Last week I was in Shanghai,
and I saw the future.
What I expected:
→ chaos and noise
→ grey skies and pollution
→ rubbish and smell
What I found instead:
→ quiet streets, even with heavy traffic
→ blue skies and crisp air
→ spotless roads, cleaner than Zurich
The main reason?
Electric vehicles. ⚡️
Nine out of ten cars are electric.
Nine out of ten brands you’ve probably never heard of.
The reality of an electric-first city hits you head-on.
This is what the future looks, sounds, and smells like.
I don’t own an electric car myself, and I’ve always been a bit skeptical.
But after Shanghai, I couldn’t have changed my mind faster!
Electric cars aren’t just the future of mobility.
They’re the future of cities, and society itself.
And the next logical step is autonomous driving.
This will solve that percentage of drivers still driving like crazy and putting everyone in danger.
This is going to be bigger than the smartphone or even AI.
It’s going to reshape how we live, move, and breathe on this planet.
For the first time in a while, I’m genuinely optimistic about the future and climate change.
It feels doable!
Still, there are caveats.
A huge one: where the electricity comes from.
China still relies heavily on coal.
But the more EVs take over, the stronger the incentive to invest in clean energy, even at a private level.
Remember Elon Musk’s old plan for a fully solar-powered household?
Ahead of its time, but now it makes perfect sense.
Another concern: the transition itself.
European car brands are under serious threat, along with countless jobs.
Because Chinese cars are beautiful, powerful, and most importantly cheap.
When I saw BMWs in Shanghai, they looked like relics of a smoky past.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi looked like Ferrari.
“Made in China” means innovation and quality at this point.
(I even bought a replica of Timberland boots from a Chinese brand, that are just better and cheaper)
I can’t wait for the electric future to arrive.
But we’d better move fast to make it sustainable for our economies.
