Was Toyota right? Lagging EV sales

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mark W
  • Start date Start date
  • Replies Replies 63
  • Views Views 14K
A less expensive version of the Equinox should be hitting the market before the end of this year, which may help. The world still needs way more EVs in the $35K and under range. That would help sales a LOT.
 
The world still needs way more EVs in the $35K and under range.
Buy them used. For example, a 2017 BMW i3-REx with 55 k miles, for $15,000 from a Florida Toyota dealer. I drove home as fast as I could . . . smiling all the way.

Bob Wilson
 
Where "reasonable" means compared to other EVs. All of them are significantly more expensive than ICE offerings, although the lower maintenance and fueling costs probably make up the difference within five years.
One thing I've noticed with EV's that they are nicer finished than their ICE vehicle. A good example is the Kona EV, it comes base model with body coloured trims which in my opinion makes the vehicle look finished compared with unpainted black plastic all over the ICE version. In the ICE version you need to go up in trim level to get a completely painted car. If you compare the finished appearance of the vehicle, the gap gets closer between BEV and ICE.
 
That's a good chart, is there one for Q2 or 1st half year? Really shows what has happened to Tesla. GM will be bouncing back with their new EV models. VW group is in trouble, not only with EVs but their ICE cars, too.
 
Ha, this is a classic example of how wording affects things. "EV Sales Surge Ahead..." Exluding Tesla, sales rose 13%.

Well, that's quite some math. If you exclude the main seller that sells over half of the EVs! They explain that Tesla's sales decline is at least partially explained by "chaotic leadership", and I agree, but you would think that if someone who was going to buy a Tesla was set on an EV, that this would mean big jumps in EV sales for the others. It really didn't.

The bottom line to me is this, Total EV marketshare in the U.S.:

  • 2021: 3.2% of new car sales
  • 2022: 5.9% of new car sales
  • 2023: 7.6% of new car sales
  • 2024 (1st half): 7.5% of new car sales (not exact, I had to piece together data I found)

This is the story. For automakers, 7.5% of their sales is really low. Everything I have read has indicated that their profits on each ICE vehicle sold is much higher than on an EV. Most automakers were investing in EVs because the trend lines were showing a big increase toward EVs. The fact remains though that nobody other than Tesla has developed an EV that was a hit in the marketplace.

This has actually been very surprising to me. I thought EV sales were going to take off too. I think what people didn't realize that that EV demand was mostly demand for cool, innovative Teslas, not a demand for EVs. I thought Ford had done about as well as they could have with the Mach-e and the Lightning. Sales have been meager for both. For households with more than one car, having one be an EV seems like a no-brainer to me, but apparently not to most people.

Toyota sold 434,000 RAV4s alone in 2023. All the non-Tesla EVs combined sold were probably slightly higher than that. Maybe Toyota's focus was correct.
 
  • Like
Reactions: R P
Other than BC and Quebec I think the NA is lagging much of the car buying world with EVs.
 
Thanks in large part to improved availability, higher discounts, and elevated levels of leasing, EV sales exploded more than 11 percent in Q2 2024 to reach a new sales record.

According to a report from Cox Automotive, sales of all-electric vehicles jumped 11.3 percent on a year-over-year basis to 330,463 units during the second quarter of the 2024 calendar year. Interestingly, this comes as market leader Tesla posted a decline in sales volume by 6.3 percent from last year, which accounted for a 49.7 percent share of the EV market.

It’s worth noting that electric vehicle sales in Q2 2024 were 23 percent higher than those in Q1 2024.

https://gmauthority.com/blog/2024/07/u-s-ev-sales-reach-new-record-in-q2-2024/
 
Cheaper EVs would certainly help that surge here. Too bad about the BYD tariffs. That would have forced Tesla and the domestics to get more cheap EVs to market quicker.
 
Thanks in large part to improved availability, higher discounts, and elevated levels of leasing, EV sales exploded more than 11 percent in Q2 2024 to reach a new sales record.
...

I think these three things absolutely led to the Q2 jump. For the first time in years, consumers were able to get deals on an EV. Slowing sales caused many automakers to come out with crazy lease deals to dump inventory. It was true with me. I was not even in the market, but Toyota produced lease offers on the bz4x that I couldn't refuse. I started seeing EV lease deals in late March.

This was great for consumers, but really bad for EV makers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: R P
Again, Tesla has not come out with a useful new volume product in 6 years. They are run by a ***** who insults his biggest group of potential buyers.
If they were run by a looney that kept his mouth shut and pushed for high volume products, they would no doubt have a better market share. Gawd forbid if they were run by a normally competent executive
The only question remaining is if they will fire him before he steals all their IP and runs the company into the ground ?
Tesla stock down 100 bucks a share [30 percent]since he announced he was buying twitter. Dow is up 18 percent in the same time period.
So, yeah, EV sales are not down, Tesla sales are down, due to lagging products and politics
 
Cheaper EVs would certainly help that surge here. Too bad about the BYD tariffs. That would have forced Tesla and the domestics to get more cheap EVs to market quicker.
I would have to see a distribution curve on the sales of vehicles vs price. While the press is big on expensive EVs, there are quite a few [mostly Kia Hyundai] that are 'average' priced. Remember low priced cars are not profitable.
 
I would have to see a distribution curve on the sales of vehicles vs price. While the press is big on expensive EVs, there are quite a few [mostly Kia Hyundai] that are 'average' priced. Remember low priced cars are not profitable.
Well, the Bolt sold well, because it was cheaper, esp before the end of the current generation. Tesla sales improved, too, when they dropped prices. Kona sales are good, because it is the cheapest Hyundai EV. My I6 is not doing so well because it is more expensive. The cheaper Ford Lightning Pro is doing well with more availability now. But the luxury German EVs are not doing well at all, partly because they are so expensive.

I think those with more money have made their EV purchases, but the lower end car buyer is really strapped these days with the interest rates, economy and inflation. Their priorities are housing costs, food, and basic necessities. Discretionary spending has taken a back seat for a while.

There really aren't any cheap EVs right now compared to ICE cars. Your price/sales distribution curve should be for all cars and then see where EVs sit there.
 
I wasn't able to find the EY graph in the press release. Paywall?

I didn't burn a drop of gas driving my Model 3, +4,000 miles: Huntsville AL; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Tuscon AZ; Safford AZ; Vicksburg MS, and; Huntsville home. It was powered by those windmills I passed, the distant glow of nuclear power plants, and natural gas. The Navajo Nation had shutdown the coal fired, Salt River, Generating Station.

Better still, 5 years and 140,000 miles with one, unexpected, 1/2 mile, tow to a SuperCharger station. That tow cost ~$180 so at today's gas price, ~$3/gal, 60 gallons or 140,000 / 60 gallons ~= 2,333 mpg.

Bob Wilson
 
I used the price dip to buy more. Didn't hit the bottom but still higher price today than than when I bought the latest shares.

Bob Wilson
All i'm saying is that if you bought 1000 bucks in tesla stock in April of 22 you would have 700 now, and if you had bought a dow index fund you would have 1300.....
 
Last edited:
Back
Top