ML

E-car Sales Collapse

Recommended Posts

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/more-alarm-bells-sound-slowing-160125314.html

 

Reuters

More alarm bells sound on slowing demand for electric vehicles

Ben Klayman
Wed, October 25, 2023 at 11:01 AM CDT·4 min read
912
16834419894cb85946a2251ce90b3466
 
FILE PHOTO: Tesla China-made Model 3 vehicles are seen during a delivery event at its factory in Shanghai

By Ben Klayman

(Reuters) - High interest rates are derailing the ambitions of climate regulators and automakers to accelerate the shift to electric vehicles, underscored Wednesday by the scrapping of a GM-Honda partnership and a warning from a battery maker.

Electric vehicle sales are still growing strongly, but that demand is not keeping up with the expectations of carmakers and other companies that have invested billions of dollars in the EV space. Expectations for persistently higher interest rates has led companies to alter plans as they eye 2024 warily.

 

"EV demand next year could be lower than expectations," Lee Chang-sil, chief financial officer at South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solution said on Wednesday, due to global economic uncertainty.

Also on Wednesday, Honda and General Motors announced they were ending a $5 billion plan to develop lower-cost EVs together just a year after announcing the effort. GM on Tuesday said it would focus near-term EV efforts on meeting demand rather than hitting specific volume targets.

"We're taking immediate steps to enhance the profitability of our EV portfolio and adjust to slowing near-term growth," GM CEO Mary Barra told analysts.

Investors have responded to the changed outlook. Over the last three months, the iShares Self-Driving EV and Tech exchange-traded fund has plunged more than 24%, far more than the 8.3% fall for the MSCI All-World Index, a proxy for global equities.

EV sales are growing, however. They topped 300,000 units in the United States for the first time in the third quarter, according to a Cox Automotive report. They rose 14.3% in September in the European Union and 22% in China, the world's largest EV market.

FALLING RAW MATERIAL PRICES

Tesla CEO Elon Musk raised the alarm last week in explaining why he was slowing plans for a Mexico factory.

"I am worried about the high interest rate environment that we're in," he said on Tesla's earnings conference call. "As I just can't emphasize this enough that the vast majority of people buying a car is about the monthly payment. If interest rates remain high or if they go even higher, it's that much harder for people to buy the car."

Other automakers have sounded similar notes of caution.

Germany's Volkswagen last week cut its profit margin outlook for the year, blaming negative effects for raw material hedges at the end of the third quarter. Some of those materials are used in EV batteries.

Like many other industrial firms, carmakers hedge against commodity price swings, and with EV demand slowing, raw material prices have softened, including those used heavily in batteries.

Lithium prices have tumbled 67% so far this year based on spot lithium carbonate prices assessed by Fastmarkets. Prices of cobalt metal on the CME have slid 20% this year and more than halved since May last year.

U.S. automaker Ford earlier this month said it would temporarily cut one of three shifts at the plant that builds its electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck, and in July slowed its EV ramp-up, shifting investment to commercial vehicles and hybrids.

Shares of Japan's Nidec logged their biggest decline in a decade and a half on Tuesday, tumbling more than 10% on investor concerns over the motor manufacturer's prospects in an increasingly tough Chinese market for EVs.

The Japanese motor manufacturer now expects a 15 billion yen ($100 million) full-year loss at its key e-axle business, rather than the profit it had previously seen. E-axle manufacture combines motors, gears and power-control electronics.

China's CATL, the world's largest battery maker for EVs, said last week that third-quarter profit rose 10.7%, its weakest quarter since the start of last year due to slowing demand and stiff competition.

The company's market share in China tumbled in September to the lowest in more than a year, data showed, underscoring the challenges it faces from smaller rivals and weakening demand.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit and David Gaffen in New York; additional reporting by Eric Onstad in London and Victoria Waldersee in Berlin; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

 View comments (912)
  • Rolling Eye 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Ron Wagner said:

There are a lot of financial factors favoring ICE vehicles also. It depends on many factors including government policies that push EV's and make oil prices higher. Only many years of experience will validate EV prognostications. 

