Approximately 6 percent of the vehicles sold in the U.S. today are electric. That’s only 825,000 EVs. When you consider that 40 percent of those sales are in California, that leaves less than 500,000 divided among 49 states.
The good news – for the environment and EV sales – is that most prognostications point toward 40 – 50 percent of all vehicles on America’s roads by 2030 will be electric.So, what’s an EV manufacturer to do? The simple answer is that there’s a rainbow of solutions.
Some traditional manufacturers are still making profits from predictable internal combustion vehicles. They’re selling the ICE experience that wraps around their cars and trucks. For example, there’s the hot version from Dodge and the off-road variants from Ford. They are wisely finding low-cost methods to stretch the lives of their portfolio products while simultaneously stepping into the EV marketplace.
Quite a few pundits have disparaged Toyota for being slow to develop a pure EV portfolio. Their scientists, however, claim there is no single silver bullet. To support a move to lower carbon consumption, the worldwide leader in auto sales is remaining flexible. Their reasoning is that drivers across the country will not have access to a widespread full electric infrastructure for quite a few years. So, hybrid range, extended electric, cleaner gasoline, hydrogen fuel cells and, of course, full electric are going to play prominent roles for at least the next 20 to 30 years.
Tesla originally shook the industry when the investment community heaped kudos and cash on Elon Musk for being a futurist and an outsized disruptor. Now, nearly every manufacturer is sprinting into electrification, but, as usual, it will not be a one-size-fits-all formula. Manufacturers will still have to balance their portfolios to ensure profits and perform tried-and-true marketing methods.
There will assuredly be quite a few auto companies that fall away in the process. And some that aren’t making headlines today will be front page news tomorrow. Bottom line: we still have at least another decade or so of industry disruption ahead of us.
Playing it safe creates mediocrity and oftentimes failure. At Karma, research, data, a brilliant design team, and common sense are guiding our efforts toward fulfilling a unique market niche. Our American luxury brand will be a variant of: Distinctive. Aspirational. Exotic-Elegant-Electric. Or maybe something entirely different, but still addressing a clean mobility future. (We’ll be revealing our actual updated branding and marketing beginning in the latter stages of 2023.)
Whatever we decide, we expect to build a competitive advantage by being a mirror of our customers in an industry that will soon be bursting at the seams. We truly aspire to drive change beyond the norm, building vehicles that inspire positive transformation in the world.
Select a strategic direction, extol the differentiators, and state the story. An entire organization – inside and out – should enthusiastically speak with one voice, unapologetically dispensing core messaging over and over again.
U.S. businesses lose nearly $40 billion annually due to poor customer service. The EV world – where there are often unique customer demands – is not an exception to this rule. In fact, as the segment expands, superior service is actually becoming a differentiator. While we’ve all been rightfully focused on sales, many of the shiny new vehicles have become a bit road-worn and require regular maintenance and occasional repairs.
This is where a breakdown occurs. A quality customer experience should be mandatory. Developing well-schooled EV service techs is an astute investment that is too often overlooked.
The transition into EVs and, more broadly, the next chapter of automotive will be defined by the experiences that automakers create for customers. As media and digital interactions move deeper into the fabric of society, the ability and desire to create an unbroken connection between the life of the consumer and the products they consume will be an increasingly prevalent focus.
It will not be the buying, the service, or even the driving that build sales. Instead, it will be how the vehicle can be inserted into the continuum of a consumer’s life to complement their sense of self and future aspirations.
In April, Marques McCammon was named president of Irvine, Calif.-based ultra-luxury carmaker Karma Automotive. His 30-year auto industry career across four continents includes engineering, manufacturing, brand leadership, marketing, and software-based product advancement.
Chrysler was in the thick of it in the early 1990s as automakers explored ways to meet California’s new and increasingly stringent Low Emission Vehicle regulations, and in particular the state’s coming Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate. Though there was a flurry of activity in the Chrysler camp at first, other auto brands took the lead and we didn’t hear much from Chrysler for quite some time. Then, in 2008 there was an October Surprise. Chrysler unveiled three electric concepts that got people pretty excited, electrifying models from three of the automaker’s brands – Dodge, Jeep , and Chrysler. At the time, these were to lead to at least one production EV model and a renewed electrification effort at the company over the next few years, something that history shows did not materialize. The following article detailing Chrysler’s renewed interest in electric vehicles and its exciting Dodge EV prototype is pulled from the Green Car Journal archives and presented as it was originally published in the fall of 2008.
Excerpted from Fall 2008 Issue: In many ways, Chrysler has been late to the party in recent years. While others like Ford, GM, Honda, Nissan, Mazda, and Toyota have forged ahead with eco-friendly advanced technology vehicle programs, Chrysler has largely sat it out in favor of a more traditional road. Maybe we can chalk it up to its former life as part of DaimlerChrysler, but with that automotive marriage behind it there’s no longer an excuse. And excuses are not being offered by Chrysler LLC, as evidenced by its stunning announcement of not one, but three production-intent electric vehicles.
