A recent opinion survey has attempted to break down the public interest in all-electric vehicles based on key demographics. While the results were largely predictable, there were some novel takeaways that could be of interest to automakers hoping to market the vehicles. The data also shows how trends may be shifting, with the prognosis being less than ideal for EVs.

As BMW’s first mass-produced “zero emissions” vehicle, the i3 boasted a predictably quirky design that seemed to underpin most manufacturers early attempts at fielding an electric car. But the model fell short in terms of range and luxury, especially in relation to MSRP, resulting in a de facto city car for those who liked the idea of owning a BMW-badged EV.

While the vehicle implemented some novel features, the model has aged rather poorly due to advancements in battery technology. It could be argued that the i3 ended up a failure due to the fact that BMW never figured out how to produce them cheaply enough to be a volume vehicle. However, it may have also been too odd to garner true mainstream appeal — something the brand says it doesn’t want to happen for the i3’s successor.

Like most government agencies, NGOs, and publicly traded companies, Mercedes-Benz has made a promise to be all-electric by 2030. The automaker intends to have every newly launched vehicle architecture be electric-only after 2024 and to gradually wean itself off combustion engines.

Unfortunately, the brand’s sales trajectory doesn’t appear to be cooperating. Despite seeing a surge of interest in its electrified EQ products initially, Mercedes has started having trouble moving EVs.

Ohio-based Lordstown Motors has received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to sell its remaining manufacturing assets to a company owned by its founder and former CEO Stephen Burns for roughly $10 million.

LAS Capital, owned by Stephen Burns, will reportedly receive Lordstown's intellectual property, business data, and any machinery used for manufacturing. However, Taiwan’s Foxconn will retain the factory itself after a financial dispute which ultimately left Lordstown filing for bankruptcy last June. 

Rivian lost an estimated $33,000 on every pickup it sold in the second quarter of this year, which is kind of impressive considering the cheapest model it sells still goes for a sizable $73,000. Considering its lofty initial public offering (IPO) and enviable product specifications, some are wondering why the company isn’t in better shape.

Though Rivian is hardly alone in selling cash-hemorrhaging electric pickups and SUVs. Ford is on track to lose $4.5 billion on EVs by year's end and is supposed to be underwater by more than $32,000 per average all-electric transaction. Frankly, it doesn’t look like any brand other than Tesla has managed to find a way to make volume electrification work in its favor.

In 2017, General Motors sold Opel and Vauxhall to Frances PSA Group — which later merged with Fiat Chrysler to form Stellantis — basically ending its involvement with the European market. However, the company vowed a return in 2023 and that’s now taking place in Switzerland.

In what must surely be some of the least surprising automotive news you’ll read today, the corporate duo of Hyundai and Genesis have announced they will be adopting the North American Charging Standard for its EVs. This change will debut in the final quarter of next year.

Volkswagen intends to temporarily limit production of the SEAT Cupra Born and its very own ID.3 EV in October. The company has cited market forces as the cause, noting that its Zwickau and Dresden plants in Germany would be throttled down for a couple of weeks.

Nobody likes bureaucratic red tape or waiting on payment and this seems to have become a sticking point for retailers nervously waiting to see how the United States’ updated EV tax credit scheme plays out.

According to a report from Automotive News, dealers are getting worked up about the prospect of not receiving money swiftly enough — mimicking some of the hardships endured during the Cash-for-Clunkers period.

Hyundai is offering customers willing to buy an all-electric vehicle a Level 2 home charger for no extra cost. While the ChargePoint device is framed as being free, it does require the purchase of a new automobile through the automaker’s captive finance arm Hyundai Capital America.

That makes the $33,550 (before any federal tax credits or state incentives) Kona Electric the most affordable way to take advantage of the deal. But you’ll still have to find someone to install the unit into your home, to which the manufacturer has offered a $600 credit toward installation.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday that he’s delaying bans the government had previously made for gasoline-powered vehicles. The scheme was to have the United Kingdom restrict citizens from purchasing new combustion vehicles by 2030. But Sunak has questioned the previous timeline’s viability, opting to push things out to 2035.

This probably isn’t a huge surprise for anyone with at least one foot planted in reality. EV mandates have frequently been accompanied by target dates that are wholly ridiculous. Manufacturers aren’t producing these vehicles in sufficient quantities, the supportive infrastructure isn’t in place, and there's a significant portion of consumers that appear disinterested in buying non-traditional powertrains.

