I’m a car guy – I love the art and engineering in automobiles and even turn wrenches on mine (replete with busted knuckles, yelling and cursing). I’m not anti-EV by any means – I leased a 100% EV from 2015-2018 and had a great experience with it. Of course, EVs are a significant component of country and company GHG emissions reductions plans. Even with the industry’s current struggles, they have a lot going for them. BUT…
Just because a product has meaningful sustainability attributes doesn’t mean you should force it down customers’ throats. Those products may suffer from shortcomings customers see as higher priority.
What prompted this blog is an email I received from a company called Joulez, which calls itself “NYC’s premier all-electric rental car company.” The email announced the company “is now expanding its EV fleet with the introduction of over 3,500 Fisker Oceans … to Joulez’s two main markets, New York City and Los Angeles, offering new options for sustainable and high-performance electric vehicles.”
Sounds exciting … except that the Ocean was popularized after its launch earlier this year for reviews calling it the “worst car ever reviewed.” Serious drivability problems exist in the initial software version. The version 2 update is available on an extremely limited basis either through the Fisker Owners Association or the few existing service centers at an additional cost sometimes exceeding $1000. Fisker went bankrupt in June, so vehicle support and maintenance are iffy at best.
Sure, it’s great to provide EVs as rental cars, but not so great to offer customers a vehicle with so many quality issues. Of course, having the Fisker as a short term rental isn’t the same as buying/owning it so maybe customers won’t have a bad experience. Still, Joulez is taking a chance and I’m not sure they made a great business decision.
ESG/sustainability leaders, staff and advisors: As I said above, just because a product has meaningful sustainability attributes doesn’t mean you should force it down customers’ throats. When pushing product sustainability attributes, ensure those are aligned – and don’t conflict – with customers’ key buying criteria around quality and functionality at a minimum. Diverging from what your customers want and actually buy will backfire on the business and your personal credibility – regardless of the product’s sustainability attributes.
Members can learn more about meeting customer needs and ESG/sustainability business value here.
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Photo credit: Eric BVD – stock.adobe.com
