Auto Execs Are Coming Clean: EVs Aren't Working

I can tell you why sales tanked:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.forbes.com&#x2F;wheels&#x2F;news&#x2F;chevrolet-bolt-discontinued&#x2F;" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.forbes.com&#x2F;wheels&#x2F;news&#x2F;chevrolet-bolt-discontinu...</a><p>&quot;Automakers have been ditching small, affordable, low-profit vehicles for larger, pricier and higher-profit ones (gas-powered and electric) for years, but the process has greatly accelerated since 2018. In March of that year, cars costing less than $25,000 made up 24% of the car market, but they make up just 4% today, according to data from Edmunds.com.&quot;<p>We&#x27;ve got a Bolt EUV and it&#x27;s a fantastic car. Bought it because it had some of the best legroom for our rather tall children.<p>We don&#x27;t need or want some monster SUV.

Non-Tesla EVs aren’t working due to a lack of compelling options, IMO. I think there should be decent demand for:<p>A reasonably priced EV sedan.<p>An EV family car — 7 seats, not too large. A minivan or a wagon would work.<p>A small utility vehicle. Telo is on to something IMO.<p>Finally, there’s a huge elephant in the room: NACS. J1772 <i>lost</i>. It’s the living dead. Selling a new EV right now with only a J1772 (or J1772+CCS) jack is like selling a very expensive phone with only a 3G radio a couple years ago. No one who is paying attention would want to own it and be stuck with it. If I were running the show at any of these companies, I would switch production to NACS <i>ASAP</i>. I don’t care if it would take a loss, or if a major change is awkward in the middle of a model year. Throw in an adapter so the cars can charge from J1772 as well (Tesla makes these). Heck, have both jacks. But I think that essentially every single J1772 car that rolls off the production line right now is a mistake, and every would-be customer who reads some FAQ about how there will probably be an adapter available to charge today’s brand-new car from NACS in “Spring 2024” would quite reasonably say no.

Very different story coming out of Volvo today. They&#x27;re selling lots of EV&#x27;s, making solid profit on each one and announced new models.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;electrek.co&#x2F;2023&#x2F;10&#x2F;26&#x2F;volvo-expects-ev-momentum-continue-with-3-new-models&#x2F;" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;electrek.co&#x2F;2023&#x2F;10&#x2F;26&#x2F;volvo-expects-ev-momentum-con...</a>

It&#x27;s a nice scapegoat for &quot;the economy doesn&#x27;t make it possible for most people to afford to buy a new car no matter what it is&quot;.

I can’t afford any of them. I miss sub $20,000 cars that were quality no matter the drive system.

Uh. Wasn&#x27;t the Tesla Model Y the best selling car in America last year? What part of that isn&#x27;t working? I can&#x27;t walk down the street without spotting six of &#x27;em.

Auto Execs Are Coming Clean: EVs Aren&#x27;t Working <i>in US</i><p>EVs sell like hotcakes in China and Hong Kong.

What!? Nobody wants to buy a $50,000 &quot;mid-proced&quot; car?<p>People just don&#x27;t appreciate how much money the wealthy need!

I can only speak for myself and my immediate circle, electric cars seem like a hassle because you have to plan more to charge them. I can&#x27;t just go on a spontaneous trip and know that almost any point if I need to fill up I can do so, quickly.

At a guess, I’d say the wider macro economic environment is impacting EV Sales, and all auto sales in general.<p>The Chinese auto makers, like BYD and MG, are also giving the US and Europeans are hard time.<p>A leading indicator is surely the wealthier suburbs where EVs seem to be every where. Anyone that doesn’t have an EV is just holding onto their ICE car until the lease expires or it dies and they churn to an EV.

That&#x27;s odd because Tesla had a very successful last 5 years.<p>Maybe the market for cars with limited charging networks is the real problem?

Every time my salary packaging provider calls to ‘let me know’ about how they can package an EV I tell them the only EV i’m interested in packaging is a fancy expensive cargo bike.<p>Guess the margins for them aren’t enough when you have to try really hard to spend more than $12k

I know there&#x27;s tons of naysayers, probably because it&#x27;s provocative, but I really truly believe hydrogen is the successful way forward. It&#x27;s clean. It can be made with electricity. The model of storing lots of fuel in the vehicle is the part that doesn&#x27;t seem right to me since it&#x27;s highly flammable. There will eventually be a way to make solar panels more efficient or make electricity from braking which might make it more economical.