Last quarter, overall auto sales in the U.S. slipped, but EV sales surged. Kelley Blue Book reports that total car sales fell by 21.3% in Q4 2021 compared to Q4 2020, while EV sales grew by 72%. Is this the beginning of the end of the Oil Age, or just another temporary COVID-induced distortion of the normal market?

Let’s look at the case for the former. In most positive scenarios of the clean energy future, individual car ownership will decline in response to a number of factors: more internet-based work; better public transport and more walkable cities; and new shared ownership models. Some, notably Tesla’s Elon Musk, believe that autonomous vehicles will be in service most of the time, instead of parked most of the time, so that fewer will be needed.

On the other hand, there are several reasons to be wary of extrapolating a long-term trend from sales stats from one highly unusual quarter. By all accounts, the reason for tanking auto sales lies on the supply side. People still want to buy cars, as the sky-high prices for used vehicles, and the unattractive practice of auto dealers’ slapping high markups on in-demand models, make clear. However, automakers are unable to supply them, due to the ongoing chip shortage and other supply-chain problems.

As for the fact that EV sales soared, it would be more accurate to say that Tesla sales soared. Kelley tells us that some 72% of all EVs sold in the US last quarter sported Tesla’s cat’s-nose T on their hoods. Tesla also dominated the overall luxury market, outselling gas models from Audi, B.M.W., Lexus and Mercedes.

For several reasons, notably its in-house software development and its unified computer architecture, the chip shortage has proven to be far less of a problem for Tesla than for the legacy brands. It’s hard to escape the conclusion that the reason EVs bucked the overall market decline is simply that all-electric Tesla had cars to sell, while the other, gas-centric brands didn’t.

Source: Re-posted and Summarized from Charles Morris at EVANNEX.

My Take: The ICE car manufacturers are hiding behind the Chip Shortage excuse. They actually have a real demand problem. The writing is on the wall. The ICE AGE is over.

Re Posted From: Ice Car Sales Fall as Tesla Sales Rise

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Last quarter, overall auto sales in the U.S. slipped, but EV sales surged. Kelley Blue Book reports that total car sales fell by 21.3% in Q4 2021 compared to Q4 2020, while EV sales grew by 72%. Is this the beginning of the end of the Oil Age, or just another temporary COVID-induced distortion of the normal market?

Let’s look at the case for the former. In most positive scenarios of the clean energy future, individual car ownership will decline in response to a number of factors: more internet-based work; better public transport and more walkable cities; and new shared ownership models. Some, notably Tesla’s Elon Musk, believe that autonomous vehicles will be in service most of the time, instead of parked most of the time, so that fewer will be needed.

On the other hand, there are several reasons to be wary of extrapolating a long-term trend from sales stats from one highly unusual quarter. By all accounts, the reason for tanking auto sales lies on the supply side. People still want to buy cars, as the sky-high prices for used vehicles, and the unattractive practice of auto dealers’ slapping high markups on in-demand models, make clear. However, automakers are unable to supply them, due to the ongoing chip shortage and other supply-chain problems.

As for the fact that EV sales soared, it would be more accurate to say that Tesla sales soared. Kelley tells us that some 72% of all EVs sold in the US last quarter sported Tesla’s cat’s-nose T on their hoods. Tesla also dominated the overall luxury market, outselling gas models from Audi, B.M.W., Lexus and Mercedes.

For several reasons, notably its in-house software development and its unified computer architecture, the chip shortage has proven to be far less of a problem for Tesla than for the legacy brands. It’s hard to escape the conclusion that the reason EVs bucked the overall market decline is simply that all-electric Tesla had cars to sell, while the other, gas-centric brands didn’t.

Source: Re-posted and Summarized from Charles Morris at EVANNEX.

My Take: The ICE car manufacturers are hiding behind the Chip Shortage excuse. They actually have a real demand problem. The writing is on the wall. The ICE AGE is over.

Re Posted From: Ice Car Sales Fall as Tesla Sales Rise

Auto Helpers