Choosing a car when you are an adult is a decision almost as important and delicate as choosing a Pokémon at the beginning of a game. Nowadays there are so many possibilities that sitting down to pick one is an odyssey. But, are all brands at the same level? We believe they are not.
What seemed impossible and unthinkable a few years ago now seems to be a reality (or a threat): some lifelong car brands could disappear in the coming years. Or at least that’s what the editorial team of AutoŽiva has specified, who have warned that electrification (and the pressure being applied to achieve it) and digitalization are completely changing consumer habits. Are we witnessing the end of iconic brands?
Drop in sales, shrinking margins, million-dollar investments, and competition biting the heels of traditional manufacturers… It seems like yes. And we are going to tell you which ones.
Jaguar, on the edge of the abyss
One of the brands that tops this feared list is Jaguar. What was for decades the pride of British engineering is today, according to experts, an empty shell in the hands of the Indian group Tata Motors. Jaguar has been unable to join the fight for electrics and has been trapped in a luxury segment where Tesla and Chinese manufacturers are beating them at their own game…
Jaguar’s sales have plummeted, and the new launches are not managing to hook young audiences or convince the loyal ones from always. For many, it’s only a matter of time before Jaguar says goodbye to the market.
Volkswagen?
Experts also include Volkswagen in this blacklist. Although it is one of the most powerful brands in the world, it is having financial problems and the adaptation to electric cars is not being its best card to play. If we add to this that the brand is facing numerous workers strikes and has models that no one wants… We know it would be hard to imagine roads without Volkswagen, but it could end up not being profitable for its owners.
The Chinese electric car market
Competition in China is leaving several victims along the way, and experts point out that brands like Xpeng and Li Auto, which arrived with strength and high expectations, might not survive the price war started by giants like BYD.
BYD, for its part, has the backing of the Chinese government and a global network that keeps expanding, is monopolizing the domestic market and suffocating smaller rivals (and the big ones too, eh, Tesla!).
Nio, also in financial trouble
Even Nio, another of the promises of the Chinese electric car although much less known, is going through financial difficulties, which has raised alarms in the sector.
Are we facing a wave of global bankruptcies?
It would not be the first time that legendary brands disappear overnight, remember Saab, Hummer or Rover? It seemed they were going to be eternal and… like everything in life, it has an end.
The difference now is that the transition to the electric car is happening at a very aggressive speed, and those who do not adapt could fall in just a few years and forever.
So, friend, it is not the time to fall in love with brands, but to coldly analyse who has the capacity to adapt to the new consumer (who is digital and in most cases, electric). Only the strongest will survive… Who will they be?
