{"id":285981,"date":"2023-11-01T13:27:36","date_gmt":"2023-11-01T12:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=285981"},"modified":"2023-11-01T13:27:40","modified_gmt":"2023-11-01T12:27:40","slug":"the-ev-bubble-popped-vw-orders-are-down-50-ford-loses-38000-on-each-car-toyota-chief-says-people-are-waking-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=285981","title":{"rendered":"The EV bubble popped: VW orders are down 50%, Ford loses $38,000 on each car, Toyota chief, says \u201cpeople are waking up\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Errr, what\u2019s going on here? Several automakers, including Ford and GM, recently announced they would be delaying key parts of their EV rollouts.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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From JoNova<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Jo Nova<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Godzilla Image by\u00a0seanselbie<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Last week the EV bubble popped<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been a crushing week for the EV industry as the bad news that has been brewing for months was laid bare in the quarterly reports. Across the industry, corporate CEO\u2019s are all admitting that demand is unexpectedly slow, orders are down, and suddenly projects are being delayed \u201cindefinitely\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volkswagen admitted orders are down a shocking 50% and they are sacking 2,000 jobs in the software division<\/a>. Ford posted an operating loss of $1.3 billion for the quarter \u2014 meaning they are losing $36,000 for every EV they sell.<\/a> They face a ghastly full year loss of $4.5b, so not surprisingly, they are delaying battery plants, and plans to expand production. All up they are now holding off on $12 billion in investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The head of Mercedes-Benz described the market as \u201ca pretty brutal space\u201d. Harald Wilhelm hinted that some manufacturers won\u2019t survive: \u201cI can hardly imagine the current status quo is fully sustainable for everybody,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Panasonic has slowed EV battery production was reduced by 60% in Japan compared to the same quarter last year<\/a>. While its US plants were OK, profit forecasts of the whole energy division were down 15% and depended on US subsidies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

News of cars kidnapping drivers, and airport car infernos have added to range anxiety and crushing interest rates to squeeze the EV bubble til it popped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bloodbath has been bad:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

EV Skeptic Toyota Chairman Says People Are \u2018Finally\u2019 Waking Up to Reality of Electric Vehicles<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Epoch Times<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toyota\u2019s chairman and former CEO, Akio Toyoda, told reporters at an auto show in Japan this week that waning demand for electric vehicles (EV) is a sign that people are waking up to the reality that EVs aren\u2019t the silver bullet against the supposed ills of carbon emissions they\u2019re often made out to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople are finally seeing reality\u201d about EV technology\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Toyoda, a long-time skeptic of a full-steam-ahead adoption of EVs, stepped down from his role as CEO of Toyota this year amid criticism that he wasn\u2019t serious enough about pushing the company into a quick adoption of battery-powered cars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peak EV has been reached too soon\u2026<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Ford Chief Financial Officer, John Lawler, tried to put it in the best light he could<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe narrative has taken over that EVs aren\u2019t growing; they\u2019re growing,\u201d Lawler said. \u201cIt\u2019s just growing at a slower pace than the industry and, quite frankly, we expected.\u201d \u2014 Automotive News<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even if EV sales are still growing, it\u2019s far too soon for them to be tailing off.  At this early point of the transition \u2014 when the EV share of the market is small, and if EV\u2019s are going to take over the world in the next ten years, they should be going gangbusters. The really important narrative, that must surely chill the bones of any EV investor, was that the Chairman of Toyota said: \u201d People Are \u2018Finally\u2019 Waking Up to Reality of Electric Vehicles\u201d. If EV sales growth is already shrinking it suggests the final size of the EV market, barring a miracle discovery, is not very big.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of these companies have bet big on EV technology, but they are not turning a profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volkswagen says EV orders are down 50% in Europe<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Elecktrek<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Volkswagen CFO and COO Arno Antlitz explained on a media call that EV orders in Europe are down to 150,000. That\u2019s 50% lower than last year\u2019s total of 300,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are crippling losses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ford Cuts EV Investment After Losing $36,000 On Every EV Sold In Q3<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Dan Mihalascu, InsideEVs<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the higher volume, EV losses continued to rise in the third quarter, with the company posting an operating loss of $1.3 billion, up from $1.1 billion in the previous quarter<\/a> and more than double its loss from Q3 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that Ford lost around $36,000 for every electric vehicle it sold in the quarter, surpassing its estimated $32,350 loss per EV in the second quarter. For the entire year, the carmaker expects a full-year loss of $4.5 billion for its EV unit. Why is that, though?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ford admits that people don\u2019t want to pay more for an EV than petrol and diesel cars:<\/p>\n\n\n

