New business models in digital mobility
When the car picks up the bill
Tokenisation is progressing as a pragmatic technology stack that improves processes such as authentication, payments and documentation.
© Mercedes-Benz Mobility AG
As mobility becomes more digital, tokenisation offers new ways to manage payments, component histories and vehicle identities. German manufacturers are now testing blockchain to bring these concepts into real operations.
The idea that vehicles could participate directly in digital
service processes sounded speculative just a few years ago. Today, token-based
technologies are quietly taking root in the automotive sector. Tasks that once required manual confirmation or proprietary
interfaces are increasingly handled through secure, verifiable exchanges
between vehicles and digital platforms.
How are German OEMs applying tokenisation in practice?
German manufacturers have already equipped their vehicles
with the ability to carry out payments directly. Mercedes, for example, has
enabled drivers to pay for parking or refuelling from inside the car since 2023
via its Pay+ service. Card details are tokenised, and authorisation is handled
through a fingerprint.
Daimler Truck goes a step further: with Truck ID and Truck
Wallet, lorries can manage toll payments, charging procedures and freight
documentation in an automated and securely authenticated workflow.
Yet the ecosystem is expanding beyond payment scenarios. Not
only digital services but also physical goods are being tokenised. BMW, for
instance, uses its PartChain system to document the provenance of components
and raw materials in a tamper-proof manner, tracing them back to their source.
In such cases, a token functions as the digital twin of a
cobalt shipment, ensuring its identity cannot be manipulated along the supply
chain. Start-ups like Eloop are experimenting with partial tokenisation of
entire vehicle fleets, turning cars into investable assets that can be divided
into digital shares.
Token-based documentation strengthens supply chains
The automotive supply chain, long criticised for its opacity
and complexity, is emerging as a prime field for tokenisation. When a physical
component is paired with a cryptographic token, its movement and compliance
data can be tracked across multiple stakeholders with far less ambiguity. This
supports sustainability reporting, regulatory requirements and traceability
without relying on fragmented documentation.
Some manufacturers are applying this to raw materials and
batteries, enabling end-to-end provenance. Elsewhere, start-ups are
experimenting with tokenised fleet assets, allowing vehicles to be divided into
digital shares for new financing or usage models. These approaches supplement
existing processes rather than replacing them, adding transparency where it is
most needed.
Another emerging use case is the digital identity of the
vehicle itself. Blockchain-based identifiers give service providers a
standardised way to confirm that a vehicle is authorised to access a charger,
receive a software update or complete a rental transaction. These identities do
not shift control away from users; instead, they make cross-platform
interactions less dependent on proprietary systems.
Tokenisation becomes a practical set of tools
Rather than transforming mobility overnight, tokenisation is
progressing as a pragmatic technology stack that improves specific processes:
authentication, payments, documentation and identity. Its impact is incremental
rather than disruptive, accumulating through small but meaningful efficiency
gains.
As more interactions become tokenised, administrative tasks
fade further into the background. This gradual shift may prove more
transformative than any sweeping overhaul: a mobility ecosystem that works more
efficiently not through dramatic change, but through thousands of automated
details working quietly in unison.
