A glimmer of common sense coming out of Detroit?
Fox Business headlines: https://www.foxbusiness.com/
Ford, GM, Mercedes come clean on EV demand weakness
Automakers respond to concerns as consumers balk at EV push
FB reports:
“Top executives of Ford, General Motors and Mercedes-Benz all addressed concerns over waning demand forelectric vehicles this week, as the major automakers navigate losses and price wars amid an EV push that not enough consumers are buying.
On Thursday, Ford withdrew its full-year results forecast, citing “uncertainty” over its tentative deal with the United Auto Workers and warned of continued pressure on electric vehicles as customers balk at paying a premium for EVs over other models.
‘It’s been a challenging situation, for sure,’ Ford CEO Jim Farley said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call after posting greater losses than expected on EVs. ‘Matter of fact, our business is never short of challenges, especially right now with the evolution of the EV market and new global competitors from China, as well as the technology disruptions.’
‘A great product is not enough in the EV business anymore,’ Farley continued. ‘We have to be totally competitive on cost.’
He added that, for consumers, ‘affordability is an issue’ when it comes to EVs. GM on Tuesday withdrew its 2023 profit outlook, and CEO Mary Barra said the automaker will slow the launch of several planned EV models to cut costs.
‘We are reducing our fixed costs by $2 billion net of depreciation and amortization as we exit 2024,’ Barra wrote in a letter to shareholders. ‘We are also moderating the acceleration of EV production in North America to protect our pricing, adjust to slower near-term growth in demand, and implement engineering efficiency and other improvements that will make our vehicles less expensive to produce, and more profitable.’”
The real problem? EV’s are not being pushed because they are the next irresistible Big Thing that everybody wants.
No, EV’s are being pushed to satisfy the left-wing environmental activist green agenda. And as happens in aa free market, when the customers don’t like the product they won’t buy it.
My own Giant grocery store has not one but two charging stations in the parking lot. I have yet to see a line of customers re-charging their EVs. In fact, I have seen none.
In contrast, right across the street are not one but two gas stations. And they are busy all the time.
Why the busy customers at the gas stations but not at the EV chargers? Because customers are not sold on EVs and they know for fact their gas-fed cars are utterly reliable. So they stick with gas.