When I started writing about green cars in the early 1990s, it was very niche like – fleet applications, federal mandates that got washed out, state of California stuff (AQMD), methanol, etc. Flash forward to the future: Nowadays, each and every day it’s becoming clear this won’t be a passing fad once again.
Here’s some informal market indicators that prove my point…
Industry bible Automotive News covers the topic a lot these days, and has had a couple of industry conferences on the subject. Not long ago, that wasn’t the case. Other stalwarts (Edmunds.com, AOL, Wired) now have active specialty pubs. And the majors devote more and more space to it.
Lots of market reports keep coming out – Pike Research being the stand out, but there’s something new all the time. Sometimes including consumer or B2B surveys, and sometimes sponsored by an industry group attempting to get its message validated.
It is one hot topic in governments with big economies dependent on transportation, and affects legislation and regulation.
A lot of other industries are making bang for buck – technology suppliers, consultants, utilities, lobbyists, media folk striving to put food on the table, oil companies, and majors looking to dip in – Best Buy, General Electric, etc.
It’s getting tricky to find an OEM that doesn’t have at least one green car in the pipeline, whether that be hybrid electric vehicles, plug-in/pure electrics, flex/alt fuel, or space age technology (fuel cell).
People talk about the subject more and more these days – dinner parties, checking out at grocery stores, social media/blogging, career considerations, marketing opportunities, etc.
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