Electric vehicles confront the leap to the mass market

Reuters via Yahoo ^ | December 15, 2022 | By Joseph White

[Oldeconomybuyer]

DETROIT (Reuters) - The past year was sobering for investors who poured money into Tesla Inc and rival electric vehicle startups that hoped to emulate Tesla CEO Elon Musk's success.

As interest rates rose and financial markets gyrated, shares in many EV startups deflated. Rivian Automotive Inc, which had a higher market value than Ford Motor Co shortly after it went public in 2021, lost more than 70% of its value over the past year.

Other EV startups fared worse. Electric van maker Arrival warned it could run out of cash in less than a year. Lucid Group Inc, backed by Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, struggled to build its sleek Air luxury EVs. Chinese Tesla challenger Xpeng Inc's shares lost more than 80% of their value.

Now comes the hard part: Persauding more mainstream consumers to come along for the ride.

Among the barriers to EV adoption, industry executives and analysts said, were a dearth of public fast-charging infrastructure, and the rising cost of EV batteries, driven by shortages of key materials and uncertainty over government subsidies that have buoyed EV purchases in major markets including the United States, China and Europe.

By 2029, electric vehicles could account for a third of the North American market, and about 26% of vehicles produced worldwide, according to AutoForecast Solutions, a consultancy.

Electric vehicle sales likely will not increase in a smooth, ever-ascending curve, said AFS President Joe McCabe. If there is a recession next year, as many economists forecast, that will slow EV adoption.

[allendale]

Only a fool would really depend on an EV.

[oldasrocks]

All is well until people figure out the EV’s are worthless for anything.

[Paladin2]

Higher electricity prices combined with rotating blackouts don’t help much.

[Da Coyote]

Not gonna happen.
1. Too expensive for the vast majority.
2. Not enough rare earth elements for batteries.
3. The grid is a joke.
4. Forget about “green” energy. That is akin to Democrat honesty.

CW-II. If the left keeps trying to pull this off, I will thoroughly enjoy them cringing in their homes when the crowds come to off them.

[eyeamok]

This is why we need a Federal Mandate for ALL Public Employee’s Nationwide, to Exclusively use NON Carbon Emitting modes of transportation for All Travel including to and from work, with Severe Penalties for non compliance

[Recompennation]

Wonder how the lightning struck dominos pizza will quick deliver a re charge on the ev fleet that they are as excited about as hot fresh pizza.??
Fast cheap and good conundrum.

[Tell It Right]

"Only a fool would really depend on an EV."

Correctamundo. Our wife and I like our EV...in part because we also have an ICE pickup to handle the times an EV won't cut it.

With a generation of folks avoiding marriage and depending on just one vehicle, the ones who realize an EV alone isn't good enough won't buy one. An EV in the driveway is good only if you need 2 cars anyway (married).

[Ex gun maker.]

Have the guys who shorted Tesla done well yet?
I’m still hoping ALL of the EV companies go bust and the sooner the better.

[GaltAdonis]

Used 2022 Rivian R1S Launch Edition - $143,995 (and it's USED!)

(And butt-ugly, IMO.)
I'll pass.

[BfloGuy]

By 2029, electric vehicles could account for a third of the North American market, and about 26% of vehicles produced worldwide, according to AutoForecast Solutions, a consultancy.

Then why write the article?

[Wally_Kalbacken]

There are serious limits to the size of the market at present - and some traditional automakers are betting the farm on the rate of transition that may not happen. Ford could be headed to bankruptcy because of the overoptimistic forecast of EV penetration. They invested heavily in Rivian and it hurts. Tesla is doing some significant numbers and may be the victor in all this - and once they can break into larger economies of manufacturing scale - they should be able to reduce the cost of their cars significantly.

[WKUHilltopper]

These things are not ready for prime time. You’re better off getting a golf cart. Cheaper too.

[Captain Peter Blood]

There are not enough resources in this world to switch over the EV’s on a mass scale. I am talking about Copper, Cobalt, Lithium and other things necessary to make the batteries.

[Captain Peter Blood]

Where will the Rare Earth minerals come from to make this happen?

[KittyKares]

I’m surprised the government hasn’t forced us yet to get EVs. If they close down gas stations, that may do the trick.

[qaz123]

Dear Lord Baby Jesus, or as our brothers in the South call you: ‘Hey-suz. ‘Dear Tiny Jesus, in your golden fleece diapers with your tiny, little fat balled up fists. We hope that you can use your Baby Jesus powers……

To make sure Donald Trump is elected President in 2024. And in 2025, added reinstating Title 42, promptly ends all the subsidies for these toy cars and the charging stations, so we can all watch the market do its work and get past all this BS.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

A couple hundred child slaves die each year working Democratic Republic of Congo cobalt mines for EV battery raw materials.

https://news.yahoo.com/us-tech-giants-sued-over-cobalt-mine-child-085032497.html

[nascarnation]

Saw my first Rivvy pickup the other day.
Talked to the owner for a bit.
He liked it, but had ordered it years ago and only paid in the 60s.
They’re built one state over, in Illinois, in a former Mitsubshi factory.

[Tupelo]

I suspect most of the sales of EVs so have come from the celebrity, wealthy and political class as a way of Virtue signaling.
Now that, that particular market is sorta kinda saturated, the manufacturers are starting to see that the rest of us not only cannot afford their product, but would rather have that Internal Combustion Engine anyway.