The largest barrier to EV and PHEV adoption after cost is availability. And at this point it’s not in that order.
Hyundai, Kia, Toyota, etc dealerships cannot even get them to their lots before they are sold. My wife and I looked into a Highlander Hybrid and a Rav4 Prime for her and Evey dealer in the city said they have sold their allotment for a year or more. Ditto Ford for the Lightning, Mach E, and all the Hyundai/KIA/Genesis EV and PHEV products. The VW ID4 as well.
You can still get a Tesla on a delay (tax credit expiration is the main reason). About the only other EV or PHEVs you can walk onto a lot and have a shot at buying are a couple of sedans in limited #s, a rare Kia Niro, or, and this is your best bet, a Ford Escape. Everything else you have to get in line for.
Besides the Telluride and the Bronco they are the hardest cars to buy right now, though most everything is hard to buy right now.
The other component is that dealerships aren’t trained to sell them. It requires rethinking all aspects of sales and ownership as there are different priorities, including range and charging capacity, and being educated in state and local incentives. There are a number of articles about this dilemma that were published this fall. Here is one:
And regardless of what anyone here thinks about EVs they are coming and coming soon. Hyundai/KIA has shut down its ICE development, and shifted all of their engineers to BEV development. They are going to full electric over the next few years. BMW, Audi, & Mercedes have already started and will fully phase out their combustion engines be the end of the decade if not sooner. GM is a year or two behind them. Toyota / Lexus just announced about a dozen EVs (they still believe hydrogen is viable though , but they are also exiting ICE vehicles).
Here is a consumer reports article about all the upcoming models:
The next 5 years are going to be interesting. The average car commercial is going to look a lot different very soon.
Following reports from both The Korea Economic Daily and Business Korea newspapers regarding Hyundai’s plans to cease production of Internal Combustion engines, reputable motoring news source Motor1.com contacted Hyundai in an attempt to confirm or deny the speculations made by South Korean media. In an official e-mail response, Hyundai Motor America’s Senior Group Manager, Michael Stewart said, “Hyundai Motor Group can confirm that it is not halting the development of its engines following recent media speculation. The Group is dedicated to providing a strong portfolio of powertrains to global customers, which includes a combination of highly efficient engines and zero emissions electric motors.”
Hyundai has halted their ICE development but will continue to make existing ICE engines for 2nd and 3rd world markets until they meet development goals.
The bulk of their sizable engineering group was reassigned as the company retools for EVs:
Hyundai’s R&D headquarters in Namyang that has 12,000 personnel recently went through a significant reorganization as the automaker prepares for the next stage of the electric era.
The engineering team that used to work on the development of new engines has been transformed into an R&D team for electric vehicles.
The electrification of the Hyundai Group has already started with several new models from Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis planned to be underpinned by the Electric Global Modular Platform (E-GMP). More specifically for Hyundai, the Ioniq 5 that was launched earlier this year is expected to be followed by the Ioniq 6 in 2022 and the Ioniq 7 in 2024. Besides EVs, Hyundai is also working on hydrogen fuel-cell technology as an alternative for the future.
Last week, Hyundai announced the retirement of Albert Biermann from the role of the President and Head of the Research and Development Division for the Group. The German engineer, who will now work as an Executive Technical Advisor for the firm, played a pivotal role in the driving characteristics of Hyundai products including the performance-oriented N department. Despite his retirement, Biermann will utilize his experience in supporting the development of electrified performance vehicles.
Also, for anyone who is actually interested in this and not just here to argue, I have found this guy to be pretty insightful into the entire industry. His videos are good if you nerd out on this stuff or cars in general.
I also like TFL but I think they are better known. It’s been interesting to see those off road / truck guys tackle EVs over the last couple of years. They generally like them though they have had some serious gripes with Tesla’s quality control.
They’re fun because they are so truck / off-road oriented.
Finally, I like these guys too:
They are a Top Gear style channel, and they are petrol heads too, but they really love some of the new EVs as their recent videos attest. Their emphasis is on performance.
I guess I just outed myself on how I waste my time on YouTube.
I saw a Rivian in person for the first time a couple weeks ago. Its a really good looking truck. I hated the odd headlights at first, but they have grown on me and I really like the look now. It looks great in videos and pictures, but even better in person. Their design team nailed the tough task of trying to look futuristic and traditional at the same time.
Tesla has done fucked around and let Ford beat them to being the first mass produced electric truck. I was going to pre-order a cybertruck but held off on it. I’ve now decided to get an F150 lightning.
oh I know, but Tesla also has a ton of reservations, so I wouldn’t be getting one within a year of their launch either.
Honestly, Ford will probably have a better build quality anyway. I admire the shit out of what Tesla has accomplished, but they also aren’t exactly known for attention to detail, especially on their new launches.
The lightning looks like a fantastic truck, especially if you don’t need the upper trim levels. The lower to medium trims are a helluva lot of value for a badass truck.
