If LEVs are to be Successful, They’ll Need to be Eye Catching

Modern day cars come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, often aimed at better suiting the desired purpose of the vehicles and other times simply to be attractive in appearance. A People Carrier tends to have a somewhat blockish exterior so that interior space can be maximised whilst a sports car is often low to the ground and streamlined to enhance performance through better aerodynamics and tyre grip. I’ve often heard some muscle cars been referred to as “aggressive” in styling, in a sense they are made to reflect their owner’s desire to command the road and, for lack of a more subtle phrase, augment his machismo.

These lessons shouldn’t be avoided by the manufacturers wishing to introduce LEVs into the automotive market. Toyota has already leaped forward with the latest version of their Prius being distinctly styled and eye catching. Toyota have realised that the customers that generally buy a hybrid car want to be seen driving a hybrid and enjoy the social symbolism that goes along with it. By ensuring that their Prius would be easily recognisable, they have created an environment where the driver of the Prius can indirectly communicate their values of environmental consideration and fuel efficiency to the rest of society.

 

Other manufactures are seeing the virtue in this strategy and are styling their vehicles to be easily recognisable. The Fisker Karma has a shark like appearance, the Renault Twizy takes the two-seater concept to a new level whilst BMW i-series simply looks fantastic. These vehicles will have no difficulties standing out from the crowd and acting as extensions of their owners however, I have sever concerns for manufacturers that are simply taking a pre-existing architecture and sticking a hybrid or electric powertrian in it.

I believe that, in the long term, automotive manufacturers will start to include the spectrum of electric powertrains into most of their major models providing consumers with an increased choice. However this strategy, if employed in the emerging market for LEVs, could prove ill-advised. Whilst Ford is developing its Focus EV and Smart is putting EV technology into its ForTwos, these manufacturers are not allowing consumers of these EVs to express their values to society. It may be cheaper to alter an existing vehicle architecture to be compatible with EV technology than to develop a completely new one but this decision may be unsuccessful in terms of eventual market sales.

Early adopters of LEVs will want to be seen driving LEVs. If they don’t believe society can easily perceive this being the case they’ll take their business to a manufacturer that provides a more distinctive car. Automotive manufacturers that are entering the LEV market need to ensure their cars look the part and this goes beyond having an “EV” badge on the back, they need to make their cars look like an LEV.