If there's one thing I love, it's when chief executive officers get candid. Frankly, it's a happening that's few and far between.
That's because most of the time what they're saying has been so rehearsed and filtered by the public relations department you, more or less, have to read in between the lines. And then, there's just outright bullsh!t.
At a recent event though, Aston Martin's CEO, Andy Palmer, got real.
He called the Brexit strategy "laughable," said electric vehicle policy is "non sensical," and the cherry on top was Palmer saying that the notion of fully autonomous vehicles is "absurd." Mind you this was at an Aston Martin-backed event called Driving the Future.
Doesn't sound like Palmer got the memo.
Having said that, we've got to ask: Is Palmer going to EAT these words down the road, or is he the ONLY automotive executive talking common sense today?
What say you, Spies?
...Palmer also hit out at government strategy around future powertrain technology, and in particular its singular view that electrification is the answer to all transport environmental issues.
“EV is one route, it is not a panacea. The bit that pisses me off is when they try to pick a technological winner,” said Palmer. “The UK is trying to get on the front foot and say it wants to be a leader in electric vehicle technology but the truth is that nobody knows what the right technology is for 20-30 years time.
“Politicians can’t be taken seriously if they talk about 30-40 years ahead,” he added. “They are concerned with taking power and staying in power over a relatively short time, and they know they won’t have accountability over the much longer-term...
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