Amusing news item here.
The sunny electric vehicle forecasts of past CAR Management Briefing Seminars at a northern Michigan resort here gave way to a cloudier picture this year.
The reality of a slower EV transition in North America has settled in as automakers pull back some of their plans in the wake of lower-than-expected sales, auto executives and analysts said.
Until the industry addresses consumer concerns on charging times, battery range and price, EV sales are going to grow more gradually than many expected, they said.
"I've been pleased to hear all the conversations up here where 'consumer' is said so much, whereas the last five years, it's been about government and policy and all this other stuff," AutoForecast Solutions CEO Joe McCabe said. "We're finally saying, 'Guess what? The consumer drives the market.' We all know that, but we're finally saying it out loud."...
The auto industry is similar to the Government Industry. A lot of people in a faculty-lounge bubble smoking pipes and talking among themselves about 'what people want' and 'how to make Nirvana happen' without ever asking people what they want, or whether it's within their power to 'make Nirvana happen.'
A friend complained yesterday about the price of new cars. Well.......if you take out the happy-clappy doodads (satellite radio, Bluetooth, "lane-keeping" and "matched-speed" cruise control, et.al.) you'd see some price reductions.
But the industry doesn't offer transportation any more. It offers "an experience."
That's what you are paying for, no matter what you actually want.
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