A fascinating look at the leading personalities driving the transition to electric vehicles and reinventing the auto industry. The leading car manufacturing firms have all essentially pledged to transition from traditional carbon dioxide-emitting vehicles to battery-powered electric vehicles. Tesla has led the way to date, recently producing its three millionth car since its first sale in 2009. General Motors has committed to carbon neutrality in its global products and operations by 2040. Honda has committed to carbon neutrality as well as zero traffic collision fatalities by 2050. These are ambitious and noble goals, yet they will take a supreme transformation to achieve. In The Electric Vehicle Revolution, Kenneth K. Boyer highlights the promise, perils, and personalities of the world's automobile makers as they re-engineer a post-carbon present and future. Driving the narrative is the key to it all: the green transformation of the global auto parts supply chain. The book includes never-before-reported stories of the leaders, designers, engineers, and inventors leading the charge to decarbonize the transportation sector from packaging to tires and more. Boyerexamines the prospects and plans for this disruptive change, starting with stories of several automotive giants: Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Vietnam billionaire Vuong Vin, the Prince of Motor City Jim DeLuca, and GM CEO Mary Barra. Each protagonist has a vision for transforming the world of transportation into a greener, more carbon-friendly industry while also earning profits in our predominantly capitalist world. Readers will learn how their breakthroughs and struggles illuminate the future while facing the question: Will an auto revolution lead the world to a more sustainable economic future, or will it be too late?
Kenneth K. Boyer is a fisher designated professor of operations and business analytics in the Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University. A supply chain management researcher with over fifty peer-reviewed publications, he is the author of two prior books, Extending the Supply Chain and Operations and Supply Chain Management for the 21st Century. Boyer has been researching and teaching supply chain management for three decades and has been an automobile enthusiast since riding in his father's 1965 Corvette Stingray. His first car was a Ford and he currently drives a Tesla Model 3.
