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Ever heard of the Stanley Steamer? Here’s what it teaches about the car of the future.

On Point

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Edited by Alexandra Mondalek
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The road ahead for EVs

In the news

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Anyone have a charger? There’s more to know about purchasing an electric vehicle (EV) than whether you can afford the car itself. While consumers won’t be spending money at the gas pump, those with longer commutes may want to pay for installing a charger at home, which could add up to about $1,500 to $3,000. Consumers will also need to buy the charger itself, with one popular choice priced at about $700. Overnight charging sessions may also increase household energy bills. But even with the upfront costs, consumers should quickly see savings from gas and maintenance. [WaPo]

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Get in (the assembly) line. US consumers’ appetite for electric vehicles is growing, with one in four drivers saying they want an EV. Still, only 4% of cars produced in American factories are electric (that’s 323,000 EVs out of 7.4 million vehicles). Carmakers say they need the revenue generated from selling gas-powered cars to fund the shift to EVs. They’re racing to obtain supplies for batteries and to add EV production lines. But the longer it takes companies to manufacture battery-powered cars, the more likely they are to lose revenue to existing EV producers. [Bloomberg]

In the early 20th century, steam powertrains failed and ICE succeeded because an entire infrastructure developed for ICE automobiles.

On McKinsey.com

•

Ford versus Francis and Freelan. Twin brothers Francis and Freelan Stanley created their steam-powered automobile in 1897, eventually calling it the Stanley Steamer. It became the best-selling car in the US, even with electric and internal-combustion-engine (ICE) cars available. How, then, did Henry Ford’s Model T—which relied on internal combustion—overtake the Stanley Steamer in sales just a few years later? For McKinsey partners Russell Hensley, Moritz Rittstieg, and Shivika Sahdev, the key was that Ford did his thinking “relentlessly in systems.” His assembly line helped enable the company to produce more vehicles that often exceeded consumer expectations on speed, power, and price.

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Lessons for the shift to electric. As automakers begin to shift production toward electric vehicles to meet consumer demand, there are lessons to glean from the past. As Ford recognized, making a great car means not just operating a great factory but also considering both physical and human capital. Decades ago, ICE-powered vehicles gave rise to an ICE-vehicle ecosystem, with gas stations, ICE-powered buses, a network of paved roads, parking lots, and garages all springing into existence. Leaders know that as demand grows for EVs, they must advance investment in supporting infrastructure.

Imagine the future car ecosystem

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by "McKinsey On Point" <publishing@email.mckinsey.com> - 12:47 - 14 Oct 2022

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Ever heard of the Stanley Steamer? Here’s what it teaches about the car of the future.

The road ahead for EVs

In the news

In the early 20th century, steam powertrains failed and ICE succeeded because an entire infrastructure developed for ICE automobiles.

On McKinsey.com