Pulling the plug: Three signs EVs are not catching on in the country
Electric vehicles have been a big push for President Joe Biden and the auto industry in recent years, but that significant jolt has not been enough to keep EVs growing as fast as many had hoped.
Despite the backing of the Biden administration and others, recent headlines have shown that EVs are having woes as carmakers try to grow the market for them.
Tesla’s recent struggles
The motor company most synonymous with electric vehicles, Tesla, has faced struggles, with the automaker announcing last month that it would be cutting 10% of its global workforce. Last week, it was reported that the company would be laying off the entire electric vehicle charging division in a blow to the growth of the charging network in the country.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in a post on X last week that the company “still plans to grow the Supercharger network” but “at a slower pace for new locations.”
One of the biggest downsides of electric vehicles has been concerns over the availability of charging locations for parts of the country and the slowing of Tesla’s supercharging network, which is the largest in the country.
Ford’s EV sales woes
Adding to the hurt for EVs, Ford announced late last month that its electric vehicle division lost $1.3 billion during the first quarter of 2024. That figure amounts to a roughly $132,000 loss for each vehicle it sold in that department.
The company has made a significant push for electric vehicles, and the losses are blamed on the company lowering the prices of electric vehicles, along with allocating funds for further research. It was estimated that the EV department brought in $100 million in revenue.
Biden loosening restrictions on EV imports
Last week, the Biden administration loosened restrictions on an electric vehicle tax credit to allow automakers to rely on some Chinese materials and still qualify.
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The new rule for the tax credit gives automakers until 2027, instead of 2025, to follow the “certain impracticable-to-trace” battery materials requirement. The restriction is meant to boost U.S. manufacturers of the materials in a field dominated by China, but domestic battery suppliers are still working to catch up.
Critics of the move argue that relying on China for these materials is a national security threat and should be addressed sooner rather than later.
