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Detroit went all-in on big, expensive EVs. Here's what the data show we'd rather buy

  

Category:  Alternative Energy

Via:  outis  •  7 months ago  •  15 comments

By:   Insider Apr 1st 2024 at 11:10AM (Autoblog)

Detroit went all-in on big, expensive EVs. Here's what the data show we'd rather buy



Behemoths like the GMC Hummer EV and F-150 Lightning aren't resonating with the current EV shopper.


original

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... jrSmiley_29_smiley_image.gif






S E E D E D   C O N T E N T


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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

Read the original article on  Business Insider

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Outis
Freshman Expert
1  seeder  Outis    7 months ago

We can't have nice things because greedy manufacturers insist on selling us expensive things.

 
 
 
Ed-NavDoc
Professor Quiet
1.1  Ed-NavDoc  replied to  Outis @1    7 months ago

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.

 
 
 
Outis
Freshman Expert
1.1.1  seeder  Outis  replied to  Ed-NavDoc @1.1    7 months ago

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.

 
 
 
Buzz of the Orient
Professor Expert
1.2  Buzz of the Orient  replied to  Outis @1    7 months ago
"Most EVs Are Too Expensive"

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.

 
 
 
Kavika
Professor Principal
2  Kavika     7 months ago

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.

 
 
 
Snuffy
Professor Participates
2.1  Snuffy  replied to  Kavika @2    7 months ago

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.

 
 
 
Outis
Freshman Expert
2.1.1  seeder  Outis  replied to  Snuffy @2.1    7 months ago
the only real option 

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. 

 
 
 
Snuffy
Professor Participates
2.1.2  Snuffy  replied to  Outis @2.1.1    7 months ago

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. 

 
 
 
Ed-NavDoc
Professor Quiet
2.1.3  Ed-NavDoc  replied to  Snuffy @2.1    7 months ago

Positive proof that some buyers definitely have more money than common sense!

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
2.1.4  Split Personality  replied to  Snuffy @2.1.2    7 months ago

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.

 
 
 
Snuffy
Professor Participates
2.1.5  Snuffy  replied to  Split Personality @2.1.4    7 months ago
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. 

 
 
 
Outis
Freshman Expert
2.1.6  seeder  Outis  replied to  Snuffy @2.1.2    7 months ago

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.

 
 
 
Split Personality
Professor Guide
2.1.7  Split Personality  replied to  Snuffy @2.1.5    7 months ago
45 years is a good guess however.

I  know...

As technology advances faster as time progresses I would expect a faster evolution in this area as well.

Many of todays EVs make the Leaf and the Prius look like Flintstone's cars.

What is going to slow things down will be the electric grid and power generation. 

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.

 
 
 
Snuffy
Professor Participates
3  Snuffy    7 months ago

It really doesn't help this matter when short-sighted governments raise fees on EV's like this.

W ith the stroke of a pen, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has unplugged the state's pro-electric-vehicle position, signing into law a new EV road tax that is the highest of its kind in the nation. 

Starting in July, New Jersey EV owners must pay an annual $250 road tax fee in an effort to offset the state's loss in fuel tax revenue. The new fee will increase by $10 each of the next four years until it reaches $290 in 2028. To make matters worse, New Jersey requires buyers and leases of all new vehicles to pay four years of registration fees upfront and the new EV fee will be included in that initial payment. 

Therefore, beginning in July, any new electric vehicle purchased or leased in New Jersey will cost $1,060 more than it does today. That's considerably damaging since the higher initial cost of an electric vehicle is one of the biggest impediments to EV adoption. 

New Jersey Introduces Annual EV Fee, Punishing Owners Who Go Green (msn.com)

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.

 
 
 
Snuffy
Professor Participates
3.1  Snuffy  replied to  Snuffy @3    7 months ago

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. 

A report from the National Renewable Energy (NREL), the 2030 Charging Network, estimated that between $31 and $55 billion cumulative capital investment is needed to accommodate 33 million plug-in EV’s on the road by the end of the decade. 

These projections, however, only account for charging equipment and installation costs. Excluded from the report is the cost of updates, permitting, and operating and maintenance costs, among other externalities. 

Utilities experts speak on nation’s ability to accommodate wider EV adoption | Fox Business

 
 

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