New EV Sales Running Out of Gas

While “automakers have big hopes for EVs (thanks to gov’t subsidies), we’re told “buyers aren’t cooperating” as sales growth slows thanks to “a limited pool of consumers willing to pay more for them.” Hint: It ain’t just the sticker shock.

As the WSJ article notes, “the auto industry’s push to boost sales of electric vehicles is running into a cold, hard reality: Buyers’ interest in these models is proving shallower than expected.” True, EV sales continues to grow, “rising 51% this year. Yet, the rate has slowed & unsold inventory is “starting to pile up for some brands” just when “a barrage of new EV models” are hitting dealership lots. As a result, some car companies like Ford & Toyota have started putting more money into hybrids.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why, yet the WSJ scratches its head enough in trying. The newspaper does note the familiar “high sticker prices,” limited ranges & few charging stations available nation-wide. Meanwhile, there’s the irony of the Biden Administration pushing EVs, while the UAW union is on strike at the Detroit car companies BECAUSE IT IS WORRIED ABOUT FUTURE JOB SECURITY AS ENGINE & TRANSMISSION PLANTS DISAPPEAR. Then, there’s the rising interest rates for car loans on more expensive EVs compared to their fossil fuel counterparts. But, one wonders about the phrase “fossil fuel counterparts” itself. Suspicion here: Yet another reason for the reluctance of consumers to buy EVs still is the sense that EVs in general aren’t yet on the same playing field as their favorite gas guzzlers, i.e., they don’t offer the same buzz, comfort, reliability or proven track record.

Davd Soul