Clark Howard’s #1 travel rule (7 16 24)

Advertisement

Billions of dollars are being spent on EV research, development, and improvement even though demand is not as strong as it was two years ago. Find out more later in this email.

💵 Today’s Top Stories

🚘️ EV Industry at a Crossroads?

We’ve reached an inflection point in the country’s shift toward electric vehicles.

The government and car manufacturers continue to devote millions or even billions of dollars toward research, development and improvement in the EV space.

Yet there are clear signs that demand isn’t as strong as it was just two years ago. And production may be outpacing demand at present.

Just 29% of Americans described themselves as “likely to seriously consider” buying an EV this year. That’s down 9% from the same time in 2023.

Willing and passionate EV buyers most likely have already purchased. And for those not inclined to purchase at present, they’re worried about the cost of batteries, the need for more charging infrastructure and the lack of options – especially cheap or affordable ones.

The free market slowly is taking care of the last point. Tesla has continually revised prices downward as more and more competing EVs come online, for example.

But to illustrate some of the issues:

• People are issuing 195 service-related complaints per 100 vehicles in 2024 for all vehicles. That number reaches 266 per 100 if you isolate EVs. So EVs are generating complaints at a much faster rate.

• EV owners are also making three times as many service visits due to product quality. Most of those complaints are related to software instead of hardware. Often because EV manufacturers are shipping first and relying on post-launch “updates” to fix problems.

• The federal government allocated $7.5 billion in 2022 toward improving EV charging infrastructure. To date, that’s resulted in seven new charging stations against a goal of 500,000.

• 1 in 5 public EV chargers is out of order at a given time. Less than 200,000 total charging stations exist in the U.S. And they’re spread out unevenly.

• A majority (56%) of Americans say they have “little to no” confidence there will ever be enough charging stations relative to demand. And just 16% of those charging doubters want to buy an EV.

📊 Stat of the Day

💰️ Deal Alert: Today’s Top Deals

🎙️ Podcast

A shocking amount of families go into debt to visit Disney. Is it worth it? Your kids may (or may not) remember the trip, but you’ll definitely remember the debt. Also, AI is all over the news right now. Anytime there’s a lot of buzz about a new technology, it creates frenzy and fear. Clark explains why we shouldn’t fear change and how we can embrace it to help our careers flourish.

☎️ Need Money Help?

The Team Clark Consumer Action Center is a free helpline that can help you navigate your money questions. Call 636-492-5275. Visit clark.com/cac for more information.

Advertisement