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Tesla Image by\u00a0Tumisu<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0Pixabay<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Ford, GM, and even Tesla are warning about the EV market<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pras Subramanian<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ford said in its earnings report<\/a> that US EV buyers were \u201cunwilling to pay premiums for [EVs] over gas or hybrid vehicles, sharply compressing EV prices and profitability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even Tesla (TSLA<\/a>) CEO Elon Musk, perhaps the biggest EV evangelist in the industry, poured cold water on the EV market and general economic landscape. Musk noted on Tesla\u2019s conference call last Wednesday<\/a> that the company was delaying construction of its upcoming Gigafactory in Mexico due to concerns about global economic conditions stemming from rising interest rates that make financing cars more expensive for consumers, thus crimping demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ford pauses a $12 billion EV investment,<\/a> after saying electric vehicles are too expensive<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Business Insider<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ford has halted billions of dollars in investment in EV manufacturing, warning that customers will not pay a premium<\/a> for these vehicles. The auto giant announced in its third-quarter earnings call on Thursday that it would postpone $12 billion in planned spending on electric vehicle production and pause some major projects, including the construction of a new battery factory in Kentucky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a \u201chornet\u2019s nest of anxiety \u201d about slowing EV demand<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Honda and GM have abandoned plans to work together making a cheap EV<\/a>. A year ago they said they expected \u201cto begin production of \u201cmillions\u201d of these affordable EVs by 2027.\u201d Now, it\u2019s none. What\u2019s also shifted is that commentators on EV\u2019s are all openly discussing \u201cthe slow down\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026the decision to scrap plans for more affordable EVs is sure to deepen worries about the future of the EV market in the US and abroad. Tesla\u2019s price cuts, shrinking profit margins, and softening demand has kicked up a hornet\u2019s nest of anxiety about the massive shift to electric vehicles that\u2019s currently underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that anxiety is being reflected in a number of the big player\u2019s moves, including GM\u2019s recent announcements about longer wait times for its upcoming slate of electric trucks and Ford\u2019s move to temporarily cut one of three shifts at the factory that builds the electric F-150 Lightning. \u2013\u2013 The Verge<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bad portents: EV\u2019s are taking twice as long to sell<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Early adopters have adopted\u2019: US carmakers slow EV growth plans<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Australian Financial Review<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

EVs are \u2026 lingering longer on dealership lots. Dealers are taking 88 days to sell their entire supply of electrified cars and trucks, compared with 39 days in October 2022, according to Cox. Petrol-powered vehicles, by contrast, are selling in 60 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only one-third of US consumers say the next car or truck they buy is likely to be electric, according to a survey from Yahoo Finance\/Ipsos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even though sales hit a new record high, the slow-down is upon us:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A record 313,000 electric vehicles were sold in the US in the third quarter, according to data group Cox Automotive. Electric cars climbed to 7.9 per cent of total industry sales in the third quarter, up from 6.1 per cent a year ago, Cox Automotive found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even so, the pace of growth is slowing. Year-on-year sales growth for the third quarters of 2021 and 2022 was about 75 per cent; this year the increase was a comparatively cooler 50 per cent, according to Kelley Blue Book, a research company owned by Cox Automotive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GM\u2019s Trucks and vans slow down too:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GM\u2019s biggest bets are running out of juice<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

General Motors\u2019<\/a> biggest bets on the future \u2014 electric vehicles, autonomy and subscription software \u2014 are all running into trouble, and now the likelihood of sharply elevated labor costs is raising the stakes even higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electric cars:<\/strong> GM last week abandoned its target to produce 400,000 electric vehicles (EVs) through the first half of 2024, citing slowing demand, continued manufacturing bottlenecks and profitability concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n