U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg addressed questions on Tuesday regarding the Electric Vehicles (EVs) industry after the release of Tesla’s Q1 sales (387,000 cars), which were down 8.5 percent compared to 2023 Q1 sales (423,000 cars). It was the first time the company’s quarterly sales have fallen on a year over year basis since “a modest drop” in 2020 Q1 (at the start of the pandemic).
[Note: In the U.S., EVs made up 7.8 percent of new car registrations in January 2023, up from 7.1% in 2022.]
With the 8.5 percent drop of Tesla’s 2024 Q1 sales, Fox News reported that a demand for EVs has cooled. Secretary Buttigieg refuted the claim and said: “Well, let’s be clear, consumers have wanted and purchased more EVs every single year than the year before,” and noted that Tesla is facing more competition from GM, Ford, Stellantis, and other competitors.
Note: Sales of Ford EVs were up 86 percent: the American company sold 20,223 EVs in Q1, making Ford America’s second best-selling EV brand behind Tesla for the quarter.
Sec. @PeteButtigieg: I feel like I'm talking to people who think we can have landline phones forever. The reality is the automotive sector is moving toward EVs and the U.S. can either fall behind China or we can claim the lead. President Biden wants things made in America pic.twitter.com/yanVoewihu
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) April 2, 2024
Buttigieg also made it clear that the automotive industry is heading toward Electric Vehicles and warned “the U.S. can either fall behind China or we can claim the lead. President Biden wants to make sure those EVs are made in America.”
“During the Trump administration,” Buttigieg said, “China was really able to build an advantage in the EV market, and obviously not because they’re big environmentalists over in China but just because it’s the economically smart play.”
Note: Trump has long claimed EVs will “kill” the American auto industry, and has called them an “assassination” of jobs as EVs require fewer parts and less regular maintenance.
Buttigieg said the resistance of EVs reminds him of the early 2000s “and I’m talking to some people who just think we can have landline phones forever.”
The president and CEO of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, John Bozzella, supported Buttigieg’s claim when he said, “The future is electric,” and “Consumers have tons of choices. But pace matters.”
