The automotive industry is changing faster than ever before. Since the near-bankruptcy scares in 2012 for industry giants like GM and Chrysler, the entire industry has been scraping and clawing its way back into profitability with new innovations that, 10 years ago, had seemed like science fiction. What changes are shaping today’s industry, and what can we expect to see in the next few years?
Affordable Electric
Until recently electric cars were out of reach for most people due to their high prices.
Tesla is starting to make their cars more affordable. A new model will be released in 2017 with a much more moderate $35,000 price tag, making it more competitive with traditional gasoline engines. And Tesla is not the only name in electric cars.
Many household manufacturing names are jumping into the electric car game, including Mitsubishi, Ford, Chevrolet, and Kia. Most of their models are much more affordable, ranging from $22,995 to $31,000, making more appealing to the average consumer.
The Advent of Car Sharing
Until recently, the only way to get around in someone else’s car was begging a friend or making calls to a taxi company. With the introduction of companies like Uber, Lyft, RelayRides, and GetAround, people are reinventing the concept of carpooling.
The idea behind car-sharing is similar to carpooling, in that you’re sharing someone else’s vehicle. The big difference lies in the how these rides are facilitated. Instead of reaching out to a friend or coworker, you can order a ride from an app on your mobile phone. Communication and payment is all handled by the app.
People who previously couldn’t afford to purchase or maintain a car are now buying newer vehicles and using them as a source of income, which is in turn bolstering the automotive industry.
Sharing Electric Cars
As electric vehicles become more and more popular, it’s inevitable that they will begin to show up in as an option for car-sharing apps like Uber and Lyft. Currently, you can enroll to become a driver with either company with an electric vehicle without jumping through any extra hoops, though that may change in the future if distance constraints become an issue.
The most comparably priced electric cars have a range of 60-100 miles per charge, so they’re perfect for short hops around the city, but not great for longer jaunts to and from the airport or out into the suburbs.
In spite of those distance restrictions, some companies are considering adding electric cars to their fleets or replacing their entire fleet with electric vehicles. Right now, the cost of setting up a fleet of electric cars is much higher than using traditional gasoline or hybrid engines due to the cost of the batteries, but as the cost of those electric car batteries drops, so too will the price of electric fleets.
As the automotive industry slowly pulls itself out of the dark pits of bankruptcy that marred its recent past, electric cars and the car-sharing industry will help light the way.
Featured Image via Unsplash, available under a CC0 license.
