With popularity at an all time high, there is a lot of buzz surrounding the newest selection of electric vehicles unveiled at the 2023 New York International Auto Show. But as consumers walk the auto show floor at New York’s Jacob Javits Convention Center, what will be top of mind?
Yahoo Finance’s Dave Briggs spoke to Elizabeth Krear, J.D. Power’s VP of EV Practice, to discuss the growing demand for electric vehicles and how traditional car manufacturers are starting to catch up with Tesla (TSLA) in this market.
Briggs also caught up with Robert Sinclair, AAA’s Northeast Senior Manager of Public Affairs and Mark Schienberg, the President of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, to discuss the future of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure and more.
Video Transcript
DAVE BRIGGS: Still ahead, some major news from Hyundai. We'll talk to their North America CEO in just a bit. But first, 700-plus cars on display here. One clear theme, the EV surge is here.
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It's a great time to be shopping for an electric vehicle. Automakers are expected to spend over a trillion dollars in the next decade to develop and deliver the next big thing in EVs. Tesla spends the most on R&D per car sold. It also sells the most EVs, taking four of the top five spots in 2022. But other companies are catching up.
ELIZABETH KREAR: We actually talk to new vehicle shoppers every single month. And we ask them, are you interested in purchasing an electric vehicle? 27% say yes, very, very likely. And the number one brand has consistently been Tesla. But the last few months, we've seen Chevy overtake them in brand consideration, and Ford is right there behind them.
DAVE BRIGGS: More choice, competitive prices, and generous government subsidies are all powering the EV market right now. But one big issue standing in the way of electric vehicle adoption, charging ports.
ROBERT SINCLAIR: Now if you've got a charging station at home, you've got a level 2 station, great. That helps a lot. We're still a little ways away from the great American road trip in an electric vehicle. You know, it's an ongoing process. Things will get better when folks get these things at home, and then we get more and more infrastructure. The bipartisan infrastructure bill will go a long way to doing that.
DAVE BRIGGS: California leads the way, with 44,000 charging ports, more than four times the number two on the list, New York. Naturally, some of the country's least populous states, like the Dakotas, have the least amount of EV chargers. And now, even oil and gas companies are building charging stations. BP just announced $1,000,000,000 investment in the US over the next several years.
Charging stations are one piece of the puzzle. Another key element for mass adoption of EVs is buy in from car dealerships. I caught up with Mark Schienberg, the president of the largest regional automobile dealer networks in the country and one of the organizers of the New York Auto Show.
How hesitant are your dealers to making this full transition away from gas powered?
MARK SCHIENBERG: Well, any business person, when you say, listen, you've got to invest $1,000,000 into this, they're going to go, yeah, show me the return on investment. But dealers are like a lot of entrepreneurs. They see a business climate. They understand that this is what is coming down the pipe. They need to come to work with it. It is a big investment on their part on it. But they do believe that this is where the business is going to be in the future.
