Spy photos have revealed that General Motors has a leg-up on Tesla Motors. In the race to build the first mass-market electric vehicle, General Motors recently showed off the Chevy Bolt as a concept vehicle at the 2015 North American International Auto Show. It was later confirmed on Feb. 12 of this year that the Bolt will go into production. However, besides the showcase at the auto show, it was unknown how far along GM is in their production process. After all, like Tesla Motors, they expect to have a mass-market electric vehicle on the road and available to the public by 2017.
Tesla motors founder and CEO Elon Musk has stated numerous times that his organization wants to bring the mass-market EV to the United States. Tesla plans to do so with the Tesla Model III. The model 3 is a sedan smaller than the Model S with a range of between 200-250 miles. The vehicle is expected to cost $35,000 before government subsidies. However, to date Tesla hasn’t produced even a prototype of the budget EV. The electric car company also is relying on the successful construction of their Gigafactory for their new vehicle project. GM meanwhile, already possesses the resources and factories necessary to mass-produce an electric vehicle for the everyday consumer.
For dealers this race is particularly compelling because the electric vehicle market is expanding. The International Energy Agency produced a report, which projects 20 million electric vehicles could be on the road (globally speaking) by 2020. If GM is first to market with a mass-market electric vehicle in 2017, it will give dealers the opportunity to market to an entirely new niche: mass-market, longer-range electric vehicles. While Tesla won’t work with dealers, GM and other traditional automakers will continue to push to create affordable electric vehicles. The marketing possibilities for dealers will grow as this new species of zeros emissions vehicles hits stores during the next five to 10 years.
Do you think that the mass-market electric car will become an important part of the automotive landscape by 2020? Do you think that this middle-class centric vehicle will prove to be a particular strong draw for millennials as they become the focus of so many marketing campaigns? Finally, what training do you have in place so that when new vehicles arrive, your staff is educated their ins and outs?
