The Speed of Electric Vehicle Adoption
The automobile industry is transitioning away from gasoline powered vehicles to electric vehicles (EV). It seems that almost every day there is news reinforcing this fact. Electric car maker Tesla’s stock recently closed at a record high of $1,024.86. Tesla is now the most valuable auto manufacturer with a stock market value of over $1 trillion dollars. Whether it makes sense or not, Tesla is now almost 5 times more valuable than the second largest automaker, Toyota.
Ford announced the new electric f150 Lightning pickup in June and has amassed over 160,000 preorders in 6 months.
Rivian, a U.S. electric vehicle startup went public on November 10, 2021 at a price of $106.75 per share. This valuation made Rivian the third most valuable auto company in the world with a market cap of $148.95 billion, with less than 200 vehicles sold!
In local news, electric vehicle manufacturer Canoo announced that it had selected Bentonville, Arkansas for its headquarters and a technology hub. This company will build small package delivery vehicles (shown below) and will result in 545 jobs to Northwest Arkansas.
Global EV sales rose 160% in the first half of 2021. Electric vehicles have become price competitive with their gasoline-powered equivalents. For example, Audi unveiled its 2022 Q4 e-tron electric SUV at a price below the gas powered Q5 SUV.
With the escalating price of gasoline, the total cost of ownership of EV’s is much more attractive. Some estimates predict a lifetime savings from $4,000 to $18,000.1
Many automakers have detailed plans to electrify large portions of their fleets over the next decade, with some announcing goals for fully electric lineups within five years. A record number of almost 100 pure battery electric vehicles (BEV’s) are set to debut by the end of 2024.2
There has been continued improvement in batteries and auto driving range. The Tesla supercharger network has continued to expand, and now has over 30,000 charging stations in 3,250 locations in the world. Tesla announced plans to triple the size of the network within the next two years.
The recent Infrastructure bill passed by Congress includes $7.5 billion in funding to build a half a million charging stations over the next five years.
Tesla has begun a pilot program (in the Netherlands) opening its charging network to other EVs. They expect to expand this to the U.S. once all the logistics are ironed out. The company’s press release about this program stated: “This move directly supports our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy.”
When you begin your search for a new car, check out the electric vehicle options. They are fun to drive, very low maintenance, and cost-effective.
As always, we are here for you. Please email or call if you want to set up a Zoom videoconference meeting or talk by phone.
1Consumer reports, “Electric Vehicle Ownership Costs: Today’s Electric Vehicles Offer Big Savings for Consumers”, October 2020.
Ralph Broadwater, M.D., CFP®
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