Recently, there’s been some bad news out of Detroit. Ford’s backing off on some upcoming EV models, including a three-row SUV many had been looking forward to, and will instead be focusing more on hybrids. GM has been having different problems with software, recently laying off 1,000 developers after a string of Silicon Valley types failed to acclimate to more traditional corporate culture.
While these companies would like to have us all believe that making EVs and software for EVs is simply too hard, other companies like Tesla and Rivian have been doing a lot better. Tesla is now making more EVs than anybody, even beating out ICE models in some segments. Rivian is still climbing the profit ladder, but is selling software to Volkswagen, a pretty good sign that “legacy auto” is struggling in odd ways while newcomers are having no problem churning out EVs.
So, we need to ask ourselves why these established players are struggling while newcomers are doing just fine.
my kingdom for a sub $25k, 420 mile per charge, hatchback EV. Make that, make it dependable, without any subscriptions or fancy electronics that accidentally brick the car out of nowhere, and you’ll be able to buy the bank.
Getting that in a new ICE vehicle is nearing impossible. Hell, used car prices were topping that number out for a while.
And yet their costs did not go up that much. The real complaint here is they don’t want to make an economic car anymore. Not that nobody would buy it.
I don’t think you can say on one hand they are “losing money on every EV” and that they don’t want to sell economical cars. But they are still a corporation and will take as much as customers will pay.
They did in the Bolt EUV. And then they stopped making it to make more money. Fuckers.
my kingdom for a sub $25k, 420 mile per charge, hatchback EV.
The Aptera is supposed to be ~$31k and ~$400 mi. but that’s going to extreme levels of efficiency to get there. Any legacy brand could probably do it for $25k but it wouldn’t be profitable enough.
However I’ve mostly lost faith in them.
It’s never going to happen in a “normal” car like a hatchback. At least not until battery prices are driven into the ground.
Keep in mind the more batteries you add, the less efficient it becomes, and the more batteries it needs.
