Who will be the future electric leader?

20 August 2018

Following a recent trip to Norway it was fascinating to see the country's drive and commitment to invest in renewable energy. The Norwegians have worked hard to develop a progressive and forward-thinking culture that prioritises sustainable energy; investing in battery-powered cars, boats and even planes! This is reflected all around the country, and is easy to see on the streets with the volume of Tesla’s and other electric cars.

Their long-term ambition is to ban the sale of all fossil-fuel powered cars from the roads by 2025. A much more ambitious strategy than the UK’s hope for the majority of vehicles to be electric by 2030.

This brave move was highly credited by Tesla’s Elon Musk in a recent tweet. But, as we’ve seen from the news in the last six months, Tesla has had a tough time. The price of innovation isn’t cheap and the road to successful production is littered with obstacles. With Elon Musk seemingly crumbling under the pressure, the future of electric cars might not all be about Tesla.

Tesla has been the pathfinder for the manufacture of electric cars, investing and developing technology at a rate other manufacturers have not been able to keep up with. But will this always be the case?

Studies show that although Tesla seems to be leading the way, many countries are investing above and beyond to compete, as shown in the table below:

The other largest single investor into electric cars is Volkswagen, who have plans to produce an electric version of all their models by 2030. Could they overtake the phenomenon of Tesla to be the market leader?

All manufacturers will know they will need to bring an all-electric range to market, but perhaps countries like Norway will provide an early insight of which manufacturers will be customer favourites and lead the way.

If you would like to discuss this topic further, please contact your local UHY automotive specialist.

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