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Car buyers shun electric vehicles not named Tesla.
Russ Mitchell08:38, Jan 21 2020

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https://www.stuff.co.nz/motoring/118899357/car-buyers-shun-electric-vehicles-not-named-tesla

Price remains a serious issue too. It costs manufacturers more to produce an electric car. Battery cost is the main reason. Internal combustion powertrains cost automakers an average US$6,500 per car, according to AlixPartners; the average for an EV is US$16,000. Battery pack prices are declining, the firm said - but at a rate of 4 per cent a year. It will take a major development in battery technology to cause battery prices to plunge. In the meantime, EVs are money-losers for all major automakers, including Tesla.

As the market grows, economies of scale will help bring the cost down. But beyond the Model 3, EVs aren't scaling quickly. Wakefield predicts global EV sales per model will average 14,000 in 2022, versus about 90,000 for internal-combustion models.

Continued enthusiasm for EVs among European and Chinese car companies in particular reflects the more aggressive climate-change policies in those countries. "The politicians have been very firm that they want to more away from petrol and move toward electric vehicles," said Erle of EV Volumes.

But car rmakers are plowing ahead with EV expansion in the United States as well, betting that the trick is to connect Americans' love of larger vehicles with electrification."In the U.S., we expect no fewer than 25 new EV models to debut in 2020 - 16 battery-powered EVs and nine plug-in hybrids," said Garrett Nelson of CFRA research. Nearly two thirds of those, he said, will be SUVs or crossovers.

Perhaps the best indication of how all-in automakers are on EVs is their plan to launch all-electric versions of gas guzzlers. Ford plans an electric version of its F-150 pickup truck - the best-selling vehicle in the United States for years - in 2021. And General Motors has said it will sell an electric version of the discontinued Hummer in 2022 under the GMC brand.

"Maybe those will light the flame," said JMP's Osha.