business ethics case study who killed the electric car....

1. Reg no: names
• 11408962 pooja
• 11407294 Harika
• 11413431 Burhanuddin Nazami
• 11406819 Azaruddin
LOVELY
PROFESSIONAL
UNIVERSITY

2. Case study
“who killed
the electric
car?”
Is the title of a 2006 documentary film by
Chris Paine.

3. Introduction
Reason(dead of electric car)
Problems
Bridge gap
Business ethical point
Conclusion

4. The first electric car were build around 1832, “Who Killed the
Electric car?”
The film focused on the EV1 model created by General Motors
in the 1990s.
General motors, was one of the largest automakers in the
world.
 In the 1970 GM decided to design a electric car. It was called
the Electrovette.
 The film discusses why and how the EV1 was taken of the
market because some reason.

5. Problems
• The design of an electric car for production was the
difficult task but the GM did a credibly good job.
• Rather than the focus on the quality of product and
innovative technology GM discontinued its leadership
role.
• GM had two divisions DELCO REMY and DELCO
ELECTRONICS, located only 50 miles apart in central
Indiana.
• The other problems is that the US government had
apparent support for the oil industry this leads to the
death of EV1.

6.  There was the shortage of the supply of the spare
part of electric cars.
Government has clear support for the oil industry.
It has a large size of battery and taking a huge time
for charging.
There was a huge competition in the market.
High cost because that time electric cars was more
expensive.

7. Recommendations:
1) In my point of view GM faced a challenging ethical
dilemma whether to strive to protected the
environment or achieve financial success.
2)GM has an ethical obligation to allow the consumer
and the market place to decide the future.

8. • GM adopted six environmental principles in 1991.in these six
principles GM stated that:.
1)We are committed to actions to restore and preserve the
environment.
2) Reducing waste and pollutants, conserving resources and
recycling materials at every stage of the product life cycle.
3)To participate actively in educating the public regarding
environmental conservation.
4) To development and implementation of technologies for
minimizing pollutant emissions.
5)To work with all governmental entities for the development of
technology sound and financially responsible environmental laws
6) To assess the impact of a plants and products on the
environment and the communities in which we live and operate
with a goal of continuous improvement.

9. Although what ever decision was taken by GM it was a mistake.
The destruction of EV1was a public relation disaster for GM.
Toyota and Nissan which also produced same electric vehicles
also chose to smash their car’s but they did not get the bad publicity
GM got.
The design of an electric car for production was a difficult task.
Although the EV1 did have limitation, It possessed the potential to
be a viable vehicle alternative.