Electric vehicles are becoming an unprofitable boondoggle for multiple motor companies. It turns out that woke virtue signaling is not the wisest business strategy.
There are, no doubt, multiple factors that feed into the drop in electric vehicle (EV) sales for companies including Ford, Tesla, and Mercedes-Benz. I would, however, mention one: EVs are too expensive and too unreliable for most Americans to purchase. They are a pricey and impractical choice. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if EV sales continue to drop for companies with EVs in America and Europe for the foreseeable future.
The reality is, however, that vehicle batteries are so toxic to manufacture and dispose of that they are not really a “green” option. Also, EV batteries often involve abusive child labor for mining the necessary materials. Moreover, increased numbers of EVs put an already strained electric grid at serious risk. EVs are neither an affordable nor a virtuous choice.
Ford’s electric vehicle unit reported a Q1 2024 sales volume decrease of 20% and the necessity of slashing prices due to the reality of low demand from consumers, Breitbart reported on April 28:
Ford Motor Company reported a whopping $132,000 loss on each electric vehicle (EV) sold during the first three months of 2024, amassing a $1.3 billion loss…The revenue for Ford’s EV car, the Model e, plunged by 84 percent to about $100 million, which the company blamed on EV price cuts across the auto industry.
Ultimately, Ford lost over $130,000 on every EV it sold — that’s some serious money loss.
But Ford isn’t the only company seeing a trend of declining EV sales, a decline noticeable in both Europe and America. Electric Cars Report noted recently that Q1 2024 brought a drop in EV sales to Volkswagen Group of 24% in Europe and 16% percent in America. While Volkswagen did have a 91% sales increase in China for EVs (41,000 cars sold), that was not enough to save the company from an overall EV sale decrease of 3%.
Related: Happy Earth Day: Offshore Wind Is Disastrous for Maine Fishermen, Marine Life
Electric Cars Report noted another company with gloomy EV news in Q1:
Meanwhile, during the first quarter, Mercedes-Benz recorded an 8% decrease in EV sales as it winded down the smart [F]ortwo, although plug-in hybrid vehicle sales jumped 6%. The automaker also cited weakening consumer demand in Germany after the country ended an EV subsidy program.
The company’s electric van sales went down 17%, and the trend of van sales is expected to continue below last year’s sales. Notice that Electric Cars Report cited the end of a German government EV subsidy as a key factor in the declining demand for Mercedes-Benz EVs. Like other kinds of ”green” energy, EVs often have to rely on government subsidies and help to fake any sort of profitability.
Elon Musk’s Tesla EVs are also not selling as well as they did previously. Automotive Fleet reported earlier this month that EV sale growth in the United States continued to stall overall, and Tesla particularly saw a decrease. “Tesla sales in the U.S. were down 13.3% year over year – well below the typical double-digit growth that had become routine with the Tesla brand,” the website announced.
Another fail for the woke green energy movement.