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Best electric cars in India in 2023

Tata Motors dominates the EV car market in December with Tiago leading the charge

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Tesla's energy business juiced revenue in the second quarter.</li><li>Tesla's growth isn't happening in autos right now.</li></ul>Tesla has the juice to make it through the electric-vehicle slowdown — literally.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-sales-miss-ev-slowdown-new-wave-customers-2024-4">Tesla's</a> energy business was a key revenue driver in the second quarter as EV sales fell and robotaxi initiatives remained as murky as ever.While Tesla's earnings per share fell short of analysts' expectations from April to June, revenue outpaced expectations, with a record $25.5 billion.About $3 billion of that came from battery storage units and solar panels sold by its energy business. That's nearly double what that same business unit recorded in the second quarter of 2023.In a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-stock-tsla-earnings-call-report-live-updates-2024-7">tough start to 2024</a>, Tesla's bright spots have been in areas other than its industry-changing electric-vehicle lineup.The company has posted <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-production-deliveries-second-quarter-decline-2024-7">two straight quarters of falling vehicle sales</a>, with deliveries down 4.7% in the second quarter. A series of price cuts have eaten away at Tesla's bottom line only a few years after it first posted consistent profits.That's increased Tesla's reliability in two areas its competitors struggle in (or have no match for): energy generation and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-earnings-regulatory-credit-sales-2024-7">regulatory credits</a>, the latter of which generated another $890 million in revenue last quarter. Together, the two accounted for 15% of second-quarter revenue.Analysts warn, however, that both of these revenue streams can be inconsistent and that Elon Musk's promised future <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-robotaxi-ai-event-delayed-october-report-stock-falls-2024-7">robotaxi business</a> is too far out to trust at this point."On earnings updates, the realities of the business fall back to (mostly) auto," Joseph Spak, a UBS analyst, wrote in a note to clients following Tesla's second-quarter earnings report. UBS has a sell rating on Tesla's stock and a 12-month price target of $197 — about 10% lower than where shares were trading Wednesday.As the investor community reacted to the latest financial results, Tesla's stock was down by nearly 11%.

Tesla's best bet for growth has nothing to do with cars or AI

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Used electric vehicles became more affordable after a new tax credit kicked in in January 2023.</li><li>Driving range and driving habits can affect the type of used EV you should shop for.</li></ul>Electric-vehicle prices are falling across the board. And as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nissan-kicks-review-price-rare-find-under-30k-2024-10">more models flood the market</a>, you can get a particularly good deal on a used EV.But shelling out thousands of dollars on an unfamiliar piece of technology (especially one that's been around the block a few times) is daunting for some shoppers.Aside from wondering <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cheapest-electric-car-affordable-kia-ford-chevy-hyundai-nissan-2022-6">which car to buy</a>, used-EV shoppers might be wondering whether the battery could die. Shoppers on a budget might also be looking for more ways to save money, as EV tax credits broadened to include used electric cars in January 2023.The research can be a lot to take on at once. We talked to car-buying experts to demystify the process.<h2>Consider where and how much you drive</h2>Scott Case, the cofounder and CEO of Recurrent, a startup that tracks EV battery health, recommended starting by considering how far you typically drive and the climate you live in — those factors will affect how much range you'll want, as EVs perform best in temperate weather and can't drive quite as far in cold temperatures."Let's say you live in Florida and you drive 30 to 50 miles every day — you can pretty much buy anything," Case said. On the other hand, people who travel 150 miles daily and live in the occasionally frigid Midwest would need to shop around for a long-range vehicle.<div type="image" title="A gray Tesla Cybertruck plugged in at a public charging station." height="1150" width="1533" msid="114294136" hostid="261" sizebytes="313240"></div>Most older electric cars don't have the range of the latest offerings — you might find models with estimates from the Environmental Protection Agency of only 80 to 120 miles.<h2>Battery range will degrade over time</h2>Anyone who's owned a smartphone knows that lithium-ion batteries wear out over time. Pretty much the same goes for EVs.As the years go by, cycles of charging and driving wear out an EV's battery pack, reducing driving range. The vehicle-data firm Geotab has estimated that EV batteries <a href="https://www.geotab.com/blog/ev-battery-health/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tend to lose about 2% of their capacity each year</a>.The good news is that an EV's battery is unlikely to fail completely or render the car useless.But understanding how much life a vehicle has left isn't all that simple. Case said that exposure to extreme temperatures, frequent trips to powerful DC fast chargers, and variations in battery chemistry mean some used cars perform better than others with identical mileage.<div type="image" title="A charging cable extending from a Tesla Supercharger to a Chevrolet Equinox EV." height="3024" width="4032" msid="114294138" hostid="261" sizebytes="789912"></div>Jim Fish, a vice president of Opus IVS, a tech-focused collision-repair company, said the best question to ask about a battery's care is how often it was left below 20% and above 80% of its charge.Leaving a battery too close to empty or on a full charge for too long affects its ability to hold a charge, Fish said."Of course, you might struggle to find out the truth to that question," Fish said.Recurrent provides reports on EV battery health aimed at helping shoppers choose between cars.<h2>You can get up to $4,000 off thanks to federal tax credits</h2>At the start of last year, a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/federal-state-electric-car-vehicle-tax-credits-rebates-qualify-2023-1">used-EV tax credit went into effect</a> as part of a larger incentive program in the Inflation Reduction Act. Automotive retail analysts described it as a welcome change for EV shoppers on a budget.To <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ev-tax-credit-suv-tesla-model-y-ford-mach-e-2023-2">qualify for the credit</a>, the vehicle must be purchased at a dealership so that the dealer can report the required information to the IRS.The buyer must be purchasing the vehicle for personal use and not for resale, must not be the original owner of the vehicle, must not be able to be claimed as a dependent, and must not have used any other clean-vehicle credit in the previous three years. Income caps for buyers range from $75,000 to $150,000, depending on their tax-filing status.The vehicle must have a sale price of $25,000 or less and must be at least two model years old.Many states also have tax incentives for purchasing EVs. More detailed information and required forms can be found on the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/credits-deductions/used-clean-vehicle-credit" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IRS's website</a>.

