Problem Case Scenario

The world is deeply concerned with global warming, carbon emission and extreme weather conditions. One major contributor to these phenomena is the wide-spread use of petrol- and diesel-based motor vehicles. Many governments have introduced legislation to phase out such vehicles in favour of electric vehicles (EV) which are essentially pollution-free. Not surprisingly, many businesses, including traditional car manufacturers, view the advent of the EV as the new gold rush era for the automobile industry. Interestingly, the first movers in EV are companies that had not even manufactured vehicles before! These include Tesla, Lucid and Apple Inc. Tesla (www.tesla.com) has had a head-start over all others with highly acclaimed actual Models S, Y and 3 EV cars being sold and delivered. Lucid Motors (www.lucidmotors.com) has only recently started to deliver its Lucid Air. Even the computer and mobile phone appliance giant Apple Inc is attempting to penetrate this industry with its highly rumoured Apple Car (https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/apple-car). Traditional car manufacturers are not sitting idle either, though there seems to be more marketing talk than action in their EV product space. A few had made some faint attempts. These include less eye-catching EV models such as the Nissan Leaf, Chevy Bolt, BYD E5, Hyundai Ioniq and the recently introduced Toyota BZ4X. None had been able to make a big impact. BUS368 Tutor-Marked Assignment SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (SUSS) Page 5 of 5 Nevertheless, many motor analysts expect the EV to be a disruptive change in the industry. Although current challenges such as range anxiety and charging infrastructure remain, it is only a matter of time when such issues are resolved and demand for EV cars reaches a dramatic point of inflection. The days of petrol and diesel vehicles are clearly numbered. Answer the questions that follow. Illustrations should be based on the given scenario. Desktop research and in-text citations with the correct format are required.

Question 1

(a) Identify and describe how Tesla, Lucid and Apple are innovating their EV cars. Justify how they are an innovation. Compare how these companies are using innovations to differentiate their EV car products.

(b) Examine Christensen's theory of disruptive innovation. Illustrate this theory for the current motor car industry.

(c) Some industry observers have argued that Apple will not eventually produce the Apple Car. Analyse why this might be so. Suggest how Apple might exploit its EV car technologies that it would have developed. Justify your answer by relating to some other real-world products. Relevant sources of information must be cited.