The automakers are hellbent on consolidation of models and passenger car electrification. Not because it's "better" for the customer.. They see an opportunity to get rid of a lot of complexity and parts with a side bonus of no emissions compliance testing and development.
Ford is creating a new business unit called Ford Blue. That means a new distribution channel. Bypassing the old school dealership model.
Nobody should be surprised when the old franchise stores attempt to sue Ford when they find out that the new products won't be sold through them!
The new setup will also be scaled for leased not retail purchases of vehicles.
The whole traditional concept around car ownership is going to be turned on it's head.
The old " new idea" of ten years ago was that we would buy an EV chassis and just change out the battery pack and maybe even change the body shell, if so desired, to convert a sedan to an suv or light pickup truck using the same chassis.
Forget about that concept.
The industry is going toward a situation where the customer will probably have a choice of four chassis size categories and then the option of range extension or performance configurations.
The greatest difference between price categories will be the features and amenities, not the external look of the vehicle. The days of stripes, spoilers, multiple wheel size options, pretty much anything that adds weight or build complexity is going extinct.
I don't see much future for aftermarket parts either. When a majority of the people don't own their vehicle, the reason for much personalization evaporates.