Unless you have significant tech advances that make EV's an economic no brainer.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

https://www.businessinsider.com/auto-executives-coming-clean-evs-arent-working-2023-10?utm_source=notification&utm_medium=referral

 

Auto execs are coming clean: EVs aren't working

Oct 26, 2023, 11:43 AM CDT
 
 
 
General Motors CEO
General Motors CEO Mary Barra.  Nic Antaya / Stringer / Getty Images
 
  • At earnings this week, several auto execs pulled back on EV targets.
  • Dealers have been warning of slowing EV demand for months.
  • "This is a pretty brutal space," Mercedes-Benz's CFO said this week.
/public/assets/BI/US/logos/newsletters/insider-today-logo.png
NEW LOOK
Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read preview
 
 
Email address
Sign up
 
By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You can opt-out at any time.
/public/assets/rebrand/newsletter-bull.png
Advertisement

With signs of growing inventory and slowing sales, auto industry executives admitted this week that their ambitious electric vehicle plans are in jeopardy, at least in the near term.

Several C-Suite leaders at some of the biggest carmakers this week voiced fresh unease about the electric car market's growth as concerns over the viability of these vehicles put their multi-billion-dollar electrification strategies at risk.

Among the surprising hand-wringing is GM's Mary Barra, historically one of the automotive industry's most bullish CEOs on the future of electric vehicles. GM has been an early-mover in the electric car market, selling the Chevrolet Bolt for seven years and making bold claims about a fully electric future for the company long before their competitors got on board.

But this week on GM's third-quarter earnings call, Barra and GM struck a more sober tone. The company announced with its quarterly results that it's abandoning its targets to build 100,000 EVs in the second half or this year and another 400,000 by the first six months of 2024. GM doesn't know anymore when it will hit those targets.

Advertisement

"As we get further into the transformation to EV, it's a bit bumpy," she said.

While GM's about-face was somewhat of a surprise to investors, the Detroit car company is not alone in this new view of the EV future. Even Tesla's Elon Musk warned on a recent earnings call that economic concerns would lead to waning vehicle demand, even for the long-time EV market leader.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz — which is having to discount its EVs by several thousand dollars just to get them in customers' hands — isn't mincing words about the state of the EV market.

"This is a pretty brutal space," CFO Harald Wilhelm said on an analyst call. "I can hardly imagine the current status quo is fully sustainable for everybody."

Advertisement

EVs are getting harder to sell

But Mercedes isn't the only one; almost all current EV product is going for under sticker price these days, and on top of that, some EVs are seeing manufacturer's incentives of nearly 10%.

That's as inventory builds up at dealerships, much to the chagrin of dealers. While car buyers are in luck if they're looking for a deal on a plug-in vehicle, executives are finding even significant markdowns and discounts aren't enough. These cars are taking dealers longer to sell compared with their gas counterparts as the next wave of buyers focus on cost, infrastructure challenges, and lifestyle barriers to adopting.

Just a few months after dealers have started coming forward to warn of slowing EV demand, manufacturers appear to be catching up to that reality. Ford was the first to fold, after dealers started turning away Mach-E allocations. In July, the company extended its self-imposed deadline to hit annual electric vehicle production of 600,000 by a year, and abandoned a 2026 target to build 2 million EVs.

In scrapping plans with GM to co-develop sub-$30,000 EVs, Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe said the shifting EV environment was difficult to gauge.

Advertisement
 
 
 
 

"After studying this for a year, we decided that this would be difficult as a business, so at the moment we are ending development of an affordable EV," Mibe said in an interview with Bloomberg this week.

For some, this pullback is no surprise.

"People are finally seeing reality," Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda said at the Japan Mobility Show, the Wall Street Journal reported. Toyoda has long been skeptical of his peers' pure-electric blueprints.

 
 
 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Plug-In Vehicle Sales

A total of 132,029 plug-in vehicles (104,015 BEVs and 28,014 PHEVs) were sold during September 2023 in the United States, up 58.6% from the sales in September 2022. PEVs captured 9.91% of total LDV sales this month.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

(edited)

12 hours ago, Ron Wagner said:

Auto execs are coming clean: EVs aren't working

Oh now Ron please just stop

Have you told Mr. Musk this as he would laugh in your face!

Tesla is currently worth $645B it doesnt get to that if the product it makes isnt being adopted on a large scale and is desireable.

Edited by Rob Plant
  • Haha 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2023/10/27/general-motors-sorry-your-ev-may-have-a-defective-battery-heres-1400/

 

General Motors: Sorry Your EV May Have a Defective Battery, Here’s $1,400

  A Chevrolet Bolt is charged at a charging station at Colorado Mills Outlet Mall Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, in Lakewood, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)AP Photo/David Zalubowski
ALANA MASTRANGELO
27 Oct 20237
3:17

General Motors is offering $1,400 to owners of the 2020-2022 Chevy Bolt to entice them to install a diagnostic program that will determine if their battery is defective. The move is reportedly part of an anticipated class action settlement related to the battery problems that have plagued GM’s all-electric car.

