Industry Day at Electrify Expo brings together the heavy hitters of the automotive electrification market, and this year’s event in Long Beach didn’t disappoint. The panelists included representatives from Kia, Ford, Volvo, Lotus, and Rolls Royce, tackling issues of transitioning vehicle fleets from ICE to EV at every price range.
Recently, there have been some pessimistic headlines in popular media about EV sales waning and OEMs hitting the brakes on EV investment. However, there was no slowdown in preaching for EVs from car brands, suppliers, and stakeholders. Panelists agreed that recent layoffs and scaled-back goals were a result of a post-COVID-19 bubble that has set expectations of unrealistic YoY growth. Adoption continues to accelerate, albeit at a more conservative growth rate than expected. Full BEVs account for around 10% of new car sales year-to-date (with double that in California), the future of EVs is all but inevitable to continue to grow.
The next big frontier is EV adoption in America’s heartland, where household incomes tend to be lower and electric infrastructure investment is lagging. A big shift in EV education and mindset is going to be required to convince the next wave of buyers to get behind the wheel of an EV. Recent price cuts and government incentives are helping with that, but the education piece is going to have to lean heavily on the financials. OEMs, dealers, marketers, and advocates need to help those consumers better understand the lower running costs of EVs versus ICE, and sales will follow.
Electrify Expo continues at the Long Beach Convention Center through the weekend on June 1-2. It is a great opportunity for EV fans to test drive their favorite electric cars or personal electric vehicles.
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