4 June 2020

How to prepare for changing consumer preferences, especially around alternative powertrains and future trends, should be central to any remarketing strategy. Sebastian Fuchs, managing director Manheim and RMS Automotive Continental Europe, part of Cox Automotive, explains that this requires both considered industry monitoring and a leap of imagination.

When talking about alternative powertrains, many options come to mind, and it is important to prepare for changing consumer preferences, particularly regarding remarketing strategy.

Propulsion types

The closest powertrain to the internal combustion engine (ICE) is the hybrid, which comes in two forms: the full hybrid with an electric range of several kilometres, and the plug-in hybrid (PHEV), which – depending on model and battery – can travel around 50km purely powered by electricity.

Further from today’s ICE, hydrogen is what many believe to be the long-term solution. Due to its sustainable method of production – as a by-product of many industrial processes – sources of hydrogen are plentiful. Ranges for hydrogen-powered vehicles are – depending on model – not far from that of traditional ICE vehicles.

Finally, there is the battery-electric vehicle (BEV), the powertrain that has a substantial chance of long-term success, given the leaps that are happening in battery technology and the investment going into it.

Future planning

Turning to the megatrends that were front of mind, at least up until the coronavirus pandemic hit, and that we expect will be our focus once again in six to 12 months from now. There is a continued trend towards urbanisation, depending on which study you read, by 2040-50 around half the world’s population will live in an urban hot spot. Digitisation will see generations growing up with the possibility of ordering everything at their fingertips and will, in their own time, change consumer behaviour, explained Fuchs.

There is also an environmental consciousness, with CO2 reduction objectives driving development and consumption, while a sharing economy will change how products are owned and consumed. Finally, artificial intelligence will become mainstream and an accepted part of daily life.

With all these trends, electric cars will likely be the ultimate winner of this future. The variables of this powertrain are the ones we need to understand.

‘If we keep these megatrends in mind and turn to the current reality, we should explore whether inflection points in the growth of electric cars can already be seen. The RVs of electric cars are still way behind some those for traditional vehicles, although the picture is not the same for every country,’ Fuchs concludes.

This article uses extracts from the feature: Future-ready remarketing. In the full version, which you can find here, Sebastian Fuchs delves into the residual value data of key markets in Europe and highlights the key areas to pay attention to when formulating a remarketing strategy for EVs.

For more of the latest thinking, insight and data from our Auto Mobility LIVE speakers and TCO Awards judges, check out our Auto Mobility LIVE Insights page.