In exchange for installing diagnostics software that GM says will detect whether batteries require a full replacement, the company is offering $1,400 yo ’20-’22 Chevy Bolt owners, according to a report by Electrek.

GM was forced to recall all of its Chevy Bolts after some of the electric vehicles were found to have a battery defect from supplier LG. The company now has to take the model out of production for a number of months, and later promise battery replacements to all affected owners.

General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra speaks about the financial outlook of the automaker, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, in Detroit. The company issued an optimistic earnings forecast this year based on improved cost efficiencies and continued strong sales in North America and China. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra speaks about the financial outlook of the automaker, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017, in Detroit. The company issued an optimistic earnings forecast this year based on improved cost efficiencies and continued strong sales in North America and China. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Over the summer, GM said it would stop replacing 2020-2022 Chevy Bolt Batteries and instead verify the battery’s durability with software that monitors the battery over 6,200 miles, during which time Chevy Bolt owners are only allowed to charge the batteries up to 80 percent, further limiting the range of their EVs.

“GM will provide owners of certain 2020-2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV and EUVs covered under a previously announced recall a new advanced diagnostics software,” a GM spokesperson said. “The software will continually monitor the battery to detect any potential anomalies and, if none are detected after approximately 6,200 miles (10,000 km) of use, the battery will automatically return to 100% state of charge without a return trip to the dealer.”

“If an anomaly is detected, the software will alert the owner via a message on the driver information center and the owner should then contact their dealer to schedule a battery or module replacement,” the spokesperson added.

SUBSCRIBE

By subscribing, you agree to our terms of use & privacy policy. You will receive email marketing messages from Breitbart News Network to the email you provide. You may unsubscribe at any time.

Many customers were reportedly upset about not receiving a new battery after being promised one from the automaker. Moreover, customers were not pleased with having to restrict charging their EVs for several months while the software monitors their battery.

Therefore, the company appears to be trying to lure customers into installing the software — which GM bills as a “remedy” — by offering the payment early and upfront.

“GM is announcing a compensation program for 2020-22 Bolt EV/EUV owners upon installation of the final advanced diagnostic software as part of the original battery recall,” a GM spokesperson said on Sunday. “Owners are eligible to receive a $1,400 Visa eReward card upon installation. This applies to Bolt EV/EUV owners in the US only.”

But customers have to install the software before December 31, 2023, as well as sign a legal release associated with taking the money, in order to get the early compensation. If they don’t, then they will have to wait and see what happens with the class action lawsuit, Electrek reported.

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Rob Plant said:

Oh now Ron please just stop

Have you told Mr. Musk this as he would laugh in your face!

Tesla is currently worth $645B it doesnt get to that if the product it makes isnt being adopted on a large scale and is desireable.

I guess you haven't been following his statements on delaying his Mexico plant and the roll out of his ugly truck. I admire him but he is a realist at the core. His Mars delusions excepted. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

9 minutes ago, Ron Wagner said:

I guess you haven't been following his statements on delaying his Mexico plant and the roll out of his ugly truck. I admire him but he is a realist at the core. His Mars delusions excepted. 

Mars is truly delusional.  Without nuclear propulsion it is beyond absurd. 

  • Upvote 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

We all know EV cars are the future. If they are the viable option to replace the ICE car will be beyond our life time you old bastards.

  • Rolling Eye 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

(edited)

2 hours ago, Ron Wagner said:

I guess you haven't been following his statements on delaying his Mexico plant and the roll out of his ugly truck. I admire him but he is a realist at the core. His Mars delusions excepted. 

his ugly truck....HUT

people for the most part do not want their trucks sticking out like a sore thumb

 

the cybertruck will be used as a HUT......

Hut Definition & Meaning

 
 
 
 
Oct 9, 2023The meaning of HUT is an often small and temporary dwelling of simple construction : shack

 

image.jpeg.3a7c93ae18de71e22f4f032f41e9dc4c.jpeg

Edited by notsonice
  • Upvote 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

(edited)

Just another day in Green Paradise?Or the curtain is finally closing on the greatest scam ever known. 