Listening to pundits and some media outlets, it’d be easy to believe that EVs are nowhere near as popular as their gas-powered counterparts. But, while it’s true that electric vehicles still make up a tiny portion of the overall market, their numbers are growing. The latest data from Experian shows that EV registrations rose 67 percent over 2022’s numbers to an impressive 655,986 vehicles.

On Tuesday, the White House voiced its opposition to a Republican bill scheduled to be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives that would prevent California from receiving federal waivers to set standards limiting the sale of gasoline-driven automobiles.

Like everything else in the modern era, vehicles have become another polarizing issue. The populace is split between gasoline-loving Luddites, endlessly bemoaning the current regulatory landscape and smug EV adopters who proselytize battery-powered vehicles with all the zealotry of a religious fanatic.

There’s plenty of overlap between the two groups. However, they tend to diverge in terms of disposable income, political preferences, and even geography. J.D. Power looked into the latter issue, hoping to identify purchasing trends around the United States. It found that, while EV adoption rates were increasing nationwide, there are plenty of places in America that now appear to be shunning electrified automobiles. 

We covered Hertz expanding its EV offerings yesterday. As I think it over, I have a couple of questions.

Automakers are going electric, which means that all the companies that rely on them will have to adapt. Car rental companies have long pledged to make the transition alongside their auto industry partners, and Hertz recently announced that it would be adding the Cadillac Lyriq and Chevy Silverado EV. 

Earlier this week, Matt wrote about Dodge's take on how American muscle will evolve as cars become more electrified.

Those four black circles at each corner of yer car are technically the only parts of the machine that literally touch the pavement. All the modern safety or efficiency gear in the world is useless if an owner has cheaped out with off-brand rubber or simply runs the wrong set.

Those of us in the Snow Belt know this, explaining the rise of that three-peak mountain snowflake symbol that certifies the tire for winter duty. But the rise of electric vehicles comes with a new set of considerations – and Nokian thinks they have an answer.

Here’s something likely very few people had on their 2023 Bingo cards: Faraday Future has delivered a vehicle. To a customer. Who paid money. The first FF91 EV delivery took place over the weekend, finally putting an end to the will they, won’t they conversation surrounding the brand.

Those who follow the automotive industry will have undoubtedly noticed that dealer inventories are slowly approaching levels that would have been considered normal before the pandemic. While this is presumably good news for people who have absolutely had it with dealerships marking up their products, some are growing concerned by how much electric vehicle inventories are outpacing their gasoline-reliant counterparts.

Despite elevated fuel prices, aggressive marketing, and most companies vowing to transition toward building electrified automobiles exclusively, America has an EV supply of more than 100 days on dealer lots. That’s about double the average for gasoline vehicles. While it would seem that people are losing interest in battery-driven automobiles, industry experts are claiming that all is not as it seems.

A group of gearheads from Down Under have apparently set a new world record for driving a car underwater, taking a specially prepped old-school Land Cruiser about 7 kilometers (approximately 4.5 miles) across the floor of Darwin Harbour.

After emerging from the briny deep, one onlooker told the team to “drive this thing straight to the pub.” It doesn’t get more Oz than that.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will soon release its proposal to increase Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) requirements and General Motors has signaled its concerns regarding how much more money it will cost the automotive industry. GM is estimating that the new rules could result in manufacturers paying $100-300 billion in emission fines between 2027 and 2031.

However, the Biden administration has reportedly said it’s highly dependent on which plan is implemented — suggesting industry penalties would vary heavily between companies and average out to be far lower than GM has claimed.

An enormous vehicle carrier that caught fire at sea earlier this week appears to have far more electric vehicles on board than first suggested.

Tesla’s Supercharger network seems to have taken over the world, with several major automakers recently announcing a shift to the standard in the coming years. However, that hasn’t stopped many others from banding together to form their own charging network, including some who signed on with Tesla.

Myself and a few other journalists were talking shop over lunch today and one of us wondered which automaker would be next to adopt the North American Charging Standard for electric vehicles. The same standard developed and used by Tesla.

Nissan jumped on the bandwagon last week.

So, B and B, who's next?

We’ve been hearing about the rise of electric vehicles for years, but while they are growing rapidly in number, there’s still a disconnect between an auto industry hell-bent on electrification and the desires of the people they rely on to buy new cars. Axios recently highlighted the issue and found that dealers have EV inventory sitting on their lots for extended periods, suggesting that supply is significantly outpacing demand.

Canadian dealers of Mercedes-Benz vehicles are reporting that the automaker is considering revising its strategy for North America.

