Project EVIE Blog

Sometime during this last week or so I read an article describing how McDonald’s venture into the upscale coffee market has actually helped chief competitor Starbucks by further popularizing chi-chi morning beverages. Initially, Starbucks feared that McDonald’s would be able to undercut their prices, and steal their customers. So far though, the trend seems to be that swaths of people that previously had never tried a fancy coffee or stepped foot in a Starbucks, have now developed a taste for lattes.

I imagine the popularization of electric vehicles will follow a similar course, with gains made by any one manufacturer helping everyone in the field, the competition not between EVs, but rather between EVs and non-EVs; the bottle-necks remaining being public opinion and infrastructure growth. Moreover, shows of support from corporations, such as McDonald’s installing a lone charging station, will likely go a long way in spreading EVs away from their traditional bastions of support, even if the actual on the ground impact is minimal.

Personally, as I have continued to meeting and talking with people in the EV community, I have found that beyond loyalty to any one product/company is an overarching collegial desire to support the technology. Going forward, I hope that this sense of broader community and spirit continues!