 

Ford pauses a $12 billion EV investment, after saying electric vehicles are too expensive

  • Ford has postponed $12 billion in spending on EV manufacturing capacity.
  • The company has warned that electric vehicles are too expensive and that demand is slowing.
  • Other automakers are also cutting investment and abandoning manufacturing targets.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-delays-ev-manufacturing-investment-cars-too-expensive-2023-10

Edited by Eyes Wide Open
  • Great Response! 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

(edited)

1 hour ago, Eyes Wide Open said:

Just another day in Green Paradise?Or the curtain is finally closing on the greatest scam ever known. 

 

  • Ford has postponed $12 billion in spending on EV manufacturing capacity.
  • The company has warned that electric vehicles are too expensive and that demand is slowing.
  • Other automakers are also cutting investment and abandoning manufacturing targets.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-delays-ev-manufacturing-investment-cars-too-expensive-2023-10

If you read more than the title...

"The company stressed that it is still committed to spending on future EV models"

"We're not moving away from our second generation [EV] products"

"We know prices will come down, and as that happens, we will have a bigger ramp-up of EVs."

 

Ford is also busy recalling a whole bunch of ICE products.  Another day in brown paradise?

https://www.ford.com/support/how-tos/recall/recalls-and-faqs/

Edited by TailingsPond
  • Upvote 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

(edited)

23 hours ago, TailingsPond said:

If you read more than the title...

"The company stressed that it is still committed to spending on future EV models"

"We're not moving away from our second generation [EV] products"

"We know prices will come down, and as that happens, we will have a bigger ramp-up of EVs."

 

Ford is also busy recalling a whole bunch of ICE products.  Another day in brown paradise?

https://www.ford.com/support/how-tos/recall/recalls-and-faqs/

My my the eternal optometrist are we not? That statement was quite kind, meanwhile the foundations of the Green Abortion have crumbled.

A bit harsh you might say? Ask the residents of the civilized world..Are you better off today?

 

Chinese EV battery giant CATL reports sharp slowdown in profit growth

CATL's market share by battery installations in China-made EVs dropped to 39% in September, the lowest since June last year and down from 45% three months earlier, data from the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA) showed, as rivals accelerated supplies.

Second-ranked BYD (002594.SZ) and third-placed CALB (3931.HK) both boosted their shipments in China by more than 71% in the first nine months of this year, far outpacing CATL's 18.8% growth, according to the data.

 

https://www.reuters.com/technology/ev-battery-firm-catls-sept-china-market-share-slumps-bodes-ill-q3-results-2023-10-19/#:~:text=CATL's market share by battery,showed%2C as rivals accelerated supplies.

Edited by Eyes Wide Open
  • Haha 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

On 10/28/2023 at 10:41 AM, Eyes Wide Open said:

Just another day in Green Paradise?Or the curtain is finally closing on the greatest scam ever known. 

 

Ford pauses a $12 billion EV investment, after saying electric vehicles are too expensive

  • Ford has postponed $12 billion in spending on EV manufacturing capacity.
  • The company has warned that electric vehicles are too expensive and that demand is slowing.
  • Other automakers are also cutting investment and abandoning manufacturing targets.

https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-delays-ev-manufacturing-investment-cars-too-expensive-2023-10

Well, until they MAKE the batteries themselves, EV's make ZERO sense as the ONLY business for PROFIT is in the batteries.  Only reason TESLA is viable.  BYD etc are all government sponsored in China.  CATL is the only ones actually making $$$

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Eyes Wide Open said:

My my the eternal optometrist are we not? That statement was quite kind, meanwhile the foundations of the Green Abortion have crumbled.

A bit harsh you might say? Ask the residents of the civilized world..Are you better off today?

 

Chinese EV battery giant CATL reports sharp slowdown in profit growth

CATL's market share by battery installations in China-made EVs dropped to 39% in September, the lowest since June last year and down from 45% three months earlier, data from the China Automotive Battery Innovation Alliance (CABIA) showed, as rivals accelerated supplies.

Second-ranked BYD (002594.SZ) and third-placed CALB (3931.HK) both boosted their shipments in China by more than 71% in the first nine months of this year, far outpacing CATL's 18.8% growth, according to the data.

 

https://www.reuters.com/technology/ev-battery-firm-catls-sept-china-market-share-slumps-bodes-ill-q3-results-2023-10-19/#:~:text=CATL's market share by battery,showed%2C as rivals accelerated supplies.

This is from competition leading to a decrease in share not a decrease in the size of the market. More companies are becoming competitive.

