Detroit went all-in on big, expensive EVs. Here's what the data show we'd rather buy
Category: Alternative Energy
Via: outis • one month ago • 15 commentsBy: Insider Apr 1st 2024 at 11:10AM (Autoblog)
Behemoths like the GMC Hummer EV and F-150 Lightning aren't resonating with the current EV shopper.
This really should be common knowledge, but sadly there's so much disinformation out there.
This in from a business site, so it must be true... 
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Electric F-150 Lightning pickup trucks power up at the Rouge plant
Ford Motor Co
- Demand for electric pickups has dried up.
- EV shoppers are more interested in smaller, cheaper vehicles.
- A majority of EVs are too expensive for the average shopper.
When the automotive industry started looking toward an electrified future , Detroit automakers decided to throw their hat in the ring with what they do best: Pickup trucks .
The first entrants to the electric-pickup market enjoyed some early success, particularly in the Ford F-150 Lightning . But sudden changes to the electric car shopper demographic mean that for the second time in the last 20 years, Detroit finds itself selling big, expensive cars nobody really wants.
Behemoths like the GMC Hummer EV and Lightning, with price tags that can reach six figures, aren't resonating with the current EV shopper , who prioritizes value and practicality.
Where the Lightning is concerned, the truck's early success doesn't appear to be carrying over past the first round of reservations when the truck first went on sale in 2022.
Ford dealers have started warning that the trucks are piling up on their lots. Starting Monday, Ford will dramatically reduce the workforce at the factory that builds the Lightning, according to the Associated Press, in a sign that demand for the truck may be slowing,
Most EVs are too expensive
Expensive pickup trucks aren't just a Detroit problem. Electric pickup truck pioneer Rivian has also warned of slowing growth, and Elon Musk's Tesla already appears to be offering some purchase incentives for the Cybertruck .
A recent study from car-shopping website Edmunds shows that interest in electric pickup trucks only accounts for only 10% of current EV demand, while demand for electric cars (including wagons) accounts for 43% and demand for SUVs and crossovers comes in second at 42%.
This preference for smaller EVs aligns with the price point most EV customers are shopping in right now, according to the Edmunds data. The most desired price range for an EV right now is between $30,000 and $40,000, with a quarter of customers surveyed by Edmunds looking in that range.
"The electric vehicle market is growing, but consumers have enough reservations about the current options and charging infrastructure challenges to limit more significant growth in the short term," Edmunds analyst Jessica Caldwell wrote in the report.
Only four EVs sell in that range at the moment, according to Edmunds, and none of them are sold by Detroit automakers. The four models under $40,000 are the Mini Hardtop 2 Door, Nissan Leaf , Fiat 500e and Hyundai Kona Electric .
Electric cars tend to be significantly more expensive than their gas-powered counterparts. On average, EVs sold for around $61,700 last year, $14,250 more expensive than the typical price paid for non-electric vehicles, Edmunds said.
Detroit is scrambling
A turn away from big, expensive EVs is a real problem for Detroit, which was hoping to lean on its long-popular and lucrative pickup truck segment to usher in profitability for its electric lineups.
For every electric vehicle sold at a $50,000 price tag, car companies are losing $6,000, according to a recent study from Boston Consulting Group .
While BCG estimates that car companies will be able to close half of this gap by making changes in technology choices and production efficiencies, they won't be able to make up the difference before cheap Chinese imports threaten to squeeze prices even further.
"At some point, it will become untenable for OEMs to lose money on every vehicle they sell," BCG wrote in its report.
Detroit auto execs are scrambling to revise their electric portfolios to match up with the change in demand. Ford CEO Jim Farley said last month the company would be spending more money on mass-market electric vehicles, and a recent report from Bloomberg said the automaker recently delayed an upcoming three-row EV to focus on a trio of $25,000 electric vehicles.
GM is taking another approach, pulling back on EV production as the company plans to bring more hybrids (a segment that has seen demand increase while EV demand wanes) to the North American market later this year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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We can't have nice things because greedy manufacturers insist on selling us expensive things.
Of course they are not resonating. Said vehicles are pathetically way overpriced out of reach of the average middle income buyer and I do not see the industry making any real effort to make them affordable to said potential buyers.
Corporations make decisions intended to maximize profit. "Inexpensive" means low margins, so they prefer costly (high margin) cars. What's crazy is that US law favors big vehicles through more laxist fuel consumption standards.
You want good EVs at a reasonable price? Let BYD sell its cars in America without tariffs. Oh, sorry, we can't POSSIBLY do the best thing to cut emissions because, after all, CHINA!!!! We'd rather die of asphyxiation.
