Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms What Does 2030 or 2035 mean for Morgan?

Having read a lot about EVs, I am not convinced they are the panacea to climate change that they claim to be. As for the ability to charge the batteries, as yet I doubt we have enough generating capacity to meet the oncoming demand.

I don't think Morgan will still exist in 2035.

Interesting …. why Jens ?

I am waiting for theHydrogen option. It appears to be getting some sensible developments. As a gas fuel fir ICE conversion to hydrogen as per LPG or in fuel cells. There have been moves looking at Pembrokeshire where there used to be 5 big oil refineries but now down to 1. Milford Haven where the gas terminal is for imported gas. There are also other locations elsewhere.
It makes me wonder if EV in current form is a stop-gap scenario for the short term. Politicians do like to be seen to be active, as in promoting diesel a while back !
Maybe longer term offering a second fuel so H and EV run together.
As for the Ferrari effect, it will likely extend ICE for low volume producers BUT engines and fuel supply are the crucial factors. Let’s not forget the oil industry powers and influence.

There are several reasons for this. For one thing, I question whether Morgan went in the right direction in positioning the brand higher. In this price range, customers rightly expect more than "They all do that, sir." And the brand has to face new, very tough competition. Porsche etc... The question is whether there will be enough solvent customers for the brand to survive, especially since a major economic crisis is probably approaching.

There is also the point that the classic Morgan design excites us older fans, but leaves a lot of the younger generation cold. A Morgan is too old-fashioned for them. You can also see that in the classic car scene. Young people think it's great what we see as just used cars. For example, these people find a BMW 5 Series from the 1990s much more intriguing than an extremely old-fashioned Morgan with design roots in the 1930s. Anyone who has been to Morgan meetings has seen how old most people are in the Morgan scene.

I also think it's questionable whether the concept of a classic, open roadster with an electric drive will work, in the sense that it will find enough buyers.

Thank you Jens for explaining why, in your view, MMC will no longer exist in 2035.
I think it is precisely because MMC is so small that the company has a chance to survive. With today's possibilities of social media, a small marketing budget can achieve great worldwide attention. I think with 8 billion people in the world, 1,000 new customers can be won every year, even in the higher price segment.The interest in such vehicles comes, according to my observations, at the age of 50 and older. I am the best example.
And a Morgan can also be equipped with other engines in its present form. Here is an example

I reckon Jens has a point.

On this forum people have many times made the point that a Morgan is in effect a classic car without the aggro of being an old car. They can claim that because its lineage goes back to the 30s. Will this still be the case when it is powered by an electric motor and is far heavier because of the batteries. Wont it be a bit like dressing up a synthesiser to look like a Steinway? Or Airbus announcing a hydrogen powered bi plane?

It could become too incongruous.

At the risk of going down my usual rabbit hole of negativity when it comes to the future of MMC............ I think that Jens (and howard) have it exactly right.

It took a century or so to just about get trad cars to a level of acceptability. That is, acceptable to a rabidly loyal, small customer base who would put up with the.....'Morgan-ness'...........

An even smaller group of the wealthiest owners, who in much smaller numbers could afford the aero cars and 3.7 roadsters at £60k and upwards, are now being relied upon to stretch their pensions and investments further to £80k + for a plus four/six.

There will certainly be new 'first timers' in to the Morgan brand, Morgan virgins, many who will expect MX5/Z4/Boxster levels of refinement for their money.

No one needs a Morgan nowadays, they are second/third/fourth cars for sunny days. They are for a drive to a national trust property, to park up in a line with other Morgans. They are then for photographing with the cars of other 'mature' owners and someone then writes a short piece for the miscellany.........

I aplaude the ambition of MMC, I want them to succeed and go on long past 2035. I don't think that 'going big' (and very expensive) is the way to do it though.

of course Jens has a point ... like everyone here in this forum.

Will it still be a Morgan... that would have to be decided by future buyers.
If the policy no longer allows a combustion engine what is the alternative.
So if MMC wants to survive there must be a plan B whatever it looks like.

At Porsche, for example, Plan B is called the Taycan.
This vehicle is a horror for the die-hard Porsche driver. Nevertheless, this vehicle finds buyers. By 2022, 10% of the Porsche brand will be Taycans. And the numbers are doubling every year

Julian ... it didn't take a century to make Morgans 'acceptable' ... the motoring world hasn't always been populated by slick, well-behaved examples of modern automotive product ... for half their life Morgan have turned out cars that matched or exceded their mainstream contemporaries in performance, reliability and price .... as a low-bulk carmaker they sensibly (stubbornly?) made their very old-fashiondness a selling point in an increasingly bland and 'samey' marketplace as the massive finances of their competitors made them uncatchably sophisticated. .....Which has served them well .... managing the transition to EV will be a major challenge (and maybe syntheticaly fueled 'green' IC can be managed by some niche manufacturers selling into small markets?) ... but even going the EV route I would suggest that the Super 3 makes the ideal 'foot in the door' model to start the process through the range .... it's already a 'deal-breaker' in terms of style (but seems to have survived that by its quirky 'lifestyle' nature to be accepted as a Morgan even by us older enthusiasts and it appeals to a demographic that will be very accepting of an EV version.)

Against all odds people still dig deep for handmade shoes, tailored suits and anachronistic mechanical watches .... I consider there's a place for Morgan as the individualists choice in a world where computers drive the big-boys into ever identical moulds .... and what's under the louvres will matter less to those future buyers than the curves and the 'hand-made' ethic.

To me the biggest threat to Morgan isn't EV .... it's return-driven remote management watering down the Craftsman-built process that is the company's niche in the pursuit of bigger dividends for corporate shareholders.

There's a future market out there that will buy a handmade Morgan whatever the power plant ... but won't buy yet another robot-made product.

K