8:29 am, April 2, 2022
More innovative new electric vehicles have been launched this week as the automotive industry turns its head further away from conventional fuels, but one dealer is looking for substance in the numbers behind the beauty shots.
Speaking this week on the Car Dealer Podcast, Blackshaws dealer boss Will Blackshaw asks what the future will look like in the agricultural market where customers are looking for towing capacity over style.
He said: ‘I keep looking at products like that [Kia EV9] and thinking where does the towing capacity go with these electric cars?
‘Especially being up in rural Northumberland there’s a lot of equestrian lifestyle, and I’m thinking nobody talks about towing. It’s all about range, range, range but we’ve got a lot of customers who need to tow things.
‘What are the towing capacities going to be and how will that affect the range?’
He explained that looking at cars like Kia’s new EV6 released this week, ‘you think Land Rover rival’ but added that looks mean very little if it doesn’t have the same capabilities.
‘I think there’s a big opportunity for someone to play on the towing element of electric vehicles. I’ve not really seen anyone doing that. I’ve obviously seen Outlander PHEVs but that’s petrol at that point still,’ he said.
‘I think they might be able to tow but nobody’s shouting about it.’
Blackshaw added: ‘Every conversation we have with people now in public is about electric cars. It’s not how the industry is going, it’s what about these electric cars, especially in our neck of the woods.
‘My personal opinion is there’s still room for something like hydrogen.’
You can listen to the full episode above or on Apple Podcasts and other streaming services.
Each week on the Car Dealer Podcast, the team invites an industry guest to talk about the news of the week and judge which were the best stories.
Click on the links below to find out more about the stories mentioned this week.
- Used car dealer Cazoo: The people, the money and its plans – Car Dealer Investigation Video
- Exclusive: ‘I consider myself a bit of a disruptor’ – Nissan UK boss talks about why he relishes challenges
- Police arrest two teenagers and recover stolen vehicles used to batter down doors at used car dealership
- Tom Hartley Jnr sees pre-tax profit drop by quarter to just above £6.5m despite sales rise
- Lotus reveals new 592bhp electric Eletre – the British brand’s first SUV
- Car dealer takes revenge on cyclist who spat on vehicles by drenching him with bucket of water
- Exclusive: Auto Trader puts record straight on why it splashed out £200m on Vanarama
- Minister: Tesla set to open supercharger network to all EV drivers ‘within weeks’
- Kia confirms its striking electric EV9 SUV will be coming to Europe next year
If you’d like to join the Car Dealer Podcast as a guest judge then you can get in touch by emailing [email protected].
