Thanks to HotAir member John for the heads up on this one today. I’m not sure if it was inevitable, or exasperated by the United Auto Workers continuing walkouts, but here it is.

General Motors is “delaying” the opening – supposedly by a year – of their shiny new EV truck manufacturing plant outside of Detroit. And pinky-swearing it doesn’t have anything to do with UAW president Shawn Fain’s pain-in-the-butt labor tactics.

General Motors is delaying the opening of a large electric-pickup-truck factory in Michigan, the latest sign that the auto industry’s enthusiasm around EVs is starting to wane as sales growth for these models slows.

GM said Tuesday that its Orion assembly plant in suburban Detroit would start to make electric versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra by the end of 2025, a year later than originally planned.

Sales of EVs were red hot through the spring apparently, but then chilled out considerably. The economy, maybe? I know there’s been some subsidy/rebate issues for consumers, too. Or maybe they’d hit the max interested number of consumers?

Who knows precisely, but whatever combination of factors contributed, what came next was described as a “throat punch” to the legacy auto manufacturers. Already struggling under the enormous cost of putting a finished EV out of the factory – Ford, for instance, loses $34K on every EV it sends to dealers’ lots – non-union, light-on-their-feet Tesla dropped the prices on many of their most popular models just as labor trouble hit the D-3.

Like, OUCH.

…The slowing momentum for EVs comes even as automakers roll out many new battery-powered models to compete with market leader Tesla. GM, for example, plans to begin selling two electric Chevy SUVs this year.

Sales of EVs were up 51% through the first nine months of the year, much faster than the broader market, which was up about 14%. But that pace of EV growth cooled from 69% in the year-earlier period.

The average price consumers are paying for EVs also has fallen sharply this year, driven in part by cuts on several Tesla models. Consumers paid about $48,000 for an EV, on average, in September, down from nearly $59,000 in January, according to research firm Cox Automotive.

The market for electrics was hot a year ago, with companies reporting long wait lists and consumers willing to splurge on highly anticipated new models. Now, inventories of some EVs are backing up even as prices come down.

D-3 EVs are backing up on lots…

…In September, Ford’s supply of the electric Mustang Mach-E SUVs was about 3½ months, more than double the industry average, according to research firm Motor Intelligence. Ford also has pushed back a target of producing 600,000 EVs on an annualized basis to late 2024, from an earlier goal of late this year.

… and I would think people – if they were in the market for one – are probably eyeing the now comparably priced Tesla as opposed to settling for a, say, Ford EV model.

GM had announced in April it was going to cancel its passenger Bolt EV to focus on building these trucks, but decided shortly thereafter to redesign the vehicle using newer technology, which they really needed to do. The original Bolt had gotten kind of a reputation.

…The price and release date for the new version have not been disclosed, but the new Bolts will utilize “Ultium” and “Ultifi” technologies, which are GM’s battery platforms and software, respectively.

…However, the Bolt has had its troubles. Chevy had to issue two recalls for the Bolts in recent years over concerns that battery issues could cause the cars to catch fire. Bolt owners were advised to park their vehicles outdoors once the battery was charged.

In spite of that, they did pretty well, sales-wise, because they were affordable and the rebate/subsidy thing from Uncle Sam helped. That’s a problem I keep hearing about with the EV trucks, though – they don’t qualify for the green money back. And at what they’re charging for these things, people would appreciate the help.

The Ford EV truck, the F-150 Lightning, has slipped enough in sales that they announced last week they were reducing a shift at the plant that makes them. A bare-bones Lightning starts at about $56K and they trick out for $100K. That’s not chicken cha-ching by any stretch. But a union leader at the plant told the WSJ:

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that our sales for the Lightning have tanked”

You can see it pretty clearly in a chart of the sales. Ford has 30% of all the Lightnings they ever made still on hand.

Wow

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 18, 2023

…Wholesale sales of the Ford F-150 Lightning have experienced a sharp decline, plummeting by 49% from their peak of 6,857 units in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 3,503 units in the third quarter of 2023.

At present, there are 8,012 brand-new Ford F-150 Lightning trucks listed on CarEdge. Considering the total cumulative sales figure of 27,877 F-150 Lightning units delivered to dealerships, this indicates that approximately 29% of all F-150 Lightning vehicles ever manufactured remain unsold, sitting idle on dealers’ lots.

Source: Ford disclosure; CarEdge

GM’s verbiage is telling in their release.

GM delays EV pickup expansion due to 'evolving EV demand' https://t.co/uT8W6YcO9J by @Pras_S

— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) October 17, 2023

GM (GM) on Tuesday said it was delaying its electric pickup truck expansion, following in the footsteps of its crosstown rival Ford (F) as it seems demand for EVs in the truck segment may not be as strong as originally thought.

…Instead of targeting a late 2024 production date, GM said it would push production to late 2025 in order to “better manage capital investment while aligning with evolving EV demand.”

EVOLVING

Oh, you betcha. If they can’t unload what they’ve already got, they’ll yank the plug on that line so fast, it’ll make your head spin.

And it’ll be an expensive bet to lose for both companies – one I’m sure they both thought was a done deal.

I wonder if Shawn Fain’s paying attention?