It is becoming increasingly clear that the automotive industry is on the verge of a sea change. While the electric revolution brought about many new brands early on, a battle of attrition has caused several startups to falter.
Even in China, the world’s largest automotive market and a global driver of EV sales, young brands that had the opportunity to establish themselves, are struggling. That led to the recent prediction by the CEO of Xpeng, Brian Gu, that fewer than 10 automakers will survive the next 10 years.
Today, we’re asking who will survive the Carpocalypse?
The predictions of Gu may seem pessimistic, but it’s difficult to deny that the automotive industry tends towards concentration. And while that doesn’t always mean outright death for car brands, it does often mean conglomeration.
Read: EVs Are The Future, Not E-Fuels, Says Mercedes CEO
Whether that’s General Motors and its once vast collection of auto brands, VW Group’s similar growth near the end of the last millennium, or Stellantis’ recent attempts to rule as many brands as possible, the automotive industry loves empires.
With electric vehicles becoming increasingly mainstream and the challenge of cost-effectively manufacturing them becoming more pressing, it begs the question: which companies are best equipped to make the transition into the next decade?
It’s hard to imagine a world without today’s big players, like GM and VW, but Toyota has been notably resistant to embracing all-electric vehicles. Meanwhile, its attempts to introduce alternative technologies, such as hydrogen, haven’t exactly lit the sales charts on fire. Will that reticence end up costing it? Is it big enough to survive even if its strategy is wrong? Is its strategy wrong?
And while we hate to see smaller, more interesting automakers fail, leaving some dead weight by the wayside isn’t always a bad thing. So, if you had to choose, which car brands do you think will make it into the future? Let us know in the comments below.
