Where is MIA going ?
Kirsten Roennau, Mia Electric’s new CEO, gave some information about the carmaker’s future during a works council. International development is the No 1 priority.
Following disappointing sales figures in France over the last few months, worries have been expressed as far as MIA’s future was concerned. The company’s new CEO, Kirsten Roennau, was therefore determined to reassure both employees and customers, by announcing the company’s strategy for the coming months.
Here is what she had to say, as printed in an official MIA statement :
“International markets are our first priority today. We wish to develop the company on European markets which are mature in terms of the electric vehicle’s development, for example Northern Europe and England. On these markets where the electric vehicle is more present and where the notion of sustainable development is more thoroughly widespread, our ambition is to position MIA Electric for final consumers and car-sharing fleets, thanks to our offer on battery renting in particular.
Meanwhile, we are going to center our commercial work in France around business fleets for “last kilometer deliveries” and, in particular, further explore the market of industrial businesses for whom green mobility is an important economical issue.
Finally, our third priority is MIA’s continued improvement. This policy should help us capitalize on our product’s strengths and therefore develop our sales on each of our markets, namely the international market, the BtoB market and the BtoC market. Besides, the introduction of our new Miacadabra series participates in Mia’s continued development.”
As an observer of the electric car market, it seems to me that these new directions correspond to MIA’s potential as a product. As we saw in Norway, MIA can certainly break into Nordic markets. This electric car’s friendly image and its “modular” conception also make it interesting for car-sharing fleets.
Of course, MIA will have to face the electric cars built by bigger carmakers, especially on the market of personal vehicles. Yet, I have noticed that a “MIA community” and “MIA spirit” have appeared as time went by. Indeed, for some people, the MIA is the car that best corresponds to their everyday use, and they would not want another one.
However, whether it will be enough to ensure the company’s continued existence remains to be seen. MIA will look to improve its exposure as far as the general public, as well as businesses in France and abroad are concerned, as the new CEO explains :
“MIA Electric’s presence among the French delegation following the French President in its latest trip to China helped increase MIA Electric’s visibility, as every person attending one of the conferences and debates and especially the French companies being represented in the delegation became aware of our brand. These many new contacts could quite possibly lead to orders for business fleets. Our aim is now to keep working on our communication, to increase our brand’s exposure.”
Finally, Kirsten Roennau announced that the company was looking for partners in order to help its development and ensure its long-term future. As far as this question is concerned, Kirsten Roennau indicated that talks were currently ongoing with “a consortium of international investors who are very much interested in MIA Electric’s overall competence and its unique know-how”.
Stay tuned for more information…
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