With Canada’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) sales targets set for 10% by 2025, 30% by 2030 and 100% by 2040, the pressure is on to accelerate consumer ZEV adoption. Climbing out of the COVID-19 lockdown sales slump, ZEV sales in Canada are tracking at 3.3% market share in Q2 2020. With Canada’s current rate of adoption, the automotive industry collectively will not meet the 10% goal in 2025 without significant changes in the way we market ZEV’s in Canada.

Record-low oil prices have eliminated the advantage ZEV’s had for total cost of ownership; and, these oil prices will continue to remain low as recessionary pressures post-COVID will grip the Canadian economy. Compounding this issue are the draining figures coming out of Transport Canada, calculating that 75% of the federal ZEV rebate program has been depleted – a program that has been instrumental in ZEV adoption that may come to an end soon.

Government actions to continue federal and provincial incentives, increased investment in a national charging infrastructure, and the creation of new policies regarding cleantech are needed as the backbone of ZEV adoption. However, these are decisions and policies that the automotive industry can only influence. What are the strategies that we can collectively take today to put Canada on track for a 10% market share for ZEV’s in the next four years?

Marketing strategy 1: Expand the market.

Leading up to 2025, marketers will need to reframe the ZEV product positioning from niche to mainstream in order to speed up consumer adoption. Marketing to either pragmatic, green commuters or to urban, tech-loving, luxury buyers will not create a big enough market to exponentially increase sales.

As an industry, we need to both redefine and broaden our approach to identifying target consumers – moving away from the small wedges of green and technology to larger market segments that can align with ZEV key why-buys. Within these larger segments, focusing on favourable opinion drivers that are correlated with a higher propensity to purchase, such as “Fun to Drive” or “For Someone Like Me” will help broaden the market.

Marketing strategy 2: Educate consumers, creatively.

Let’s seize the moment to integrate consumer ZEV concerns into creative platforms that align with shifting consumer behaviours during this pivotal period where purchase habits are evolving because of the global pandemic. We can connect the dots between these new consumer habits and the benefits of ZEV’s.

For example, consumers are opting to explore their cities and provinces instead of travelling abroad – a trend Airbnb has aligned with in their “Go Near” messaging. This trend of local travel can be leveraged creatively to exemplify a use case for ZEV’s, while dispelling myths around range.  Similarly, consumers are shifting spend to in-home comfort, from small home purchases to large scale renovations – this signals a creative opportunity to align ZEV messaging with the ability to charge your vehicle at home, while concurrently dispelling myths regarding the reliability and availability of charging.
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Marketing strategy 3: After-sales as an experience.

Referral will be the biggest driver of consumer adoption, and for that retailers and OEM’s need to create big loyalty. Since the traditional cadence of service is not applicable to ZEV’s, what will replace it to create strong enough loyalty to leverage for referral?

The opportunity is to deliver after-sales as an experience, rather than a series of touchpoints.

7 Communications delivered BMW’s M Festival to thousands of BMW owners and fans to enhance ownership and referral. MINI hosts annual Invasions to gather owners into a quintessential ownership experience. Committing to an experience-based approach, even in a virtual COVID-19 environment, takes pride of ownership, and consequently referral, to a new level in an effort to keep demand trending towards Canada’s ZEV sales targets.

Marketing strategy 4: Retail support.

Even though the consumer buyer journey relies heavily on digital, consumers are still looking to retailers for specific ZEV product knowledge, information on incentives and rebates, as well as an understanding of what the ownership experience will entail. Most importantly, the majority of consumers still need a test-drive to finalize their ZEV purchase decision.

Market research has shown that the current supply of ZEV’s at Canadian dealerships is inadequate to meet today’s consumer demand; and, the gap will become even greater as consumer demand increases. This means that a ZEV may not be available to test-drive, and a consumer will likely have to wait for a custom order – two factors that may push them back into a gas vehicle purchase.

Dealership staff are not always adequately trained to answer ZEV product questions, and may not possess a solid understanding of the technology or the overall ownerships costs. In-store presentations, POS and other educational marketing assets are under-utilized in many showrooms.

To support retailers, OEM’s can consider further Dealer incentives to stock ZEV’s and to reward ZEV marketing spend at the retail level. Non-profits such as Plug N’ Drive are incredible resources for consumer education – where there is an opportunity to partner with like-minded organizations to bridge the knowledge gaps in-store.

These shifts in marketing thinking will help accelerate ZEV consumer adoption; but, it requires both commitment and resources in a time where the entire automotive industry is climbing out of a sales slump and potentially into a recessionary period. Without a change in a marketing approach however, we won’t see the type of traction necessary to accelerate ZEV growth. The senior team at 7 Communications has worked in and with the automotive industry for over 20-years, through product launches, pivots, and emerging technologies. We are committed to the future of automotive and are a proud member of Electric Mobility Canada. Please connect with us anytime to chat about the automotive industry, and how we can help provide marketing solutions for consumer growth.

Even though the consumer buyer journey relies heavily on digital, consumers are still looking to retailers for specific ZEV product knowledge, information on incentives and rebates, as well as an understanding of what the ownership experience will entail. Most importantly, the majority of consumers still need a test-drive to finalize their ZEV purchase decision.

Market research has shown that the current supply of ZEV’s at Canadian dealerships is inadequate to meet today’s consumer demand; and, the gap will become even greater as consumer demand increases. This means that a ZEV may not be available to test-drive, and a consumer will likely have to wait for a custom order – two factors that may push them back into a gas vehicle purchase.

Dealership staff are not always adequately trained to answer ZEV product questions, and may not possess a solid understanding of the technology or the overall ownerships costs. In-store presentations, POS and other educational marketing assets are under-utilized in many showrooms.

To support retailers, OEM’s can consider further Dealer incentives to stock ZEV’s and to reward ZEV marketing spend at the retail level. Non-profits such as Plug N’ Drive are incredible resources for consumer education – where there is an opportunity to partner with like-minded organizations to bridge the knowledge gaps in-store.

These shifts in marketing thinking will help accelerate ZEV consumer adoption; but, it requires both commitment and resources in a time where the entire automotive industry is climbing out of a sales slump and potentially into a recessionary period. Without a change in a marketing approach however, we won’t see the type of traction necessary to accelerate ZEV growth. The senior team at 7 Communications has worked in and with the automotive industry for over 20-years, through product launches, pivots, and emerging technologies. We are committed to the future of automotive and are a proud member of Electric Mobility Canada. Please connect with us anytime to chat about the automotive industry, and how we can help provide marketing solutions for consumer growth.