EV Sales Hit Road Bump Despite Increased Production, Lower Prices

The urgent road trip toward a society built on environmentally-friendly transportation appears to be running out of gas as sales of electric cars (EVs) are starting to slow down.

Large stocks of EVs, five times more than last year, are sitting on lots for longer. It's about 82 days on average compared to 64 days for gas powered cars. And it comes as many buyers shake their heads at the prices of EVs. In October, it took nearly twice as long to sell an EV than it did in January, industry analysts say.

That’s despite a 22% price decline at EV-maker Tesla and tax perks that come with buying these cars. The average price of an EV is still 28% higher than a gas powered car. This is according to CarGurus. It's an auto industry research company. 

Car makers are reacting by rolling back hefty EV rollout plans. General Motors (GM) announced last month that it’s scrapping plans to build 100,000 EVs by the end of 2023 and 400,000 in the first half of 2024. Ford has given up its plan to build 2 million EVs by 2026.

“Our commitment to an all-EV future (remains strong),” GM CEO Mary T. Barra stated during a conference call last month. Yet, she added, "As we get further into the (shift) to EV, it's a bit bumpy."

While EV sales have fallen short of expectations, the market is still growing. During the third quarter of 2023, sales of fully electric and plug-in hybrid cars revealed the strongest year-on-year growth since the late 2021. Sales of these cars in September exceeded 1 million for the first time. And they're on track to break 1.4 million by the end of 2023, according to government figures.

Reflect: What are some reasons why people might choose not to buy electric cars even though they help the environment?