Future of electric cars still promising, despite high costs and lagging infrastructure: Car makers

MANY CONSUMERS STILL PICKING GASOLINE-POWERED VEHICLES

High costs and lagging infrastructure are a global trend, said observers. 

China, the world’s biggest EV market, is also facing a slowdown in domestic demand. 

This has led to a push from the Chinese government for automakers to expand overseas, sparking fears that imported cars could end up hurting Europe and America’s own automotive industries.

Observers said the various governments will have to address the concerns over price, infrastructure and range, if they hope to speed up EV adoption. 

But organisers at the recent New York International Auto Show, which ran from Mar 29 to Apr 7, are confident that the industry will be able to navigate these tricky conditions.

“The approach to getting to electrification might be taking somewhat different roads between China and the United States,” said Mr Mark Schienberg, president of the New York International Auto Show. 

“But I think we’re all heading in the same direction.”

For now, many consumers are still picking gasoline-powered vehicles, even though there are more electric car choices available, said EV manufacturers. 

Ford Motor, for instance, is among several car giants to delay, or even cut, EV production in the US. 

While its EV sales may have jumped 86 per cent in the first three months of the year, traditional petrol vehicles continue to be its most popular products, said the company. 

“There’s a lot of growing pains with the new segment being created, new Powertrain choices,” said Mr Tom Somerville, marketing director at Ford Enthusiast Vehicles. 

“It’s different from anything else that the industry has ever seen. And realistically, there are always going to be bumps in situations like this.”