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marketing electric cars

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scotia
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marketing electric cars

#265617

Postby scotia » November 19th, 2019, 10:45 pm

Ford are the latest to pre-announce an electric car - the "Mustang Mach-E. Electric. and Untamed."
So clearly they think that the market for electric cars is performance, and bragging rights. Certainly not economy or saving the planet.
Jaguar have also gone the performance route, albeit in a more restrained manner, and they have the excuse of their history of fast cars. Audi is significantly more restrained in the advertisements for their e-tron, stressing it is designed as for every Audi - for comfort, safety and performance. VW are describing (online) the Golf-E as powerful - but they add efficient and sustainable in much bolder text. And they emphasise that you will love this Golf just as much (or more) than the Golf you loved before. The Nissan Leaf advertisements go for fun, sustainable driving.
My surprise is that Ford, a producer of mainly mass-market cars, has unashamedly launched their first effort in the electric field at the boy racers - or am I being unkind?

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Re: marketing electric cars

#265644

Postby jackdaww » November 20th, 2019, 7:04 am

if electric cars are fitted with a clutch and gearbox , they will take the market by storm ..

:D :D

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Re: marketing electric cars

#265668

Postby Rover110 » November 20th, 2019, 8:24 am

My guess is that Ford can't ramp up volume very quickly (the supply of batteries, for example, is likely to be constrained). And I guess a lot of the patents / design and manufacturing experience are with their competitors, so it's unlikely they have much cost advantage.
So they are going where they expect to make most profit per unit.
They want people who willingly pay extra for a zooming battery car and maybe accept 1970s supercar (un)reliability rather than people who plan to save money from the cheaper running of such a car - which gets weighed against higher purchase price.

- Rover

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Re: marketing electric cars

#265759

Postby bungeejumper » November 20th, 2019, 12:35 pm

Rover110 wrote:So they are going where they expect to make most profit per unit.
They want people who willingly pay extra for a zooming battery car and maybe accept 1970s supercar (un)reliability rather than people who plan to save money from the cheaper running of such a car - which gets weighed against higher purchase price.

If I were starting out from scratch to get my name (belatedly!) known in electric cars, I expect I'd do exactly what Ford has done. Take an existing car with a large floorpan, and ideally one with Steve McQueen in its cultural heritage, and then fill it up with as many batteries as I could get in there. And call it a great step forward, while I figured out what to do to make it better?

I haven't looked at the Mustang's spec in any detail, but I daresay it handles like a wounded whale - something which probably doesn't matter so much on wide, straight US roads? It weighs 25% more than the base petrol model (and half as much again as the Steve McQueen version from 1970). A work in progress, then. Still, I suppose it's a start. :| Better late than never. And it's cheap, which will help.....

BJ

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Re: marketing electric cars

#265836

Postby richlist » November 20th, 2019, 5:07 pm

I assume you think it's cheap in comparison with other electric cars ?
Most people don't consider cars priced at £44K - £58K to be cheap.

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Re: marketing electric cars

#265858

Postby bungeejumper » November 20th, 2019, 6:39 pm

richlist wrote:I assume you think it's cheap in comparison with other electric cars ?
Most people don't consider cars priced at £44K - £58K to be cheap.

Cheap for Americans, who'll pay about $42K after government subsidies. That's the equivalent of £32K in our money.

Which is not to say that we'll be paying £32K over here! :lol: Probably more like the £44K you've quoted. £32K would just about buy you an e-Golf over here, with a mighty 200 mile battery range on a good day and 90 mph in a following wind.

Nope, the electric Mustang is built for yanks and priced for yanks. Fair enough, I suppose.

BJ

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Re: marketing electric cars

#265868

Postby richlist » November 20th, 2019, 7:40 pm

Ford has unveiled the car.
£44K - £58K
$44K - $60K

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Re: marketing electric cars

#265934

Postby bungeejumper » November 21st, 2019, 8:43 am

richlist wrote:Ford has unveiled the car.
£44K - £58K
$44K - $60K

Indeed, but you're still not allowing for the fact that US buyers will get a $7,500 tax credit for buying an EV, which makes the whole proposition cheaper for them. That wouldn't apply to a Tesla or a Leaf, because the tax credit for the buyer stops once a manufacturer has sold 200,000 EVs (of any sort), and most EV manufacturers are already well past that milestone. The effect is to give an EV newcomer (such as Ford in this case) a brief cost advantage over its rivals.

Mind you, it's not all fun and sunshine for EV owners. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/ ... dZNm-j7SUk

BJ

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Re: marketing electric cars

#265968

Postby BobbyD » November 21st, 2019, 10:35 am

scotia wrote: VW are describing (online) the Golf-E as powerful - but they add efficient and sustainable in much bolder text. And they emphasise that you will love this Golf just as much (or more) than the Golf you loved before. The Nissan Leaf advertisements go for fun, sustainable driving.
My surprise is that Ford, a producer of mainly mass-market cars, has unashamedly launched their first effort in the electric field at the boy racers - or am I being unkind?


With it's replacement the id.3 already in production, having a significantly better range and a lower list price the e-Golf's days are numbered. I wouldn't be surprised if you start to hear more about it's successor's environmental credentials although they'll continue to make the point that it's a VW which just happens to have an electric 'engine' and be rather good for the environment.

