Has enthusiasm for electric cars waned?

[JeffKeryk]

Interest rates do matter a lot. If a consumer opts for a lesser priced ICE because the EV it too expensive due to the higher rate environment that doesn't mean that EV's don't sell. It just means the current EV offering is too expensive especially when we're talking the domestics.

The real question is are EV buyers opting for similarly priced ICE instead? You're going to have to dig deeper into the sales figures to find that out.

Easy answer; EV sales continue to grow, which means those buyers are choosing EV over ICE.
Heck the market slams Tesla if they report less than stellar quarterly results. "Tesla's margins down!" Tesla's margins are the envy of the automobile industry.

 

[tmorris1]

From my experience there never was a lot of enthusiasm for them unless you watched the news.

 

[demarpaint]

Easy answer; EV sales continue to grow, which means those buyers are choosing EV over ICE.
Heck the market slams Tesla if they report less than stellar quarterly results. "Tesla's margins down!" Tesla's margins are the envy of the automobile industry.

I guess that depends on the region, where you source your news, and who you talk to. I hear they're slumping, and the recent dip in the TSLA stock price is showing that might be the case. Time will tell, but the smart money seems to be saying all electric in 2035 is a bigger pipe dream than many of us thought from the beginning. JMO

 

[Astro14]

From my experience there never was a lot of enthusiasm for them unless you watched the news.

What do the sales numbers show?

I’m not talking “hype” - it’s a simple matter of seeing where people spend their money.

 

[PontiacHO]

When weather extremes can cause electrical blackouts why is it “the right thing to do “ to own an electric car?
No infrastructure….

 

[JeffKeryk]

I guess that depends on the region, where you source your news, and who you talk to. I hear they're slumping, and the recent dip in the TSLA stock price is showing that might be the case. Time will tell, but the smart money seems to be saying all electric in 2035 is a bigger pipe dream than many of us thought from the beginning. JMO

Absolutely sales depend on region. I live in a place that is ripe for EVs. Dang things are everywhere.
Bottom line is the total numbers show EV sales continue to trend upward.
Tesla sold 1.3M cars in 2022 and are targeting 1.8M sales this year.

My understanding is BMW EV sales are on the upswing; Q3 returned a nice 7% gain over last year. Full electrics were responsible for 15% of BMW sales last quarter.

Certainly not all EV ventures are going as well, and as you say regions play an important component.

 

[Astro14]

When weather extremes can cause electrical blackouts why is it “the right thing to do “ to own an electric car?
No infrastructure….

On the other hand, if I can draw power from my electric car to power my house during a blackout, then it suddenly becomes very much the right thing to do. That electric storage capacity would be critically important to me, as a consumer, and to the power company unable to provide power while the lines are down.

Not quite as good as a Mr. Fusion on the back of the car, but a great capability that demonstrates taking personal responsibility, doing the right thing, for standby power.

 

[ecotourist]

Tesla is a vehicle manufacturer that makes innovative, interesting products. It's an industry leader. It's making profits during a difficult market. Its margins are high. Its stock has a moat (though how wide is debatable).

TSLA stock price is down - a lot. But the PE is still over 60. That's not a "buy me now" stock in my books.

I own a Tesla Model 3 which I like a lot. If I had to suddenly replace it for some reason (eg written off in an accident) I'd just buy another one (but red this time). And if I had to wait for it, I'd wait.

I would buy another Tesla but I won't buy TSLA stock (not now at least).

 

[JeffKeryk]

Tesla is a vehicle manufacturer that makes innovative, interesting products. It's an industry leader. It's making profits during a difficult market. Its margins are high. Its stock has a moat (though how wide is debatable).

TSLA stock price is down - a lot. But the PE is still over 60. That's not a "buy me now" stock in my books.

I own a Tesla Model 3 which I like a lot. If I had to suddenly replace it for some reason (eg written off in an accident) I'd just buy another one (but red this time). And if I had to wait for it, I'd wait.

I would buy another Tesla but I won't buy TSLA stock (not now at least).

Wait for the Highland.
The stock price is pretty attractive right now, IMO. But you gotta hold it for 5 years for any real money. Buy at your own risk as it is volatile!

 

[Astro14]

Wait for the Highland.
The stock price is pretty attractive right now, IMO. But you gotta hold it for 5 years for any real money. Buy at your own risk as it is volatile!

Nothing at a PE of 60 is attractive…to a value investor like me.

Doesn’t change the calculus on the product, however.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Nothing at a PE of 60 is attractive…to a value investor like me.

Doesn’t change the calculus on the product, however.

