination, and socio-cultural engagement. A mid-sized German city case study reveals that coupling technical roll-out with value-added services generates new revenue streams, lowers operational costs, and transforms consumer mobility patterns. Crucially, emotional engagement—through experiential marketing and user-centric design—enhances social acceptance and intensifies usage, a dynamic we term the “flow factor.” Our results underscore the importance of aligned policy incentives, strategic investment models, and cross-sector partnerships in forging resilient economic ecosystems for sustainable urban transport. We conclude with actionable recommendations for policymakers and industry leaders aiming to revitalize urban mobility economies via service innovation.