Drive by car lots and you will see rows of unsold electric vehicles. Why is that, I thought everyone was transitioning to EVs. Why is this happening? 

Let’s start with rental car companies, this was supposed to help people get comfortable with electric cars. Now, Hertz is selling off over 30,000 EVs due to high depreciation, customer frustration and massive repair bills. Other rental car companies are following the lead.

Tesla just laid off more than 10% of staff globally, and their sales are down too. Tesla is still the leader in electric cars. China’s BYD is the main rival to Tesla, they offer an more choices in EVs for less than $30,000 and BYD offers a pickup truck, they’re coming to the US soon and all while EV sales continue to fall and sitting on dealer lots unsold for 1 and 1/2 times longer than hybrids or gas vehicles.  

How did we get here, what happened it felt like yesterday that every automaker was jumping on the EV bandwagon. Remember, Jaguar pledged to be all electric by 2025; Alfa Romeo by 2027; Chrysler by 2028; Volvo, Lotus, Aston Martin, General Motors and the rest by 2030 and forecasting an all electric spaceship flying to the moon; electric boats and airplanes too. 

Today, the EV euphoria is dead, automakers are scaling back or delaying their electric vehicle plans all together, this is what I call getting car catfished. This is an electrical nightmare and I’ll explain how it happened and how we got here and where we’re going.

EV adoption and EV sales growth has slowed with market leader Tesla stalling in the first quarter of this year sales fell by 15.2% compared to Q4 last year and while Tesla’s sales have gone down almost 10% versus just a year ago and profits have followed suit being cut in roughly half the alarms are ringing.

Why are EV sales down for Tesla and other automakers? There is no question that all the new technology and design is impressive. The early adopters who are tech savvy bought in right away. Even though their enthusiasm jump started sales for all brands, it looks like every tech lover bought in is on their second or third electric car. 

Now we’re at the stage where the rest of us need to be convinced that we need an EV in our driveway too. The cost of an electric vehicle including higher insurance rates doesn’t come cheap. EVs are way more expensive than your average gas guzzler over the past couple of years; EVS were roughly $65,000 and yes while they’ve been trending downwards internal combustion cars have steadily been just below $50,000 on average. The insurance costs are more to insure, that’s roughly $50 more per month and with interest rates on the rise this makes vehicles even more unaffordable. 

Buying a car that costs more is a tough sell; then there’s the whole saga of charging these vehicles. Sure the electric charging network is getting better slowly but let’s face it it’s no match for the good old gas station that you can find on almost every corner and fill up in 7 minutes and leave with a drink and a snack. 

Imagine planning your coffee break around whether you can charge your car or not. Still range anxiety or fearing your car will run out of juice mid way to your destination and concerns about whether these cars can handle the cold which we’ve seen they can’t are all issues buyers are considering. This is all frustrating, very frustrating. 

Hauling stuff like your boat or trailer are additional limitations. Automakers are struggling to get this new tech into buyers driveways. EVs are sitting on dealer lots for a long, long time. Some vehicles like the Jaguar iPace currently have about 400 units of unsold inventory which is equivalent to nearly 2 years worth of inventory; it as a sleek and modern electric SUV designed to make buyers jump into the EV Market. However, despite its cutting edge technology and premium design it hasn’t exactly been flying off the dealer lots. The biggest  issue is the electric driving range and many owners have reported that the actual driving range falls significantly short of what’s advertised leading to the dreaded range anxiety. Then there’s the price tag starting at $72,000 for the iPace.

This isn’t cheap and in a market increasingly filled with more affordable EV options it can be a very hard sell. In fact, it’s such a big issue for Jaguar that they have decided to discontinue the iPace to keep on target with other EV offerings and if you would have bought one new in 2019 it would have depreciated over 54% in 5 years of ownership. Ouch! 

The Porsche Taycan is another example, it was supposed to be the four-door electrified version of the Porsche 911 and although it delivered on that promise, many of them are currently is sitting on dealer lots for an average of 239 days with an MSRP starting at around $90,000. The Taycan faces stiff competition from other electric vehicles in the market that offer similar or even better performance and range specifications at competitive prices. For instance, the Tesla Model S and Lucid Dream Performance offers longer range which has been a decisive factor for many consumers.

