You’d be forgiven for thinking the American market for EVs is collapsing. But in the last quarter of 2023, EV sales were up 40% from the same quarter a year before, according to Cox Automotive. In fact, EV sales in the United States hit a record last year, topping 1 million for the first time.
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“Between $50,000 and $60,000 now we get Kia and we get Cadillac,” said Tyson Jominy, an industry analyst with J.D. Power, referring to the Kia EV9 and Cadillac Lyriq electric vehicles. “Those two don’t normally face each other.”
Besides being too expensive for the average buyer, selection is limited in terms of body style, said Corey Cantor, an industry analyst with Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The vast majority are relatively expensive SUVs, and there are few sedans or compact cars for customers who want something different.
My desire to own and drive a tesla crashed into a mountain. I call it Fascist Chatterbox Mountain. If they, along with spacex, agree to launch him into the sun, we might could talk. Until then, they’re a permanent no.
Now i’m thinking Kia. I’m also thinking used. Aaand also that I probably need to rob some banks or something because - $50,000? Even $35,000? Haha. No.
Check out the used Bolts on the market - decent range and you can get 2023 or 2022 with fairly low mileage
I’d never owned a KIA and recently bought a EV6 for $40,000US after getting solar at home. It’s honestly the first KIA I’ve actually liked.
The new Volvo EX30 I was checking out earlier, MSRP is 35. I haven’t seen one around yet but the numbers look good, so I figure I’ll look to see what a used one costs in a couple years when I can replace my car. Figure if EVs keep coming down in price it would be nice. The Kia Nero Plug in Hybrid also is at that price. Volvo is 275 mile range, the hybrid Nero is 33. So really that would open most every drive I need to being full electric and having the ability to let it switch to gas for drives that are different. 33 miles off electric would cost me ~$1.74 after adding in 5% inefficiency on the charge. So that would. So that would save me about 40% compared to current gas prices if compared to a gas powered vehicle getting 33mpg.
I was all about the EX30 until I learned that pretty much everything is controlled through the touchscreen, including the goddamn windows. That was the dealbreaker.
I plan on something electrified for my next car, as manuals are dying out and I think that if you drive something with an automatic, it may as well at least be a hybrid. If I go with a PHEV I’d consider the Prius Prime or the Niro PHEV. Maybe a used Polestar 2 if I go for a full BEV, or an Ioniq 5 if it’s not susceptible to the Hyundai/Kia TikTok challenge (not being in the market right now I’ve never read up on it).
I’d only consider Tesla if, first, they oust The Boer, and second, if either they lower prices to match the build quality or upgrade the build quality to match the price. I won’t hold my breath. Tesla may be the best at EVs, but they aren’t great at, you know, cars.
Not so sure Kia is the best option from a human rights standpoint since child labor can be found throughout their supply chain:
https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-immigration-hyundai/
I’d say go with a used vehicle (<2022) which can qualify for up to $4k of tax credit. That can bring the price of a Bolt down to a decent price. Or if you still need some range, get a plug in hybrid which also qualifies. Plus you won’t be adding the carbon emissions of a new vehicle.
Unfortunately most of the world’s cobalt comes from the DRC, so I doubt any automaker’s supply chain is clean of child labor.
I don’t know how much of a reason that is to rule out Kia. I think every large automaker has got to be horrible in one way or another; the only difference is whether we know about it or not.
I got an EV6, I like it.