Michigan launched its Office of Future Mobility and Electrification on Thursday and appointed economic development official Trevor Pawl as the state's chief mobility officer.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in February announced the creation of the office, which will focus on developing a work force for self-driving vehicle development and "placing a greater emphasis on the importance of electrification and electric vehicle infrastructure and overall state strategy around mobility," Whitmer said at the MichAuto Summit in Detroit, where she made the announcement.
The office was established through the state's Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and will be housed within the Michigan Economic Development Corp.
Pawl, 38, was senior vice president of business innovation at the economic development agency, where he oversaw PlanetM, its mobility arm.
The mobility office "will leverage our competitive advantages to make sure our state isn't only a place where mobility solutions are born, it's also where companies will find long-term success and support," Pawl said in a statement Thursday. "While Michigan remains an undisputed leader in mobility, there is more work to be done, including increasing the state's share of electric vehicle production, building a stronger pipeline of software engineering talent, and leveraging technology to reduce traffic crashes and fatalities."
The office will prioritize increasing mobility investment in the state, expanding Michigan's smart infrastructure and engaging more mobility startups. It will focus on developing the mobility work force, accelerating EV adoption and boosting Michigan's manufacturing core, according to the statement.
In an interview with Automotive News in April, Pawl said consumer demand for new vehicle technologies and mobility services would change post-COVID-19 but that he had faith the industry would pivot.
"The future of mobility before the crisis was very much the efficient movement of people and goods," Pawl said then. "But hidden in that definition was people in vehicles and goods. Now, after the crisis, I think the future of mobility is going to rely on simply human movement."
