Other than some admittedly impressive changes to the sophistication of the kit on the inside, the retail side of the car industry has hitherto been largely immune to the technology advances of the last decade.
The times they are a changin, however. While autonomous vehicles are being developed in Silicon Valley by the likes of Google and Apple, the more immediate transformation to the car industry is that of electric vehicles.
If targets are hit, then just 33 years’ time there will not be a petrol or diesel car on UK roads. Incredible.
Brian Gilda, managing director of Peoples Ford said such a target was “aspirationally fine” but highlighted the scale of infrastructure investment which would be required to meet it.
This is a hugely significant point – given the proportion of government resource currently being used to peel away from the European Union, how can meeting such bold objectives expect to be met?
Like the technology revolution, Brexit looms large over the car industry. Mr Gilda held up the uncertainty caused by the vote as the reason for people putting off buying new cars for another year. When they do change, a petrol engine may not suffice.
Henry Ford, whose legacy lives on in Mr Gilda’s six showrooms, once said that if he asked his customers what they wanted they would have said faster horses.
Mr Gilda noted that in ten years the car industry will look very different as more people go electric. We can only hope the infrastructure is in place to support change of a scale not seen since Mr Ford’s days.
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