Tag Archive for: electric cars

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CES, the ultimate auto show

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What does CES mean nowadays? Consumer Electronics Show? Futuristic Cars? Autonomous driving? Car Show? I think all of them are correct.

As 2015 showed us, the world is rapidly changing. It was best seen at the CES – Consumer Electronics Show – at the beginning of January. During this event, several well-known car brands made themselves more visible. It seems this was a breakthrough year for the automotive industry; because not just automakers, but also suppliers “treated the event as a de facto auto show”. The industry showed us in the past years that it is once again the drive of innovation. Furthermore it wants to integrate everything into the 4-wheelers to offer a better driving experience. Of course these cars are not the cheapest ones, but surely the most advanced – in concept at least.

FFZERO1

Faraday Future made a great debut with the FFZERO1, the car that might become the new love of the fans. Batman all over again from the 1990’s, just redesigned with much more gadgets. This car will be – according to the FF’s promises – the ultimate one that will be able to allow autonomous driving, have more than 1000 horsepower with a top speed of more than 200 mph (320 km/h) and the list goes on.  However, this car still belongs to the future and the company promises that within a couple of years they will be able to produce the first model.

BUDD-e

Despite the scandal against Volkswagen the company still decided to show off in the Show with a new concept called BUDD-e. Not a bad move at all. This car again wants to make the user experience more enjoyable just like FF. According to the concept, the BUDD-e will be able to recharge its batteries to 80 percent within 15 minutes. Again, not bad. Currently Tesla’s Supercharger is able to recharge to about 50 percent in 20 minutes.

Interactive gadgets

Of course CES wasn’t only about concept cars, but about which direction the automotive industry will head in the future. There are already many initiatives on crowdsourcing information “about traffic, parking, and road hazards to make the trip as stress-free and short as possible”.  The interactive dashboards, full-connectivity to the Internet and applications from your phone can improve the driving experience. Personally I look forward to it and to the green way these companies started to think, finally. Especially GM’s ride-sharing service Lyft.

The question is, does that mean that within a decade we will be more likely to buy an electric or still a traditional vehicle? How fast these changes will be?

 

 

Author: Anita @AnitaKocsis910facebook_profile picture

Anita is an employee of Bare International. Besides her work
at the Social Media and Recruitment team, she loves doing yoga,
travelling and reading. Her love for the automotive industry came
from the passion for innovations and technology. She has a master’s
degree in International Economics and Business.

 

Interested in becoming an Automotive Evaluator with BARE International?

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Four Reasons You'll Want to Go Electric

shutterstock_198927128Should I buy an electric car, a hybrid or a diesel or petrol powered one? Are you concerned about both the environment and your pocket? How much do we really care?

Heal the world,  Michael Jackson´s hit, has already been trying to get this idea into our heads for the last 24 years. Save the planet!

It is already common knowledge that regular cars produce carbon emissions that pollute the environment. This has certainly been highlighted in the recent Volkswagen scandal. Luckily there is a solution.

The Electric car (Or EV – Electric Vehicle) has evolved to become appealing and convenient. Just look at the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt or Ford Focus Electric. Or the high performance Tesla Model S which seems to be increasing  in popularity every day. We also have governments doing more to provide subsidies for people willing to take this eco-friendly path. 

Let´s together go through the main advantages of owning an EV:  

  • First of all, you don’t need petrol. You power your car with electricity that is significantly cheaper than petrol. This lowers your running costs amazingly.  With all the conflicts going on around the world for this precious non-renewable resource you will be lucky to stay away from it.  
  • There are no tailpipe emissions of toxic gases or smoke. You don´t produce  the pollution that you get with internal combustion engines. The EV uses rechargeable batteries. However, there is still an environmental cost. The electricity used has to come from somewhere. There are several ways to obtain this energy – some cleaner than others – but  in worst case scenario, the emissions are cut to half.
  • You save money on maintenance.  You don’t need oil to lubricate the engine, you have fewer maintenance costs. You don’t need to service your car as often as you do with a normal petrol powered car.
  • You go green. You play your role in saving the planet. The rechargeable batteries used by electric cars recycle well which avoids creating tons of garbage.

If you use your car primarily in the city to go to work and back – an electric vehicle is ideal for you. Stay alert, make your calculations. Car companies are putting more effort into developing this visionary technology.ev-fleet-count

The Electric vehicle market share is increasing. It has experienced a huge growth, especially during the last two years. Eager to see the 2020 figures.  

Your ideal EV is just around the corner.  Are you ready for the change?

Author: Vicky Lima  

Vicky Lima is a multifaceted professional with a Master´s Degree in Advertising. She is passionate about customer experience and the Automotive world. Besides her work in social media, she shares her passion and knowledge about cars as a writer. An avid traveler around the world investigating the relationship between customers and brands. 

Interested in becoming an Automotive Evaluator with BARE International?

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Want to be a guest blogger for BARE’s Automotive community We Are Cars?

Apply to: wearecars@bareinternational.com

Getting Customer Satisfaction Right

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I was recently reading a blog post on LinkedIn by Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of the Renault-Nissan Alliance on the way that electric vehicles are now becoming mainstream. While the main focus was on the technical achievement and the sales, there were two things that particularly drew my attention.

The first was that customer satisfaction for owners of the electric vehicles is among the highest of all their vehicles. This is noteworthy because the industry has always had a concern that electric vehicles would not meet customer’s expectations, and consequently leave the customer dissatisfied. I believe that Nissan have consistently been honest and forthcoming about their electric cars, truthfully stating the expected range, and working hard to improve the infrastructure. As a consequence, they have been able to meet the realistic expectations the customer has developed.

That being said, the government incentives and the efforts of municipal governments to put charging stations in place haven’t hurt, but kudos to the manufacturer for believing that would happen in parallel with their sales drive.

Secondly, was the fact that the blog post focussed on one individual customer, Yves Nivelle, who had bought the 250000th vehicle, and made the story about him. In fact, not only the story, but also an accompanying video. A company who isn’t afraid to talk about their customers and even talk to their customers in public is a company that is serious about their commitment to customer satisfaction.

It looks to me that Nissan understand the relationship between customer service and customer satisfaction and are committed to ensure that both grow together.

collin

Guest author: Colin Hensley @colingoeu

Colin has wide experience in managing and building brand and organisational reputations including more than 15 years in the automotive industry. He has had responsibility for communications and public affairs spanning public and private institutions across three continents.