The move to electric cars in the US is facing some challenges. People are worried about how far these cars can go on a single charge, and there aren’t enough places to charge them. Plus, they’re still too expensive for many folks.
The switch to electric cars in the US is facing some issues. People are worried about how far these cars can go on one charge, and there aren’t enough places to charge them. Plus, they’re still too expensive for many people.
Car companies have recently changed their plans for selling electric cars and delayed projects to cut down on the number of unsold electric cars sitting at dealerships.
The slowdown in electric car sales is more noticeable than in other types of cars, and it’s not just because of the economy, says Neil Saunders from GlobalData. He explains that buying an electric car is more complicated because of how far they can go and the charging stations.
In the US, people are used to taking long road trips for holidays or to see family and friends because the country is big, and public transportation is limited. But the network of charging stations for electric cars is not great yet. Some areas don’t have them, and others have machines that don’t always work.
Even though most drivers think electric cars are reliable, many have concerns about the charging stations (36%), how far the battery can go (39%), and the cost of the car (38%).
In October, the average price of an electric car was $51,762, which is $13,000 less than a year ago but still almost $4,000 more than the average price of all cars. In Europe, where gas prices are higher, people are more willing to overlook the high upfront cost of an electric car. But in the US, where gas prices are lower, this is less of a factor.
Big companies like Tesla are still leading the way in electric cars, making up over 55% of the 873,000 electric cars sold in the first 10 months of 2023.
Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley, expects some challenges in the changing US market. He says that market changes, like prices, how quickly people are adopting electric cars, and new rules, are making them work on making electric cars cheaper.
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Lowering costs
Ford’s competitor, General Motors, delayed its plan to turn its Orion, Michigan plant into an electric vehicle (EV) factory until the end of 2025. They say it’s to manage their money better and match the changing demand for EVs.
Ford and Tesla are also trying to make their manufacturing processes simpler to save money. Tesla’s Chief Financial Officer, Vaibhav Taneja, says their main goal is to make their cars cheaper.
Tesla’s upcoming Cybertruck, expected to be delivered by the end of 2023, is being designed to be as simple as possible for maximum efficiency, according to Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk. Ford is also planning to change how they design and make cars to make them less complicated.
However, not everyone is sure these changes will work. Analyst Emmanuel Rosner from Deutsche Bank says car companies haven’t figured out how to make electric cars that are both easy and affordable.
The US government, under President Joe Biden, is supporting electric cars with $7.5 billion for EV chargers and tax credits of up to $7,500 for people buying electric cars. The goal is for half of all cars sold in the US to be electric by 2030.
While there’s a lot of support for electric cars now, some people think the change won’t happen quickly because there needs to be enough places to charge the cars and the infrastructure isn’t ready yet. Neil Saunders from GlobalData says, “The long-term future is probably good for electric cars,” but it’s going to take some time.