EV makers need to invest in the human aspect of using their products

I pity this car owner who forgot to charge his Tesla  before leaving home in Lagos. The car died on the 3rd Mainland Bridge and had to be towed. Note that this is not a problem of Tesla running out of electrons to keep going because of non availability of charging stations, the real issue here is that many people just forget to charge.

Tesla and other EV (electric vehicle) makers need to invest in the human aspect of using their products.

If you drive an EV, here is one tip that may help: program your phone to send a reminder every 3 days depending on your mileage/trip. Yes, don’t just rely on those dashboard indicators because some people do forget. You need something that interrupts your sequence and tells you to go and recharge.

Of course, if your life is run in a way that you cannot see those warnings, I will suggest you hire a driver and stop driving as you can put others at risk.

Remember: unlike gasoline where someone can bring the fuel in a can to refuel your car, for EVs, the only option is to tow the car since charging stations are not portable!

Comment on LinkedIn Feed

Comment 1: Respectfully Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe, I want to beg to defer from this comment: “Tesla and other EV (electric vehicle) makers need to invest in the human aspect of using their products.”

As much as Apple, Samsung, Teckno, etc., does tell us to charge our mobile phones nor remind us to because usage differs, I don’t see why Tesla and other EV makers need to invest in the human aspect of using their products.

The responsibility and accountability is on us based on usage.

I 100% agree with your suggestions that users should set a reminder on their phones or hire/get a driver.

IMHO.

Response 1: Every manufacturer, infact product designer should “invest” in the human aspect of using their product.

It’s more like a KPI issue for me.

If your brand doesn’t find that investment worthy, I walk away from it.

Response 2: I agree with you and Prof. Such Investments further build and increase your “brand trust” in the emotional bank account of the customers and others within its value chain…(and other discerning bystanders)

I feel that there should be investments in such as EVs come with a totally different usage mind set… not only about the charging aspect.

Africa and the developing world would need “out of the box investments” going into the future especially as we get more early adopters witout commiserate on-the-ground supporting infrastructure – remember, the governments of the originating EVs have a timeline for phasing out non-EVs over there and that would pose a challenge for us: dumping grounds for non EVs etc

I remember the stories of how a great and popular car company we “rode to school in etc???” lost its market and value share when (amongst others) the knowledge gap between its older versions and the modern ones grew wider – with little or no support to bridge that gap etc.

Investments towards increasing awareness and knowledge on “What, Why, When, Where and How” of products and services (especially disruptive ones) is VERY worthwhile & ensures the brand’s sustainability and respect for it!

Response 3: Recently studied the story of Burberry who were almost phased out of the market because among other things they began to loose their place at the heart of the customer.

Among the transformation efforts driven by the then CEO Angela Ahrendts was re-connecting with the customer. According to her, “We established strong sales and service programs to put #product #education front and center.”

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