Considering an electric vehicle? Experts explain how to pick one for your lifestyle and budget

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Sales of electric cars in China are expected to rise at a slower pace this year.</li><li>That's likely to be a problem for Tesla too.</li></ul><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-byd-tesla-electric-car-ev-race-2023-11">BYD</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla">Tesla</a> both posted <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-regain-title-top-electric-car-maker-2024-4">anemic first-quarter sales</a> this week, serving up a reminder that demand for electric cars appears to be stalling around the world.China, the world's largest EV market, hasn't been immune from the slowdown.The country's Passenger Car Association expects sales of new-energy vehicles to climb 25% to 11 million this year, according to figures reported by Bloomberg. That's a healthy rise, but still well below last year's growth rate of 36%.Any signs of weakening demand in China are a red flag for Tesla, which is already struggling to keep up with its local rivals' aggressive price cuts."I think a big part of Tesla's first-quarter deliveries miss came from China," Seth Goldstein, an equities strategist for Morningstar who chairs the research firm's EV committee, told Business Insider. "There's a lot of price competition, and we're seeing consumers go to other brands with cheaper offerings."<h2>Tesla waves the white flag</h2>Tesla slashed the prices of the Model 3, S, X, and Y in China last year in a bid to compete with local rivals including market leader BYD, which sells much cheaper vehicles such as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/byd-seagull-cheap-ev-electric-car-tesla-china-2023-4">the $11,000 Seagull</a>.The cuts helped Telsa log record delivery numbers, and kept its share price high — but it still lost its title as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-byd-tesla-electric-car-ev-race-2023-11">the world's top EV seller for 2023</a> to BYD.CEO Elon Musk appears to have backed away from the price cuts strategy this year, however. That's a sign he knows Tesla <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-price-cuts-electric-cars-losing-business-strategy-2023-11">can't win the price war</a> and remain profitable, Goldstein said."Last year was the year of the price cut, in order to grow volumes, and it worked," he said. "But Tesla now seems to have made the decision that for now, they're happy where their unit profits are at."Holding prices steady in China appears to have backfired, though. Tesla completely missed Wall Street forecasts for deliveries — and its market share in the world's second-largest economy has fallen to around 7%, per Bloomberg estimates, down from 11% in early 2023.<div type="image" title="Musk in China" height="729" width="1024" msid="109062945" hostid="261"></div><h2>Bad news for BYD</h2>Americans are shunning electric cars due to concerns about charging and the emergence of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hybrid-electric-cars-trucks-evs-transport-ford-maverick-toyota-2024-3">cheaper hybrids</a> — but the reasons for the slowdown in China are more complex.There are plenty of public charging stations — about 2.7 million as at the end of 2023, according to the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance. And the mid-market hatchback options offered by BYD are some of China's best-selling cars.However, some would-be buyers found <a target="_blank" href="https://restofworld.org/2024/china-ev-industry-slowdown/">local companies' constant price cuts irritating</a>. BYD slashed the cost of one model by a total of 15,000 yuan ($2,100) in a matter of months last year, reducing its value on the secondhand market and making people more hesitant to buy one.China's economy has also struggled since the end of the pandemic, with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-markets-deflation-chart-investors-consumer-prices-outlook-beijing-2024-3">deflationary pressures</a> and an ongoing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-housing-market-real-estate-crash-investors-outlook-construction-2024-3">property-market crisis</a> fueling a decline in consumer spending.BYD makes most of its sales in China — and the tally rose 43% to about 300,000 in the first three months of the year, according to a stock market filing this week. That increase was not enough to stop Tesla from reclaiming its title as the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tesla-regain-title-top-electric-car-maker-2024-4">world's top electric car maker</a> despite its own dismal delivery numbers for the same period.Tesla makes the Model 3 and Model Y at its Shanghai factory and recently reduced production from six-and-a-half days a week to five, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-22/tesla-trims-output-of-cars-in-china-amid-slower-ev-sales-growth">Bloomberg reported</a>, in a sign of waning demand for its cars in China.If China joins the US in loving EVs a little less, both Tesla and BYD could be in for a difficult 2024.

