Canadians may need to recharge their appeal to owning an electric vehicle.
According to a new survey by AutoTrader, a national automotive marketplace, interest in EVs softened for the second consecutive year despite increasing inventory levels.
“EV’s – Electric Vehicles”
Katherine Brodsky: Owning an electric vehicle is madness and I regret ever buying one
Recently, all EV owners in my building received notice that we would no longer be allowed to plug in at all
Canadians have repeatedly been told that electric vehicles (EVs) are the future. The Trudeau government has even mandated that all new vehicles sold in Canada must be electric by 2035 (and 60 per cent by 2030, which is just around the corner). There’s only one problem: to loosely quote Jerry Maguire, “Show me the infrastructure.”
h/t Mauser & DS
The Chinese Don’t Want Electric Cars Either
The automobile market in this country was wrecked on the assumption that everyone would be switching to electric cars. As I wrote in, “No Cars for the Working Class”, that’s not happening. Ford and GM bled billions to fail at capturing a tiny niche market already owned by Tesla. Most people don’t want, can’t use and can’t afford electric cars.
Tesla to lay off more than 10% of staff globally as sales fall
Tesla will lay off more than 10% of its global workforce, an internal memo seen by Reuters on Monday shows, as it grapples with falling sales and an intensifying price war for electric vehicles (EVs).
In a sign of further instability at the EV maker, Tesla’s senior vice president Drew Baglino, in charge of battery development, announced his resignation on X on Monday. Bloomberg reported that Rohan Patel, vice-president for public policy and business development, had also resigned.
h/t Mauser
Ford government won’t make electric vehicle chargers mandatory in new homes despite championing EV industry
Queen’s Park will not reverse its controversial decision to pull the plug on mandatory electric vehicle chargers for new homes despite spending billions to subsidize EV production.
As Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives update the building code, they are expressing no regrets about zapping compulsory garage plugs from all new houses and condos in 2019.
Yet another sign that EV’s are not the “Thing” our leaders insisted they were.
‘Tall order to ask the average Canadian’: EVs are twice as hard to sell today
As automakers continue to delay their electric-vehicle plans and report lower-than-expected sales, Canada’s goal of ensuring that at least 20 per cent of new vehicles sold by 2026 are electric seems to be in jeopardy.
Ford Motor Co. last week said it was going to delay EV production at its assembly plant in Oakville, Ont., by two years to 2027 from 2025. The additional time will allow the company to take advantage of an emerging battery technology and let the number of consumers grow.
Let’s see …
1) EV’s are expensive.
2) EV’s suck in the winter as battery performance is severely degraded.
3) EV’s need an expensive home charger which I can’t afford but that’s OK because the grid can’t handle the required load anyway.
4) EV’s can see a relatively minor fender bender result in a total vehicle write off if the battery is compromised.
5) EV’s are damn hard to put out if they burst into flames.
6) EV’s have high insurance and repair costs.
7) EV’s need expensive replacement batteries that destroy resale value.
8) EV’s wear out tires and roadways faster due to their excessive weight.
9) EV’s are not “green”.
10) EV’s don’t currently have nearly the required number of public chargers needed.
Sure sign me up!
Poll: Even More Americans Refuse to Consider EVs
Seven percent of Americans, up from 4% a year ago, report that they own an electric vehicle. That increase is matched by an equal decline in the percentage saying they are seriously considering buying one, from 12% to 9%.
Electric car crash: The American EV industry has hit the wall
Something big is happening in the US market for battery electric vehicles (EVs), and it isn’t positive for the industry that makes them, or for the Biden administration’s subsidised dreams.
During the final few months of 2023, the market saw sales slowing, unsold electric vehicles piling up on dealer lots, Tesla struggling to get a handful of its much hyped CyberTrucks onto the market after five long years of promises, pure-play EV companies like Fisker teetering on the financial brink, and traditional automakers like Ford and GM announcing delays in their plans and investments for future EV development.
