https://cleanenergy.org/blog/evs-poised-for-a-faster-rebound-as-global-auto-industry-declines-sace-response-to-wood-mackenzie-claims/ Global EV Market Showing Signs of Resilience EV sales for February 2020 were up 16% compared to February 2019; Tesla, who sells only all-electric vehicles, delivered a strong first-quarter performance posting a 40% increase over Q1 2019 sales with 88,400 global vehicles sold; A new study in England finds that in the wake of COVID-19 and related air quality improvements from everyone staying home, 45% of participants said they are reassessing their EV options with 19% saying that their next car would be an EV, and 26% saying they intend to buy an EV within the next five years. Unless we see automakers going back on their planned $300 billion of global EV investments over the next 5-10 years, there is little reason to think the economic crisis will hit EVs any harder than the auto industry as a whole and every reason to believe EV sales will rebound faster. Furthermore, as of today, no automaker has pulled back on its EV plans. Volkswagen Group member Audi’s announced last month that despite the global impacts of COVID-19, it remains committed to having 30 electrified vehicle models for sale and building 800,000 EVs annually by 2025.
For those sitting on the sidelines, this might be a good time to buy. With sales of all cars down now, car makers will be offering very good deals and there should be more availability of the brand that was previously backlogged.
Those February data preceded the declaration of the pandemic. I think it’s unlikely that auto makers would, just 1 month into an economic upset of unknown duration, shift production plans that have been years in the making. Consumers, on the other hand, respond rapidly to short-term economic fluctuations. With fuel prices at a multi-year low and job loss or uncertainty prevailing, I’m concerned that we will see sharper declines in EV sales relative to ICE vehicle sales in the coming months. I hope I’m wrong.
I think you are spot on, if your paycheck is being squeezed, and you have to buy a car, you will buy something cheaper. And tax credits may not matter now. Yes, I posted pictures in another thread of how the haze over major cities has changed. However, not sure that this will create a long term change in thinking. I am afraid that two weeks after the lifting of the the "stay at home" directives, things will go back to the way they were.
I can't predict how people think but we know smoking is a factor in the severity of COVID-19. In some urban areas, vehicle pollution has become a risk factor for lung ailments. The effect of smoking is hard science, well documented in the COVID-19 cases. My expectation is a similar correlation will be found in the 2020 outbreak. It may already be in the influenza cases. Bob Wilson