In the space of a few weeks, the political ground beneath the e-mobility sector will have shifted twice. Keir Starmer has redirected £1.5bn from transport and energy budgets to fund defence. And a near-future government, most likely led by Andy Burnham, looks like arriving with no settled position on electric vehicles, and perhaps a willingness to further soften the ZEV mandate. That means question marks continue to gather around the EV timeline we’re all working towards.
For businesses communicating in this sector, it’s a reminder that the e-mobility environment never sits still: funding priorities move, targets are revised, and now a new leader likely means we all have to evolve the stories we’re trying to tell. But if you’ve been around for a while you’ll know this kind of flux is normal. Keeping your brand relevant and visible depends on riding over the rough ground, and remaining fluid in the way you communicate.
Shifting government signals are undermining confidence in the sector, and having a chilling effect on investment. Up to a point, it’s sound to respond to change with adaptive messaging that remains non-committal while awaiting policy clarity. But when change is constant, bold brands must speak in defence of their vision regardless of what Westminster does next.
Our research at industry events and studies in the sector also confirmed that the e-mobility community is still battling the myth that the grid will collapse if everyone plugs in an EV at once. The counter-narrative – that managed charging turns a fleet of EVs into a grid asset, rather than a threat – has to be pitched differently depending on the political weather. When public investment is flowing it’s a story about acceleration and growth. And when money is being pulled towards defence, the same capability becomes a story about resilience and value for money.
An important consideration is that messaging needn’t be reactive – a response only to external changes. The bravest brands get ahead of change and help lead it with confidence. Many recent industry event attendees and contacts within the sector complain that too little is said about the lower cost of EV ownership, as opposed to electric vehicles’ higher up-front costs. Gaps like this are an opportunity for brands to push the conversation forwards, and own a fresher, more complete and more resonant perspective.
If EV sector history tells us anything it’s that things aren’t likely to settle down. Manoeuvrable messaging is an essential capability. The skill is in communicating a consistent position or ethos, while adjusting how it is expressed for the moment the audience is living in.
That’s harder than it sounds, and it’s something that’s caught out a lot of excellent brands. In a changing landscape it’s easy to stick for too long to messages that worked before, or even break with a longstanding position to chase headlines, but neither builds credibility. The brands that maintain and build reputation through political change are those that can pivot their framing, without changing what they’re actually trying to say.
This is work we specialise in at Resonates: helping clients in the energy and e-mobility space read the shifting landscape and evolve their messaging with it, without losing what makes them credible. It means watching policy and political signals as closely as the market ones, and being ready to reframe a client’s story when the context around it changes. The point is not to find the perfect line and defend it, but to build genuine narratives that carry weight, yet are flexible enough to bend with the political weather.
The next few months will test the skills of those working across e-mobility, and particularly the abilities of those working to tell its stories. A new prime minister, a possible reset of EV targets, and a funding backdrop that has just tilted away from the sector all point to a period of continued change. The brands that thrive will be the ones who can change direction, without losing sight of their destination.
