The automotive market is about to be disrupted: where will it leave you?
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The Tesla Model 3 is now the best-selling vehicle in California in all categories, as it already is in the arguably less representative market of the Netherlands. The data is published by the California New Car Dealers Association, which is probably contemplating in despair how the best-selling vehicle is precisely one that does not get distributed through dealers. In short, Tesla's achievement has been to make electric vehicles more desirable than their internal combustion competitors.
In case you hadn't noticed, the automotive market is changing. GM is launching a new electric delivery van in a bid to prevent Tesla taking over that market the same way they did in the consumer segment, and announces plans to introduce at least 20 all-electric models in all categories by 2023. In the same sense, Amazon is working to add 100,000 Rivian all-electric vans to its delivery fleet.
Electric vehicles are no longer the preserve of the rich: China now produces models with starting prices of around $1,000 that you can buy through Alibaba. More and more manufacturers are accelerating their plans to try to position themselves in a market where it will take them at least several years to cast a shadow on Elon Musk's company. But one thing is already clear: with much longer lifetimes and significantly cheaper maintenance costs, electric vehicles are changing the economic parameters of driving.
Several countries, such as Spain, France or Germany have recently announced new plans to promote the sale of electric vehicles, increasing incentives for their purchase, backed by a range of measures. Others, such as Turkey, are encouraging consortiums to make their own electric vehicles. In Germany, incentives coincide with tax hikes on large diesel vehicles, as well as obliging all petrol stations to install electric recharging points. In Spain, energy giant Iberdrola has accelerated its plans to develop an electric recharging network, also focusing on service stations with fast charging points, and intends to install 150,000 points in homes, businesses and in cities and towns over the next five years. For petrol station chains, meeting this growing demand is increasingly a necessity.
The clean air we have been enjoying during lockdown seems to have aroused consumer interest in electric vehicles. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, have now brought forward the date for a ban on the sale of diesel and petrol vehicles to 2035. All those lies about electric vehicles, such as the long tailpipe theory have now been completely disproved by science: every electric vehicle substantially improves air quality, regardless of how the energy used to charge it is generated. The only excuse for not buying an electric vehicle is not having a garage where you can recharge it, although as growing numbers of drivers are showing, with a little organization, there are plenty of ways round that.
Understanding the impact of disruption on a market is fundamental for all its participants, both from the supply and the demand side. The automotive market is about to be seriously disrupted, so whether you're in the market for a car or you sell or repair them, you might want to bear that in mind.
WRITTEN BY
Enrique Dans
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Responses (7)
Kimc
What are your thoughts?
I expect I'm now driving my last internal combustion vehicle. History does repeat. One hundred years ago the gasoline engine replaced the horse making farriers redundant. Now the electric motor will do the same to auto mechanics. Not only dealers but...
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My excuse for not buying an eletric vehicle is my current car is less then 40k km. When it comes time to retire it then I will buy eletric.
One the one hand everyone's telling us how electric vehicles are taking over the market, yet on the other we have countries increasing subsidies for electric vehicles.
Tesla, Mr Innovation himself, cried like a toddler about the Pandemic. A visionary would have attacked it head-on saying he himself would find a vaccine. To Hell with Tesla. Waiting for Ford, GM, Chrysler and VW. Don't think I will ever get a FULL EV...
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I am considering to live in Spain, so I do hope that the current green movement of Spanish government continues. I would love to have solar panels at home and my own charging station (linked to the solar panels), so I can charge my electric car at ho...
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With enough government subsidy electric vehicles become attractive to city dwellers who do not leave their city in their own vehicle or can afford a city car and a country car.
I bought a BMW i3 as my first experiment with an electric auto. I really wanted a Tesla, but it didn't make much economic sense since I only needed it for local driving in the city/county. I also purchased the i3 since I could get it used at an affor...
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