Sales of battery electric vehicles are growing in Europe, primarily due to the excitement of wealthy early adopters and government incentives. Still, for the electric car revolution to succeed, automakers must generate genuine demand from the mainstream market based on price and usability. Unfortunately, at the moment, that appears to be an unachievable dream.
Failure to create electric vehicles affordable to the ordinary wage-earner will also condemn the automobile industry to a drastically diminished future of volume reductions, factory closures, and mass layoffs. Moreover, the political repercussions will be severe when middle-income voters discover they cannot afford the freedom typically associated with automobile ownership. If this narrative line persists, the yellow vests movement in France, which erupted in violent and prolonged protests in response to a sudden massive increase in fuel price, will be at the forefront of politicians' minds.