Recently, more than 3,000 car dealers in the United States formed a group called "EV Voice of the Customer" (EV Voice of the Consumer) and sent a collective letter to Biden in the United States.
The group said that although ** provides a lot of incentives, local consumers are not very interested in electric vehicles, and dealers are very serious and have begun to affect the normal operation of the market. Dealers say they should give time for consumers to get used to electric vehicles instead of getting too much administrative involvement.
Considering that electrification is an important part of Biden's "investing in America" agenda, the current situation can be described as a slap in the face.
Why can't electric cars be sold in the United States?What changes will the Sino-US new energy dispute produce?Let Kung Fu Motors take you to take a look.
(1) It is still expensive after the price reduction, and American consumers have accelerated their flight
When it comes to electric vehicles in the United States, many people's first reaction is Tesla. In the first three quarters of this year, U.S. electric vehicle sales were 8730,000 units, of which Tesla accounts for 5653% market share.
But it also means that when Tesla, which is not cheap, completely dominates the market, the US EV market may not be quite the same as the domestic one.
Indeed, the starting price of the Model 3 in the United States is $3At $50,000, the Model Y starts at $4 in the United States$3.99 million, while the average price of electric vehicles in the United States has reached a staggering 5$070,000 (September data), which is the result of a 20% price reduction this year. You must know that the starting price of the BMW 5 Series in the United States is only 5$420,000, and the average price of an electric car is more than $50,000, no wonder American consumers don't buy it.
In order to win back consumers, many American car companies are trying to cut prices. For example, Lucid will air touring ** from 9$50,000 dropped to $8$750,000, the advanced version of the Grand Touring also dropped $10,000, and Ford also cut the F-150 Lightning pickup by $10,000. As for Tesla, it has also recently lowered the ** of the Model S.
But all these efforts still seem to be unable to save the footsteps of American consumers leaving.
In the U.S., there are simply too many cars to choose from for the same price range. The starting price of the regular A4 is 3It costs $740,000 and starts at $4.4 for the S4 high-performance model$990,000. V8 Mustang, Camaro, Dodge Challenger, these Chinese people envy sports cars, in the United States is at the level of 50,000-60,000 US dollars.
There is no emissions tax in the United States, and V6 and V8 engines, which are already scarce in China, are commonplace there. At the same time, the price of oil in the United States is still very cheap, almost half of that in China. This means that the purchase cost and use cost of large-displacement models in the United States are far lower than those in China. For those who pursue performance, the cost performance of electric vehicles is not so high.
This is also the reason why Tesla is gradually turning its attention overseas, because the domestic market potential is really not large.
(2) Ten years of loneliness, the industrial chain is empty
In the final analysis, the penetration rate of electric vehicles in the United States has not been able to rise, or it has not brought into play its cost advantage, which is completely different from that in China. Tesla once wanted to solve this problem and claimed to be coming out with a 2$50,000 car, but it didn't take place. The core reason is that the entire industrial chain of electric vehicles in the United States is actually hollow.
Let's take a look at the introduction of the legendary Model 2, which is an A-class sedan with a wheelbase of 2700, equipped with a 150kW motor, and has a range of 400km+, mainly to meet the needs of short- and medium-distance commuting. In fact, such cars abound in China, and the most famous and best-selling ones are Aion Y and Yuan Plus, both of which do not exceed 150,000, but the practicality can fully cover the so-called Model 2.
Why can't Tesla do what BYD and Aion can do?In fact, it is because of the cost. Although Tesla claims to have started a new generation of electric vehicles, it does not have much hardware accumulation. The core components of batteries and motors are purchased, and even Tesla has to purchase batteries from BYD, which also means that it has to reduce costs and can only be carried out through simple configuration.
This is not a problem of Tesla alone, but of the entire U.S. electrification industry chain.
Among the top ten power battery manufacturers in the world, China accounts for 6, South Korea accounts for 3, Japan accounts for 1, and the United States does not have one. The cost of batteries has accounted for 30%-50% of electric vehicles, which is a problem that Tesla cannot avoid no matter what.
In addition to the traditional three-electric system of batteries and motors, the intelligent industrial chain in the United States is also being eroded rapidly. Last year, the most popular Qualcomm 8155, almost everyone was proud to get this. But starting this year, Huawei's Hongmeng system, which has its own chips, has shined, and Geely, which has the Dragon Eagle No. 1, has also launched the FlymeAuto Meizu car machine, and Xiaomi's surging system will also be on the car soon.
When the industrial chain from top to bottom is replaced, the bargaining power of American electric vehicles will naturally decline sharply, and it has been unable to shake the market.
(3) The dispute between China and the United States for electric vehicles has been decided
Over the past decade, China and the United States have been in fierce competition for electric vehicles. China started earlier, starting the pilot project in 2009, and has initially formed a complete policy guidance system in about 13 years. But the explosive power of the United States is not weak, especially the launch of the Model 3 in 2016, which directly raised the design concept of electric vehicles to new heights. Including pure electric architecture, high energy density power battery, subversive intelligent configuration and so on.
But when Tesla's set was thoroughly eaten by domestic car companies, the whole situation was completely reversed.
In the past October, there were 10 brands of new energy vehicles in China with sales of more than 150,000 units, of which BYD's monthly sales exceeded 300,000 units for the first time. This data has exceeded the performance of the North and South Volkswagen at its peak.
In terms of technology, there are a large number of enterprises in China that can achieve full-stack self-development. Even a second-tier new force like Leap can get an investment of 1.5 billion euros from Stellantis Group. And intelligent driving chip companies like Horizon have also become the perfect "replacement" for NVIDIA, which can be used on more than 300,000 models.
What's more, it's not just electric vehicles that shine in China, and it's not just high-end cars that stand out. From small electric vehicles that cost tens of thousands of dollars to get started, to hybrid cars of about 100,000 yuan, and then to hundreds of thousands of high-end SUVs and MPVs, domestic new energy vehicles can occupy a place.
And Tesla's counterattack is actually very weak. Recently, it was reminded that the Model 3 sold nearly 20,000 units last month, and Tesla is back on its edge. In fact, this achievement is Tesla's order for three months, and only about 2,000 units were sold in September and October.
Compared to before, Tesla is very weak today. Tesla no longer participates in auto shows, nor does it participate in various tests and benchmarks, because it knows in its heart that Tesla has no advantage in terms of pure product power. Tesla is now facing customers who only consider Tesla and love the Tesla brand. Although this group is not small at the moment, there will always be a time when it will run out.
With the current product power of the Model 3 and Model Y, every additional car sold is actually a disservice to the brand in the long run. Now that users who have spent 250,000 to buy the Model 3, when they really react, they may have a very, very low evaluation of the brand. This has happened many times in the history of automobiles.
(4) Kung Fu shooting
It can be seen that Biden's mood to promote electric vehicles is still very urgent, including the recent new regulations to suppress China's ** chain, and to pressure car companies to produce more electric vehicles. But as things stand, the effects of these actions may be counterproductive. Excluding the Chinese industry chain will only make American electric vehicles more expensive and harder to sell, and as a result, more cars will be crushed in dealer garages.
There has never been a shortcut, and the "pit" that American electric vehicles once jumped over to save trouble is still waiting ahead.