Detroit went all-in on big, expensive EVs nobody wants. Here’s what the data shows they’d rather buy.
by canotroia
Detroit went all-in on big, expensive EVs nobody wants. Here’s what the data shows they’d rather buy.
by canotroia
25 Comments
All in?
Last I checked the Rivian R1T and Chevy Hummer sold like hotcakes. 60k+ R1Ts and R1S would make the R1 platform the 3rd or 4th best selling platform in 2023.
The Ford lightning failed because Ford refused to sell base models for the entire 1st year and Rivian had already been planning for the R2 since before the end of last year.
Also Chevy and Ford never went in on big expensive cars. The Mach-E has the same base price of the Model Y base model. And Chevy had the Bolt and the Equinox was supposed to replace the Bolt as the cheap model before Bolt demand made them bring that back as well.
Also GM and Ford made it pretty clear they wanted to get in on elctric Midsize and Light duty EV trucks.
Who’s writing these articles?
The Detroit big three haven’t been all in on EVs. I mean the best selling EV that any of the three made — the Bolt — was discontinued at one point. I feel like a cranky cat leading these companies would make better decisions than who is in charge of Ford, GM, and (forgets the other big three company).
Only issue was the F150 sales fell short and that is more the pickup market than Ford’s fault as F150 EV is an outstanding vehicle and priced competitively with the ICE pickups where are also expensive.
It’s more that the pickup market demographic tend to not be environmentally concerned and more about status and size displays. That market will be the last to convert when all they can buy are EV pickups.
Nobody? I love my big, semi expensive, EV truck.
The big problem is people don’t see the advantages to EVs foe every day use. Automakers have done dick to market them and just expect people to make a radical shift without education.
Demand is falling yet they don’t give any hard sales numbers demonstrating the decline in sales?
This is dumb. Interest rates go up = people stop buying expensive toys. Simple as that. It was unlucky timing that manufacturers happened to ramp production at the exact time the interest rates caused the demand for expensive things to drop.
Additionally, the early adopters of EVs were disproportionally wealthy. I didn’t want a bolt, the bolt was boring. Same with the leaf. But there’s a limited number of people that want 60-80k SUVs that only fit 5 people and have a second gas car for road trips, and as you scale you need to sell to consumers who are buying cars for more practical reasons on more realistic budgets.
I’m dreaming of owning an electric Silverado. Plenty of us want what they’re selling. The problem is, the electric Silverado isn’t even for sale yet (not on lots) and costs way more than I can afford.
What a BS headline. Definitely not “all in”, not even close
One problem is: math is hard. I started driving electric back in 2013 because when I did the calcuations, the net monthly cost of a new Volt was less than a new Ford Focus. That’s including electric cost because my power company gave me an EV car rebate that I’m still enjoying today with my 2nd EV – a Leaf. I agree with the article – I don’t want or need anything bigger than the Volt, the 500e or the Leaf. I live in a city, family of four, three dogs and still don’t need it.
I had two Ford Fusion PHEVs. If it came in a BEV model, I would have purchased it over the Mach-E I bought. I like a good sedan, comfortable drive, boring, doesn’t stand out and scream “Look at me”. But no one besides Ford Fusion fans in the US wants that, unfortunately. Mondeo fans want it, and they’re more likely to see one.
Yes. Mary Barra in particular appears to be following Musk’s business model of boostrapping via high margin cars to generate cashflow and to develop inhouse software (Tesla HAD to — there was no CarPlay when Model S was released.
Big mistake for a cash-rich OEM. Bolt amd other cars for the masses woupd have given GM first mover advantage and market share lead. A Chevy is a cheap car/truck, but she’s put lipstick on those pigs.
On top of that, she and others flinched when Lithium prices skyrocked due to Wall St speculators, hitting the brakes on EVs and dumping $billions, instead, into a new truck plant.
Why she still has a job is beyond me.
We’ve got two Chevy Bolt EVs and love them. We’ve had the Bolts since 2018 and I expect to keep them 8-10 years. I’m keeping an eye on new EVs and haven’t seen much I’m interested in yet. Maybe that new Rivian R3X – it’s looks awesome and is due sometime after 2026 so the timing looks about right.
The problem is they have not gone all-in on EVs. They’re making low volume high-end EVs because at their current economies of scale, they can barely make those profitably. So they have to invest a lot more to bring the prices down to actually make affordable vehicles. But they don’t have the same sense of urgency to do that – they are hoping they can drag their feet and keep selling ICE vehicles a lot longer.
As much as I loved test driving the F-150 Lightning, the standard edition’s range made me balk. Plus, the thing can’t fit in my garage. I’d love for Ford to bring out a Maverick EV. A small pick-up that can do what I want around town and for a lower price. I think the riding interest rates really hurt them, too. Few people are willing to take the plunge with a $70K truck with ~7% APR.
I obviously can’t speak for everyone but for me personally one of the largest negatives about current Electric Pickup trucks is size which directly affects cost. Going electric means there’s no requirement that pickups be the size of Texas to skirt emissions regulations or include piles of “features” that just make the darn thing more expensive. For me, something the size of a **2 door** S-10 or a Slightly larger Kei truck with an 8ft bed would be perfect. I don’t need leather, heated seats, power windows or 17″ infotainment screens. I just need something that can get me and my materials from A to B reliably and safely and cost under $30k for a base model.
They only made them in the super expensive range so they could say “see, no one buys them” and keep sucking the metaphorical D of Oil and Gas oligarchs
I hate articles like these. I mean, especially for GM, they JUST finished working through their production problems.
Yea sucks not much is sold currently, but that’s why ramping up for these vehicles is imminent, if not happening right now.
For the single data point that I am, they hit the nail on the head with the Chevy Silverado EV. Maybe I’m alone or in the minority. But I am genuinely thrilled with it and cannot wait until my reservation comes up.
But I will, because that’s how reservations work.
Does could consider selling a $40k lightning like they originally planned. I bet plenty of people would love an affordable option.
I’d say VAG is more all in than Big 3. And they are patient about it too…
Porsche has 2 EV lines now and a number of e-Hybrids.
Same for Audi.
VW is semi ok, but will catch up hopefully soon.
There’s also the unfortunate “culture wars” aspect where the people that like to drive big pickup trucks have also decided that they are against EVs for some reason.
How many people are like me and reserved a Silverado EV or F150 Lightning but cancelled when interest rates went through the roof, inflation doubled our grocery bills, manufacturers raised the prices by 20k, and dealers added ADM’s on anything that might possibly sell?
At this point I’m not buying a new car unless the wheels fall off my daily driver, and even then I’ll still try to fix it.
I don’t believe a word business insider says, they always have a narrative they are pushing. Typically to support options trading it would seem.
And GM had the Volt. It was brilliant. All they had to do was drop that into an SUV. IT WOULD HAVE SOLD LIKE HOTCAKES RIGHT NOW.