Archive for the ‘Mktg – Crossing the Chasm’ Category

Does the Volt have enough power to cross the chasm?

January 31, 2011

TakeAway: Like many new, innovative products, there is an adoption chasm between the early adopters and the early majority.

While the new Chevy Volt has already demonstrated appeal to the early tech adopters, there are some issues that could spell trouble.

One, the short battery range doesn’t really offer a complete solution to eliminating the need for gasoline.

Two, once you have exhausted the battery, it’s just another car.  Until the battery technology improves, the “killer application” seems to be lacking.

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Excerpted from NPR, “Electric Cars Steal the Spotlight at Auto Show,” by Sonari Glinton, January 14, 2011

When the North American International Auto Show opens in Detroit on Friday, there’s going to be electricity in the air. …

… the star of the show is the Chevy Volt, the electric car with a backup gas engine. It won the top prize — the 2011 North American Car of the Year. …

GM has high hopes that the Volt will be adopted by a mainstream audience.

“Today a lot of our customers are early tech adopters — typically the first on the block to have an iPhone or an iPad,” says Tony DiSalle, the head of marketing for the Chevy Volt. He thinks those numbers will improve over time.

“The most important thing is to get consumers — mass-market consumers — to understand the benefits of the Volt,” DiSalle says.

GM expects to sell about 10,000 Volts this year. In 2012, the company will ramp up production to about 45,000 cars. But even that figure is small compared with the more than 2.2 million cars and trucks that GM’s four brands sold in 2010. …

One of the barriers to the adoption of the electric car is a phrase that keeps coming up at the auto show — range anxiety. Many of the cars on display can only travel under electric power for short ranges. Analysts say that until the big car companies can conquer consumer fears of running out of charge, electric vehicles will remain on the fringes.

“Look, the electrification of the American fleet is not going to happen overnight,” says Bob Lutz, who retired as vice chairman of GM in May.

… He says electrification will be a gradual process, predicting that it will take until 2025 for electric vehicles to account for 10 percent to 15 percent of the overall market. …

Edit by DMG

Posted in Autos - Travel, Mktg - Crossing the Chasm, Mktg - Product & Innovation | Leave a Comment »

Does the Volt have enough power to cross the chasm?

January 31, 2011

TakeAway: Like many new, innovative products, there is an adoption chasm between the early adopters and the early majority.

While the new Chevy Volt has already demonstrated appeal to the early tech adopters, there are some issues that could spell trouble.

One, the short battery range doesn’t really offer a complete solution to eliminating the need for gasoline.

Two, once you have exhausted the battery, it’s just another car.  Until the battery technology improves, the “killer application” seems to be lacking.

 * * * * *

Excerpted from NPR, “Electric Cars Steal the Spotlight at Auto Show,” by Sonari Glinton, January 14, 2011

When the North American International Auto Show opens in Detroit on Friday, there’s going to be electricity in the air. …

… the star of the show is the Chevy Volt, the electric car with a backup gas engine. It won the top prize — the 2011 North American Car of the Year. …

GM has high hopes that the Volt will be adopted by a mainstream audience.

“Today a lot of our customers are early tech adopters — typically the first on the block to have an iPhone or an iPad,” says Tony DiSalle, the head of marketing for the Chevy Volt. He thinks those numbers will improve over time.

“The most important thing is to get consumers — mass-market consumers — to understand the benefits of the Volt,” DiSalle says.

GM expects to sell about 10,000 Volts this year. In 2012, the company will ramp up production to about 45,000 cars. But even that figure is small compared with the more than 2.2 million cars and trucks that GM’s four brands sold in 2010. …

One of the barriers to the adoption of the electric car is a phrase that keeps coming up at the auto show — range anxiety. Many of the cars on display can only travel under electric power for short ranges. Analysts say that until the big car companies can conquer consumer fears of running out of charge, electric vehicles will remain on the fringes.

“Look, the electrification of the American fleet is not going to happen overnight,” says Bob Lutz, who retired as vice chairman of GM in May.

… He says electrification will be a gradual process, predicting that it will take until 2025 for electric vehicles to account for 10 percent to 15 percent of the overall market. …

Edit by DMG

Posted in Autos - Travel, Mktg - Crossing the Chasm, Mktg - Product & Innovation | Leave a Comment »

iPad’s astonishing adoption rate

October 26, 2010

TakeAway: The DVD player used to be the most quickly adopted non-phone electronic product, until the iPad launched.

In less than three months Apple sold 3 million iPads, blowing away the 350,000 DVD players sold in the first year.

As people replace their laptops with iPads, companies like Microsoft could be in trouble.

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Excerpted from CNBC’s Fast Money, “iPad Adoption Rate Fastest Ever, Passing DVD Player,” by John Melloy, October 4, 2010

Apple’s iPad sold three million units in the first 80 days after its April release and its current sales rate is about 4.5 million units per quarter, according to Bernstein Research. This sales rate is blowing past the … the 350,000 units sold in the first year by the DVD player, the most quickly adopted non-phone electronic product. …

At this current rate, the iPad will pass gaming hardware and the cellular phone to become the 4th biggest consumer electronics category with estimated sales of more than $9 billion in the U.S. next year …

… Pete Najarian, co-founder of TradeMonster.com …. “It’s really a total media device and there’s not much a PC can do that you can’t do on an iPad.”

… It took five years for the DVD to reach the unit sales pace that the iPad reached in just its first quarter, according to Bernstein. The iPad had the advantage of being the extension of Apple’s ever-expanding ecosystem of iPhones, iPod touches and Macs that are marked by ease of use and a familiar style.

… not only are the iPads cannibalizing the netbook/notebook category in stores, but could also be hurting sales of TVs and digital cameras. …

Apple has been the rare company that keeps the “first mover” advantage. As tablets from Microsoft and Research-In-Motion soon flood the market, and Apple’s market capitalization approaches Exxon Mobil, the company’s going to need the next big extension of that ecosystem. Apple TV is on sale now.

Edit by DMG

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Full Article
http://www.cnbc.com/id/39501308

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