Hard disagree. First off, the top selling "cars" in the US are all trucks and SUVs. It seems pretty clear "an affordable daily driver" is not really what US drivers want, and attempts to make these have all turned in to big money losers in the US, save perhaps the Model X (which is still not affordable by your definition).
The comparison to Vietnam and India feels like an apples to oranges comparison. Many of those vehicles are along the lines of "electric auto-rickshaw with a shell" and would be wholly unsuitable for the US market, not to mention US roads.
To be clear, I'm not psyched that everyone in the US seems to prefer a mini-tank, but lack of "small daily drivers" is definitely not what is holding back US EV sales.
Ever ridden in a BYD, MG, Vinfast, Nexon, or an IONIQ?
To people who aren't car enthusiasts (aka the majority), those cars have a better form factor than the equivalent Toyota, Hyundai, Suzuki, or Mitsubishi that people would normally buy.
> but lack of "small daily drivers" is definitely not what is holding back US EV sales
It isn't. It's the fact that an EV costs as much as a the median salary in the US in 2023 [0] ($50,000 is the Median wage, and the average transaction price for an EV is $53,000 [1])
> pretty clear "an affordable daily driver" is not really what US drivers want
The overwhelming majority of car sales in America are used, not new [2]. The average used car sells for around $26k [3] compared to $48k for new [4]
That implies that affordability takes the front seat in most purchasing decisions.
[0] - https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat39.htm
[1] - https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/how-much-electric-car-cost/
[2] - https://www.statista.com/statistics/183713/value-of-us-passe...
[3] - https://www.kbb.com/car-news/average-used-vehicle-price-fall...
[4] - https://www.consumerreports.org/cars/buying-a-car/people-spe...
To be clear, I wish it were different. I owned a 2015 Volt, and I loved (still love) that car, and I think it would be the perfect vehicle for most people. I get 35-40 miles of electric range, which for me means a round trip to work plus 1 "errand" trip. The benefits were I never had to worry about range anxiety (I'd frequently use all of 0.1 miles of gas if I went over electric range during the day), I never needed to special charger at home (it would charge overnight on a normal US outlet), and for long trips I didn't have to worry at all about "charger anxiety" because it would just switch over to gas.
And what happened? The Volt was always a money loser for GM, despite most owners loving the car. It was a huge lesson to me that (a) marketing is hugely important in the car industry, and (b) most people's car purchases are basically emotional decisions. It doesn't matter how "practical" your car is, many people essentially see their car as an extension of their identity.
Again, I wish it weren't this way in the US, but pretending it's not doesn't do anyone any good.
I and my peers (30 and younger) just aren't buying new or even used cars due to financial reasons, let alone EVs.
The capital outlay on a new car, let alone an EV is too high when factoring incomes, and alternatives.
And these are peers of mine in VC, Finance, Engineering Management, L7+ engineers. For our friends who are doing average jobs the affordability crisis is even worse.
If it is increasingly unaffordable for high earners like us, then there is something fundamentally wrong.
And let's be honest, a sub-35k EV is a solved problem. BYD and similar companies sells in Australia, NZ, Central Europe, and Japan at a similar price point.
The monthly cost reaches $1k a month in 2023 (parking+interest+insurance).
We all can afford it, but the question is why spend $12k a year on transportation when Caltrain+BART+Muni+VTA and Uber come out for less.
> buying a 25K
The average new car in 2023 is $48k, and the average used is $26k. With used you end up paying more in insurance and get worse financing.
Most of those high earning jobs are in the city and suburban areas, which makes car ownership a luxury.
Though, even in rural areas car ownership costs have become heavily unaffordable, now that average rent prices nationally are around $1400/mo compared to $700/mo a decade ago [0], while median salary in 2023 is at $4,000/mo (pre-tax)
[0] - https://www.census.gov/housing/hvs/data/histtab11.xlsx
Similar boat. My parents and I buy new, but then we keep using the car for 10-15 years.
