This report provides a macro-level assessment of the overall innovation capacity in the European transport sector and complements the analysis with the results of an Innovation Capacity survey distributed to private and public transport stakeholders aiming at gathering insights on transport research trends, drivers and enablers, challenges, role of policy measures, etc. This report updates the previous TRIMIS report on the topic and complements the analysis with the results of a TRIMIS stakeholder survey.
The finding of the analysis show that research and development (R&D) activities are key in transport, where the private sector is mostly engaged. Business investments in R&D in the transport sector amounted to more than €47 billion in 2017 and total European public investment in transport R&D in 2018 was equal to €2.9 billion. Transport researchers and R&D personnel amounted to 309.000 people working in the European transport sector in 2017, the majority of them working in the automotive industry.
The outcomes of the TRIMIS survey reflect the views and opinions of transport stakeholders. The results show an almost unanimous opinion in relation to the key role that R&I plays in relation to the quality of the services or goods provided, moreover the competitiveness of the transport sector will be enhanced when R&I activities are intensified. Although almost all the stakeholders recognised the importance of R&I, they also pointed out obstacles and barriers, such as financial constraints and management, market dynamics, lack of qualified personnel that slow down or prevent them to fully engage in such activities.