Try reading your own post. BYD and CALB increased by 75%.

  • Upvote 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

(edited)

1 hour ago, Jay McKinsey said:

This is from competition leading to a decrease in share not a decrease in the size of the market. More companies are becoming competitive.

Try reading your own post. BYD and CALB increased by 75%.

Ahh great Point! China is cannibalizing its own infrastructure...go figure.

Reminds of folklore once upon a time...Big party no whiskey time to go home now.

Edited by Eyes Wide Open
  • Haha 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Eyes Wide Open said:

Ahh great Point! China is cannibalizing its own infrastructure...go figure.

Its called competition!

You must have heard of it and even seen it in action as youre Eyes are wide open, apparently.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

(edited)

 

Why Norway — the poster child for electric cars — is having second thoughts

 

 

The mistake is to think that EVs solve all your problems when it comes to transport,” said Ruohonen, the Oslo mayoral adviser. “They don’t.”

 

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23939076/norway-electric-vehicle-cars-evs-tesla-oslo

Edited by Eyes Wide Open
  • Upvote 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Eyes Wide Open said:

 

The mistake is to think that EVs solve all your problems when it comes to transport,” said Ruohonen, the Oslo mayoral adviser. “They don’t.”

 

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23939076/norway-electric-vehicle-cars-evs-tesla-oslo

Did you read it?  It's not like they want to go back to ICE cars, or that EV's don't work.  The concern here is that EV's make people less likely to give up their cars altogether and reduces investment in public transport.  EV's are too good! lol

"Electric cars are crucial, but not enough to solve climate change. We can’t let them crowd out car-free transit options."

 

  • Upvote 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

(edited)

20 minutes ago, Eyes Wide Open said:

 

Why Norway — the poster child for electric cars — is having second thoughts

 

 

The mistake is to think that EVs solve all your problems when it comes to transport,” said Ruohonen, the Oslo mayoral adviser. “They don’t.”

 

https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23939076/norway-electric-vehicle-cars-evs-tesla-oslo

you went from one persons opinion to the whole country is having second thoughts???????? and the one person does not work for the Mayor of Oslo

I guess I can call myself an Oslo Mayoral Adviser by emailing my opinions to the Mayor of Oslo?????? anyone taking the so called advisors comments as  Norway is having second thoughts is jævla....forstå???????

This is why your posts have no credibility  whatsoever

 

When is the last time you were in Norway?????? it will knock your socks off......

No Coal powered anything

Oil consumption is dropping through the floor

and everything is super efficient....no evs dying on the side of the road whatsoever

himmel på jord
Edited by notsonice
  • Great Response! 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, notsonice said:

you went from one persons opinion to the whole country is having second thoughts???????? and the one person does not work for the Mayor of Oslo

I guess I can call myself an Oslo Mayoral Adviser by emailing my opinions to the Mayor of Oslo?????? anyone taking the so called advisors comments as  Norway is having second thoughts is jævla....forstå???????

This is why your posts have no credibility  whatsoever

Every civilized country on earth is backing away from Green Energy, as we type the US Congress thru legislation is rewriting The Inflation Reduction Act..

Enjoy the New Drama it is unfolding before your very Eyez...

  • Haha 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

(edited)

7 minutes ago, Eyes Wide Open said:

Every civilized country on earth is backing away from Green Energy, as we type the US Congress thru legislation is rewriting The Inflation Reduction Act..

Enjoy the New Drama it is unfolding before your very Eyez...

Every civilized country on earth is backing away from Green Energy?????

yet you post no facts.......

This is why your posts have no credibility  whatsoever

 

the US Congress thru legislation is rewriting The Inflation Reduction Act.????

the Senate is rewritting it ????

maybe the snowflakes in the House.....

what we all call dead on arrival.......I can rewrite it too ....means nothing when you are not in charge

Your leader is an ex president and has no  power......

You think Biden will go along with your BS???? ha ha ha ha  ha

You think Trump will escape jail????? to rewrite the IRA???? ha ha ha

Enjoy the Green transition ....happening everywhere

EV sales have now expanded for 13 straight quarters. Electric vehicles accounted for 7.9% of total US auto sales in Q3, up from 6.1% a year ago and 7.2% in Q2. EV sales surged 49.8% compared to last year, increasing 5% from the 298,039 sold in Q2.Oct 12, 2023

 

Edited by notsonice

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, please sign in.
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.