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The car industry has seen EVs only as compliance vehicles, sell 10% electric and you just reduced your total fleet emissions by 10%. So you might be able to sta

The car industry has seen EVs only as compliance vehicles, sell 10% electric and you just reduced your total fleet emissions by 10%. So you might be able to stay in the business of heavy ICE luxury cars. That’s why their marketing and sales sucked there was a defined number of these to be sold and not more. Now the game is changing and the wind is turning but it’s not Tesla driving the change, it’s good old regulation. And it has always been regulation, the actors are California, China and the EU. Several countries have now decided on a defined year when the last ICE is going to be sold so the future market is already shrinking and other countries will follow. There will be no market left. Regulation.

a_random_name 7y ago
This is exactly what happened with incandescent light bulbs. The price for led bulbs dropped very quickly onve there was economy of scale driven by garunteed demand.
- yyyk 7y ago
  By comparison, CFLs also increased marketshare after the ban but quickly lost most of it to LED bulbs - regulation can't help if the product is poor compared to alternatives.
Gibbon1 7y ago
Well will point out that Tesla has been eating BWM's lunch in the mid range luxo car market. That BWM hasn't been taking that seriously is a sign current management needs to leave.
- eganist 7y ago
  Worse, BMW thought they were in a comfortable position to exploit their customer base for money -- cutting back on their maintenance program, warranties, etc. and banking on people to not care. If anything, BMW was driving people away from themselves faster than customers were already fleeing to e.g. Tesla or, more recently, Audi (e-tron), Jag (i-pace) and Mercedes (EQC) for electrics.
  - iso1337 7y ago
    Charging a subscription for CarPlay is unacceptable too
    - eganist 7y ago
      It's all of these little things adding up that caused me not to get a new lease two years ago. (this might become a BMW rant, for which I apologize) 1. Reduced the 4y/50k maintenance to 3y/36k. This wasn't impactful for the average lease but slammed car owners. 2. Locked the maintenance program to the first owner -- as if they didn't hate owners enough, you had to pay extra for a maintenance program that transferred to the next owner. 3. To your point: offensive subscription charges (carplay) 4. (subjective) Bizarre styling changes on their mainstream cars, e.g. X7 and the new 7 series. 5. Refusing to produce normal electric vehicles, per the title of this article. End result is you now have cars like the i3 and i8 cratering in value because they're hideously complex, in need of specialized maintenance knowledge, and are exceedingly unlikely to carry a maintenance plan without incurring an e.g. 2, 3, 5k fee. It's awful for BMW because now nobody wants to buy one of their more innovative cars because they'll lose 20% of their value right off the lot and another 40% in the next three years, but it's even worse for people who wouldn't mind adopting "established" electric because they don't want to chance the marked-up repairs nor do the research to figure out which cars either have pre-existing maintenance plans or how much they should pay to get all-inclusive maintenance plans that would cover their used cars. It's just a whole bunch of dumb all around.
      - cheerlessbog 7y ago
        Are i3's really "hideously complex"? An electric motor is far simpler than an ICE. There is very little scheduled maintenance, for example. On the forums, I do not see many stories of painful repair experiences. They just work.
        iso1337 7y ago
        Maybe they were referring to the i3 REx, which also has an ICE. Also i3s use a special, skinny tire that is really expensive
TeMPOraL 7y ago
> Now the game is changing and the wind is turning but it’s not Tesla driving the change, it’s good old regulation. As it should be, and that was actually Tesla's goal. Elon Musk did say that what he wants is for the world to electrify transportation, and whether or not Tesla will remain a market leader is irrelevant.
- dependsontheq 7y ago
  I quoted this years ago to somebody in BMW management and his reaction was hilarious.

a_random_name 7y ago

This is exactly what happened with incandescent light bulbs. The price for led bulbs dropped very quickly onve there was economy of scale driven by garunteed demand.

yyyk 7y ago
By comparison, CFLs also increased marketshare after the ban but quickly lost most of it to LED bulbs - regulation can't help if the product is poor compared to alternatives.

Gibbon1 7y ago

Well will point out that Tesla has been eating BWM's lunch in the mid range luxo car market. That BWM hasn't been taking that seriously is a sign current management needs to leave.

eganist 7y ago
Worse, BMW thought they were in a comfortable position to exploit their customer base for money -- cutting back on their maintenance program, warranties, etc. and banking on people to not care. If anything, BMW was driving people away from themselves faster than customers were already fleeing to e.g. Tesla or, more recently, Audi (e-tron), Jag (i-pace) and Mercedes (EQC) for electrics.
- iso1337 7y ago
  Charging a subscription for CarPlay is unacceptable too
  - eganist 7y ago
    It's all of these little things adding up that caused me not to get a new lease two years ago. (this might become a BMW rant, for which I apologize) 1. Reduced the 4y/50k maintenance to 3y/36k. This wasn't impactful for the average lease but slammed car owners. 2. Locked the maintenance program to the first owner -- as if they didn't hate owners enough, you had to pay extra for a maintenance program that transferred to the next owner. 3. To your point: offensive subscription charges (carplay) 4. (subjective) Bizarre styling changes on their mainstream cars, e.g. X7 and the new 7 series. 5. Refusing to produce normal electric vehicles, per the title of this article. End result is you now have cars like the i3 and i8 cratering in value because they're hideously complex, in need of specialized maintenance knowledge, and are exceedingly unlikely to carry a maintenance plan without incurring an e.g. 2, 3, 5k fee. It's awful for BMW because now nobody wants to buy one of their more innovative cars because they'll lose 20% of their value right off the lot and another 40% in the next three years, but it's even worse for people who wouldn't mind adopting "established" electric because they don't want to chance the marked-up repairs nor do the research to figure out which cars either have pre-existing maintenance plans or how much they should pay to get all-inclusive maintenance plans that would cover their used cars. It's just a whole bunch of dumb all around.
    - cheerlessbog 7y ago
      Are i3's really "hideously complex"? An electric motor is far simpler than an ICE. There is very little scheduled maintenance, for example. On the forums, I do not see many stories of painful repair experiences. They just work.
      - iso1337 7y ago
        Maybe they were referring to the i3 REx, which also has an ICE. Also i3s use a special, skinny tire that is really expensive

TeMPOraL 7y ago

> Now the game is changing and the wind is turning but it’s not Tesla driving the change, it’s good old regulation. As it should be, and that was actually Tesla's goal. Elon Musk did say that what he wants is for the world to electrify transportation, and whether or not Tesla will remain a market leader is irrelevant.

dependsontheq 7y ago
I quoted this years ago to somebody in BMW management and his reaction was hilarious.