The dealers attended a market-wide retailers meeting in Vancouver held in May and noted that the automaker was fretting about consumer hesitancy over expensive electric vehicles. Concerns centered around the ailing economy, which has been undermined by higher interest rates and ongoing inflation.

The Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI) is reportedly prepared to tell the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that its proposal to significantly reduce vehicle emissions through the 2032 model year is wildly unrealistic. The lobbying group believes that the government’s proposed targets are “neither reasonable nor achievable in the timeframe provided."

An internal memo was released on Wednesday, stating that the regulations introduced by the U.S. government earlier this year were so stringent that they were "a de facto battery-electric vehicle mandate.”

With the Lordstown Motors Corp. bankruptcy now official, everyone is trying to figure out what exactly happened. This includes CEO Ed Hightower, who is now claiming that the executive leadership at Foxtron — a subsidiary of Foxconn Technology Group focused on electric vehicles — refused to meet with him in 2022.

Frankly, it seems like everyone is playing the blame game right now. Lordstown is keen to place some heat on the Taiwanese partner it sold its factory to and Foxconn isn’t interested in taking the fall. But let’s see what can be gleaned from Hightower’s interview.

On Tuesday, Lordstown Motors Corp. (LMC) officially filed for bankruptcy and sued Foxconn. Though the writing was already on the wall for the Ohio-based electric vehicle manufacturer. Lordstown’s share price collapsed in 2021 and the company has suffered numerous production delays. This seems to have encouraged the Hon Hai Technology Group/Foxconn to back out of its strategic partnership.

But it’s not bad news for everybody. Former chief executive of Lordstown Motors, Steve Burns, managed to sell off every share of his stock before the company filed for Chapter 11. You might remember him as the executive who abruptly quit the company without explanation shortly after LMC's stock valuation slammed into the pavement.

As EVs slowly grow in prominence, new automakers have sprung up like spring flowers, but it’s not always clear if they’ll actually produce a vehicle. A quick look around the industry reveals a handful of once-exciting automakers that have since fizzled, but Henrik Fisker’s company isn’t one of them. Despite a long wait for its inaugural EV, Fisker has begun U.S. deliveries of the Ocean SUV, making it one of the few to make it through the gauntlet with a real product.

John DeLorean created an automotive cultural force with the shockingly futuristic stainless steel car that wore his last name. The company’s tenure was short, spanning just three years in the early 1980s, but its legacy has lived on, thanks mostly to the significant role it played in the massively popular Back to the Future movies. Though DeLorean has been out of business for 40 years, the brand is getting a rebirth, and its return will include a brand-new car.

One-pedal driving is one of the more well-known features of electric vehicles, but Consumer Reports recently voiced concerns that the feature might be more dangerous than initially thought.

On Monday, Ford Motor Co. opened the Cologne Electric Vehicle Center in Germany. Founded in 1930, the facility first produced examples of the Model A intended for the European market. Though the site is probably more famous for manufacturing the Ford Capri and every single generation of the humble Fiesta.

The factory has more recently been the recipient of a $2 billion investment to prepare it for the automaker’s push into electrification. With retooling having concluded, Ford says the plant should boast an annual production capacity of 250,000 electric vehicles.

We've reported on Ford and GM reaching agreements to use Tesla's EV charging standard.

So the obvious question is -- who's next?

Upstart automakers don’t always have the smoothest path to success, but a few make it through the daunting pre-release vehicle development period and beat the odds. Rivian did it, and now it’s Fisker’s turn. The automaker, helmed by famed auto designer Henrik Fisker, will ship its first EV starting June 19.

Over-the-air updates are a significant benefit to today’s big-screen connected vehicles. Though the “screen for everything” trend can lead to extra driver distraction in some cases, the constant connectivity lets automakers add new features and refine existing functionality without requiring a trip to the dealer. Polestar recently announced such an update for the Polestar 2, which brings YouTube and improvements to the Apple CarPlay function.

One of the things that EV antagonists often cite is a lack of buyer enthusiasm for electric vehicles. As it turns out, the demand is there, but costs are a significant hurdle for buyers. A recent study from KPMG found that most people are interested in buying an EV, but many cite affordability as a hurdle to ownership. 

A chief scientist at Toyota has said that forcing people to buy EVs could actually make them want to keep their internal-combustion engine vehicles longer.

Many states and municipalities are all-in on EVs, but the shift has some wondering how they’ll make up for the tax shortfall from falling gasoline sales. A popular solution that gets tossed around is to add a tax to EV registrations to help recoup the lost revenues, and Texas recently passed a new law to remedy the problem.

