The entire US auto industry is unwilling to deliver on a truly economic vehicle.
The "more crap per car" mindset is resulting in huge parking lots full of overpriced unsold cars. The "electric car is a premium product" mindset is obsolete, but continues to show up in US auto pricing.
Amusingly, the Ford Transit commercial van is cheaper in electric than in gas-powered.
But on the consumer product side, there's still a big price premium for electric, and you usually have to get an excessive 'trim level'.
Stellantis screwed up so badly that sales dropped about 40% and the CEO was fired, after collecting the biggest bonus in automotive history for "cutting costs". Betting on "mild hybrids" and extra post-sale fees was a disaster.
Nobody in US automotive is investing in solid state batteries the way BYD and CATL are.
There's technical risk, but if those things work, IC cars are over. 9 minute charge and a few hundred miles of range.
> Nobody in US automotive is investing in solid state batteries the way BYD and CATL are. There's technical risk, but if those things work, IC cars are over. 9 minute charge and a few hundred miles of range.
This, even if you embargo the new tech, if the new tech is a lot better, it will create a more broad economic disadvantage in not adopting it.
There's a tipping point coming. Once 9 minute charging works, charging stations work like gas stations, not parking lots. Nobody stays long. It makes sense for legacy gas stations to rip out the fuel pumps and tanks, and put in fast chargers.
Gas stations have a lot of infrastructure for catching oil run off, they could put in superchargers, but it would be a horrible use of land. The superchargers can literally go anywhere with power access since EVs don't leak anything other than possibly some coolant. If gas stations become obsolete, they will be subject to rehabilitation before they used for charging.
It's about as bad as the replacement of single-walled tanks with double-walled was. Easier, because the double-walled tanks probably aren't leaking. When you
see a gas station with a little fenced-off area and a tiny building with warning signs, that's usually because there was a leaky tank there and the slow cleanup process is underway.
Gas stations are all about location.
There will probably be a business in doing a turnkey conversion. Prepare to bring in heavy power, shut down gas station, remove pumps, remove tanks, clean up and repair convenience store, put in chargers on the islands, replace signage, power up.
Amusingly, the Ford Transit commercial van is cheaper in electric than in gas-powered. But on the consumer product side, there's still a big price premium for electric, and you usually have to get an excessive 'trim level'.
Stellantis screwed up so badly that sales dropped about 40% and the CEO was fired, after collecting the biggest bonus in automotive history for "cutting costs". Betting on "mild hybrids" and extra post-sale fees was a disaster.
Nobody in US automotive is investing in solid state batteries the way BYD and CATL are. There's technical risk, but if those things work, IC cars are over. 9 minute charge and a few hundred miles of range.