China has a problem with electric cars and that's bad news for Elon Musk

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Big Oil companies have dreams of becoming Big EV. </li><li>Fossil fuel heavyweights are making investments in EV charging, battery technology, and car manufacturing. </li></ul>Even the fossil fuel industry is coming around to an electric future.As <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-vehicle-owners-advice-realities-cost-maintenance-driving-electric-2023-11">electric vehicles go from niche to mainstream</a>, it's clear that oil giants like Shell, BP, and Exxon Mobil want to profit off of how people get around — regardless of the fuel source.Some are making hefty investments in charging infrastructure, a natural progression for companies that already operate thousands of gas stations. Others are also placing bets on emerging battery technologies, lithium mining, and even EV manufacturing.European firms are leading the charge on charging, said Bruce On, a partner at EY who focuses on the energy industry. They see their vast existing footprints and understanding of the retail experience as a competitive edge, he said.BP recently announced it would purchase $100 million worth of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-charge-non-tesla-ev-at-supercharger-models-adapters-2023-7">Tesla Superchargers</a>, making it the first company to independently operate Elon Musk's renowned charging plugs. BP Pulse, the firm's charging business, has installed more than 27,000 charging plugs so far and aims to get to 100,000 by 2030.Shell Recharge, the oil company's charging arm, is farther along. It operates 140,000 plugs globally and earlier this year bought Volta, a US charging provider, for $169 million. In September, it opened a massive charging hub in China with 258 stalls. For reference, charging stations in the US typically have between 4 and 12 plugs. The project was a joint effort between Shell and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/byd-founder-tesla-rival-drank-battery-fluid-impress-investors-report-says-2023-10">BYD, the leading Chinese EV company</a>.Big Oil is also getting into batteries, the backbone of the auto industry's electric transformation. Koch Industries, for example, has spent hundreds of millions of dollars <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/koch-industries-built-on-oil-bets-big-on-u-s-batteries-11647946147">funding companies throughout the battery supply chain</a>, The Wall Street Journal reported.US firms are less keen on charging and more interested in doing what they do best: getting raw materials out of the ground, On said. Exxon Mobil bought up 120,000 acres of land in Arkansas earlier this year with plans to extract and process lithium, a key material in lithium-ion EV batteries, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/exxon-joins-hunt-for-lithium-in-bet-on-ev-boom-1d72cdd6?mod=article_inline">The Journal reported</a>. Chevron is also <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-24/chevron-considers-lithium-production-in-latest-ev-bet-by-big-oil?sref=LspfQlRv">considering lithium mining</a>.Oil drilling can produce lithium-rich brine as a byproduct, which has historically been ignored. As EVs boom and the US government pushes to develop a domestic supply chain for battery materials, it makes sense that oil producers see new opportunities.Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, has invested billions in EV manufacturing. It has a controlling stake in <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-lucid-peter-rawlinson-plans-beat-tesla-elon-musk-2021-10">Lucid Motors</a>, a California-based EV startup. It recently partnered with Foxconn (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/foxconn-iphone-electric-cars-fisker-lordstown-volkswagen-2022-12">the iPhone maker with EV ambitions</a>) to launch a homegrown EV brand called Ceer Motors.Are we heading toward a future where the same companies that drove the combustion era dominate the world of EVs? We'll have to wait and see.

