Just thinking about what auto manufacturers must be dealing with in the 2020s so far…
Imagine being an established car manufacturer in America in 2022.
What a nightmare. You’re dealing with an impossible customer base who’s divided on practically everything… now including the future of cars & the way Americans view transportation. Half the people out there only want to buy an EV from a progressive car company. And the other half still want hell-raising, forced-induction V8s in everything. You can’t please ‘em all, but damn if the car companies aren’t trying lol. Well – except for Tesla. Tesla knows who they are. They make one kind of vehicle & they’re all-in on it. But the other/traditional car companies, they’re now trying to be everything to everybody… while simultaneously trying to catch Tesla in the EV realm. But there’s an issue here.
Because for the history of automobile manufacturing…
There’s been shared engines & drivetrain parts across a manufacturer’s line of cars. It keeps the costs down, and keeps vehicles relatively affordable & serviceable. It just works. But what about now?
In 2022, right after a global pandemic & all sorts of serious supply chain issues…
Traditional/established car companies are now also being forced to split production down the middle – ICE vs EV. Almost to the point of being two separate car manufacturers under one roof. They’re having to make options for two entirely different (and increasingly stubborn & divided) types of customers. Which in the ICE vs EV scenario, means two entirely different engine/drivetrain systems have to be developed… and marketed separately. Sometimes for the very same platform. Take for example, the standard Ford F-150 versus the F-150 Lightning (EV). They are two almost identical trucks on the outside, with completely different architecture underneath, that are essentially competing against each other. This means the car manufacturers are having to spend copious amounts of money developing all this stuff just to stay on the cutting edge of what maybe half the people are screaming ‘is the future’.
America has dense cities, and America has rural country… and a lot of ground to cover between the two coasts.
What works for some of us might not work for all of us. Which means car companies are also having to continue further developing ICE engines & platforms on top of these expensive EV endeavors. Plus as a car manufacturer, it’s probably wise to cover your ass longterm, just in case this whole EV thing ends up being the blunder of the century.
In conclusion, it probably sucks to be a car manufacturer right now.
But not really, because they’re passing their increased costs to you… no matter which type of car you buy. It’s just part of why the average vehicle costs $46,000 in 2022, when it was about $33,000 in 2016. So just breathe, knowing that even if you’re not buying an EV… you’re still paying for an EV.
@s3magazine Oh the sounds! #racing #sportscarracing #porsche #porscheracing #transamracing #porsche911 #ev #evcars #internalcombustionengine #gimmefuelgimmefire #racecars #racecar #roadatlanta #transam
