💡 Musings of the Angry Optimist: Have electric cars peaked?

My thoughts, tips, and other tidbits that I believe are suited for a fact-based optimist. This newsletter is for you who are a Premium Supporter at Warp News. Feel free to share it with friends and acquaintances.

🚗 Is the electric car market stagnating?

There are plenty of headlines suggesting that electric vehicle sales are slowing down or decreasing, especially in the USA. "5 reasons why electric vehicle sales have slowed," writes Forbes. "Top analysts break down the 'meltdown' of the global electric vehicle market," according to The Street. "More alarm bells sound on slowing demand for electric vehicles," claims Reuters.

In fact, this is mostly just noise. Of course, the sales of expensive products like cars are affected by inflation and economic uncertainty, but electric vehicle sales continue to increase. Up 36 percent globally during 2023 and up 50 percent in the U.S. The increase in Sweden is likely around 35-40 percent. About 14 million electric cars will be sold this year.

Most of the noise comes from several of the major car manufacturers having problems. The transition from cars with combustion engines to electric motors is difficult. Many of them sell electric cars at a loss, often with a really big loss. Some of the models they have launched are not enough and too expensive and do not sell well.

In the USA, GM and Ford have been in conflict with the union, and the weak development of their electric vehicle sales has led them to withdraw EV investments of over ten billion dollars.

But the fact that traditional car companies are having problems with sales and profitability of electric vehicles is not the same as everyone having them. Pure electric vehicle manufacturers are doing well and have increased from one to seven percent of global car sales in three years.

We also see that the price of batteries has continued to decrease this year, as it has done for over ten years, with the exception of last year. This makes electric cars cheaper and cheaper. Those who benefit the most from this are the companies that are already selling electric cars at a profit, while it becomes increasingly difficult for those who are not doing so to manage the transition without going belly up.

Mathias Sundin
The Angry Optimist

❗ Interesting stuff?

🤔 A headline that can often be useful

From Paul Fairie.

👵 Life expectancy

"People often argue that gains in life expectancy are *only* the result of reductions in child mortality (as if that in itself is not a massive achievement...)

But this is not true.

Life expectancy has increased at all ages."
- @_HannahRitchie

🤨 The future LOL...?

“Every…invention mocked in the same cartoon came to pass within one hundred years, including the railroad, the airship, the airplane, the automobile, the powerboat, and the indus­trial factory.”
- @balajis

Mathias Sundin
The Angry Optimist