In the latest report by the leading auto-dealer data company Cox Automotive, unsold electric vehicles in the second quarter of 2023 tripled compared to 2022, signaling the diminishing demand for EVs.

In the second quarter 2023, the average inventory for electric vehicles (EVs) topped more than 92,000 units stuck in dealer lots, according to the 2023 Cox Automotive Mid-Year Review. This is up 342 percent compared to second quarter 2022. During this period, the new “EV days’ supply,” which refers to the average number of days a warehouse holds inventory before selling it, rose 166 percent, to 92 days from 38.5 days.

While the pace of EV sales is up, it is “not rising as fast as inventory builds,” said Jonathan Gregory, senior manager at Economic and Industry Insights.

Unsold Cars

Original equipment manufacturers have built inventory, and now they wait for buyers to come. “This is one of the hottest topics we’ve had this year.”

Brands like Jaguar, Infiniti, and Lincoln had the highest days of supply, at over 100 days. The lowest numbers were seen among Toyota, Honda, Kia, and Lexus, with each brand having less than 30 days of supply.

Tesla continued to dominate the luxury EV segment with a market share of 25.5 percent, followed by Mercedes at 12.5 percent, BMW at 12.2 percent, and Lexus at 11 percent. Among EVs priced above $50,000, Ford held the biggest share at 22.1 percent, followed by Chevrolet at 12.1 percent.

As opposed to the rest of the world, U.S. citizens remain on the sidelines when considering an EV purchase.

In another report by the prestigious consumer intelligence company JD Power, from April 2023, more Americans are unwilling to buy EVs. In March, 21 percent of new vehicle shoppers said they were “very unlikely” to consider an EV, up from 17.8 percent in January.

“Lack of public charging infrastructure and price have been the top two concerns for the past 10 months, along with related issues involving range anxiety, time required to charge, and power outage and grid concerns,” the report said.

While inventory is building up at dealer lots the Cox Automotive study found a wide gap between dealers and customers regarding the future expectations of EV use.

According to Cox Automotive’s 2023 Path to “EV Adoption: Consumer and Dealer Perspectives” study, even though 53 percent of consumers see EVs as a future and that such vehicles will replace gas engines over time, only 31 percent of dealers held such a view.

“Nearly half (45 percent) of dealers surveyed feel that EVs still need to prove themselves in the marketplace,” said a press release on June 27.

In addition, the study also found that while customer interest in EVs is rapidly rising, sales continue to remain far lower in comparison. The research found that 51 percent of consumers were considering a new or used EV even though electric vehicles are only expected to make up less than 8 percent of total new vehicle sales this year.

Cox Automotive is expecting the sale of new EVs to surpass one million units for the first time in 2023. According to the firm’s Dealer Sentiment Index, the biggest factor which held back EV dealers during the second quarter was the state of the economy. This was followed by interest rates, limited inventory, market conditions, and credit availability for consumers.

The “Green” EV Democrat Agenda

Electric vehicles are being promoted across the United States mainly by Democrats who are putting in place a series of policies that provide incentives to consumers who buy such vehicles and subsidies to companies that set up plants to manufacture them.

These programs, however, are coming under criticism from several quarters. In a July 5 video, for example, Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, expressed concerns about the Biden administration’s policy of handing out benefits for EV plants.

“The Big Three automakers—Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis (Chrysler, Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Dodge, Jeep, Maserati and Ram among others). The United Auto Workers Union (UAW) said Toyota is taking billions of dollars in government subsidies to go electric, but those benefits aren’t trickling down to UAW members,” he said. Toyota requested the EPA to take the electrification process gradually.

“Regardless of how quickly the needed shift to electrification occurs, vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICEs) will be on U.S. roads in large numbers for decades to come.”

Electric Charging Infrastructure

Stellantis explained the challenge of electric chargers in its comments.

The auto manufacturer cited an estimate by Alliance for Automotive Innovation which said that there could be up to 40 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030, requiring over 5.8 million public chargers.

Stellantis reduced the estimates by 35 percent to 26 million vehicles and 3.8 million chargers. At present, there are 200,000 public chargers across the United States.

Adding in the additional 500,000 chargers proposed under the bipartisan infrastructure law, there could be 700,000 chargers by 2030, which is less than a fifth of the 3.8 million chargers required for the 26 million vehicles estimated by Stellantis.

According to the union, when GM shut down its traditional vehicle plant in Ohio in 2019, workers were on track to make as much as $30 per hour. When the company opened a new EV plant in 2022, workers were being paid just $16.50 per hour, on track to make only $20 per hour after seven years.

