Think to Sell its "Electric Mobility" Concept to Gen X and Y in Malls and Big-Box Stores
Norway-based Think, the formerly Ford-owned maker of the two-seat City battery car, is headed back into the U.S. market in the first quarter of next year and is determined raise its profile and sell some vehicles -- but not simply by opening dealerships and spending on TV ads. In part, the company wants Gen X and Y consumers, who tend to think of cars as old-school pollution devices, to buy not a vehicle but the whole concept of electric mobility.
Necessity has something to do with it, but Think plans to avoid what marketing chief Michael Lock calls "traditional distribution channels" and sell the City in malls, big-box stores and other outlets not generally associated with cars. Lock said the company is talking to big-box stores, and may announce a high-profile partner soon.
Think will import the first of its U.S.-market cars from the factory in Finland, but it is breaking ground on a plant in northern Indiana, where it will begin producing the City late next year.
For new brands on a budget, the big dedicated dealer network is probably out of the question, anyway. Coda, another EV startup, is thinking the same way, and recently announced that it will be opening storefronts in two California malls. Think is permanently wedded to the concept of producing small, affordable EVs, and that concept sells well in a mall or discount chain. The Norwegian cachet probably doesn't hurt. Come to think of it, Ikea could be a good fit.
Part of the challenge is educating consumers about EVs, and Lock agreed with the conclusions of recent polls that find people holding on to a lot of misinformation. "There's a low level of education about EVs, and much of what is out there is not that accurate," he said. So the malls and destination outlets also fulfill a public awareness role, giving would-be customers not only test rides but useful information about EVs and their contribution to the environment.
"In a straight up-and-down comparison with internal-combustion, we lose on a lot of the specifics," said Lock. Gas cars are cheaper, with more range. The trick, said Lock, is to engage young people brought up in sophisticated branding environments to embrace the concept of plug-in transportation. That way, they buy the car because it's part of a lifestyle, not because it's a better deal than a Volvo or a Ford.
Think just announced a partnership with Migros, the largest retailer in Switzerland, to open an Electric Mobility Concept Store (M-WAY) in Zurich. It will put the Think alongside electric motorcycles, scooters and bicycles, which are already part of the scenery at big-box retailers such as Best Buy, which has also announced parking-lot EV charging. "Electric mobility is not just a fad," says Migros' chairman, Herbert Bolliger.
For the stores, electric cars (especially small ones that don't take up a lot of floor space, such as the Smart-sized Think) are like cool appliances, a step up from iPads and laptop computers, with some of the same apps. With big-box stores already operating at-home services, the leap to installing EV chargers isn't too great. All the major charging companies, including Coulomb, ECOtality and General Electric (maker of the WattStation) are talking to the big boxes.
"We're exploring our options, and one of them is non-automotive big-box retailing," said Lock. So here's my scenario: In a year from now, stores like Home Depot, Best Buy and Lowe's will routinely stock electric chargers and the services to install them. And some of the more adventurous stores will also have cars, right there on the shop floor.
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