I would pounce on the 31k traverse it doesn't exist in my neck of the woods
ford-gm-mercedes-come-clean-on-ev-demand-weakness
- Thread starter GON
- Start date
There are numerous factors affecting EV sales. In Ford and GM's case, it is the wrong products that are being killed by the EV price war.
That's the key message in all the CEO commentary.
The cost of everything manufactured is going up. "Cheaper EVs" are not coming, they're already here.
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In other industries, when demand is “soft”, they stop putting her on center stage during Prime Time.
Car makers should do this too.
You mean the Bolt that loses $9K on every sale? Chevrolet sells a ton of them but has never made a penny.
They’re just telling us… EVs will be all you’re allowed to drive, and thanks to price increases on everything you need just to live, the unwashed masses will be unable to afford personal transportation. They’ll tell you where and when you can go, on public transit only.
I wish Ford and GM luck in their EV endeavors, but their product choices are poor, IMO. And they have had their EV functionality struggle.
And they just cost way too much.
I guess if they can lose $9k on each car to deny sales to Tesla then why not make $10k or $12k.
Not sure I follow your logic, but OK...
I think you're assuming that logic was considered when he clicked "Post reply".
No surprise. Lets not forget there are a lot of people who fit that bill who wouldn't own one no matter what, and yes there is a brick wall coming. It is not only higher interest rates discouraging people from buying an EV. Fast forward to 2035 and CA might have to adjust the date out another decade, or two. Or strangle citizens with higher gas taxes to save face and even more of them will leave the state in disgust.
Sales will be up in 2024. The $7500 down payment assistance as it should be called is a big deal. Could even get people out of an upside down car loan on their existing car.
Also keep in mind some people are holding out for more options. Equinox EV comes to mind. It would sell well now if it was available.
Also keep in mind some people are holding out for more options. Equinox EV comes to mind. It would sell well now if it was available.
Thing is the cool kids with good incomes who used to drive 3 series BMWs are today driving Model 3s. These are buyers who wouldn't be caught dead in anything GM or Ford and they are also folks who hit the airport for long trips, not the interstate. An EV would work very well for maybe 80-90% of what most prospective new car shoppers do and for the other 10-20% they'll have a gasser, rent one or plan a route with brief charging stops.
Tesla still owns the EV space and there are many who like Elon's irreverent and loud mouth.
Tesla still owns the EV space and there are many who like Elon's irreverent and loud mouth.
The problem is, the other car companies get killed on every EV sale. Ford was losing $40K per vehicle; I think it is down to about $27K on every vehicle. They will lose $4B this year on EVs. Tesla is making about $9K per vehicle; I am not sure if any other car company makes a profit. The Bolt is a huge loss leader, maybe GM can turn it around? Kia? BMW maybe? Dunno because they don't break out their financials, which could be considered telling.
I see you 2 are having a bit of trouble keeping up. I was saying that gm could just lower the price of the bolt if they were willing to lose more money, in response to another mental gymnast who's expecting electric vehicle prices to magically drop for no reason.
Try reading back several posts maybe.
The EV market right now is fake, we will only know how much of a market there is once buyers have to pay the full purchase price instead of the taxpayers.
Let me know when that happens only then we can see true numbers for public acceptance of EVs
Any claim otherwise is a farce
Let me know when that happens only then we can see true numbers for public acceptance of EVs
Any claim otherwise is a farce
Agreed. Yeah pull the "other peoples money" and see how they sell.
dnewton3
Staff member
For Mercedes, I cannot make a rationale comment because I don't know much about their demographic.
For Ford and GM, it's simple. The macro market demands big vehicles with ICE drivetrains. Why invest huge money in a reasonably small EV market niche when they can pump out trucks/suvs which command good profit margins with existing resources (engineering, development, production) already in place? Mass market EV acceptance is way off in the future. It doesn't make sense to forego the big money on the table now for the "what if ..." possibilities of the future.
The Big Three have always focused on the present and not so much deep into the future. I'm not saying it's right or wrong; it's just the way they are.
For Ford and GM, it's simple. The macro market demands big vehicles with ICE drivetrains. Why invest huge money in a reasonably small EV market niche when they can pump out trucks/suvs which command good profit margins with existing resources (engineering, development, production) already in place? Mass market EV acceptance is way off in the future. It doesn't make sense to forego the big money on the table now for the "what if ..." possibilities of the future.
The Big Three have always focused on the present and not so much deep into the future. I'm not saying it's right or wrong; it's just the way they are.
Your point does not make sense, hence my comment. I’m sure that your reasoning made perfect sense to you, but there’s a lot more to what would sell that car than just the sticker price.
The Big Three need to meet CAFE requirements. The way EV fuel economy is calculated gives them a huge advantage. I think one of the big worries is that EV fuel economy ratings might end up being modified and they'll either need to sell way more EVs and/or they'll need to improve the fuel economy of their ICE vehicles.
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