Playing catch-up wasn’t always the way at Chrysler. In the early 1990s, Chrysler was on top of its alternative fuel game, with forays into virtually all of the important areas unfolding at the time from methanol and ethanol flexible-fuel vehicles to ones running on hydrogen, natural gas, and electricity. Then Chrysler seemed to all but disappear from the running, making news instead with such stylistic models as the Viper, Prowler, and 300, but with little in the way of alternative fuel vehicles beyond its GEM neighborhood electric vehicle and the occasional eco concept. Apparently, those earlier days are returning with a vengeance.
Now Chrysler has announced the coming of a production electric vehicle for the North American market. The automaker is showcasing its efforts with three prototypes – an all-electric Dodge sports car using Lotus Europa underpinnings and two range-extended electrics, a Jeep Wrangler and a Chrysler Town & Country. Chrysler says it will select one of these for production and sale to North American consumers in 2010. This will be preceded by 100 Chrysler electrics in fleet use in 2009.
All use what Chrysler says is ‘production intent’ technology, incorporating an electric drive motor, a motor controller to manage energy flow, and a lithium-ion battery pack. Chrysler will work with General Electric to develop batteries for the production model. It has also been reported that the automaker is in talks with battery company A123 Systems, which is separately working with GM on the Volt program and has contracts to provide its nanophosphate lithium-ion batteries for production Th!nk electric cars and BAE Systems hybrid bus powerplants. GE Energy Financial Services has invested $20 million in A123 Systems.
While Chrysler has not identified its other suppliers, photos of the Dodge sports car show the use of electric drive components from UQM Technologies, a company noted for its energy dense and high-performance electric drive motors and controllers. Specs provided by Chrysler indicate a 268 hp (200 kW) electric drive motor featuring a whopping 480 lbs-ft torque that powers the performance electric car from 0-60 mph in under 5 seconds. Top speed is said to be 120 mph. Charging at 110 volts is accomplished in 8 hours, or 4 hours at 220 volts.
The electric vehicles are being developed in an in-house effort that’s focusing on electric drive production vehicles and advanced technologies. This effort – called ENVI – is so-named by taking the first four letters of 'environmental.’
The long-awaited 2014 Cadillac ELR will emerge early in 2014 at a cost of $75,995, appropriate for high-end luxury cars but no doubt a bit steep for many looking forward to a step up from Chevy’s Volt. Still, there’s a lot here to justify the cost. Featuring a dramatic design and luxury touches throughout, this extended range electric coupe surrounds driver and passengers with handcrafted leather, authentic wood grain, and chrome trim. A Cadillac driving experience is promised as a matter of course.
Powering the ELR is electric drive energized with a T-shaped, 16.5 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. All-electric drive is good for about 35 highway miles, although that’s dependent on driving conditions. After that the ELR’s 1.4-liter gasoline engine-generator produces electricity to power the car over 300 total electrically-driven miles. When operating on battery power the car is expected to offer 82 MPGe fuel efficiency.
Among its many standard features are Cadillac CUE with Navigation displayed via an eight-inch capacitive-touch screen, LED exterior lighting, Lane Departure Warning, Safety Alert Seat, and Forward Collision Alert. A driver can temporarily generate electrical energy from the ELR’s forward momentum via a Regen on Demand feature controlled with steering-wheel paddles.
Four driving modes include Tour, Sport, Mountain, and Hold. Tour is the default mode while Sport offers a more responsive driving experience. Mountain mode maintains battery charge in hilly terrain. Hold mode allows selecting when to use battery power or the ELR’s gas-powered generator.
It’s interesting to chart the growing sales of hybrids and other clean vehicles today. What’s really enlightening, though, is to understand how these vehicles are being used and what their implications are for our driving future.
That’s where cutting-edge demonstration projects like Austin’s Pecan Street bring great value to urban and transportation planners, by providing a real-life example of how far we can take sustainable, low-, or no-carbon transportation and daily living with currently available technology.
Austin’s Pecan Street, Inc, the country's first non-profit research and development consortia focused on energy, wireless, and consumer electronics technology, recently joined with GM subsidiary OnStar to collect and analyze real-world energy consumption through driving and charging data patterns. Thanks to the GM/OnStar partnership, the Pecan Street project now includes the Chevy Volt for gaining critical real-life usage data for the use and charging of extended-range electric vehicles. Chevrolet made 100 Volts available for priority purchase to residents participating in the project last September.
Among the grid-relieving solutions developed by OnStar are charging with renewable energy, energy demand response, time-of-use-rates, and home energy management. The partnership with Pecan Street is enabling OnStar to test these smart grid services in realistic, everyday scenarios. Additional partner companies like Sony, Whirlpool, Oncor, and Intel are also providing residents with smart grid and clean energy products and services, such as photovoltaic panels for generating power, batteries to store energy, and smart grid tools to help make everything work in unison.
The final goal of the project is to help consumers make the best possible use of energy for daily life, and specifically for charging their plug-in hybrids and other electric vehicles. The hope is that research resulting from the project will help speed up the innovation cycle around smart grid and consumer electronics technology. This is important since electric vehicles add significantly to a home’s energy profile. Understanding how, and when, consumers use their electric vehicles and keep them charged is critical information.