Image

- https://www.volkswagenag.com/content/da ... N_1163.png

bungeejumper wrote: That wouldn't apply to a Tesla or a Leaf, because the tax credit for the buyer stops once a manufacturer has sold 200,000 EVs (of any sort), and most EV manufacturers are already well past that milestone.


According to the IRS the only manufacturers with cars eligible for a maximum tax rebate of $0 through the end of Q1 2020 are GM and Tesla. The Leaf is still eligible for the full $7500.

Although that's just Federal, you can get up to another $5000 rebate depending on which state you buy it in.

scotia
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Re: marketing electric cars

#266276

Postby scotia » November 22nd, 2019, 1:15 pm


UncleIan
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Re: marketing electric cars

#266277

Postby UncleIan » November 22nd, 2019, 1:23 pm



Man, that is one fugly car!

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Re: marketing electric cars

#266291

Postby BobbyD » November 22nd, 2019, 2:04 pm

UncleIan wrote:
Man, that is one fugly car!


It's what you get if you try drawing a Delorean using only 5 straight lines, which is in no way a bad omen.

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Re: marketing electric cars

#266379

Postby richlist » November 22nd, 2019, 6:51 pm

UncleIan wrote:


Man, that is one fugly car!


Yes yuk......

I find all electric cars ugly......there isnt one which has acceptable styling.

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Re: marketing electric cars

#266398

Postby redsturgeon » November 22nd, 2019, 8:10 pm


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Re: marketing electric cars

#266409

Postby richlist » November 22nd, 2019, 9:01 pm

Sorry, it's not for me. The last thing I would want is a 4 door Porsche 911......I think it looks awful.
I suppose they had to stretch the body to fit the batteries in.
What is the world coming to ?

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Re: marketing electric cars

#266460

Postby bungeejumper » November 23rd, 2019, 8:48 am

redsturgeon wrote:This one looks OK to me.

https://www.teslarati.com/porsche-tayca ... omparison/

I'm rather amused by the fact that they have to call the car(s) "turbo". Given that a turbo is the last thing that would ever help a car that didn't have an exhaust system. ;) I guess they just need to use the word if they're hoping to attract the speed merchants' attention?

BJ

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Re: marketing electric cars

#266608

Postby BobbyD » November 23rd, 2019, 7:42 pm

bungeejumper wrote:I'm rather amused by the fact that they have to call the car(s) "turbo". Given that a turbo is the last thing that would ever help a car that didn't have an exhaust system. ;) I guess they just need to use the word if they're hoping to attract the speed merchants' attention?


It's so existing Porsche customers know what they are looking at, just like with less expensive Taycan 4S. It maybe electric, but above all it is a Porsche, and it is named accordingly.

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Re: marketing electric cars

#266702

Postby MonsterMork » November 24th, 2019, 9:58 am

Having had to MoT a couple of BMW i3 models, one with a normal engine as a generator/range extender and one pure electric, I can confirm that they are as awful to drive as they are to look at :roll:

Lets face it, sex sells. If the manufacturers want to get us to buy their vehicles then they will need to appeal to our baser instincts. Telling us a car will do 200 miles on a charge is all well and good, but it won't have people beating down the door to get one. Telling us there is more than enough room in the back for romantic manouvres, perhaps with an appropriately scantily clad model in a telly advert, and overnight they will be ramping up production to cope with demand.

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Re: marketing electric cars

#266925

Postby redsturgeon » November 25th, 2019, 7:58 am

MonsterMork wrote:Having had to MoT a couple of BMW i3 models, one with a normal engine as a generator/range extender and one pure electric, I can confirm that they are as awful to drive as they are to look at :roll:

Lets face it, sex sells. If the manufacturers want to get us to buy their vehicles then they will need to appeal to our baser instincts. Telling us a car will do 200 miles on a charge is all well and good, but it won't have people beating down the door to get one. Telling us there is more than enough room in the back for romantic manouvres, perhaps with an appropriately scantily clad model in a telly advert, and overnight they will be ramping up production to cope with demand.


If I want sex I usually go organic rather than mechanical!

More importantly what did you think of the cars mechanically, good build? Holding up well at three years? Any points of failure?

John

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Re: marketing electric cars

#267105

Postby MonsterMork » November 25th, 2019, 7:05 pm

redsturgeon wrote:
More importantly what did you think of the cars mechanically, good build? Holding up well at three years? Any points of failure?

John



Yes, seemed to be holding up well. Bear in mind that even though they run on electrickery, so no proper engine in them, the rest of the vehicle is the same as any other car out there, so the usual problems of steering, brakes, suspension etc will no doubt rear their head in the fullness of time.

I must point out, however, that even though they were four and five years old they were very low mileage, less than 18k each if memory serves, so really had probably been doing town driving and not much else (no doubt due to a lack of charging points). One thing to note for potential future BMW I3 owners is that tyres would appear to be a dodgy I3 only size*, so your retail tyre barn will be unlikely to have any in stock for immediate while-you-wait fitment.

MM


*not absolutely sure of this, but I cannot recall seeing any other cars on 155/70R19 cart wheels ...


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