According to recent reports, car dealers are informing auto manufacturers that they have too many electric vehicles on their lots and are dialing back orders until their current inventory is sold. Scott Kunes, Chief Operating Officer at Kunes Auto and RV Group, explained that his company is turning away additional EV inventory.
“We have turned away EV inventory. We need to ensure that we have a good turn on it,” he said, as reported on Business Insider. Kunes said that automakers are “asking us to make a large investment….and we’re just wanting to see some return on that.”
Sam Fiorani, Vice President of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions, outlined how EVs aren’t practical for many Americans as they would have to alter their lifestyle when switching from a gas-powered car. “It’s not just that these vehicles are expensive — which they are. We’re talking about a much more nuanced lifestyle change,” said Fiorani. EVs obviously have a more constrained range than gas-powered vehicles, and charging stations can be sparsely located.
EVs are also notably more expensive than traditional combustion engine-based cars. According to Consumer Reports, the average sale price of an EV is over $61,000, or $12,000 more expensive than the overall average in the auto industry. “It’s hard for the average customer to make that leap while spending an extra $10,000,” Fiorani continued.
Electric vehicle horror stories have also plagued the news, where consumers share personal anecdotes of the dysfunctionality of these cars. Recently, a Ford F-150 Lightning owner was forced to ditch his EV on a road trip from Winnipeg to Chicago.
The all-electric Ford pickup retails for well north of $100k. However, based on the sentiment from disgruntled consumers, it seems this truck does not live up to its price tag. The man called electric vehicles the “biggest scam of modern times” after his experience with his F-150 Lightning.
While many have lofty projections for EVs in the long term, it’s safe to say that these vehicles are not ready to replace the reliability of traditional automobiles. Although, this hasn’t deterred some woke, blue states in the U.S. from preemptively enacting electric vehicle mandates.
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For example, California announced it would ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. Such mandates have drawn concern, particularly from automakers who will be forced to play within the guidelines of these new regulations.
“Whether or not these requirements are realistic or achievable is directly linked to external factors like inflation, charging and fuel infrastructure, supply chains, labor, critical mineral availability and pricing, and the ongoing semiconductor shortage,” John Bozzella, president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation said in a statement. “These are complex, intertwined and global issues.”
Also, many concerns surround the feasibility of a mass transition to electric vehicles. As it stands, this could limit people’s autonomy as driving ranges are limited and charging infrastructure is insufficient. Furthermore, there could be an affordability crisis as many Americans can’t even afford a new car, let alone the price of a new EV.
Even more questions relate to the sustainability of America’s energy mix and electricity grid. Ironically, California, the state leading the mandates on EVs, was forced to ask residents to stop charging their electric vehicles to conserve energy amid a heat wave.
It is clear for a litany of reasons that consumers are not ready for the mass adoption of electric vehicles. Due to their impracticality and insufficient supporting infrastructure, governments should not go above and beyond market mechanisms to force an inferior product on drivers. Despite the big push on electric vehicles, Business Insider’s article further suggests some dealers just don’t want them anymore.