4 ms·

The article is surprisingly scant on detail why this is. Are fewer cars sold in total? Are they not, and people continue to buy gasoline cars? Are fewer peop

The article is surprisingly scant on detail why this is. Are fewer cars sold in total? Are they not, and people continue to buy gasoline cars? Are fewer people driving? Is the situation the same worldwide?

tuatoru 3y ago
In China, a lot of EVs are being sold, something like 50% of all cars. The vast majority of them are very small, similar to the Japanese kei cars. They are used in "3rd tier" cities, not the cities you might have heard of such as Beijing and Wuhan. Crucially, these cars are affordable. Well under USD 10k. Not street legal in Western countries, of course. Back in the West, it appears that the pool of wealthy people who wish to virtue-signal by buying a car for $70K or more is finite. I haven't yet seen any stories about the experiences of rental car companies with electric cars, and why they are not snapping them up. Those stories would be very interesting. So would the stories of companies that operate their own fleets.
- TheAlchemist 3y ago
  Well, you're just in time for the rental car companies. Hertz was releasing their quarterly results yesterday, and they sounded pretty negative on Tesla (they signed up for 100k Teslas last year - was a pretty huge deal): "The rental car company cited Tesla’s price cuts negatively impacting the resale value of its EVs, and higher than expected repair costs for EVs as a reason to slow its pace of electrification." "Hertz now has 35,000 Tesla vehicles and around 50,000 electric vehicles in its fleet -- far shy of the 100,000 Teslas that Hertz originally said it was ordering and expected by the end of 2022."
heresie-dabord 3y ago
There is this phrase in TFA: > the next wave of buyers focus on cost, infrastructure challenges, and lifestyle barriers to adopting. We can assume that new buyers are looking at the value proposition carefully: * There are few small-battery EVs available in most of North America (Fiat 500e is a California compliance car); * Large-battery EVs are expensive and require a significant charge rate beyond Level 2; * L2 charging at home is the minimally-viable requirement for saving money versus petrol; * There is no low-cost charging option for people who have no residential charging solution. If the cost of a rapid charge at a service station approaches the cost of fueling a PHEV or ICE, then PHEV or ICE may be cheaper to buy and more convenient (equally inconvenient) for refueling. Also bear in mind that the next cohort of buyers is facing a lodging crisis, sustained high cost of living, and then end of climate stability.

tuatoru 3y ago

In China, a lot of EVs are being sold, something like 50% of all cars. The vast majority of them are very small, similar to the Japanese kei cars. They are used in "3rd tier" cities, not the cities you might have heard of such as Beijing and Wuhan. Crucially, these cars are affordable. Well under USD 10k. Not street legal in Western countries, of course. Back in the West, it appears that the pool of wealthy people who wish to virtue-signal by buying a car for $70K or more is finite. I haven't yet seen any stories about the experiences of rental car companies with electric cars, and why they are not snapping them up. Those stories would be very interesting. So would the stories of companies that operate their own fleets.

TheAlchemist 3y ago
Well, you're just in time for the rental car companies. Hertz was releasing their quarterly results yesterday, and they sounded pretty negative on Tesla (they signed up for 100k Teslas last year - was a pretty huge deal): "The rental car company cited Tesla’s price cuts negatively impacting the resale value of its EVs, and higher than expected repair costs for EVs as a reason to slow its pace of electrification." "Hertz now has 35,000 Tesla vehicles and around 50,000 electric vehicles in its fleet -- far shy of the 100,000 Teslas that Hertz originally said it was ordering and expected by the end of 2022."

heresie-dabord 3y ago

There is this phrase in TFA: > the next wave of buyers focus on cost, infrastructure challenges, and lifestyle barriers to adopting. We can assume that new buyers are looking at the value proposition carefully: * There are few small-battery EVs available in most of North America (Fiat 500e is a California compliance car); * Large-battery EVs are expensive and require a significant charge rate beyond Level 2; * L2 charging at home is the minimally-viable requirement for saving money versus petrol; * There is no low-cost charging option for people who have no residential charging solution. If the cost of a rapid charge at a service station approaches the cost of fueling a PHEV or ICE, then PHEV or ICE may be cheaper to buy and more convenient (equally inconvenient) for refueling. Also bear in mind that the next cohort of buyers is facing a lodging crisis, sustained high cost of living, and then end of climate stability.