2015 - A turning point for growth

Marked by significant new investments and EV launch announcements from GM, BMW, Nissan, VW, Daimler, Ford, and Apple [Elon Musk calls their EV “a Silicon Valley open secret”], 2015 EV momentum ended strong. VW’s diesel-gate scandal and subsequent announcement of creating an entire new division dedicated to electrifying their fleet, alongside GM’s announcement of the 200+ mile, under-$30K Bolt EV for 2016 delivery, are watershed events for the EV market, the likely turning point for market expansion from early adopter phase to mass adoption.

In other news, California’s Governor has declared that all new cars should be zero emissions by 2050, and BMW’s CEO is now saying that the only way for automakers to meet emission standards is via EVs, announcing acceleration of the BMW i program - on top of the previous statement that all BMW cars will have a plugin option by 2020. Not to be outdone, Ford just announced it’s planning to invest $4.5B into building electric cars.

BYD lays tracks in China

In December, one company alone sold nearly as many EVs into China as all the electric car companies sold into the U.S. Nice going BYD! And more generally, Bloomberg News recently reported China Seen Laying Down $15B Bet on Electric Vehicles.

The future: EVs are simply a better product.

Like the disruption caused by the iPhone launch in 2007, 200+ mile EVs of 2016 and beyond are simply a better product than traditional ICE vehicles and are set to win the day: instant torque, smooth drivetrain, quiet, virtual elimination of service station visits, lower operating costs, and reduced hassle at dealers and auto shops.

Autonomous. Shared. Connected. Electric.

With massive funding rounds for Uber, Didi Kuaidi ($2B funding in China, 7/15) and other transportation networking competitors, we’re also figuring to see a significant uptake of autonomous, shared, connected EVs amongst the Millennial set, many of whom haven’t yet bothered to get a license, much less made plans to buy an automobile themselves.

At eMotorWerks, we believe all those stations should be smart-grid enabled, earning Rewards for customers, reducing costs, and working better with the grid.