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The withering dream of a cheap American electric car

(www.wsj.com)
152 points voisin | 3 comments | 17 Nov 24 23:52 UTC | HN request time: 0.69s | source
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bartvk ◴[18 Nov 24 00:05 UTC] No.42168473[source]▶
https://archive.ph/9oIT4

I wish it would have adjusted for inflation. One quote: "The average transaction price for a new vehicle sold in the U.S. last month was $48,623, according to Kelley Blue Book, roughly $10,000 higher than in 2019, before the pandemic." However, about 9200 euros of that is due to inflation according to this calculator: https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

That's a nitpick though. All in all, an interesting article, which can be summarized as: the EV car market is lacking demand, and car makers definitely don't want to make cheap EVs since it's already so hard.

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AgentOrange1234 ◴[18 Nov 24 00:21 UTC] No.42168570[source]▶
If even ICE cars are now super expensive, why isn’t this a screaming opportunity for some auto manufacturer to target the low end of the market?

I’ve never spent more than 20k for a car. With prices like this, I’m just going to keep my old one as long as I can.

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bluedino ◴[18 Nov 24 00:25 UTC] No.42168591[source]▶
Kia sells quite a few cars that start at $20k, like the Soul and Forte
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wlesieutre ◴[18 Nov 24 00:35 UTC] No.42168633[source]▶
Quite a few $20k ish, though only the Forte actually making it under that. Forte LX starting at $19,900.

Of course that's without without the $1,155 "destination" fee, so even the Forte really starts at $21,145.

But considering inflation, $21k isn't a bad price.

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OptionOfT ◴[18 Nov 24 01:00 UTC] No.42168758[source]▶
We need laws that ban these junk fees. Any advertised price should be one I can get when I walk in.

I cannot get the car without registration. I cannot get the car without 'destination' fee.

Bake it into the price.

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EricE ◴[18 Nov 24 15:00 UTC] No.42172895[source]▶
Just ask the dealer to compute the out the door price. It really isn't that difficult and certainly doesn't require yet another stupid regulation!
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triceratops ◴[18 Nov 24 15:32 UTC] No.42173278[source]▶
So instead of easily comparing prices online, now you have to call dealers individually and ask them to compute the out the door price? Which they already know and could post online themselves?

This is exactly the kind of problem regulations are meant to solve. Preventing false advertising and bringing information to all market participants make the market more efficient.

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1. rootusrootus ◴[18 Nov 24 15:42 UTC] No.42173418[source]▶
They'll have to know your address in order to accurately tell you the OTD price. Are you willing to give that information to every dealer you're querying about price?

There are also choices you can make during the registration process that will change the costs a bit. Quoting a fixed price for that would require yet more small print disclosing that certain choices were made.

I just don't see how it works out. Registration costs money. Not just when you buy the car, but over and over and over throughout the time you own it. You should know this as a driver. Further, the registration cost does not vary by dealer, so you don't need to know it in order to negotiate the best price.

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2. triceratops ◴[18 Nov 24 15:49 UTC] No.42173501[source]▶
> Are you willing to give that information to every dealer you're querying about price?

Dealerships generally get your name and phone number if you call them to ask about the price including fees and taxes. If you make them post defaults online, they get nothing from you. Clearly better.

> There are also choices you can make during the registration process that will change the costs a bit.

I'm curious about this. Do you have some examples?

Besides GP is also talking about things like the shipping fee, which are decidedly not variable or unknown. The dealership knows how much it costs them to ship the car from the factory and how much they want to charge you. They just choose not to disclose it.

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3. rootusrootus ◴[18 Nov 24 16:07 UTC] No.42173715[source]▶
> Dealerships generally get your name and phone number if you call them to ask about the price including fees and taxes. If you make them post defaults online, they get nothing from you. Clearly better.

I email, not call, and I lie. About my name, phone number, all of it. Best they will ever get is zip code. They could post defaults, but then I still don't know the actual OTD price -- it's already a hassle today because I have to be aware that dealers will advertise discounts that are only available in-state, and only mention that detail in the small print. I live in a metro that spans two states so this is common.

> I'm curious about this. Do you have some examples?

My state has a plethora of plate designs, and how much you pay depends on which you pick (it's really just a scheme for getting more revenue, of course). I can also choose (dependent on the vehicle, not all qualify) to pay for an extended registration period.

> They just choose not to disclose it.

I agree that they should disclose it. And they are required to by law. It's on the Monroney sticker, and it is included under "Total MSRP".