Related …
This guy got off light – “I got my repair estimate today that comes in at $12154 for parts and a total of $18918.11 after labor and taxes.”
Electric vehicles: the dogs don’t like it
There’s a famous story in American marketing circles about a pet food company that spent a fortune on a new dog food, but were horrified to find sales tanking. They’d done everything right! What could possibly have gone wrong? As the story goes, a high-priced consultant was brought in. His verdict? “The dogs don’t like it.”
Queen’s Park and Ottawa caught off guard by Ford’s delay of EV manufacturing in Ontario
Queen’s Park and Ottawa, which have jointly pledged billions in electric vehicle manufacturing subsidies, were jolted by Ford Canada’s move to delay domestic EV production.
Ford Canada announced Thursday it would postpone all electric vehicle production at its Oakville assembly plant by two years until 2027 due to softening demand.
That move came in the wake of the provincial and federal governments ponying up $295 million each in 2020 to boost EV production there. Neither the Prime Minister’s Office nor the federal industry department officials were given any advance warning of the car company’s decision, with officials learning of it in the news.
About That Inevitable Transition to Electric Vehicles…
A funny thing happened on the way to our all-electric future: reality.
I’ve written at length in recent weeks about Presidentish Joe Biden’s hamfisted and wrongheaded EPA rules meant to force everybody into electric vehicles, whether EVs suit their needs or not. But maybe nothing compares to Oliver Price’s headline on Wednesday, asking, “Is this the end of the EV?”
Decision to push back EV production means Ford won’t build a single vehicle in Canada ‘for years,’ union says
The EV future is getting pushed down the road a bit — at least at Ford.
Ford Canada announced Thursday that it’s delaying electric vehicle production at its Oakville assembly plant until 2027, pushing it back by two years.
“As the No. 2 EV brand in the U.S. for the past two years, we are committed to scaling a profitable EV business, using capital wisely and bringing to market the right gas, hybrid and fully electric vehicles at the right time,” Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO, said in a press release.
Spain: Cold Weather and Easter Traffic Reveal Frailty of Electric Vehicle Dream
In Spain, long lines at electric car charging stations over the holiday travel weekend showed what can be expected from a future filled with electric cars.
Easter weekend is a peak travel time in Spain, with beach hotels fully booked and summer homes enjoyed by city-dwellers taking refuge in rural villages. El Debate reports that this year saw huge lines at the country’s main electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Waiting in line for as long as two hours just to plug in EVs was just the prelude to even more time spent charging them.
Electric snowmobile maker Taiga suspends production, lays off 70 workers
Montreal-based electric snowmobile manufacturer Taiga Motors Corp. says it is pausing production and temporarily laying off around 70 workers.
The company, which also makes electric watercraft, says its decision is in response to a challenging economy and an exceptionally mild winter.
Taiga released quarterly and annual results Tuesday but did not hold a conference call with investors, and a spokesperson said managers would not be available for interviews.
Who is going to rely on an EV Ski Doo in freezing temps?
Him.
Electric snowmobiles will get us to net-zero. 🇨🇦https://t.co/3TgzfnhmdG
— Seamus O’Regan Jr (@SeamusORegan) February 18, 2021
h/t Mauser
Ford delays start of EV production at Oakville, Ont., plant
TORONTO — Ford Motor Co. is delaying the start of electric vehicle production at its plant in Oakville, Ont., to 2027.
The U.S. automaker had planned to start production at the Canadian plant in 2025.
What Tesla’s troubles tell us about the EV industry
Tesla’s disastrous earnings report this week has sparked a sell-off of the world’s largest electric vehicle manufacturer and widespread skepticism about the state of the EV industry as a whole.
“This is a fork in the road, not just for Tesla, but for the entire industry,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives in an interview on Wednesday.
Tesla’s stock sold off sharply this week after its earnings report showed the company was on track for its slowest quarter since 2022.
They still hold out hope that EV’s will conquer.