Big Oil is all in on electric cars 

Ranking all the electric-car frunks I've tested, from best to worst

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Many car shoppers say the price of electric cars is a barrier to buying one.</li><li>Now, there are more deals available for buyers considering going electric.</li></ul>Electric cars are seeing some of their best discounts yet.EV incentives hit 9.8% of their average transaction price (ATP), or $4,991 off the price of the car, in September, according to Kelley Blue Book. It's the first time EVs have been this highly discounted in four to five years (when there were much lower sales volumes), and it's crucial for the cars, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-electric-vehicle-buyers-cars-too-expensive-2023-1">the price of which many blame as a barrier to adoption</a>.Just a year ago, EV incentives were less than 2% of ATP, Kelley Blue Book data says.Prices averaged $50,683 last month, down significantly from more than $65,000 in a year ago. That makes EVs, on average, still more costly than the $47,899 ATP for a vehicle overall, but when taking into account the EV discounts, the two start to look pretty similar in pricing. Of course, $100,000-plus luxury EVs and $35,000 economy plug-ins each skew those numbers.But as more automakers scale, more affordable products becomes available, and drivers make the switch, costs are generally dropping.Interestingly, incentives for vehicles overall last month were only about 4.9% of ATP, according to Kelley Blue Book, or $2,368 — improving, but low compared with historic rates. For context, overall new car incentives were as high as 10.2% in September 2019, pre-pandemic.These deals became hard to come by during the car supply-and-demand crunch throughout COVID when inventories were low and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-cars-selling-below-sticker-price-first-time-in-years-2023-4">shoppers were paying over sticker price just to get a new ride</a>. Now, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/car-buying-tips-discounts-incentives-rebates-increase-high-interest-rates-2023-3">these price cuts are slowly returning</a>, just at much lower rates.But EVs themselves are seeing incentives close to pre-COVID levels. In fact, second to high-end luxury cars, EVs saw the most deals of all vehicle segments last month.<h2>Why incentives for EVs matter</h2>Since much of the talk around EVs has involved their often-hefty cost, seeing prices drop in one way or another will be key to adoption. It's this idea of price parity — or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-cars-cost-versus-gas-powered-vehicles-2023-4">electrified cars costing about as much as their gas-run counterparts</a>. So far, only <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-vehicles-pricing-mass-market-luxury-parity-2023-10">high-end EVs are running the same as equivalent internal combustion engine cars</a>; mainstream EVs aren't quite there yet.As one signal that prices will improve, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-vehicle-inventory-most-least-dealerships-availability-hyundai-kia-2023-6">EV inventory is building up on dealership lots</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/auto-dealerships-inventory-electric-vehicles-gas-cars-key-problems-2023-6">that's not necessarily a bad thing for EVs</a>. To some extent, that's a function of automakers stretching their manufacturing capacity and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-car-price-cuts-hurt-early-adopters-tesla-price-war-2023-7">finally getting EVs</a> off assembly lines en masse.However, because dealers became comfortable during COVID <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/automakers-low-inventory-maximize-profits-supply-chain-constraints-car-buyers-2023-5">operating with lean inventories</a> on their lots, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dealers-turning-away-evs-velectric-cars-demand-cools-inventory-2023-8">many aren't so thrilled</a> about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-electric-vehicle-inventory-problem-trying-to-beat-tesla-2023-7">EVs piling up</a>, especially when much of the gas-car supply hasn't yet recovered. There was 97 days' supply of EVs at dealerships across the country at the start of October, compared with about 50 days' supply for vehicles overall, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/kbb-atp-september-2023/#:~:text=The%20high%2Dend%20luxury%20car,size%20pickup%20trucks%20at%206%25.">Kelley Blue Book</a>.It's not just about progress and scale, or about dealers wanting to rid themselves of inventory (which they have to pay for in the form of sky-high floor plan costs right now), it's also about demand. Some would argue that, given the EV market has nearly fulfilled the needs of early adopters, the next wave of buyers will be trickier to tap into, thus creating a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ev-electric-car-sales-plateau-early-adopters-competition-2023-8">slight EV buying slowdown</a>.As a result, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-vehicle-discounts-price-cuts-affordable-tesla-competitor-2023-8">all sorts of EV offers are starting to become available</a>. Interested car shoppers can get <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-electric-vehicle-lease-deals-monthly-payments-this-summer-2023-8">great lease deals on plug-in vehicles</a> right now — and don't forget the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/automakers-electric-vehicles-tax-credits-commercial-vehicle-7500-2023-1">commercial EV tax credit could get you a tax discount for leasing,</a> similar to the one you receive if <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-tax-credit">you all-out purchase a qualifying electric car</a>.Have you bought a discounted EV? Were you on the fence about buying an EV until it was sold with incentives? Are you a dealer or car salesperson selling EVs with incentives? Reach out to this reporter at astjohn@insider.com.

