The $25K bare bones EV Slate Truck that ships without a radio has many suppliers considering creating audio systems for it.
Cerwin-Vega and Diamond Audio are bullish on the opportunity the truck offers for the aftermarket. PowerBass has been working on an OE Fit solution. Metra is evaluating a product offering. Alpine said it is not currently developing a Slate product and Rockford had no comment on the subject.
Metra’s Jason Anderson said, “Metra is interested in looking at what can be done in the Slate Truck. It’s kind of a throwback to the old days when vehicles didn’t come with radios or speakers.”
Stinger’s Kevin Kuenzie said, “Regarding the overall opportunity, I think, like the rest of the industry, we’re in a bit of a wait-and-see position. We’ll be watching how well the truck sells and what kind of aftermarket attachment and demand develops around it.”
More than ten thousand customers have committed $300 non-refundable deposits for the truck. A limited number of Slate Trucks will ship in the fourth quarter this year followed by a wider rollout in the first half next year. Several 12 volt suppliers said they have placed deposits and look forward to exploring the truck’s options for the aftermarket.
At the moment, there are many questions about the truck’s electrical system regarding supporting audio accessories. Many said it is still unclear if there will be a separate 12-volt battery to power accessories in the truck. If not, audio accessories may be more expensive. This may be a problem as the truck is designed for a budget conscious consumer.
As one supplier noted, “Whatever is developed by us or others, it will need to align with the demographic buying the truck, which is inexpensive.” And so Slate systems may not be profitable for aftermarket suppliers. “There will be the small percentage of owners that want to go big, but total revenue on that might not be a big enough pie for everyone to eat from,” he added. In other words, this might be a niche market opportunity.
But others are more optimistic. Cerwin-Vega/Diamond’s Bob Chanthavongsa said, “I think everyone will race to have something for it. It’s like when the Ford Bronco came out, everyone wanted to do something.” But he noted, “We don’t know how it’s going to be used. Will it be mainly a cheap commuter vehicle where someone just wants a radio? We’re also watching the Ford Fathom for opportunities.”
The Fathom is Ford’s upcoming budget EV truck that goes on pre-sale next year at a starting price of $28,350. But where the Slate has no audio system, the Fathom will include a large touchscreen display with Apple Maps navigation, a Digital Key, Ford app remote control, and CarPlay and Android Auto, said Ford.
Slate does have a catalog of 200 optional accessories. Users can opt for a $249 Front Center Integrated Speaker and/or Front Left & Right Integrated Speakers at $149.99. A Bluetooth controller and a bracket to mount your own Bluetooth tube speakers are marked as “coming soon” on the Slate accessory page.
Chris Barman, former CEO and current President of Vehicles at Slate Auto said in the past that the center storage bin area of the truck can fit a single DIN radio, but that was a year ago, and no specifics have been offered since.
Erik Harbor of PowerBass noted, “PowerBass has spoken with members of the Slate marketing team about the possibility of working with them on a project to develop OE Fit speakers with amplification and possible Bluetooth receiver controls, as this is a missing element to the platform…”
He continued, “Slate will become allot like the new “Jeep” in a sense of user customization from toppers, and bolt on accessories, there is already a large following of render-based options on the internet waiting for the release of these. Slate has an open-source platform for 3D print options for “snap-in” add-ons and encourages the growth of this concept so we believe this will only continue to grow in the custom and gadget world as we get closer to and after the launch of the trucks. With the electrical system however, we do worry that it will be quite limited so adding too much will not be possible and we need to study more of what is possible as to not overload that system before assuming full blown audio systems are really an option for Slate.”
Photo accredited to motortrend.com
