Well, if you have to move inventory, the best thing is a sales, right? And while EV sales are still growing, the pace of that growth has slowed considerably. There are lots of theories why.

Bubblevision won’t say the quiet part out loud…….

Everyone who wanted an EV, has one. The rest of the world doesn’t want them.

Simple. https://t.co/amiWphVZVt

— Arthur Vandelay (@ArturoVandelayI) November 7, 2023

Not to mention, Americans generally don’t like being dictated to. We’re into freedom of movement and choice in how we do our moving.

DC: You must go this way

Consumers: You can't make us.

Detroit: Ummmmm … a little help here.

DC and Detroit on collision course.https://t.co/Nlf9aib4Ja

— Brian Sullivan (@SullyCNBC) November 7, 2023

So it’s really not that big a mystery that, once the initial going gangbusters/cool new thing on the block wore off, the government and major car manufacturers were going to have to sell Americans on EVs. In a year of rising interest rates, uncertain unemployment status for many people, and a general sense of unsettling times ahead, there just wasn’t any impetus for folks to get out and try something very new and very expensive.

A 50 percent increase in EV sales during the third quarter counted as a disappointment. Is the EV boom over? https://t.co/1C7h2cJ3OH

— NYT Business (@nytimesbusiness) November 7, 2023

And the inventory build-up on dealers’ lots confirmed that.

…EV and internal combustion engine (ICE) inventory started the year off at about 52 days’ supply, according to Cox Automotive. Days’ supply is a way of measuring how many vehicles a dealer has on the lot. In the case of a 52 days’ supply, if automakers were to stop producing cars today, dealers would be able to keep selling cars for about that number of days before running out. Since January, EV days’ supply has skyrocketed while ICE supplies have hovered between 52 and 58 days. EV supply at the start of October was 97 days, down from the peak inventory of around 111 days during early July.

In August 2023, it took about twice as long to sell an EV in the U.S. as it did the previous January. Meanwhile, gas-burning vehicles were still selling briskly. Slightly more than half of consumers do say that EVs are the future and will eventually replace combustion engines, but less than a third of dealers hold that view.

Sure, they’re “the future,” but this is “the here and now,” and I don’t, say, want the hassle of driving around at midnight looking for a place to recharge because I live in an apartment or townhouse.

Now imagine the mess when the government forces everyone to drive these cars pic.twitter.com/BhBv7z2gim

— Luke Rudkowski (@Lukewearechange) November 3, 2023

Eleanor, the ’96 Camry, looks mighty good compared to that.

She also looks cheap and paid for when one considers what an EV costs compared to your average ICE. Manufacturers grappled with that problem in the face of enormous operating losses. D-3 types have finally responded to both consumers’ reluctance to sell a kidney for an EV and Elon Musk’s bold slashing of the prices of his very popular Teslas by going on a price cutting binge of their own. They have to reduce the retail to even try to survive this.

If you could have a Tesla for five grand more than a crap Ford, which are you springing for, right?

It’s not even a contest.

EV Makers Turn to Discounts to Combat Waning Demand
Car companies and dealers are slashing thousands off purchase prices to attract wary shoppers

As sales growth has slowed for battery-powered models, automakers and dealers are slashing prices and piling on discounts to clear out unsold inventory.

Some automakers, such as Hyundai Motor and Ford Motor are this month offering cash rebates as high as $7,500 on some models. Others are resorting to aggressive lease deals that offer cheaper monthly payments or shorter contract lengths to attract buyers. Many car companies are offering low-interest rate promotions in an attempt to make pricey EVs more affordable.

…For consumers such promotions can be a boon, helping to shrink the price difference between an EV and a traditional gasoline vehicle. But it is another sign that the once-hot market for these models is losing its charge.

Car executives and dealers say the discounts and price cuts are necessary because buyers are less willing to pay a premium for an EV.

Is it going to work and move over 3 months’ worth of unsold stock from lots, less mind what is still rolling off assembly lines? Hard to tell.

The new immediate-rebate set-up should also help, but it’s also very complicated to make sure you qualify. The vehicles that don’t have been the ones foundering in sales unless, of course, they have the cachet of a Tesla.

And this is all passenger vehicles we were talking about. The state of EV trucks is, to put it kindly, in flux. Tesla’s truck is so difficult to build, Elon still isn’t sure what to charge for it yet, even though he has orders, and last month I wrote about both GM and Ford’s travails with their truck offerings. GM is delaying theirs completely, while Ford has cut a shift out of their F-150 Lightning assembly line.

So far with those 3 manufacturers, electric trucks have been challenging performers either in manufacturing, sales or in application. They have mileage vs towing/cargo limitations that affect performance and range. If you own a ranch in the backwoods with miles to go before you sleep, the last thing you can afford to see is your battery counting down with you still an hour from home. Or worse – you face being trapped in the back 40 after hauling hay all day or on a snowy, very isolated stretch of highway

Those are practical drawbacks that an E-truck at this stage cannot overcome…

…“There’s concern about public-charging infrastructure, even though most of the charging you’ll be doing will be at home,” said Jeff Aiosa, who owns Mercedes-Benz of New London, Connecticut. “There’s still concern about those long trips.”

…or so we thought.

Enter Stellantis for peak, jaw-dropping, pure YGTBFKM virtue-signaling hypocrisy (and thanks, John).

Their new Ram EV truck is pret-tee, no?

And I'm ded.

— tree hugging s*ster 🎃 (@WelbornBeege) November 7, 2023

It’s also…I’m trying not to laugh and type at the same time…hauling around a GASOLINE POWERED GENERATOR with it.

To?

Keep the battery charged. I Schlitz you not.

One of the biggest reasons people cite when saying they won’t buy an electric vehicle is “range anxiety”: the fear of running out of juice on the road with nowhere to recharge. Stellantis’ Ram brand may have an answer for that, especially for people who need a truck to haul or tow things. It’s called the Ramcharger, a pickup that can travel 145 miles on electricity, with a 3.6-liter V6 gas-powered engine linked to a generator that can recharge the battery while the truck is moving.

Mind you – this is NOT a hybrid. That gasoline engine is for the battery generator, period, and NOT connected to the wheels.

So this super-environmentally friendly EV is like those windmills in Scotland that were running on diesel generators because it was too cold for wind power.

YEAH

That’s the big innovation, folks. A gas motor.

…”They have a package that could be the right mix for people that would like to be able to go electric, have the performance of an electric powertrain but also still have that confidence to go long distances and tow a boat or jet skis,” he said.

“They can just stop and put gas in it.“

Holy smokes. You ain’t just whistlin’ Dixie.

There’s a sucker born every minute. Or they’ve bet the farm there is.