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After losing EV market share in the US in the first three months of 2024, GM believes it can turn things around. GM expects new models like the Chevy Equinox EV and improved battery production will help regain EV market share in the second half of the year.

A record first quarter, but what about EVs?

GM raised full-year guidance after topping Wall St estimates and achieving its best Q1 revenue. The company’s revenue rose 8% to $43 billion with a consistent +15% CAGR growth over the past 24 months.

Although Ultium-based vehicle deliveries were up 36% during the quarter, total EV sales slid over 20% YOY as the company’s cheapest Chevy Bolt EV was phased out.

GM’s Cadillac Lyriq and GMC Hummer EV both saw solid sales growth in Q1, with 5,800 (+499%) and 1,668 units sold, respectively. The Blazer EV (600) and Silverado EV (1,061) contributed to the Ultium sales growth.

However, it wasn’t enough to maintain market share in the US EV market. With Chevy Bolt EV sales down 64% to just 7,040, GM lost market share from Q4.

Chevy-Bolt-EV
Chevy Bolt (Source: GM)

GM accounted for 6.2% of the US EV market in the first three months of 2024. That’s down from 8.4% a year ago and 6.9% last quarter.

Of the over 594,000 vehicles GM sold in the US in Q1, only 16,425, or about 2.7% of them, were EVs.

Q1 2023 Q2 2023 Q3 2023 Q4 2023 Q1 2024
8.4% 5.4% 6.6% 6.9% 6.2%
GM US EV market share (GM estimates)

GM to ramp EV market share and profitability

After missing its EV sales targets over the past two years, GM believes it’s finally exiting “production hell” with high hopes for the second half of 2024.

GM aims to build around 200,000 to 300,000, or about 20X more Ultium EVs this year than in 2023. Although that may seem drastic, it’s still down from GM’s initial 400,000 EV production goal through mid-2024.

Chevy-Equinox-EV-prices
2024 Chevrolet Equinox EV 1LT (Source: Chevrolet)

CEO Mary Barra says 2024 will be the “year of execution” as it looks to get back on track. In the first quarter, GM said battery module production increased 300% over the past six months.

The company plans to double its current capacity by the end of summer, which GM believes can help it regain US EV market share.

GM-EV-market-share
2024 Cadillac Lyriq models (Source: GM)

Cadillac’s Lyriq accounted for 20% of brand sales in Q1, second to only the Escalade. With 50% of Lyriq buyers new to GM and 70% new to Cadillac, the brand believes the electric crossover will continue seeing strong demand.

New models coming to boost market share

Meanwhile, the new electric Chevy Equinox, which GM says is the most affordable EV with over 300 miles range, is already available to order.

Starting at $34,995 (including destination), the Chevy Equinox EV will be one of the cheapest EVs on the US market. However, that’s for the 1LT trim, which will be available later this year.

Chevy Equinox EV trim Starting Price
1LT FWD $34,995
2LT FWD $43,295
2RS FWD $44,795
3LT FWD $45,295
3RS FWD $46,795
Chevy Equinox EV prices (including $1,395 destination fee)

The current cheapest 2LT trim starts at $43,295. With the tax credit, the Chevy Equinox EV price could fall as low as $35,295.

Chevy’s Blazer EV is also eligible for the $7,500 tax credit. Following recent price cuts, the Blazer EV can be bought for as low as $50,195. With the credit, it can be bought for as little as $42,695.

Chevy-Blazer-EV-reimbursement
2024 Chevy Blazer EV RS (Source: GM)

GM also revealed the 2024 Silverado EV RST will have “more range than any EV pickup,” with up to 440 miles range (GM estimated). It will be available in mid-2024 with up to 10,000 lbs max towing. The GMC Sierra EV Denali is also expected to reach 440 miles range and have similar towing power.

Cadillac will expand its lineup with the CELESTIQ, OPTIQ, and Escalade IQ launching. With the new models, GM says its EV business is on track to achieve a positive variable profit in the second half of 2024.

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E-quipment highlight: Kenworth T880E vocational electric semi truck

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E-quipment highlight: Kenworth T880E vocational electric semi truck

With the launch of the first-ever Class 8 vocational EV in the North American market, PACCAR Kenworth is raising the battery-electric bar and underscoring just how far the market has come since the Tesla Semi made its debut nearly a decade ago.

When Tesla pulled the wraps off its all electric Semi truck all the way back in November of 2017, the rest of the industry was hardly thinking about BEVs. Nearly a decade later, the world is still waiting for the Semi to begin regular production, and PACCAR is launching its second generation of HDEVs with the debut of this, the all-new Kenworth T880E vocational truck.

“The Kenworth T880E marks a groundbreaking milestone in Kenworth’s history as we bring to market the first Class 8 battery-electric solution built for vocational applications,” explains Kevin Haygood, Kenworth assistant general manager for sales and marketing. “The T880E is engineered to meet the evolving needs of operators and vocational fleets while still providing the durability, reliability and customization our customers expect.”

The new electric K-whopper is motivated by PACCAR’s in-house ePowertrain platform, capable of putting up to 605 hp and 1,850 lb-ft of peak torque to work, while delivering the same levels of drivability and dependability fleets expect from a Kenworth – but power and torque are only part of the T880E’s work-ready résumé.

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Open to work

Kenworth T880E; via PACCAR.

