For decades, the automotive industry has understood the value of the automotive enthusiast. The enthusiast, for whom their vehicle is much more than just a transportation resource, is the reason that magazines (and now their digital media channels) like Car and Driver, Evo, Automobile and others have been around almost as long as the industry itself.
These media channels are based on a simple idea: that the automotive enthusiast influences their friends, family and neighbours. This influence is important enough that manufacturers spend advertising dollars and make press fleets available to media that have, in mass market terms, relatively small audiences. They are a niche, but one that can influence a disproportionate number of vehicle decisions.
As we ponder how to move this industry from our current ICE-centric vehicle sales mix to the EV targets that nearly all manufacturers and governments are aggressively promoting, let’s remind ourselves of the role that early adopters will play in influencing their friends, families and neighbours. For good or ill.
As an illustration of this, read David Adams’ column in this issue. David is a leading figure in our industry, and one who wants nothing more than for us to succeed. He’s been driving a premium EV that he loves, but his overall experience has been “highly frustrating.”
The source of David’s frustration is related to charging infrastructure, no question. That isn’t my focus, as we all acknowledge that easy and reliable access to charging is a prerequisite for EVs achieving the growth the industry and governments are banking on.
My focus is the power that David’s voice (or the voice of any early adopter) will have on influencing others. Think of the old adage: if you have a good experience you tell 10 people. If you have a bad one you tell 30. This will apply to EV early adopters. As we move past the earliest group of EV buyers (let’s call them EV evangelists) and into a more balanced group of early adopters, we will be selling to a group that we can’t count on being, well, evangelical, about EVs.
On the defensive side, we need to do all that we can to prevent negative experiences that could turn off large numbers of buyers for a very long time.
On the positive side, our industry needs to harness that influence for growth. On the defensive side, we need to do all that we can to prevent negative experiences that could turn off large numbers of buyers for a very long time.
Let’s create initiatives that will help cultivate those EV influencers and nurture that critical source of growth. From VIP nights and electrical education nights, to more EV chargers in front of your dealership (and let’s make sure they work!), there are all kinds of things you can do at your dealership to catalyze this important reaction.
