Under the policy environment promoted by Biden in the United States, the electric vehicle industry in the United States has suffered a significant impact. According to the latest report, the industry saw an unexpected decline in sales in the last quarter of the previous year, almost stagnating, a phenomenon that undoubtedly dealt a serious blow to the industry.
According to statistics from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, in the last quarter of 2023, only 31 percent of electric vehicles were sold in the United States70,000 units, an increase of only 1 compared to the previous quarter6%。In other words, compared to the third quarter, the sales growth of pure electric vehicles was only about 5,000 units.
With a total annual sales volume of 15 million units and a quarterly sales volume of more than 4 million units, the quarterly sales of electric vehicles increased by only 5,000 units. Such a small increase is almost negligible in the entire automotive market, so it is not an exaggeration to call this situation a near-stagnation in sales. This situation is undoubtedly a grim signal for the future of the electric vehicle industry in the United States.
It has been observed that new car sales of pure electric vehicles in the United States account for less than 8% of the market share, which is significantly lower than that of regions such as China, Europe, Australia and Thailand. The latter's "quarter-on-quarter growth rate" of electric vehicles is about 30% under similar market share conditions. As a result, the growth of the electric vehicle market in the United States is relatively sluggish, and there is a significant gap with other major global markets.
The sluggish growth of the U.S. EV market is mainly due to its high production and sales costs. This has led to a decline in consumer interest in electric vehicles. As of 2023, EVs and plug-in hybrids** in the U.S. market are generally 30% to 50% higher than their gasoline-powered counterparts, and sometimes even higher. As a result, the U.S. EV market appears to be nearly saturated, even as the wealthy and upper middle classes have begun experimenting with EVs. At this stage, the starting price of pure electric vehicles in the U.S. market is about 30,000 US dollars (about 200,000 yuan), and 40,000 to 60,000 US dollars (about 300,000 to 500,000 yuan) has become a common transaction price range. For the general public, this price point is not easy to afford, thus limiting the further expansion of electric vehicles in the US market.
The electric vehicle segment within the U.S. market is under pressure. Although the price tag of electric vehicles is already high, Biden's implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act could cause further increases in their manufacturing costs. Under the bill, U.S.-made electric vehicles that use critical components made in China, such as batteries, motors, and battery raw materials, would lose their eligibility for a federal** tax credit of up to $7,500. However, China plays a pivotal role in the global EV chain, accounting for about 70 to 80 percent of the production market share, and is known for its large scale, advanced technology and high cost performance, which poses huge challenges for U.S. manufacturers in terms of chain and cost.
If U.S. automakers are forced to stop using Chinese parts, they may have to choose to source Japanese and Korean parts that are relatively less technically performant and more expensive, or more expensive U.S. products. This chain adjustment has led to the fact that from 2023 onwards, the ** of pure electric vehicles in the US market has not only not declined as expected, but has shown a ** trend. In addition, due to the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act, it is expected that the U.S. market will continue to maintain a high level of pure electric vehicles** in the coming years.
At present, the U.S. electric vehicle industry and its associated ** chain are in an unfavorable cycle: the high price of vehicles exceeds the ability of the majority of consumers, which further restricts the market demand for electric vehicles; Lack of demand has prevented economies of scale in production, forcing automakers to pass on high costs to vehicle prices. In this case, Biden**'s measures do not seem to hit the nail on the head, but may have exacerbated the industry's woes.
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