Sales of the Fiat 500 electric are falling. Not such a great success as some want you to think.

I can’t imagine it is not because of Fiat’s great quality with electrification.

 

A lengthy list of competitors isn’t helping either. I thought it was interesting that VW is also halting production of it’s small electric cars for a couple of weeks. I wonder if going electric across the range will cause European buyers to buy “the next size up” given operating costs, or whether this is just a temporary slump in the A/B segments.

 

Every year we give much greater subsidies to farmers than to EV buyers and society hasn’t collapsed. But I agree, this trend is worrying.

Personally, now that I own two vehicles that get 25-35 MPG, I can sit on the sidelines and watch the market do its thing. I imagine those millions of households that now own hybrid RAV4s and CR-Vs can do the same.

 

If it was an either/or decision, then we could have the debate.

But there is no debate allowed and we are funding BOTH farmers and EV buyers.

We cannot continue to heap new programs on top of existing programs and then say those existing programs are untouchable from any reforms or cuts.

 

The problem with rebates, as consumers view these tax credits, is that for them to continue working with the next round of buyers, they need to be dialed up, not down, as federal and state governments have been doing.

If these trends continue, I can already see automakers going to their governments asking for more handouts.

The EU governments are more likely to cave in first, given that they have offered fewer alternatives to consumers. After that, perhaps the Canadian government. US will likely be last.

 

High interest rates might also be hindering new EV purchases.

If we assume that early adopters tend to be more affluent, then the pool of early adopters that are willing to pay 6% interest, or higher, might be thinning out.

Also, I don’t know how open used vehicle buyers are to EVs. While I’d consider buying an EV new, I don’t know that I’d be as open to buying one used. Unless it was a steal, like say $10,000 for a 2015 Fiat 500e.

 

Wrangler 4xe is the perfect urban vehicle. 😃

In all seriousness, I've used under 2 tanks of gas for 1200 miles. And that's with a vehicle that only gets 25 miles range.

I think we'll see more and more adopters. EVs make total sense in urban environments. Now, I know I'm in the mecca of tech, but Teslas are basically the new Honda/Toyota here. Rivians, Lucids and others are increasing exponentially.

 

No one has addressed the issue of charging availability in Europe either. Many of the old cities/areas that electric cars are sold in, probably don't have the infrastructure in place to support all the vehicles being sold. Thus the sales drop as word gets out about lack of charger availability?