New Jersey-based Celebrity Motor Car owner Tom Maoli thinks that the consumer does not want electric vehicles, echoing the sentiments of the world’s top-selling automaker Toyota Motor Corp.
What Happened: In an interview with CNBC, Maoli, who also owns a Ford dealership, noted that Ford accrued a full-year EBIT loss of $4.7 billion in the last year for its electric vehicle segment and is projecting a loss of $5-$5.5 billion for it in 2024.
“Gas cars and hybrids are flying off the shelves. EVs cannot sell. The consumer does not want them,” Maoli said, citing the lack of charging infrastructure and high prices on the vehicles as possible reasons.
While the number of EVs sold across the U.S. is rising, market share is still small, Maoli said.
“Look at Tesla. They are dropping prices, the margins are dropping like a rocket ship,” he said, while adding that legacy Japanese automaker Toyota has reiterated its commitment to keep making combustion engine and hybrid vehicles.
“I am not sure what the Biden administration is looking at, but this thing is a failure,” he said, referring to the President’s push for EVs to account for half of auto sales by 2030.
Toyota’s EV Predictions: Toyota has often been slammed for its slow uptake of EVs. However, in an address last month, the company’s chairman Akio Toyoda said the company sees battery electric vehicles (EVs) securing no more than 30% of the global automotive market share, leaving the majority to other fuel technologies.
"The important thing is not to convert to BEV or FCEV. The enemy is CO2. So, let's all think about reducing CO2 right away," he then said.
Why It Matters: In 2023, over 1.4 million EVs were sold in the United States, with Tesla accounting for a whopping majority of it. Tesla’s Model Y electric SUV was also the world’s best-selling vehicle across fuel choices last year.
According to a report from Cox Automotive, the EV share of retail sales in the U.S. is currently at about 7.4%. In California, where EV adoption is at the highest, EVs account for about 21% of retail sales while in North Dakota, the share is less than 1%.
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