Electric cars are seeing their highest discounts yet

<ul class="summary-list"><li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta">Meta's</a> chief technology officer, Andrew Bosworth, is a big fan of his Mercedes AMG EQS.</li><li>He said he got the car to replace his Tesla, which "had a thing happen to it while it was parked."</li></ul><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meta-cto-mark-zuckerberg-eye-of-sauron-2024-3">Meta's chief technology officer, Andrew Bosworth</a>, said he wasn't a car guy — but he likes his Mercedes AMG EQS a lot."I didn't know cars could be this nice," Bosworth said in a podcast <a target="_blank" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=andrew+bosworth+interview&amp;client=safari&amp;sca_esv=8ae7611df0134f35&amp;rls=en&amp;source=lnms&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=2ahUKEwisnuLjttuEAxV-CnkGHQjRDIMQ0pQJegQIAxAC&amp;biw=1432&amp;bih=718&amp;dpr=2#fpstate=ive&amp;vld=cid:af18597e,vid:_XqDB2Upr3s,st:0">interview</a> Sunday.<div type="image" title="White Mercedes AMG EQS" height="5300" width="7946" msid="108244893" hostid="261"></div>The tech executive said he wasn't trying to flex but that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mercedes-amg-one-supercar-price-horsepower-formula-1-2022-6">the Mercedes-Benz</a> AMG EQS was a step up for him since he grew up driving used cars that were constantly breaking down. More recently, he drove a Honda Accord for 10 years and then a Tesla Model S for another decade, Bosworth said.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-model-s">His Tesla Model S</a>, Bosworth said, "had a thing happen to it while it was parked." He didn't elaborate but said it prompted him to get a new electric car — and he knew he wanted something "nice."Springing for a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mercedes-benz-eqs-580-pros-cons-review-tesla-electric-car-2022-12">Mercedes</a> AMG EQS isn't cheap: The 2023 luxury sedan has a retail price of $147,550. That's likely more than Bosworth paid for his Model S. Teslas fluctuate in price, but a Model S today ranges from about $74,990 to over $110,00 for a maxed-out Plaid version with Tesla's Autopilot and Full-Self-Driving software included.<div type="image" title="Mercedes AMG EQS interior" height="5054" width="7577" msid="108244894" hostid="261"></div>Mercedes says the AMG EQS can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and hit a top speed of 155 mph. The EV is also packed with tech tools, including a head-up display, a surround-view camera system, and automatic features such as emergency braking and steering assistance.For Bosworth, the camera system is a game changer."It is the best augmented-reality product I think you could buy in the market today," Bosworth said.The exec said he was especially impressed by the 3D camera used when making turns. The display faces forward from the rear above the roof and changes when approaching obstacles.

Meta's CTO replaced his Tesla with an electric Mercedes: 'I didn't know cars could be this nice'

