That’s buggy whip thinking.
How many times have you heard that one? People will drop that line when they think an idea is hopelessly outdated.
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After all, buggies have long since been replaced by cars, so what the heck do you need a buggy whip for?
R.J. Scaringe had a few things to say about outdated ideas recently. The founder and chief executive of Rivian (RIVN) -) didn't hold back his feelings about the future of the internal combustion engine.
In an interview with Heatmap, Scaringe pointed to sweeping policy changes where the European Union, along with California and other states, are committing to switching over to electric vehicles.
“Then I think the reality of buying a combustion powered vehicle, in light of the policy that's coming, is sort of like building a horse barn in 1910,” he said. "Like, imagine buying a Chevy Suburban in 2030. Like, what are you going to do with that, right? In 10 years? Yeah, like gas stations will be slowly disappearing. It's just weird."
And Scaringe also sees a change in consumer attitudes toward electric vehicles.
Consumers have made the switch
"The performance envelope and the drivability of an electric vehicle makes it so much more desirable than an alternative," he said. "Buying a non-EV just feels very old. Aside from carbon emissions and environmental responsibility, it's just not interesting."
Scaringe also sees a change in the way manufacturers have responded to electric vehicles.
"Up until not too long ago, electrification was sort of a thing you had to do to generate some credits and to look responsible as a company, but they weren't really committed to it," he said. "Now, most big vehicle manufacturers have begun to really lean into their electrification strategies."
Looking ahead, Scaringe said that he believes "policy is going to ping-pong around a little bit, unfortunately."
"Electrification and sustainability have become politicized — it makes no sense at all that it has been, but unfortunately it is," he said, "So as a result of that, you will see a little bit of variation there. But I don't think, at a macro level, [the trend] is going to change."
"The slope of the curve is going to continue to be policy that drives toward electrification, policy that drives toward moving off of fossil fuels," Scaringe added. "I think consumers have made the switch and it's a diode-like switch — it's one directional."
The company, which manufactures the R1T pickup truck, R1S SUV and EDV van at its Normal, Ill., plant, delivered only 24,337 vehicles in 2022 after forecasting 25,000, but in February said it expected to produce 62,000 vehicles in 2023.
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