Momentum V129

[Coss]

A guest post looking at changing trends in car buying.

Elio Motors Momentum v129

This week’s Momentum is a guest post from Joey M. which looks at upcoming changes in the demographics of car buyers.





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Certain statements in this email including, but not limited to, statements related to anticipated commencement of commercial production, targeted pricing and performance goals, and statements that otherwise relate to future periods are forward-looking statements. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, which are described in more detail in the Company’s periodic reports filed with the SEC, specifically the most recent reports which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made and based on information available to the Company on the date of this email. Elio Motors assumes no obligation to update the information in this email.

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[Coss]

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The Elio Team posted: "This week’s Momentum is a guest post from Joey M. which looks at upcoming changes in the demographics of car buyers. Don’t look now, but there’s another dynamic shift underway in the automobile marketplace. The car-obsessed baby boom generation—t"


New post on Elio Motors

The Times They Are a-Changin’ … Again
by The Elio Team

This week’s Momentum is a guest post from Joey M. which looks at upcoming changes in the demographics of car buyers.


Don’t look now, but there’s another dynamic shift underway in the automobile marketplace. The car-obsessed baby boom generation—those born between the mid-1940s and the mid-60s—is finally about to be overtaken by millennials—those born between the early 1980s and the early aughts—when it comes to auto sales. For the first time in history, millennials bought more new cars that boomers in California, the single biggest U.S. market, according to 2016 figures compiled by J.D. Power and Associates.


For years, the industry has puzzled over the fact that, unlike boomers, millennials have not appeared to show much excitement for car ownership. Conventional wisdom had it that the technological leaps that enabled the “gig economy,” from ride-sharing startups to Zipcar alternatives, had inexorably disrupted demand and would ultimately be the death of car manufacturing. But a funny thing has happened on the way to the industry’s funeral: As millennials have aged, they’ve suddenly warmed to the idea of owning a new car, and their share of the market has jumped from just 17% in 2010 to 28% in 2016.


For a generation that lives at home longer, marries and has children later than their parents, delayed car ownership is a concept that may also take some getting used to. But it’s clear that obituaries for the auto sector were written prematurely.


"Millennials are going to be the main generation we will cater to as an industry," John Humphrey, J.D. Power's senior vice president of global automotive operations told the Chicago Tribune.


In order to do so, we must come to grips with the fact that millennials—who now outnumber boomers in terms of overall population—hold a different set of cultural beliefs than their parents. The boomers’ love of cars is, and may always be, unsurpassed. The industry has not only banked on that relationship, it deluded itself into believing it might go on forever. That’s somewhat understandable. In 2011, for instance, adults over the age of 50 bought nearly two-thirds of the new cars sold in the U.S., according to a study conducted by the AARP.


As a result, car makers remain largely focused on the boomers, continually adding features like exterior cameras or heated steering wheels that are designed to help keep aging drivers on the road as long as possible. Fair enough, but it would be foolish from a business perspective to ignore the burgeoning market of younger car buyers whose needs and priorities demand a new way of doing business.



Millennials come to the marketplace with a very different mindset than the boomers. They’ve recently endured the high unemployment of a harsh recession and are regularly asked to adapt to a rapidly changing employment market, changing jobs an average of four times in their first decade out of college. They’ve been the beta-testers for a new way of receiving information and buying products, and are witnessing frightening environmental degradation that has given rise to a different relationship to consumerism, and indeed the future itself.


“I see a lot of people my age have affordable, reliable cars,” Branden Matlock, a 32-year-old real estate agent in San Diego, told the Los Angeles Times. “I bought my Prius because I wanted to get great gas mileage.”


While an emphasis on affordability isn’t exactly a new phenomenon for younger car buyers, the underlying predicament necessitating it is. The median household income for Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 stands at $54,243, the Chicago Tribune reported. At the same time, however, the average 25-year-old is today saddled with $20,000 in student loan debt, according to research conducted by Goldman Sachs. Yet, the car industry has continued to look at millennials as boomers-in-training. In the first quarter of 2017, the average price of a new car hit $31,400 after incentives, according to figures compiled by J.D. Power. Simply put, that entry point is too high.


Though some luxury brands have released models with reduced sticker prices—say $35,000 as opposed to $70,000—think for a moment about the impact a new vehicle with a base price less than $8,000 would have on the market. And though Toyota has done well to lure buyers with the promise of the Prius’ 53 miles per gallon fuel efficiency on the highway, imagine the lure of a car that achieved 84 m.p.g. These aren’t theoretical goals, they’re within our reach, and they have the potential to upend the entire industry.


By and large, millennials have been remarkably clear about what they’re looking for as car buyers. While there are some signs that they are simply edging closer to the buying patterns of their parents, it would be wise for manufacturers to come to terms with the fact that the days of adulation from a car-obsessed consumer base are over. Like every historical juncture, this one presents peril and opportunity. Everything about our world is changing, and millennials will indeed shape our industry in the decades to come. The question is whether we’re ready to meet their demand with the cars that they desire.

The Elio Team | November 1, 2017 at 6:05 pm |

 

[pistonboy]

Did I miss the part about how the Elio vehicle fits in?

Perhaps this part can come Friday making it a two part weekly posting, and thus saving face.

 

[Sailor Dog]

Did I miss the part about how the Elio vehicle fits in?

Perhaps this part can come Friday making it a two part weekly posting, and thus saving face.

QUOTE FROM MOMENTUM GUEST JOEY M: "Imagine the lure of a car that gets 84 m.p.g."....to the debt saddled millennial instead of a pricey Prius. Less than $8k vs $35k matters to millennials who are like the boomers choosing the VW Bugs, Buses, Ghias and Squarebacks vs the big boat back in the day...me going overboard! And how about equal time for the Datsun B210 & the Ford Pinto and Mustang. Boomers eventually moved on and became their parents, but the extended adolescence of the millennials means the demand for ELIO is just in it's infancy. History rhymes! Obviously I've gone a little off track from the Momentum's message but I think it's a similar sentiment.

Great Momentum by guest Joey M!

Quarterly filing coming?...Samalross said soon (this week).

Oil futures are the highest in 2 1/2 years!!! ELIO days are here again!!! High gas prices were the original catalyst for ELIO!!!

 

[Samalross]

SEC might come out Friday but might me two more weeks after that. Should be out before middle of November.

 

[booboo]

Quite the erudite commentary in today's Momentum.
Elio stock had an up day, hooray.
Hmm, what was that Field Of Dreams quote.

 

[Sailor Dog]

"If you build it, he will come." Although 'they' would be better.

 

[Rickb]

Quite the erudite commentary in today's Momentum.
Elio stock had an up day, hooray.
Hmm, what was that Field Of Dreams quote.

 

[booboo]

"If you build it, he will come." Although 'they' would be better.

If they build it, I'll drive it.

 

[Sailor Dog]

View attachment 22166

Ray Kinsella: "Is(?) there a heaven?"
John Kinsella: "Oh, yeah. It's the place where dreams come true."
Ray: "Maybe this is heaven."