<ul class="summary-list"><li>EV charging has improved, but there is still a long way to go to convince the average driver.</li><li>Demand for electric vehicles in the US fell 14% in 2023, according to EY's study.</li></ul>We're getting closer to a cure for range anxiety, so why don't more people <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/automakers-back-to-the-drawing-board-ev-plans-2024-2">want an EV</a>?Only 34% of US shoppers planning to buy a vehicle in the next two years say they're likely to buy an EV, down significantly from the prior year, despite diminishing concerns about things like range anxiety and charging.The diverging trends were illustrated in EY's annual <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.ey.com/en_us/newsroom/2024/09/us-consumers-less-likely-to-purchase-an-ev-than-last-year">Mobility Consumer Index</a>, which surveyed 20,000 respondents in 28 countries who said they were considering buying a new car in the next 24 months. Among US respondents, the firm found that only 24% of potential buyers cited range limitations as a top concern (down from 30% in the prior year), and only 23% are concerned about finding a place to plug in (down from 34%).This dip in demand is reflected in a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-vehicle-misconceptions-about-the-ev-transition-market-sales-2024-5">stagnation in EV sales growth</a> over the past year as companies adjust to a new crop of more practical green-car shoppers. Simply put, these shoppers are also much more difficult to please than the enthusiastic early adopters of years past. EY found that only 24% of US car buyers named range limitations a top concern, down from 30% a year ago. Meanwhile, only 23% of US buyers said they were concerned about <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electric-vehicle-range-ev-charging-station-infrastructure-issues-2024-5">finding a place to plug in</a>, down from 34% of respondents in 2023.That should be a huge deal, but <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ev-electric-car-sales-plateau-early-adopters-competition-2023-8">today's electric-car shoppers</a> are less willing to endure the steep learning curve associated with switching to a fully electric car — even if they're getting cheaper and the tech is getting better."To keep momentum and make EV ownership appealing, it's imperative to educate and create a seamless customer experience from the dealership to the charge point," EY's Americas Power &amp; Utilities eMobility Leader Marc Coltelli said in the study.Battery-powered cars accounted for a record 7.6% of all car sales in 2023, according to Kelley Blue Book, up from 5.9% in 2022. But that sales growth has hit a plateau after years of exponential growth. Industry executives and analysts this year are estimating a more modest increase by the end of 2024, with EVs expected to account for between 8% and 10% of sales this year.<h2 id="5e995481-cafc-4a05-bbdd-943490394d6e">EV charging has improved, but there is still a long way to go</h2>Both the automotive industry and the US government have rallied around this issue, and at the start of this year the number of public charging stations in the US had doubled from 2020, according to Pew Research and the Department of Energy.In addition to this improvement in infrastructure, several EVs have been engineered to drive about as far as a gas car on a single charge, and batteries today are built to charge faster.But it's still not enough. The network of 61,000 public charging stations in the US pales in comparison to the roughly 120,000 gas stations nationwide. And just because a charger exists doesn't mean it's in the right place or compatible with the EV you're driving.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2024-us-electric-vehicle-experience-evx-public-charging-study">JD Power</a>'s annual study of EV public charging experiences released in August found that 19% of respondents visited a charger but were not actually able to charge their vehicle. A majority of these failed charging visits were due to lack of availability or the charger being broken, JD Power found.Affordability is also a key issue for today's electric car shoppers, an issue the industry has tried to address with lower sticker prices. The average price paid for an EV has fallen steadily for the past year, and some of the best <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ev-pile-up-dealer-lots-deals-discounts-leasing-2024-8">leasing deals</a> are reserved for electric cars right now.But EV shoppers have found a new cost to angst over.EY also found improvements in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-dozens-of-startups-leading-the-electric-car-charging-market-2022-2">charging and range attitudes</a> were dampened by an increase in worry about battery life and maintenance fees, with 27% of US respondents reporting concerns about expensive batteries.<h2 id="4c339c1e-7bfe-4082-9692-fca09b6cc911">EVs are still a tough sell for the average buyer</h2>US consumers are still quite skeptical about making the jump to a fully electric car, with 21% of respondents in EY's study saying they prefer a gradual transition from gas-powered cars to battery-powered cars.That's stoking demand for <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/car-buyer-interest-hybrids-as-electric-vehicle-adoption-slowing-2023-10">hybrid vehicles</a>, which come in plug-in varieties or with gas-electric engines that don't need to recharge at all, due to the higher mileage per gallon and less of a lifestyle switch."With many still hesitant to go all in with EVs, hybrids offer an 'easier-to-swallow' solution," EY Americas Aerospace, Defense and Mobility Leader Raman Ram said in the report. "For those who are looking to transition due to the environment, hybrids allow owners to lessen their reliance on fuel and creates options for batteries and parts. For many, it's a win-win."It's not quite that simple, though. Hybrids are hard to find right now as automakers rush back to the once-withering segment. The current mismatch between supply and demand for these vehicles makes shopping for them stressful and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/plug-in-hybrid-prices-soaring-demand-electric-cars-2024-9">prices hard to swallow</a>.

Drivers are feeling better about EV range and charging infrastructure, but still aren't ready to go electric

