Posted on 10/26/2023 3:16:12 PM PDT by thegagline
With signs of growing inventory and slowing sales, auto industry executives admitted this week that their ambitious electric vehicle plans are in jeopardy, at least in the near term.
Several C-Suite leaders at some of the biggest carmakers this week voiced fresh unease about the electric car market's growth as concerns over the viability of these vehicles put their multi-billion-dollar electrification strategies at risk.
Among the surprising hand-wringing is GM's Mary Barra, historically one of the automotive industry's most bullish CEOs on the future of electric vehicles. GM has been an early-mover in the electric car market, selling the Chevrolet Bolt for seven years and making bold claims about a fully electric future for the company long before their competitors got on board.
But this week on GM's third-quarter earnings call, Barra and GM struck a more sober tone. The company announced with its quarterly results that it's abandoning its targets to build 100,000 EVs in the second half or this year and another 400,000 by the first six months of 2024. GM doesn't know anymore when it will hit those targets.
***
While GM's about-face was somewhat of a surprise to investors, the Detroit car company is not alone in this new view of the EV future. Even Tesla's Elon Musk warned on a recent earnings call that economic concerns would lead to waning vehicle demand, even for the long-time EV market leader.
Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz — which is having to discount its EVs by several thousand dollars just to get them in customers' hands — isn't mincing words about the state of the EV market.
"This is a pretty brutal space," CFO Harald Wilhelm said on an analyst call. "I can hardly imagine the current status quo is fully sustainable for everybody."***
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
It's both. And it's a beautiful thing that this HOAX called "zero emissions vehicles" has finally been exposed.
Cash For Clunkers was the start, driving up the prices of used cars.
With only a fairly good high school education, I could see the fallacy of the EVs a long way off. To think they’ve paid some people a lot of money to figure this out & they still haven’t really done it!! Actually, an electric would probably be adequate for 99% of my driving, but I couldn’t afford even the cheapest one, nor do I want it. My current vehicle is reasonably economical to run, not near as expensive as any EV, & it is almost 20 yrs. old. Public transportation is inadequate here.Stuff your stinking EV!
Since last year my wife and I have been living in Japan.
In our retirement years, we decided not to own a car in Japan because we live in the mid-sized city with plenty of good train and bus options. Japan also requires yearly car inspections and the cost are several hundreds dollars or more per year. They also discouraging seniors from driving cars because they are involved in so many accidents here.
Japan also has strict no-alcohol driving laws. And so non-alcohol beer is a big seller here.
Statistica claims 49% percent of cars sold in Japan in 2022 were hybrids --- and another 3% were pure EVs.
I've ridden in the Toyota Prius in the States and it's not a stylish car. But we often get rides to the Pickleball courts from two friends who own fine hybrid cars.
One couple has a Toyota hybrid with plenty of backseat comfort -- a bit boxy compared to American models, but something you and I would be proud to own and drive.
The second couple owns a racing-red Honda CRV, a spectacular car: great performance yet quiet idling, nice curves, tinted windows, comfortable backseat, big electronics for GPS / radio / TV. I have no idea what he paid for it.
The husband is actually a test driver for Honda which has a big R&D facility nearby where he works and drives cars on a huge tilted testing track that circles the Honda campus.
Yet the wife also has her own small boxy "plain jane" hybrid with tiny wheels that does the job of getting her around town economically. BTW, they live in a modest-sized single family home very close to the city and they have no kids.
So these are some comparative observations from Nippon.
there are no plans to upgrade the grid
cuz that is not the plan
the battery car will not replace the gas car
most will end up on public transportation
the goal is fewer cars
I remember the Juice, the juicer, and the Juice Machine
Thanks for reminding me
I remember afx that had electrified roads, and transit buses that had poles on the back which ran off electrified overhead wires.
Sometimes they would come off in intersections and the driver had to get out and use a wooden tool to put them back
They are replaceable. Next bunch will see may be given pause.
That is what the conspiracy-minded me was thinking.
“Japan also requires yearly car inspections “
Biennial . Costly , yes .
The Second Law of Thermodynamics is the law?
The law can be changed!!
The big selling points, to me, for EV are acceleration power, improving range potential, home charging, and full self driving. With the range or FSD, there’s little point.
Fire Barra and Farley. They are incompetent “greenies”.
EVs are, at best, an acceptable third or fourth car for rich elites. The average working family will NEVER want one to rely on for work, vacations, school, or even their driving age kids.
They self immolate, can’t be heated in the winter, nor air conditioned in the summer, take hours, not minutes to refuel, become worthless when the ever-failing batteries fail, need expensive chargers added to the house, can’t be stored in attached garages, can’t be charged in apartments, and more. Other than that, they’re very expensive.
The UK is in the same mess we are.
But they don't have a Trump.
Can’t be charged at home, either.
Half the existing homes in this country still don’t have a 200A service.
Lol
Those two are likely to be surrounded by yes men who only tell the boss what they want to hear. Farley admitted to having charging issues when he took a Ford EV on a recent road trip. He ought to take another road when it is 0F...
“Fire the CEO’s who bought in on it. They are worthless and guessed wrong, and wrecked their companies.”
They executives didn’t make any decisions, the elites did. The executives were forced into it by threats.
NIPSCO, in central Indiana, is going to be charging more to fuel up your EV.
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