Shift Magazine - December 2020 - 20

&
QA

WITH
REINHARD FISCHER
Home charging more attractive
amid health concerns, VW exec says

A

pandemic that has made some
consumers hypervigilant about
whom they interact with and
what they touch might give
a market advantage to electric vehicles
that can be recharged at home, argues
Volkswagen of America's top strategic
thinker.
Reinhard Fischer, 62, senior vice president of strategy for Volkswagen Group of
America, also says he believes a shared
mobility model will struggle for some time
because of consumer trepidation about
potential exposure to COVID-19. Fischer
spoke to Staff Reporter Larry P. Vellequette
in November. Here are edited excerpts.

Q: BEFORE THE COVID-19
PANDEMIC, WHOLE BUSINESS
MODELS WERE CREATED
AROUND SHARED
TRANSPORTATION. IS THAT
MODEL DEAD? OR JUST WANING
FOR A BIT?
A: I think the whole idea of our shared
economy is going to struggle, and it's
going to change fundamentally. I think the
current crisis has taught us to be careful
- what we touch, in which environment
we are. I think people still need to get
around, and if you fly into a big city, and
if you don't have rental cars, you can take
public transportation, you can ride-share,
or you can walk. I think people will just be
very, very careful.
Q: HOW LONG WILL IT BE BEFORE

Q: CHARGING AT HOME IS
ONE THING IF YOU OWN A
GARAGE. BUT IF YOU LIVE IN AN
APARTMENT OR HAVE TO PARK
ON THE STREET, IT'S MUCH
HARDER. WHAT'S BEING DONE
TO ADDRESS THIS?
A: As a situation where people live
18 million per year, and if you assume for
a moment that all of these cars are all
electric, it would still be a while until the
majority of cars on the road are electric.
I think what we're going to see is an
accelerated adoption on an " S " curve;
certainly not to the dimension that we
saw with the smartphone, for example,
but it's definitely believed, and we're
preparing for an accelerated adoption
curve in the United States, based on what
we are seeing recently. When you look at
the number of models that have been
announced that are coming to market,
when you look at the number of charging
stations and infrastructure, you look at
the federal support, you look at the state
support in the form of tax rebates - it's
coming.

BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES
REPRESENT THE MAJORITY OF
VEHICLES ON U.S. ROADWAYS?

Q: DOES THE PANDEMIC AFFECT
CONSUMER DESIRE TO BE ABLE
TO RECHARGE AT HOME?
A: Everybody has a heightened awareness

A: We have over 200 million cars driving
in America. So, if we were selling 17 or

for what kind of environment you expose
yourself to, and a gas station is certainly

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shift * december 2020

not an environment that you can control.
The sanctuary of having a car that you
can charge at your home, and basically
every morning leave the garage with the
full range available to you, I think is a huge
benefit coming out of living in the crisis.

in a place where they have to park
on the street, it becomes very, very
difficult. There are some experiments
going on where light posts are being
converted into charging stations. Even
some cities are experimenting with
parking meters and converting them
into charging stations. But there are
alternatives: Workplaces are installing
charging stations, and so are retail shops.
But these are issues with this generation.
In the next generation, when we have
overcome the hurdles of wireless charging
and make that more efficient, you will be
able to just park your car somewhere, and
it will charge from under the ground.

Q: WE'RE REALLY IN THE BETA
TEST FOR ELECTRIC CARS AND
CHARGING, AREN'T WE?
A: Yes. When cars first arrived, there
were no dedicated gas stations. You had
to buy your gasoline from pharmacists.
And now there's a dedicated gas station
on every corner. In a couple of years,
every corner is going to have a charging
opportunity. n
Shift Magazine - December 2020

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