“Getting away from gasoline is the right move” || William M. Monroe Jr., Senior Vice President of Global Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service, Karma Automotive

Dealer News Today Podcasts

Lifelong LA area resident William M. Monroe Jr. has been a leader on the OEM side of the auto industry for over 20 years, but now holds a prominent position at a highly distinctive company. Karma Automotive is the successor to California autobuilder Fisker, whose assets it bought out in 2014 - and William is Karma’s current SVP of Global Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service. William has been instrumental in setting up Karma’s global distribution, and in his previous roles at Volvo he led teams in a diverse range of departments and won internal company awards.

On this episode, William joins our host Derek D to discuss how Karma’s operations as an all-EV manufacturer are different from most automakers, why it’s valuable to have staff that’s composed of both gearheads and people with no outside interest in cars, and the statistical factor that’s quickly changing customer perceptions of electric cars. Plus, he talks about solar and wind power’s integration into energy infrastructure, the joy he gets from the torque and power of his own company’s products, the motto he was raised with and how it’s affected his perceptions of cars, and more.
William M. Monroe Jr. | Karma Automotive

Episode Highlights:

• Why Karma vehicles’ unique features necessitated some thought-through design choices
• The fringe benefit that incentivized EV adoption in California, and that could work across the country
• What level of maximum charge range will cause a tipping point in public attitudes towards EVs
• The type of events that best engage Karma’s core customer base

“You’re still talking about a lot of cars to be added in a short amount of time. When you’re designing a car start to finish, that process is usually about 8 to 10 years. So when you’re a manufacturer and you’re not prepared for the changes that are coming and you’re behind, it’s going to take a long time for you to catch up.”

— William M. Monroe Jr.
|| Dealer News Today is a DCG Media production