This year, the sales growth of electric vehicles in the United States is facing a bottleneck, and almost the entire industry has been affected to some extent.
Stimulated by strict new regulations on exhaust emissions aimed at promoting sales of electric vehicle models, global car manufacturers have previously invested billions of dollars in electric vehicle technology. However, as American consumers remain hesitant about whether to abandon traditional fuel vehicles, some American car companies are delaying their investment plans for electric vehicles.
As shown in the figure below, although the sales growth of electric vehicle models in the United States was still faster than the entire automotive market in the first 11 months of this year, the growth rate was significantly lower than in previous years.
From the recent situation, the cooling of buyer interest has put pressure on American automakers, who have generally increased their production efforts for electric vehicles and automotive batteries to meet the expected surge in customer demand. However, in the second half of this year, the sales growth of electric vehicles began to stagnate, and many executives attributed this to the relatively high prices of electric vehicle models.
Changes in monthly sales of electric vehicles in the United States:
In fact, as electric vehicles and pickup trucks pile up in dealerships' garages, some car companies are already reassessing their investment plans. According to data from the car shopping and information platform Edmunds, currently dealers spend about three weeks more time selling electric cars than selling gasoline cars. A year ago, the sales speed of electric vehicles was significantly faster than that of gasoline vehicles.
The average number of days a US dealer sells various vehicle models:
Another key challenge faced by American car manufacturers is that the demand for electric vehicle models is not evenly distributed throughout the United States. According to S&P Global Mobility data, electric vehicle sales in the United States are mainly concentrated in a few states.
According to the analysis of S&P's global mobile data by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, nearly a quarter of all cars sold in California between July and September this year were electric vehicles, while in Michigan, where General Motors and Ford headquarters are located, sales accounted for only slightly over 3%.
In addition, many dealers and automotive executives have stated that the majority of American electric vehicle buyers are located in urban areas where public charging infrastructure is more convenient.
According to data from Standard&Poor's Global Mobility, as of September, six out of the top ten markets for electric vehicles and pickup trucks in the United States are cities on the West Coast, with the first four located in metropolitan areas of California.
Dealers and car manufacturers have stated that many American car buyers are unwilling to give up their gasoline cars and instead purchase electric models because the prices of electric vehicles are still relatively high and they are still concerned about inconvenient charging.
Currently, American car manufacturers are attempting to offer more discounts and low interest rates to attract buyers. These price reduction measures have driven down the prices of new electric vehicle models significantly, and the price drop of electric vehicles in the second-hand car market is even greater.
However, even so, its price is still more expensive than gasoline powered cars. According to J D. According to Power's data, the average price for a new electric car purchased by American car buyers in November was $51668, while the average price for a new gasoline car was $44112.
If compared to the global market, compared to the other two major automotive markets (China and Europe), the sales of electric vehicles in the United States started slower. Preliminary data from research firm GlobalData shows that nearly 27% of cars sold in China in the third quarter were electric models; In the United States, this proportion is only about 8%. In Europe, nearly 15% of the cars sold in the third quarter were electric vehicles.
Analysts believe that part of the reason for this trend is that China and Europe were earlier and more proactive in promoting the sales of electric vehicles through government subsidies and stricter emission regulations. As a relatively late starting country, the United States needs more time for car companies to launch more electric models and for consumers to adapt to this technology.
Of course, looking ahead to the future of electric vehicles in the United States, automotive industry executives and analysts are not entirely pessimistic at the moment.
Many industry insiders have stated that due to the lack of affordable models, sales of electric vehicles in the United States have yet to take off. However, this situation may change in 2025, when it is expected that there will be lower priced models to choose from. They believe that with the launch of more low-priced models and the improvement of public charger supply, sales are still expected to accelerate in the future.
"We will start to see more electric vehicles priced below $35000-4000," said Stephanie Valdez Streaty, an analyst at automotive service company Cox Automotive. "This will be a significant change. The industry will continue to move forward, although it will face significant bumps and twists during this period.".