In addition to a stout, Class 8 electric chassis fitted with heavy-duty Kenworth brakes and axles, the T880E’s central drive eMotor allows for significant wheelbase flexibility so fleet buyers can spec out exactly the machine they need to get the job done. The T880E was also designed to enable lift axle installations from trusted Kenworth upfitters for a vocational-friendly BEV integration.

Additionally, the T880E features a wide selection of factory-installed options that include both high- and low-voltage ePTO (electric Power Take Off) ports, mechanical ePTOs, and the same wide array of body configurations as the ICE version.

Speaking of the ICE version, the electric T880E also can also be had in the same set-back front axle and set-forward front axle configurations with the same multi-piece hood construction. Inside the cab, the latest in driver-focused technology includes the Kenworth SmartWheel and a new 15″ DriverConnect digital touchscreen. Dash and vocational features like RAM Mounts and factory-installed PTO switches are available. The T880E is also offered with Kenworth ADAS packages for customers interested in DigitalVision Mirrors, Bendix Fusion, and Lane Keeping Assist.

It’s so big, you guys

Kenworth T880E; photo by the author.

The T880E was on static display at last week’s ACT Expo in Anaheim, California. Check with your local Kenworth dealer for availability.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Kenworth.


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Xiaomi SU7 Ultra gets its groove back with all 1,548 hp available NOW

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Xiaomi SU7 Ultra gets its groove back with all 1,548 hp available NOW

The tire-blistering SU7 Ultra has been the Xiaomi brand’s flagship super sedan since its launch, but a controversial software setting has limited the car to “just” 900 hp in regular driving – resulting in an outcry from owners who ponied up for the big boy numbers. With its latest software update, that missing 648 hp is back on tap!

The SU7 Ultra made waves throughout the performance car world when a bright yellow striped example lined up alongside a white quarter mile king, the 1,000+ hp Tesla Model S Plaid, and promptly smoked it.

That wasn’t all. A preproduction SU7 Ultra prototype lapped the legendary Nürburgring circuit in just 6 minutes and 46.874 seconds, firmly stamping the 1,500+ hp Xiaomi’s alphanumeric into the track’s record books with a time nearly fifteen seconds quicker than a Rimac Nevera or, on the ICE front, either a Corvette ZR1, Viper ACR, or Porsche 918 (take your pick).

It’s hardly any wonder, then, that the customers who signed up – in droves, too – were disappointed to learn that the SU7 they were allowed to buy had been neutered by the safety nannies to the tune of nearly 650 hp. (!)

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We’re so back

The outrage from SU7 Ultra owners was immediate. And, facing mounting pressure online and on social media, Xiaomi ultimately decided to withdraw the performance-limiting features while acknowledging the need for more transparent communication about future software updates they messed up, saying in a statement, “we appreciate the passionate feedback from our community and will ensure better transparency moving forward.”

So, rich people can rocket themselves down the road in 9 second hypercars again and all is right with the world. A happy ending – but one that sort of illuminates a fresh set challenges for automakers peddling “software-defined vehicles” to a market that still thinks of their cars as very much hardware defined products.

That’s evidenced by the resistance to pay for features by subscription and complaints by more informed customers that “software locked” range and convenience features just subsidize the cost of more expensive trim levels and pad profits for manufacturers and suppliers.

The new reality is playing out in real time now, and the Jeff Bezos-backed $20,000 electric compact pickup from Slate Auto is going the other way entirely – time will tell whether more, or less tech is the answer.

SOURCE | IMAGES: Xiaomi, via CarNewsChina.


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Tesla (TSLA) discounts new Model Y in the US, pointing to demand issues

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Tesla (TSLA) discounts new Model Y in the US, pointing to demand issues

Tesla (TSLA) has started offering reduced interest rates on the new Model Y in the US — this equates to a direct discount on the brand new vehicle that was supposed to spark Tesla’s demand back.

The automaker has announced “1.99% APR or $0 Due at Signing available for well-qualified buyers” on the new Model Y in the US for the first time:

This amounts to a direct discount worth a few thousand dollars. It is the first widely available discount on the new Model Y coming just weeks after the cheaper non-Launch Edition launched in the US.

It follows a $2,000 direct discount that Tesla offered to early Model Y owners last week.

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These discounts and subsidized financing point to soft demand for the updated best-selling vehicle in the US. Tesla just delivered a disastrous first quarter, which it mostly blamed on the Model Y changeover, resulting in lower inventory.

However, industry watchers, including Electrek, noted many signs that the Model Y changeover was not the only issue. Tesla added significantly to its inventory in the first quarter, and the wait times for the new Model Y were extremely short.

Now, the discount weeks after launching the new Model Y confirm the soft demand in the US.

It’s not as bad as Europe and China, where Tesla has already been offering 0% financing on the new Model Y for weeks.

Electrek’s Take

I think it’s clear by now: the new Model Y is not coming to save Tesla.

Let’s be honest: It will still be a significant vehicle program by volume. It just won’t help Tesla return to growth this year.

The RWD Model Y is still coming and has a chance to help in the US. It is already available in China, and it’s not helping Tesla much there, but that’s in a hyper-competitive market, especially at lower prices where the RWD Model Y operates.

Tesla’s performance in Q2 in China will be interesting since it is basically back to its regular lineup for the whole quarter.

The US appears to have been Tesla’s least affected market, but Q3 will be the real test with the full lineup and no backlog of demand for new Model Y.

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