Gas prices drop….
EV materials scramble …..
Charging avalibilty issues…..
Less sales…..
Less production….
“Automakers have moved from rosy to reality because consumer acceptance has grown more slowly. So they are looking at kind of slowing their rollout,” said Michelle Krebs, an industry analyst with Cox Automotive. The transition to EVs is “not going to be linear and there are going to be a lot of bumps in the road,” she added.
There were 869,000 fully electric vehicles sold in the United States in the first 10 months of this year, a 56 percent increase over the same period in 2022, according to data provider J.D. Power. That growth rate marked a slowdown from two years earlier, and was lower than what some automakers had forecast….
…
GM in October said “slowing near-term growth” was prompting the company to scrap its target to build 400,000 EVs by the middle of next year and delay the start of EV truck production at a factory in Lake Orion, Mich. GM added that it will keep its manufacturing flexible to produce gas-powered or electric vehicles, depending on demand.
Mary Barra, CEO of GM, last month stressed the need for a more robust charging network to overcome consumer concerns. Surveys by J.D. Power have shown drivers are frustrated by a lack of chargers and by frequently broken stations. About 1 in 5 charging attempts fail, and about 1 in 3 EV shoppers don’t have access to home charging, according to Elizabeth Krear, an EV expert at J.D. Power.
Ford in October said it would cut production of its electric Mustang Mach-E and delay $12 billion of investments in battery factories and other EV initiatives. Ford has also said it will put more emphasis on producing hybrid vehicles, calling them a “bridge” to the fully EV market….
…
GM, Honda, Hyundai and several other automakers this summer saidthey are banding together to significantly expand the fast-charging network by installing 30,000 new chargers in North America. The first stations are expected next summer….