Hyperdrive
In the Switch to Electric Vehicles, Expect a Few Giants to Crash
Some of the biggest automakers might not make it safely into the all-electric future.
A sign for charging stations at the entrance to a parking lot in Hong Kong.
Photographer: Justin Chin/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The future of the auto industry is going to look like the history of the cell phone. The two even share technology: the lithium-ion battery. As the world’s automakers gradually switch from combustion to charging, some of today’s dominant car companies will share the fate of a few former titans of the smartphone. Remember BlackBerry, Nokia and Palm?
“Who will be the winners in the electric car race? Who knows?” said Mike Ramsey, senior director of research at Gartner Inc. “The incumbents could be, or they could be cut out entirely.”