Electric Car Sales Ambitions Dangerously Ahead Of Forecasts. Big Gap Between VW Predictions And Expert Forecasts. The great country music singer Reba McEntire put it this way. “Time can move so slow, When you’re all dressed up, With nowhere to go” If there are any country music fans at Volkswagen and the leading German car […]
Nissan Leaf Sales Falter As Competitors Improve. “the restyled, 2nd generation Leaf which launched in 2018 landed with a “thud” The Nissan Leaf was an early starter in the electric car race on both sides of the Atlantic, but has fallen behind as more brazen competitors like the Tesla Model 3 came up not only […]
VW Piëch Is Dead, Leaving Impressive Legacy, Bruised Egos. “With a self-confidence bordering on and perhaps crossing into arrogance, Piëch ruled VW with an iron fist, listening to few and firing many who dared question his supreme wisdom. Cowed and fearful, giant VW was run by one man” Ferdinand Piëch, who died Sunday aged 82, […]
Europe’s Auto Makers Face Existential CO2 Threat. Brexit, China, Tariff, Recession Problems? Small Fry. This One Is Serious. “Even if there were 300 million electric cars, with the current power generation system, the impact in terms of CO2 emissions is less than 1% – nothing,” Forget Brexit, China, tariff wars, weakening markets and the cost […]
Tesla Tops Charts, But Competition Gathers Momentum. “After several years of timid growth, the number of EV models produced across the EU is about to surge” The Tesla Model 3 was Western Europe’s biggest selling battery electric car in the first half of 2019, a remarkable performance considering it only really went on sale in […]
Volkswagen’s Ambitious Electric Plans Invite Big Questions. “Until charging is nearly as easy, fast and readily available as filling up a petrol tank, mass-market penetration will be limited” In five or maybe 10 years, Volkswagen’s electric car plans could be hailed as brave, farsighted and innovative, maybe premature and self-destructive, or perhaps somewhere in between. […]
Poor Financials Underline Industry’s Vulnerability To Predators. “In the next 10 years, there will be further consolidation in the industry” The automotive industry is braced for a round of poor financial results that will spook shareholders and probably spur the long-postponed shakeout, where no-hopers finally succumb to reality under pressure from digital world interlopers. And […]
Electric Car Charging Hassle Will Spur Buyer Resistance. “I asked him how many miles he had in the tank – 20 miles – and how far he needed to travel – 80 miles” Battery cars face many barriers to success, but the charging system is the biggest hurdle and this threatens to derail the whole […]
Computer Driven Cars Are Coming But Pace Slows To A Dawdle. “Significant challenges remain that may be overlooked by industry players so focused on developing the technology that they forget to ask whether anyone will use it” Like a mirage in the desert raises false hopes of imminent nirvana, claims that computer driven cars for […]
EU CO2 Rules Mean The Microcar Or The Bus, Choice Yours. “CO2 regulations may spell the end of the small car” Get used to it Europeans. By 2030 you will probably be driving to work in a little electric car like this Uniti from Sweden. It will probably have two seats, a range of maybe […]
