Only a few years ago, electric vehicles were the domain of the wealthy. As prices fall, and more average drivers adopt them, they’re no longer synonymous with status.
When the Roadster first rolled off Tesla’s California assembly line in 2008, it was an instant sensation.
With a top speed of 130 miles per hour, zero-to-60 acceleration in four seconds and a sleek body, the two-seater electric vehicle embodied the luxury of a Mercedes, Porsche or Jaguar. In a Time magazine review, the Roadster was described as “a hot sports car that also doubled as a statement against pollution”.
“Before Tesla, most people’s experiences with an EV would be a golf cart or something,” says Jeremy Micalek, professor of engineering and public policy at Carnegie Mellon University, US. “There was a sense of it being a small, slow vehicle where you have to compromise a lot.” But Tesla’s cars changed North Americans’ perceptions of the EV market. Instead of that compromise, it became a status symbol. Its price was also a statement, with Roadster models starting at $98,950 (£77,375) – leaving it to the domain of the wealthy.
Tesla may have elevated the perception of EV through splashy, luxury vehicles – but today, many North American drivers hungry to adopt EVs amid a growing marketaren’t looking for a status symbol. They’re looking for a deal. Automakers are answering the call: they’ve brought electric cars to market that prioritise affordably over luxury, knocking the EV off its pedestal.
At first, largely for the elite
Although it was always meant to signal status, Tesla’s nearly six-figure Roadster wasn’t necessarily priced to be deliberately out of reach for the large majority of drivers. James Carter, principal consultant at Canada-based electric vehicle consultancy Vision Mobility, says the price of the car was to cover the costs of EV technology – which was quite high more than a decade ago.
The company did introduce slightly lower-priced models; the Model S, a five-door sedan, first produced in 2012, had a base price of $60,890 (£47,615). Still, its cost left it squarely out of reach for most consumers, who paid roughly $25,000 (£19,550) on average for a new carat the time.
EVs were also difficult to charge at the beginning, and had far lower ranges compared to today. The first wave of sales went to wealthy early adopters, says Micalek, who were willing to take a leap of faith on new automobile technology and had the money to keep an internal combustion engine car around for long trips.
But even though Tesla dominated the market share and became synonymous with EVs, something else was happening in the background: other automakers were pushing back on the idea of EV as a status symbol, instead striving to bring the average driver an accessible option that would lead to higher adoption rates.
Eventually, EVs for everyone
Alongside the lower-cost EVs other automakers are introducing, Chinese EVs could represent a tipping point. Yet experts caution models by BYD and other Chinese EV manufacturers may not hit the market immediately.
While the Chinese firm started selling some of its models in Mexico last year, and currently produces them in Europe, Helveston says North America will be a tough market to penetrate. The US currently charges a 25% tariff on Chinese EV imports, which eats into the signature selling feature of these cars: affordability. US President Joe Biden also recently announced an investigation into the sale of Chinese EVs in the US on “national security” grounds, while Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said she is worried about China’s ability to flood the US market.
“There are plenty of barriers here that are going to make it really hard,” says Helveston. “Either they’re going to have to import the cars, which is going to make them too expensive, or they’re going to have to set up shop here, which is going to be really hard to do.”
Ultimately, sales are going up and prices are going down – which means EVs no longer carry the cachet they once did. As the cost of batteries drops, automakers are getting close to the point where their EV offerings match their petrol-guzzlers. There will still be a market for luxury EVs, just like there is a market for luxury ICE vehicles. Yet they will be the exception, not the norm.
Carter is confident EVs will eventually get to a critical mass. Petrol isn’t getting any cheaper, and electrification policies will ensure that owning an EV is simply the most affordable option. “By 2030,” he says, “people without much money who can stretch themselves for a new car will only be buying EV.”
From: Brennan Doherty, bbc.com