Electrification is still, of course, the dominant topic of concern for car-company executives and dealers in 2024. But challenges brought on by the switch from gas to electricity aren’t the only issues faced by the industry this year.
John Krsteski, senior chief designer at Genesis North America, on emerging trends and opportunities for automotive design: Sales were up last year because of the greater number of products available. It doesn’t mean necessarily that electrified cars are selling as fast as manufacturers would want. Toyota, for example, they’re having great demand and success for their hybrid vehicles. They’re selling out for sure. Hyundai, with theirat very attractive price points, I think they’re doing fairly well. But most of the manufacturers I’m involved with, it’s been a bit of a struggle for sure.
Matt Girgis, managing director of Volvo Car Canada, on preparing customers for the electric shift and affordability: In any new technology there’s a standard adoption curve, whether it’s an electric washing machine or the car itself. First you get the innovators, who don’t care if that technology is still developing. Then you get the early adopters, and that gets you to around 13 or 14 per cent of market share, which is essentially where we are now with zero-emission vehicles. Then you get the early majority, who tend to ask a few more questions. They want to see proof of concept.