A few months back I saw a new Ford Lighting for $110,000. LMAO, one would have to be insane to sink that kind of money into an EV truck.
But then you can find those types of prices on gas engine trucks as well. Look at the price tag for this 2024 Ram 1500 TRX.
New 2024 Ram 1500 For Sale | Peoria AZ | Call 8558899734 with VIN 1C6SRFU95RN195725 (larrymillerdodge.com)
$125,817 for a new truck is crazy prices, but I guess some people will pay it as they keep making these vehicles.
The problem I have with ev's is the technology just isn't there yet for my lifestyle. I'm a single retired guy who likes to go on road trips when the mood hits me, who will decide when I get there if I want to turn right or left. It's a waste of money for me to own a second vehicle and an ev just isn't ready for my lifestyle.
While I support choice, these seeds really seem to be pushing ev's as the only real option and that's just not right. I say let the customer decide what they want, a one size fits all solution should not be presented as the best approach.
In my opinion, it's a matter of perspective. From a societal POV, creating ever more greenhouse gases is not a real option. From an individual POV, "I want my FREEDOM!"
Those are incompatible... over time. We can have our cake and eat it, too... for a while. Then we'll all die. (Well, I'll die sooner than that, but you get my meaning.)
So it's in the interest of everyone that fossil fuels be phased out as quickly as possible.
I don't believe that we will ever fully get rid of fossil fuels, they are used in to many different ways. But I do agree with phasing out for motor vehicles. But IMO the technology still has a way to go before it can be mainstreamed, and trying to force the issue will only backfire. How many coal-fired power plants did Germany have to reopen when they couldn't get enough natural gas and the wind turbines didn't provide power due to lack of wind?
We're not at a place where EV's can fully replace what we currently have. Best thing I can say towards that is that technology does continue to move faster and faster so that date may not be that far off in the future, but it's not here today. And forcing a move to force the consumer to buy an EV is, IMO, going to backfire on the administration.
Positive proof that some buyers definitely have more money than common sense!
We went from being a nation depending on real horse power to
depending on fossil fueled vehicles between 1900 and 1960. Blacksmiths became a rarity except at theme parks like Williamsburg or Old Tuscon.
from the 1960s the interstate infrastructure has grown and grown.
Now it will have to adapt to EV midgets to Tesla freighters.
I won't be around to see it but by the 2070's fossil fuels will be regulated out of the market.
EVs will take 5 minutes to charge and charging stations will be as plentiful as gas stations once were.
All well and good but 2070 is 45 years in the future. Here today we have California who has mandated that all new car sales by 2035 must be electric, and the Biden administration is pushing to have 67% of all new cars sales be electric cars by 2032. The technology and infrastructure is just not there yet for that rapid change. How much more money will this force people to cough up in order to be compliant?
45 years is a good guess however. The first car sold in America happened on April 1, 1898 and by 1929 approximately 60% of households owned an automobile. As technology advances faster as time progresses I would expect a faster evolution in this area as well. What is going to slow things down will be the electric grid and power generation.
EVs don't work for everyone. But they do work for a large majority.
EVs require a little thought - as did ICE cars back when petroleum was sold in pharmacies. Tech is evolving fast, but most people don't have the time or inclination to stay up to date, so they stay stuck on last year's outdated situation.
EVs don't work for traveling salesmen... but those are pretty rare nowadays.
I know...
Many of todays EVs make the Leaf and the Prius look like Flintstone's cars.
Give the industry more credit. Think of all of the gas stations being repurposed combined with more homes joining the solar or wind grid every day.
The transition will be seamless. Young people simply aren't addicted to gasoline and motor oil.
Zero nostalgia.
Less pessimism.
They don't even know a universe without email or social media.
It really doesn't help this matter when short-sighted governments raise fees on EV's like this.
A lot of people are already put off from buying an EV due to the higher cost of the vehicle, now this higher fee that has to be paid up front? People already have to pay tax on their electric usage, so they are already paying a tax to charge the vehicle. Now in addition to that tax, the NJ government wants additional taxes (they can call it a fee, but it's basically another tax) to offset the loss in gas tax. This will prevent a lot more people from even thinking of going down that route.
Add to this, there is definitely a need to expand the existing power grid. There's really no way the current power grid can handle the additional load if half of all cars on the road are electric. Power companies have for years been working with relatively flat demand but those days are over. In order to expand the grid, additional fees will need to be added to consumers power bills.