2 ways to look at that... Too high? Or, what's wrong with the other car companies?
Do I know the answer? Nope. Still wish I had bought the stock instead of the car. Hindsight for the win...

TSLA is a tiny portion of my portfolio, less than 1%. Even smaller now. Ha!

 

[oil pan 4]

I have only ever bought a cars and trucks with 0% apr.

 

[Astro14]

I have only ever bought a cars and trucks with 0% apr.

Then you’ve only been buying cars for the past decade or two, right? Because car loans in the 80s were up around 18%…

 

[Astro14]

2 ways to look at that... Too high? Or, what's wrong with the other car companies?
Do I know the answer? Nope. Still wish I had bought the stock instead of the car. Hindsight for the win...

TSLA is a tiny portion of my portfolio, less than 1%. Even smaller now. Ha!

High for tech company.

Outrageously high for a car company.

So…which one are they?

By the way, I just bought 3,000 shares of a company that was trading at 3x earnings. A PE of 3. WAY undervalued. When people wake up to the value of that company, and they will, I will let you know how I made out…

Total spend on that, by the way, was about 3% of portfolio value.

 

[ripcord]

EV sales slowing? Don't worry about it. They'll pick back up once the government mandates take the ICE cars away.

 

[barryh]

A very real concern is that the customer demand for EV's is falling behind what the government mandates that manufactures produce. What happens if manufacturers follows the mandate but can't sell the vehicles because the customer doesn't want them. I understand in the US:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new emissions standards that would effectively require 67.5% of U.S. vehicle sales to be electric by 2032.


Here in the UK:

The ZEV Mandate will require vehicle makers to ensure at least 22% of their new car sales and 10% of new vans are zero emissions in 2024. This will then rise incrementally each year to 80% for cars and 70% for vans in 2030, and 100% for both by 2035. For every vehicle that doesn't reach the mandate they get fined £15,000

Which would wipe out any profit 20 times over. So they clearly will simply not make them and there will an acute shortage of new vehicles.

Governments can mandate what is produced but they can't mandate customers to buy them unless our countries are going to turn into something akin to communist USSR where they were forced to drive Trabants..

Sounds like a recipe for chaos to me.

 

[Trav]

On the other hand, if I can draw power from my electric car to power my house during a blackout, then it suddenly becomes very much the right thing to do. That electric storage capacity would be critically important to me, as a consumer, and to the power company unable to provide power while the lines are down.

Not quite as good as a Mr. Fusion on the back of the car, but a great capability that demonstrates taking personal responsibility, doing the right thing, for standby power.

We live with power outages that go from hours to 23 days, my longest was 18 days in 2008 another one lasted 5 days so I am afraid the EV would be long empty. I have a natural gas generator, it is automatic and runs as long as needed and powers the whole house, it is like nothing happened.
In 2008 when stocks dropped in the cellar I bought a lot of Ford for a little more a buck a share and others that fell to pennies, luckily they all went up significantly and I dumped the lot. I started buying 1oz gold coins (mostly Swiss and some South African) one a month for a little over $307 oz in 1984 till it hit $900 in 2008 then I went down to a coin every 2 months and still have them in a safety deposit box not at home. When it all goes down the toilet I think this will prove its real value. IMO better than any stock or something like a new car.

 

[Sumboodie]

I went to rent a car for Thanksgiving, Hertz was pushing the EVs for cheaper than a gas car.

Didn't figure it'd make a 400 mile drive, plus they charge a $39 charging fee.

 

[Torrid]

I went to rent a car for Thanksgiving, Hertz was pushing the EVs for cheaper than a gas car.

Didn't figure it'd make a 400 mile drive, plus they charge a $39 charging fee.

Believe it or not there are these places where you pay a little money and charge them.

To be fair I don’t mind it for personal use, but if that was company supplied I might not be as thrilled to deal with it.

 

[Torrid]

We live with power outages that go from hours to 23 days, my longest was 18 days in 2008 another one lasted 5 days so I am afraid the EV would be long empty. I have a natural gas generator, it is automatic and runs as long as needed and powers the whole house, it is like nothing happened.
In 2008 when stocks dropped in the cellar I bought a lot of Ford for a little more a buck a share and others that fell to pennies, luckily they all went up significantly and I dumped the lot. I started buying 1oz gold coins (mostly Swiss and some South African) one a month for a little over $307 oz in 1984 till it hit $900 in 2008 then I went down to a coin every 2 months and still have them in a safety deposit box not at home. When it all goes down the toilet I think this will prove its real value. IMO better than any stock or something like a new car.

Some available power has got to be better than none.