Why luxury automakers must heed Sajjan Jindal's 'wake up' advice

All those who still doubt whether the future belongs to electric cars may want to listen to Sajjan Jindal. On a recent visit to a Tesla showroom in Zurich, Jindal tweeted, “The world of automobiles is going to change faster than we think.” In a series of tweets, he cautioned luxury auto manufacturers to keep up. “If BMW and Mercedes-Benz do not wake up to the reality, they will also go the Kodak, Xerox way. Wake up wake up,” he wrote.

While Jindal is right, many luxury auto companies are already preparing for an electric future. Tesla, Volkswagen and GM have announced plans to roll out fully electric cars soon. BMW already sells BMW i8 in India, which is a hybrid-electric car, other than the i3 model in other countries. Mercedes-Benz’s chief development officer Thomas Weber recently announced aggressive plans to hit the road with more electric vehicles, other than the ones already in existence globally, such as the B-class Electric.

If @BMW @MercedesBenz do not wake up to the reality, they will also go the @Kodak @Xerox way. Wake up wake up pic.twitter.com/ErEJ2ACbOX

— Sajjan Jindal (@sajjanjindal59) June 20, 2016

Visited @TeslaMotors showroom in Zurich. The world of automobiles is going to change faster than we think. Pics pic.twitter.com/F30cjDpVLM

— Sajjan Jindal (@sajjanjindal59) June 20, 2016