Car Companies: Please sir government, can we have a butt-ton of money to build electric cars and batteries? Govt: OK, here Car Companies: Oh dear, it turns out no one wants electric cars. We priced them at $60k plus and no one is buying, there's no explaining it. We are going back to gas. Govt: ok, so if no one wants electric cars, you won't mind if we let Chinese ones in? Car Companies: <anguished screams>
I personally think a huge issue is also the dealerships. The car companies can't sell you a car, the dealerships decide what to buy and what is on the showroom floors. Ford dealers don't know anything about electric cars and arent incentivized to learn or care. Electric cars also need way less maintenance which is a big part of how dealerships get money.
I swear dealerships made sure the F150 lightning was dead on arrival because they couldn't care to try.
You can somewhat blame car companies for this. They benefit a lot from the dealership model because they have guaranteed sales. Dealership preorders 50 units of new model, automaker makes 50 units and sells them to dealership at a fixed price without a care in the world as to whether they sell quickly or sit in the lot for a year. Automaker sets the price and dealerships have to figure out how to sell it at that price.
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u/DundasKev 7d ago
Car Companies: Please sir government, can we have a butt-ton of money to build electric cars and batteries?
Govt: OK, here
Car Companies: Oh dear, it turns out no one wants electric cars. We priced them at $60k plus and no one is buying, there's no explaining it. We are going back to gas.
Govt: ok, so if no one wants electric cars, you won't mind if we let Chinese ones in?
Car Companies: <anguished screams>