Vehicle Innovators will embody the Pioneer Spirit

The first mass produced pure EVs will be hitting the streets in the UK over the coming months heralding the true beginning of electric personal vehicle mobility. Nissan has said that its order book in already full for all Leafs coming to the UK market until the end of this year. The total volume of EV sales, even if supply is saturated, will still be small change compared to the total market however they are expected to grow rapidly in market share over the coming few years.

The innovators in the market will play a crucial role in helping to form public opinion surrounding EVs. They will act as opinion leaders and diffuse their experiences throughout their social networks. It has been regularly put forward that these innovators will have distinct characteristics encompassing strong green views and a desire to be on the technology frontier. A dimension that has garnered less exposure is the aspect of freedom these vehicles will provide to their owners. Not freedom in the sense of being able to go wherever they please but rather liberation from oil dependency.

Can Motorsport play a Role in the Greening of Passenger Vehicle Transport?

Last weekend saw the first race of the 2011 Formula 1 season in Melbourne Australia. Sebastian Vettel stormed to a well deserved first place finish and was like always magnanimous in victory heaping praise onto his team.  A part of me cringes to consider the amount of fuel this sport consumes in a season but the shear popularity of F1 means it generates a great deal of happiness for all those barrels of oil. This season sees the return of the Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERs for short) a form of  mild hybrid system allowing the car to preserve some of the energy lost under the ferocious decelerations these cars go through and provide a 5 second 80 horse power boost per lap for the driver to assist in overtaking.

A new contender is entering the motorsport ring this year and promises to be something we’ve never seen before. The EV Cup will hold 6 races (5 in Europe and 1 scheduled for the US) with all cars being solely fuelled by electricity. It will be split into 3 classifications which and combine a variety of formats. EV manufacturers and enthusiast will be able to bring their prototype muscle EVs to set lap times in a time trial format. The EV Cup has developed (alongside Westfield Racing) its own racing car dubbed the iRacer (see main picture) that will incorporate a boost system similar to KERs in F1 and will be open to experienced open top motorsport drivers. In sharp comparison to the other 2 classifications, the EV Cup will also see City EVs (provided by Th!nk) battle it out on the track for dominance. I believe this classification is included simply as a showcase to the public to inform them that production EVs are reality but it will be interesting to see which classification proves the most popular.

Electric Vehicles will be Risky Business

Whenever a new firm enters a market offering a distinctive innovation, their reputation is often closely linked with the success (or lack thereof) of their new product. A classic example is that of James Dyson who introduced the dual cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner. Mr Dyson was so confident that his new innovation was going to be successful that he decided to brand the product with his family name. Sources of innovation are not solely limited to entrepreneurs; established companies spend significant amounts of their revenue on research and development into new ideas. Whenever an established manufacturer considers introducing a new innovative product there is the opportunity for market success which will further strengthen then manufacturer’s brand or failure which would cause significant brand damage.

This is no less true in the automotive industry where there is a constant drive for product innovation and diversification. In some instances, these innovations are small such as the introduction of parking sensors and reactive headlights. In other situations, the innovations are fundamental to the operation of the vehicle. This will be the case with the introduction of electric driver powertrains. This market innovation has attracted startup companies establishing their brand in the EV market niche such as Tesla. The more conventional manufacturers such as Nissan, Ford and General Motors are bringing their EVs to market and will be staking a substantial chunk of their reputations on the success of these offerings.