Ford will be scaling down future investments in China, as the company’s chief executive has suggested that there will be “no guarantee” Western automakers can compete with local electric-vehicle rivals. This should have been obvious to American manufacturers who have historically been required to engage in partnerships with Chinese corporations just to sell within the region. But it also speaks to hardships Ford has endured while trying to break into the market.

Lordstown Motors is back in the headlines with news that it could end up in bankruptcy if it can’t negotiate a dispute with Foxconn. The Taiwanese giant threatened to withhold funding, which could have a dire impact on Lordstown’s ability to operate.

What does it take to get a home EV charger installed?

Well for one Boston man, it took two and a half years, 37 letters, and four endorsements from councilors.

I am almost certain we've asked this question, or a variation of it, relatively recently, but I want to ask it anyway in light of recent stories -- are YOU going to, or at least willing to, buy an EV any time soon?

Electric vehicles are more common and popular than ever, but a new study shows that we’re just getting started. IEA, a global sustainable energy advocacy firm, recently released a study that shows incredible demand for EVs and a projection of even more growth in 2022.

A poll making the rounds this month suggests that almost half of Americans wouldn't buy an EV for their next vehicle purchase, due to a lack of reliable charging and high costs.

Honda has sent us a brief on its hopes and plans for the near future.

Not surprisingly, there's a fair amount of optimism and some gestures toward EV plans.

While the automotive sector is habitually discussing how electric vehicle adoption will be spurred on by the country building a more robust charging infrastructure, nobody seems to be talking about how to make charging profitable enough to sustain itself. As of now, government subsidies are helping to ease the financial burden of installing EV charging stations. But their long-term viability is being undermined by the fact that most people prefer charging at home.

The Specialty Equipment Marketing Association, or SEMA, represents thousands of aftermarket and automotive parts companies, giving it a unique level of sensitivity to changes in emissions, safety, and other vehicle regulations. Recent changes to EPA regulations could bring a seismic shift in the automotive market, making a significant portion of new vehicle sales electric early next decade. SEMA’s President recently shared the organization’s thoughts on the issue, which are predictably skeptical of the changes.

The Ohio-based Lordstown Motors has reportedly resumed assembly and delivery of its all-electric Endurance pickup this month, after having to pause production in February to address quality concerns.

With the guidance having come in on the United States’ updated EV tax credit scheme, outlined in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, we now have a pretty good idea of which electric vehicles still qualify. Stringent content requirement stipulations have certainly culled the roster, however, and helped explain why the automotive sector didn’t have any issues with the government taking its sweet time in making decisions regarding content quotas.

There are only about a dozen models that qualify for the full $7,500 tax credit after April 18th, with a few more being eligible for a partial credit of $3,750.

We've been covering the Volkswagen ID.7 in the lead-up to today's unveiling, and now we have the official deets.

Yesterday we covered the proposed EPA rules and regs from the Biden administration.

Word on the street is that the Biden administration is about to propose some of the toughest emission rules the United States has ever seen in a bid to spur electric vehicle adoption. As things currently stand, the U.S. is assumed to be the very last developed nation to fully embrace EVs. But the White House seems to think the premise can be combated via a stringent regulatory framework.

Of course, the government and supportive media outlets are trying to drive home the point that these are not the same as the vehicle mandates being pushed in other countries (and some states like California) that would legally require people to buy electric in the coming years — even if the end result is functionally the same.

If a plan from the nation’s largest retailer takes flight, the chargers one will find at Walmart won’t just be for small devices in the electronics department. The company hopes to install EV fast chargers at nearly all its stores across the country.

Of all the American adages, “there ain't no such thing as a free lunch” has to be the most applicable and it often comes to mind whenever the automotive sector spins itself up over alternative energy vehicles. While it is comforting to assume that novel powertrains are going to create a world where nothing is wasted and no environmental harm is done, the laws of nature don’t really support the theory.

While we already covered the powertrains the 2024 Kia EV9 will receive, its North American premiere at the New York International Auto Show has given us more to chew on.

Hyundai took the covers off three variants of its new Kona today, unveiling the standard and N-Line trims plus a continuation of the all-electric model – the latter of which Hyundai will now offer with two battery sizes.

One of the challenges of EV adoption is range, or lack thereof. But as the technology improves, range gets closer and closer to what's offered by internal-combustion vehicles.

See the 2025 Ram 1500 Rev for evidence.