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some automakers are slowing down EV production, saying electric vehicles are too expensive.</li><li>They have a point, with drivers looking to buy an EV having to pay a hefty premium. </li></ul>EVs have <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/electrc-vehicle-demand-problem-affordability-expense-price-cost-2023-10">an affordability problem</a>.There just aren't very many cheap options – with the average price hovering just over $50,00 in September, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/kbb-atp-september-2023/#:~:text=Electric%20Vehicle%20Prices%20Continue%20to%20Decline&amp;text=In%20September%2C%20the%20average%20price,%25%20of%20ATP%2C%20or%20%244%2C991.">according to Kelley Blue Book data</a>.Auto execs have pointed to high prices as a big reason why <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/auto-executives-coming-clean-evs-arent-working-2023-10">demand for electric cars has slumped</a> this year.Several have slowed down their EV plans as a result, with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-delays-ev-manufacturing-investment-cars-too-expensive-2023-10">Ford postponing a $12 billion investment</a> and General Motors abandoning plans to build 500,000 EVs by the first half of 2024.All this, however, may be about to change soon. EV sales are on the rise, with more than 1 million electric vehicles expected to be sold in the US this year, taking a record 9% of the passenger car market, according to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" class="Link AnClick-LinkEnhancement " href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7130314247703535616/">Atlas Public Policy</a>.That share is still well behind other countries, with EVs reaching 33% of sales in China and 35% in Germany in the first three months of 2023, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://about.bnef.com/electric-vehicle-outlook/">Bloomberg data</a>.Tesla is reportedly planning to put a 25,000 euro (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-elon-musk-to-build-affordable-electric-car-report-2023-11">$27,000) car into production next year</a>, and a number of fast-moving developments in the technology behind electric vehicles may soon see prices plummet. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/electric-vehicle-battery-prices-falling.html">Goldman Sachs even thinks</a> EVs will hit price parity with gas-powered cars by the middle of this decade. Here's three reasons why electric cars are getting more affordable.<h2>1. Cheaper battery packs</h2>By far the most expensive part of any EV is the battery, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/automakers-rising-electric-vehicle-battery-costs-lithium-affordability-2022-12">spiking battery prices</a> have hit automakers hard.However, the long-term trend is still heading towards cheaper battery packs.Prices may have risen in 2022, but the Department of Energy estimates that the price of a lithium-ion battery pack <a target="_blank" href="https://www.energy.gov/eere/vehicles/articles/fotw-1272-january-9-2023-electric-vehicle-battery-pack-costs-2022-are-nearly#:~:text=The%20Department%20of%20Energy's%20(DOE's,least%20100%2C000%20units%20per%20year.">dropped by 89% between 2008 and 2022</a>, and Goldman Sachs says that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/electric-vehicle-battery-prices-falling.html">prices for batteries will fall a further 40%</a> by 2025."The battery is the single biggest cost going into electric vehicles and it's subject to the same kind of technology price curves that you see elsewhere," David Browne, the UK chief of EV manufacturer Smart, told Business Insider.<div type="image" title="A Rivian charging at an EV charging station." height="5443" width="8165" msid="105444037" hostid="261" sizebytes="1418058"></div>Leading the charge is the development of new classes of EV batteries, including sodium-ion batteries, which are more sustainable and cost-effective than power cells based on lithium. And, solid-state batteries, which are lighter and have more range.In October, Toyota <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/6224f235-568c-4e2f-8247-e7dacf0ef20c">announced a breakthrough in solid-state technology</a> that it said would allow it to halve the weight of its batteries by the late 2020s. Manufacturers think there are more breakthroughs to be made."We're only scratching the surface in battery development," said Browne."Working with ICE engines, you were chasing the smallest improvement in efficiency because people had been working on it for over a hundred years," he said."But battery technology is moving so quickly, and there are so many exciting developments, that there is lots we can do to improve efficiency," he added.<h2>2. More charging points</h2>Another speed bump in the road to mass EV adoption is the US's charging network, which is still patchy <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rivian-driver-ev-fast-charging-stations-out-of-order-la-2023-11">even in big cities such as Los Angeles</a>.Matthias Preindl, a professor of electrical engineering at Columbia University, told BI that boosting charging networks would allow manufacturers to put less emphasis on powerful range-boosting batteries, making their vehicles lighter and cheaper to produce – and in turn, meaning lower prices for the consumer.Tesla's North American Charging Standard and the CSS network are the<a target="_blank" href="https://www.theverge.com/2023/6/9/23755184/tesla-ev-charging-standard-nacs-ccs-gm-ford"> two major charging networks</a> operating in the US.<div type="image" title="Tesla" height="1333" width="2000" msid="105444038" hostid="261" sizebytes="82148"></div>Tesla's network is expanding rapidly, with the company planning to <a target="_blank" href="https://electrek.co/2023/02/15/tesla-double-supercharger-network-us-opens-to-non-tesla-evs-white-house/">double the number of chargers it offers by 2024</a>. It is also becoming the industry standard, with both <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-supercharger-general-motors-ford-ev-charging-access-network-2023-6">Ford and GM</a> announcing that their EVs will use Tesla superchargers from 2024 — something Cox Automotive director Stephanie Valdez Streaty believes will help boost the US' charging infrastructure."From an adoption standpoint, a consumer really wants to have that same experience as they do with an ICE (internal combustion engine vehicle), where it's never a barrier," she told BI."I think the key thing when it comes to charging infrastructure is going to be standardization," she said.<h2>3. Economies of scale</h2>One key headache for automotive companies is that the best way to bring down the cost of making EVs is to produce more of them."You have to get to a certain scale to really start to make money on electric cars and for the costs to go down," Valdez Streaty said."You begin to see more innovation and improved efficiencies in the manufacturing process," she added.That's an issue for legacy automakers, who have increasingly <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-delays-ev-manufacturing-investment-cars-too-expensive-2023-10">moved to cut EV production</a> targets in the face of slowing demand.Some companies such as Tesla are bringing down costs by changing how they mass produce their cars, with Elon Musk's firm pioneering <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/gigacasting-20-tesla-reinvents-carmaking-with-quiet-breakthrough-2023-09-14/">a new process called "gigacasting"</a> that allows it to produce large parts of a car's body through molten metal poured into high-pressure molds.<div type="image" title="Tesla autopilot" height="1688" width="3000" msid="105444040" hostid="261" sizebytes="92864"></div>Other firms like Toyota are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/08048b42-ce72-4b64-9e0e-d15fbc98a9da">racing to adopt similar methods</a>, which allow manufacturing plants to produce cars that are both lighter and cheaper.However, there are concerns that the new method could make it harder to replace car parts, and Browne said that while Tesla's tactics are good for keeping costs down, they could lead to a spike in repair costs."The trade-off is if you've got one big mega casting down the side of the car and somebody damages that, you've then got an issue with repair costs," he said.Alongside new production techniques, major automakers are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/toyota-speed-up-ev-production-aims-over-600000-units-2025-nikkei-2023-09-22/">still expanding their EV assembly lines</a>, even if they aren't doing it quite as quickly — and that is good news for EV prices."I think one of the challenges that we're seeing is that we're still ramping up EV production. So as production increases we will see prices also decreasing long-term," said Preindl.