The Taycan range still lags behind the competitors, with a 63% depreciation rate in just a few years of ownership the Mercedes Benz EQS sedan and SUV are facing challenges in the market due to several factors especially the price. The sedan starts at $106,000 and the SUV starts at the exact same price that is a definite premium when the Tesla Model S its direct competitor starts at $74,999. Additionally the Mercedes Benz models have complex technologies such as the MBux wide screens which are impressive but may be overwhelming for some users. Mercedes Benz is the definition of opulence, they are still sitting on the lots for a staggering 221 days on average. 

Looking at a more reasonably priced Ford Mach e, initially captivated the market with its iconic brand appeal impressive electric performance and Innovative features appealing to both traditional Mustang enthusiasts and new EV buyers alike. Yes, maybe they shouldn’t have called it a Mustang but they did and this electrified SUV has plenty of power but it has seen a decline in sales when it isn’t as fast or doesn’t get as much range as the Tesla  Model Y. The Tesla is a direct competitor it. The Mach e sits on lots for an average of 204 days and had you bought one new in 2021, when they first came out, you would have seen just a horse’s hair under 50% depreciation

Newer to the market is the Genesis electric vehicles, Genesis dealers have the GV60, G80 and GV70 electric for an average of 190 days. Buyers are cross shopping the Tesla Model Y and with the Tesla supercharging network. This network will be open to all brands in future models. The charging network makes the Genesis a very tough sell. Inside it offers a modern tech forward interior but with a starting MSRP of $52,000 it’s just a bit too expensive to sway Tesla buyers into this fun GV60 EV.

The big shocker is the Ford F-150 Lightning truck, it is the bestselling electric pickup until the Chevrolet Silverado EV hits dealer lots. However, Ford recently announced that they would be lowering the F-150 Lightning production by half from 3200 to 1,600 per week when debuted it was the first electric F-150 promising to do everything the gas counterpart could do including a Pro Power onboard system which offers built-in electrical outlets to power tools and other equipment. 

Recently, CEO Jim Farley stood by the truck for 40 minutes while it charged from 0 to 40% and admitted that they would have to improve charging to be a threat to current gas powered  truck buyers to convert to EV.  No surprise, the trucks are sitting on lots for 182 days and early adopters have already lost 61% of value in two short years. 

A very reasonably priced  Nissan Leaf has also declined in sales despite a booming electric vehicle market. It has been attributed to several factors, first, supply chain issues have restricted the availability of the Nissan Leaf which impacted sales figures. Additionally, while the Leaf was initially popular its sales have been surpassed by newer models from competitors that offer longer ranges and more modern features. This competition has challenged the Leaf to maintain its market share leading them to sitting on lots for 161 days.

The Cadillac Lyric has issues as well, they offer smooth driving dynamics and a quiet luxurious cabin. This luxury vehicle sold 9,154 units in 2023. In 2024 except they’re still sitting on lots for 151 days before being sold. Unfortunately, the Lyric has experienced various technical and software issues that have required attention. Some owners have reported problems such as audio dropouts, warning lights indicating errors and issues with rear vent operation. While many of these issues can be resolved through software updates at dealerships, owners have had subpar interactions with dealerships on average which could contribute to Cadillac missing the mark in the electric vehicle market.  

Electric car sales continue to increase, hybrid and plug-in hybrid cars have also seen renewed drastic demand increases. It makes sense people interested in EVs would cross shop a hybrid specifically, plug-in hybrids, which can run on electric power for short trips and switch to to gasoline for longer distances which gets rid of the whole range anxiety thing and still gets you incredible fuel mileage plus hybrid technology has been around for decades. 

The original Toyota Prius, that was introduced almost 30 years ago is offered as a plug-in or a hybrid is an extremely reliable fuel efficient vehicle. That technology is finding its way into other brands like the Lexus RX Hybrid. Other car companies see the success, Ford offers an Escape Hybrid, and even super luxury SUVs like the Mercedes-Benz GLS 450 4Matic SUV. It’s a mild hybrid and offered at a lower price point compared to a fully EV model.

Many brands are changing their strategies, only a few are sticking to the all EV plan. General Motors has decided they need to co-exist and allow customers to buy electric vehicles or gas powered choices. Let the buyer decide like I’ve been saying for decades. You pick what works best for you!

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