Tesla has been slashing prices. Ford just cut the price of its Mustang Mach-E, too, plus it cut back production of its electric pickup. And General Motors is thinking about bringing back plug-in hybrids, possibly taking a step back from GM’s earlier commitment to shifting straight to pure EVs.
And now the EPA is considering slowing down requirements for automakers to sell more electric vehicles, dialing back what had been aggressive plans to move away from gas powered cars and SUVs.
You’d be forgiven for thinking the American market for EVs is collapsing. But in the last quarter of 2023, EV sales were up 40% from the same quarter a year before, according to Cox Automotive. In fact, EV sales in the United States hit a record last year, topping 1 million for the first time.
Still there is a troubling gap between expectations and reality. Bloomberg New Energy Finance, for instance, had projected sales of 1.7 million plug-in vehicles in 2023, but only 1.46 million ultimately sold. (BNEF’s figures include plug-in hybrids, but the large majority are fully electric vehicles.) The trend line isn’t slanting upward as sharply as many had predicted so the industry is lowering future estimates.
Industry experts cite a number of reasons for this, including vehicle price, lack of charging capacity and confusing tax credit rules.
The public charger situation is still a mess. The more cars are sold, the more the demand will go up. On weekends, many are full, especially along popular road-trip routes. Sort that out and it will help unblock mainstream adoption.
I find it odd to compare the US and European situations with infrastructure.
US: two companies have national networks, with a hundred miles between each site.
Europe: about 20 different sites between 50kW-350kW withing 10 miles of me, run by 10 different companies.
I know we have different requirements, but it’s really getting that chargers are as frequent as fuel stations in some areas.