3 reasons why electric cars will soon get a lot cheaper

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Toyota has said that the 2025 Camry will be available exclusively as a hybrid.</li><li>The family sedan has been the best-selling car in the US for the past two decades.</li></ul>America's most popular car is going hybrid-only from next year, according to Toyota.The 2025 Toyota Camry, which is the latest version of the best-selling car in the US <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-11-15/don-t-sleep-on-the-significance-of-toyota-s-purely-hybrid-camry">for the past 22 years</a>, will be available exclusively as a hybrid, the Japanese automaker <a target="_blank" href="https://pressroom.toyota.com/toyota-unveils-the-powerful-and-purely-hybrid-next-generation-camry/">announced on Wednesday</a>.Customers have been able to choose between gasoline and hybrid versions of the Camry since 2007, with Toyota being one of the first car companies to embrace hybrid technology.From next year, however, new buyers will only have the one option — although like all of the automakers' hybrids, the 2025 Camry will <a target="_blank" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/15/business/toyota-camry-hybrid-only/index.html">not be a plug-in hybrid</a>, with its batteries charged by the car's gas engine and brakes.The $26,000 Camry has been the <a target="_blank" href="https://insurify.com/car-insurance/insights/bestselling-cars/">best-selling car that is not a pickup truck or an SUV</a> in the US for the past two decades. The latest version is expected to arrive in dealerships in Spring 2024.The decision to make the upcoming version exclusively hybrid is a bold one from Toyota, which has so far <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/07/business/toyota-hybrid-electric-vehicles.html">chosen to prioritize hybrid cars over fully electric vehicles</a>.The carmaker's chairman Akio Toyoda, who <a target="_blank" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/26/business/japan-toyota-ceo-steps-down-intl-hnk/index.html#:~:text=Toyota's%20longtime%20president%20and%20CEO,Sato%20takes%20over%20daily%20management.">stepped down as CEO earlier this year</a>, has been a long-time skeptic of the shift to EVs, previously saying that the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/toyota-president-says-silent-majority-has-doubts-about-pursuing-only-evs-11671372223">"silent majority" of auto companies</a> have doubts about whether electric vehicles are a sustainable business.Toyota has nevertheless vowed to ramp up EV production as it seeks to compete with the likes of Tesla, and aims to sell 3.5 million battery-powered vehicles globally <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ft.com/content/08048b42-ce72-4b64-9e0e-d15fbc98a9da">every year from 2030</a>.Toyota did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

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