Former president Donald Trump, and a 2024 presidential candidate, has slammed the federal government’s EV push. “Driven by [President Joe Biden’s] ridiculous regulations, electric cars will kill more than half of U.S. auto jobs and decimate the suppliers that they decimated already,” he said in a speech in Michigan on June 25.

“It’s going to decimate your jobs, and it’s going to decimate, more than anybody else, the state of Michigan,” Mr. Trump warned.

Earlier during a June 10 rally in Atlanta, Mr. Trump promised that he “certainly will be ending on day one” the EV policies of Democrats once reelected.

Experts have criticized the EPA proposed EV targets. During a Heritage Foundation panel last month, Mike McKenna, a deputy assistant to former president Donald J. Trump, said that the agency’s proposal is actually about “getting rid of cars” in large numbers.

“We’re obviously not going to have 42 times the lithium we need in anything remotely like the folks who are talking about this transition intend,” Mr. McKenna said. “The American people don’t want this.”

In January, a team of scholars from Providence College and the University of California–Davis published a report warning that America’s transition from internal combustion engine vehicles to EVs can cause a critical shortage of lithium, a key element required for making electric batteries.

“If today’s demand for EVs is projected to 2050, the lithium requirements of the United States’ EV market alone would require triple the amount of lithium currently produced for the entire global market. This boom in demand would be met by the expansion of mining,” the report said.

“Large-scale mining entails social and environmental harm, in many cases irreversibly damaging landscapes without the consent of affected communities. As societies undertake the urgent and transformative task of building new, zero-emissions energy systems, some level of mining is necessary.”

DOES YOUR CAR HAVE AN OPEN RECALL?

Given the recent incidents of spontaneous car fires reported here on TLS, I urge you to review the list below to see if your vehicle is on it, regardless if it is an EV or ICE powered vehicle.

NHTSA & Car Manufacturers Recall 2 Million “Do Not Drive & Park Outside” Vehicles – Is Yours On The List?

“Do Not Drive” and “Park Outside” notifications are recalls issued jointly by automakers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):

• A Do Not Drive recall advises drivers not to operate the vehicles because a serious safety issue could lead to an accident or physical harm.
• A Park Outside recall is issued for vehicles with a high risk of causing a fire. Drivers are advised to park the vehicles outside of garages and parking structures and away from buildings. Both of these recalls are rarely issued.

If you’re not sure whether a vehicle you own has one of these recalls, you can check for any unfixed recalls for free on Carfax. The good news for consumers whose cars have any recall is that they can get the specified repair work done for free at a dealership affiliated with the brand of their vehicle. If you need help finding a nearby dealership, check the Carfax Directory.

All recalls need to be taken seriously, but these two types are more time-sensitive than most because they urge owners to either not operate their vehicle, or to park away from any structure to avoid a fire. There have been serious consequences from some of the problems that these vehicles are being recalled for. Among them:

• The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says 23 people have been killed in the U.S. because of exploding Takata airbags; more than 400 people have been injured. These airbags have had an issue with their chemical composition and have, at times, had the metal that encases the airbag turn into shrapnel inside the car’s cabin.
• NHTSA says more than 3,100 Hyundai and Kia models under recall have caught fire nationwide. The agency says one person has been killed and more than 100 have been injured.
• General Motors says 19 Chevrolet Bolt EV electric cars have caught fire, but the automaker says there have been no reports of injuries or deaths as a result.

These are not the only issues that these urgent recalls have been issued for, but they are the most well-known.

“Despite efforts by state and federal governments – and the auto industry itself – too many consumers are driving in vehicles that have been deemed too dangerous to drive, or that shouldn’t be parked in or near a home for fear of a fire,” said Faisal Hasan, General Manager for Data at Carfax. “Officials and communities need to break through consumer recall notice fatigue and drive home the message: We can save lives today by getting these recalls fixed.”

Which Vehicles Are Affected?

There are about 200 vehicles from many automakers over many model years that have been affected. Below are the vehicles facing either a Do Not Drive recall or a Park Outside recall:

‘Do Not Drive’ Vehicles

‘Park Outside’ Vehicles

Efforts to Get Recalls Repaired Nationwide

Carfax has been working with the Alliance for Automotive Innovation to involve more states with the Vehicle Recall Search Service. The Vehicle Recall Search Service is used by Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maryland, New York State, Ohio, and Texas to alert residents to open safety recalls and get them fixed. Texas, for example, provides a free recall check using the Vehicle Recall Search Service for every vehicle that undergoes a state safety inspection and those results are provided to the vehicle’s owner. Launched in 2018 as a completely free system, the Vehicle Recall Search Service has checked more than 3 billion vehicles since its launch five years ago.