by Eric Starkman

Excerpts taken from ‘Starkman: Joe Biden Duped By GM’s And Ford’s Lofty Electric Vehicle Ambitions’ published in Deadline Detroit

Consumers are canceling orders and leaving electric SUVs and trucks to languish on the lot as demand for EVs seems to be waning. According to a column written by freelance reporter, Eric Stockman, “mainstream publications have reported that Ford’s electric Lightning pickup trucks haven’t been selling as well as the company claimed, nor have its electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs…Ford Authority reported that Ford dealers had more than a three-month supply of Mach-E vehicles, more than double their average of gas engine SUVs and pickups.”

Issues on the demand side are exacerbated by continuing supply chain and transportation limitations. Due to the excessive weight of electric vehicles and a shortage of railway cars to transport them, tens of thousands of assembled vehicles are not able to be delivered to dealerships. As Surface Transportation Board Chairman, Martin Oberman, said in a recent speech, this could lead to a multiple billion dollar loss for the US economy.

GM may be trying to get around this issue by employing trucks to transport their EVs rather than rail. But that would go against their supposed motivation to decrease carbon emissions. As Stockman notes, “placing greater reliance on trucks is an environmental affront; according to the Association of American Railroads, moving freight by rail instead of truck lowers greenhouse gas emissions by up to 75%, on average.” Although electric trucks would be the ideal solution, much heavier electric vehicles being hauled by even heavier electric trucks would far exceed road weight limits.

Michigan residents are footing the bill for this aggressive push for EVs. Between doling out $1.7 billion in grants and subsidies to build a lithium battery plant in Marshall, Michigan, destroying fertile farmland, and the billions of dollars in subsidies going to Ford and GM for other projects in Michigan, it’s a wonder the state hasn’t been promised anything more than a few thousand jobs.

Starkman emphasizes that these big automotive manufacturers are not doing well despite these handouts. “Ford slashed the prices on its Ford Lightning vehicles, including a 17% cut on the base model. Ford Authority reported that Ford is offering some sweetheart incentives on its Mach-E, including factory rebates and near-zero financing on some models. Automakers don’t cut the price of vehicles that are selling briskly.” GM has experienced a similar disappointment in demand. “GM sold only 49 of its monster Hummer EVs in the first half of this year. Lyriq sales are also poor.”

There’s a reason that these cars aren’t selling. Consumers are concerned about reliability. Not only are there software issues with Ford’s Lightning and Mach-E vehicles, but according to a review from InsideEVs, the GM Lyriq demonstrated long charging times (something that very much worries potential buyers).

The bottom line is that these cars are expensive and have not proven to be reliable. On top of that, Michigan and many other states lack the infrastructure (improved roads and charging stations) to make them practical. Despite all the billions of taxpayer dollars supporting Ford and GM and the push to electrify from federal and state governments, the consumer demand for electric vehicles cannot be manufactured.

The full article can be found here: Deadline Detroit | Starkman: Joe Biden Duped by GM’s and Ford’s Lofty Electric Vehicle Ambitions