BY Brad Anderson | Posted on January 25, 2020
As more and more electric vehicles hit the market, it would be reasonable to assume that sales of EVs would be rising consistently. However, according to new figures, that’s not the case.
The Los Angeles Times reports that while 45 new all-electric and plug-in hybrids debuted in the U.S. last year, just 325,000 EVs and plug-in hybrids were sold across the nation in 2019, a fall of 6.8 per cent from the 349,000 of the year prior. Numbers regarding how many EVs were sold in California last year aren’t available quite yet.
“The number of battery-electric models available more than doubled last year, but EV sales didn’t budge much. That’s troubling,” the head of the automotive practice at consulting firm AlixPartners, Mark Wakefield said.
A number of factors could explain this. For starters, it seems as though range anxiety remains a serious cause for concern among consumers. In addition, electric vehicles remain more expensive than their ICE-powered rivals and with some of the government’s generous subsidies ending for many of the market’s best-selling EVs, buyers are feeling the pinch. What’s more, gas prices remain low and stable.
Read: There’s A Recession In Global Car Sales And It Shows Little Signs Of Abating
Then there’s Tesla. The car manufacturer has created a lifestyle brand and its models are often considered as the quintessential electric car. Sales of the Model 3 jumped by 14 per cent in 2019 in the U.S. and more than doubled globally to 300,600.
Many so-called ‘Tesla killers’ have hit the market recently but failed to sell. The Jaguar I-Pace, for example, shifted just 2,594 units in the U.S. last year while the Audi e-tron registered just 5,369 sales. Cheaper alternatives like the Hyundai Kona and Kia Niro also aren’t selling particularly well either, shifting 3,600 and less than 1,000 units respectively.
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Do you think it might be because EVs SUCK? We have a 2014 Prius that we love–200,281 trouble free miles and counting at 50 mpg. I also have 2 Lincoln Town Cars, one with 400K trouble free miles and a newer one with 94K trouble free miles. My next car will be a Toyota hybrid as well. I am totally impressed with the durability of the Prius (and all my friends who have Prius cars love them as well) and I have one friend who has 600K miles on her 10 year old Prius with no issues. I am looking at a hybrid Camry–nice ride, nice interior, nice features for 30K–and 53 mpg on top of it.
I don’t trust utility companies. Too easy for them to jack up the electricity rates. At least with gas no monopoly.
We now have utility companies in Australia offering internet services…so all your “services” (Energy, ISP etc) can be bundled in to one “simple bill”…yeah right!
A few ramblings from the UK….
Firstly, we have a VERY heavy government propaganda programme of tv commercials trying to get us all to switch to (free) ‘smart’ meters – pretending that by doing so we somehow make the national grid more efficient…
Secondly, the government has written into LAW that we will be ‘carbon neutral’ by 2050 – fortunately I won’t be around to see how that works out… (Including generating power from what is cunningly called ‘biomass’ – which is basically wood chips shipped across the Atlantic, produced by trashing North Carolina’s forests – thanks guys..)
Thirdly – we have David Attenborough – a nature journalist-turned-climate-expert whose every utterance is now regarded as akin to have been handed down direct from God – and as he is in his nineties he has pretty much assumed the status of sainthood..
Next we have the BBC…. you guys may think it is some sort of serious, even-handed bastion of the British establishment – but as far back as 2007 a meeting of Heads of Department (including, tellingly, the Head of Comedy) was held, to decide that NO opinion challenging Man-Made Global Warming was EVER to be broadcast – and of course with the present climate (sorry) of complete adherence to that mantra the BBC is practically wetting itself with self-importance..
Finally – having just bought a 2001 Volvo V70 (for £1500 plus trading in a clapped-out 940 estate) – one owner, with all the stamps in the service book – I content myself with the knowledge that if I ever run out of fuel on the motorway, a nice man from the emergency service will turn up with a can of unleaded, and I’ll be on my way…
Well said David – I’m also a UK resident, and how right you are. I live in Nottingham, and we’re going to be ‘carbon neutral’ by 2028 according to the city council. They’ve produced a 34-page document full of management-speak and half-baked justifications. Crazy.
In the Netherlands, the sales of Tesla’s dropped from 12,000 in December 2019 to 36 in January 2020. The fiscal benefits were cut a lot in 2020.
Source in Dutch: https://www.ad.nl/auto/verkoop-tesla-3-duikelt-van-12-000-naar-36-stuks-per-maand~addadd59/
That must be very galling for those poor EV advocates. How dare those consumers demand functioning vehicles that will give you range, quick fuelling, and reasonable prices? What do they say? The market for second toy vehicles is more or less saturated and those in need of real working vehicles won’t take the bait. I will not forget the Tyrolean entrepreneur whose Tesla caught fire. He was asked if he would buy another EV. He replied: no way in hell.
“Model 3 jumped by 14 per cent in 2019 in the U.S. and more than doubled globally to 300,600.”
Yes. And since Planet Earth will make another x bil. ys just wait and see.
Globally.