It doesn't make sense financially to buy a used car and then upgrade to another used car in 4-5 years.
Still? Dealer lots are stuffed with overpriced, overpowered, pavement queen pickups.
I don't agree with this statement. Automakers continue to use the chip shortage of a couple years ago as an excuse to only manufacturer full-loaded cars of all types. I haven't seen a single base model new vehicle for sale at the dealership in years, ever since the chip shortage began (and is no longer a problem).
The US driver doesn't want anything in particular, I have no clue how you can characterize a market of 200 million people with that statement. Maybe rich people in the Bay Area "want" a full loaded Model S, but there are huge numbers of people in America that make a fraction of Tier-1 salaries. They still care about the environment and want a sub-30k car that has fewer features than a Tesla. It's unfair to toss their desires aside and claim that the market knows what the people want. It's like saying the American Macintosh user wants expensive Apple computers because Apple doesn't make a cheap computer.
The US auto industry is in a state of regulatory capture. They all operate in a coordinated manner to not undercut each other and sell cheap cars. They can all make more money as an industry if they just sell the most expensive possible car to the consumer, and convince them they got a great deal by offering 96-month car payments and inscrutable lease offers that end up scamming the consumer at every urn.
Even at Tier 1 salaries it's unaffordable without parent's help.
I and my peers are 30 and younger, and work in VC, PE, IB, PM, SWE, Tech Sales, Dentists, Doctors, and other high salary jobs in the Bay Area, and even we don't want to buy cars (new, used, or EV) because the cost outlay is ridiculous, and could be better used to to save for buying a house or a condo or fully paying off student loans.
Everyone parks their car at night. If parking anywhere for eight hours meant getting another day of driving, then buying and operating an EV would be feasible for absolutely anyone. The market would sort out the rest.
Assumptions/facts: average new car price in 2023 is $35,000; Tesla Model 3 is $39,000; 1,800 watts from standard outlet; 300 watts/mile; average daily driving distance 37 miles; US EVs continue trend toward NACS plug adoption; Tesla continues buildout of fast-charging network for long-range driving.
Sorry I hope I am not being too dismissive, I am interested in if you have thought some of it through and have answers.
You're absolutely correct that someone has to pay for installation, maintenance, and electricity. Almost any answer I can think of is better than the current situation.
It can be done. 40 years ago almost all spots in cold weather areas had block heater plugs.
Mini Cooper SE starts at 31k.
The Mini Cooper SE is also being discontinued.
So why do you think the two most affordable EV options in the US were discontinued? I don't think it's because they were flying out of the showrooms.
I suspect what these people actually wants is 2024 Mediocrity, which Leaf, Bolt, Mini Cooper, etc., are not as they're all hatchbacks, which isn't the mentally defaultest style of a automobile, but Tesla is.
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mediocrity_(advertising_campai...
looks like bolt is still here
That is pretty amazing really considering not long ago 200 miles range was only available in Teslas and which were priced as luxury cars, compared to early nissan leafs and e-golfs that would only get you 70-80 miles tops (...and let's not even start on the g-Wiz!)
Give it a couple more years and I fully expect 150-200 mile cars for the mid-low teens (GBP), which is roughly equivalent to normal ICE prices now (e.g. non-EV version of Citroen C3 is £14k)
The UK government recently pushed back banning ICE car sales by 5 years, but I checked the adoption curves in Scandinavia (who are a few years ahead of most of the world) and basically it doesn't matter because by 2030 (the original target) almost all car sales in the UK will be electric anyway, irrespective of a ban.
The lack of affordable daily driver EVs is what's slowing down adoption here in the US.
Hell, even in Vietnam and India there are fleets of low cost EVs now.
Addendum:
an EV costs as much as a the median salary in the US in 2023 [0] ($50,000 is the Median wage, and the average transaction price for an EV is $53,000 [1])
[0] - https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat39.htm
[1] - https://www.kbb.com/car-advice/how-much-electric-car-cost/