HomeMainPage Forums Autos Why can’t I buy a base model vehicle that has an electric motor?

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  • #1528
    Bonita Peel
    Participant

    Why does it have to be a luxury vehicle or a tiny, albeit premium, subcompact that always has the electric motor? There must be a market for people who want an EV but don’t also need leather seats, navigation, digital displays, premium audio, etc, etc.

    #1529
    Stefanie Stamp
    Participant

    Economy of scale, profitability, demographic of buyers. EV is just becoming mainstream, thus the technology to develop it is largely either on-going R&D sunk cost, or the R&D completed (Tesla) and but value needs extracted in order to maintain profitability. It’s why you don’t really find any of the latest and greatest technology in cheaper cars, and it works far more akin to “trickle down” that actually seems to work. The more mature and adopted the technology becomes, the more affordable it is to implement it in cheaper vehicles.

    You can’t buy a base model mid-size/full-size SUV EV under 30k because it’s not economically viable to provide those options yet. However if you look to the horizon, this is what you have coming…

    Mustang Mach-E (already available, cheaper than the Tesla Model Y with energy rebate I believe)

    VW Buzz (new EV “van” inspired by the old bus)

    Apparently a Chevy Blazer/Equinox upcoming

    Ford Explorer

    There’s a handful of options, but mostly premium brands on mid-level to premium trims only. Selling the highest value feature on the cheapest trim decreases margin on sale, and would likely take longer for those features to trickle down into base level trims due to delayed ROI. In 5 years when every manufacturer has options on the table for EV, it will become a race to the bottom which is where you’ll find your base level trims with EV.

    #1542
    Anthony Knott
    Participant

    The electric Equinox and Blazer are coming next year, I believe.

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