We are not ready for the massively disruptive transformation already underway in electrifying transportation. No matter what skeptics like Rex Murphy say, the electrification of the automobile is irreversibly in motion.
Yes, Tesla is leading the way. In September 2021, the Tesla model 3 outsold all of its German competitors from Audi, Mercedes, BMW. In Germany. And Tesla hasn't even finished its first European factory in Berlin yet.
Almost all of the major automakers have plans to fully electrify their offerings within a decade or so. Even pickup trucks. The famous weapons of choice - the Ford F-150, Chevy Silverado, and yes even the Hummer - are all available to pre-order now in electrically-propelled versions. Ford has already received 150,000 pre-orders for its electric pickup. Even Toyota, long reliant on it's hybrid-powered line-up, is joining the all-electric bandwagon.
At the other end of the automotive spectrum, Porsche sold all 20,000 units of their 2021 all-electric Taycan model in the first half of the year. Incoming orders are huge, including in China.
But massive disruption is also coming to our skies. The global business consultancy McKinsey recently issued a 'future air mobility' (FAM) report to take stock of this change. FAM is a way to describe the sector of aviation that is predominantly electrically-powered, and most of it is vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOL). Here's the scale of the disruption coming to aviation: "The first nine months of 2021 saw a huge volume of activity for future air mobility (FAM) manufacturers. Orders and options for more than 5,800 aircraft were placed between January and early October, totaling $20.2 billion. That far outpaces the volume for conventional aircraft during the same time period (554 orders and options total, or 10% the volume of FAM)."
Yes, these orders are for aircraft that are yet to be certified by the Federal Aviation Administration. But just let that sink in. eVTOL aircraft - a category of flying machine that doesn't yet have a regulatory category - is getting nine times more orders than conventional aircraft.
The global transport sector is set on destination disruption. Now let's get some breakthrough innovations in shipping.
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