It will probably just stay the same as now. People will buy based on a perception of brand quality based on reliability, coupled with how the car looks on the inside and outside.
My point for trying start a HN discussion on this topic is exactly this: I think that "perception" will be more narrow than it is now, as all cars look more and more alike, and the quantifiable differences such as:
- range
- safety features
- audio system
- etc
- acceleration
Will be more difficult for high-end brands (Range Roger, Porsche) to use as discerning factors if the "heart" of the vehicle is largely identical between a Kia and a Porsche.
Will luxury car makers go to the way of Vertu vs. iPhone, or Omega vs. Apple Watch?
People still buy Omega and Rolex even if they don’t wear them every day. My dad uses a Fitbit instead of an Apple Watch so he can wear his nice watch and still get the data.
In the car market, the “heart” has been the same for a long time. The Honda Accord has about as luxurious (at least 90%, you get leather, great driving sensors, strong V6, etc.) of any luxury sedan under 100k, but people still buy those. Those brands mean something to people.
This is a super interesting topic to me - I basically don't consider buying anything other than a Civic. A new car is a HUGE expense to me (that I have never made in my life yet), but the more I think about it, the more ridiculous the inflation on a BMW 3-series (for example) becomes. People are genuinely paying an extra $20,000 for the badge. At least in the US, where parts, labor, and all associated costs are also more expensive on OEM imports.
The mental coping mechanism is also the fact that Honda/Toyota make a ridiculous amounts of civics/corollas/accords/camrys, so they have to have efficiencies of scale going for them more so than other company's line ups.
Yeah I was going to ask a similar question, which is for the average family sedan, I wonder how much the average person cares about anything beyond creature comforts/saftey that would also be differentiable in an EV. I doubt families are making decisions around the powertrain beyond MPGs/efficiency, which would also be differentiable by way of range
Well, there is the performance crowd who cares about RPM and dropping the clutch, but my understanding is that they are such a tiny % that companies only care for them for being able to associate good qualities of the "sports" cars with their main line.
Fixed that for you.
Consumers are fickle.