The Electric Vehicle (EV) discussion thread (Merged)

I know this will come as a shock to some posters here that can afford $100k+ vehicles but... When (According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor), the average U.S. annual salary in Q4 of 2023 is $59,384... affording a vehicle that's $40k is out of reach... a price difference of $5k is a deal breaker... when you don't own a house and can't supply a charging station, even a used EV isn't an option... Without charging infra outside most high-population areas... If you don't use the EV for commutes only... How do you make consistent necessary long distance trips without buying a secondary ICE vehicle? Is there an EV that's going to pull my 8k lbs camper, 4wheeler, pontoon boat, and make it through the mud (new or used) that I can get for under $80K?

Look lawyer guy (LOL) - I am not trying to be a downer on EVs... I am fine with the concept, and certainly not against the advancement of the EV market... I was one of the first people to go out an buy a hybrid in the early 2000's.

The fact of the matter is that EVs are no longer new to the market... and they have a miniscule footprint in it because none of the things I am talking about are being meaningfully addressed... It will stay around the levels they are at IMO (or fall due to new buyers going cheaper routes) unless the industry and officials address consumer needs and concerns.

Even if they do... there will always be a large portion of the US that simply will not want them, and simply can't afford them. A close family member of mine is a GFM of a huge used car dealership on the Gulf Coast - they won't even buy anymore EVs at auction... They can't sell them... They sit on the lot 3X longer than ICE's and they end up giving them away.

Much has to change before EVs work for a the majority of the US.

So you're going back to "people can't afford EVs" and "people can't have home chargers" when both of those statements are substantially discredited by the data? And you keep moving the goal post - yesterday you were capping the US EV market at 10%, as a novelty and now you're saying things have to change for it to reach 50%.

Yeah, I agree - I think 50% of the US market is a looooong way away, if ever. And who knows what developments or alternatives happen in the meantime.

I'm well aware that at $40K car is very expensive for most American households but we're not talking about that - we're talking about the new car market and the data don't lie: a $40K car is below the average sales price of a new car in America today. If the average buyer can afford a $47K ICE car, the average buyer can afford a $47K EV if they wanted one - arguing otherwise is nonsensical.

Yes, every buyer has their own individual concerns and interests - I just think that making broad pronunciations about what most of the American public wants is only persuasive if it holds up to analysis. In the end, only time will tell what the market does and yes, for now, there are some genuine limitations that impact EV appeal, we can agree on that. 👍