Dealer EV pushback, Ford Supercharger adapters, Volvo and Polestar, EV sales surge: Today’s Car News
Volvo pulls away from Polestar. Dealers think the Biden administration is moving to fast on EVs—says a survey looking at a very small slice of the business. Ford gets ready to offer Supercharger adapters. And EV and PHEV sales are continuing to surge. This and more, here at City Dwellers.
Ford will provide adapters allowing current and recent EV models including the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning to charge on the Tesla Supercharger network, the automaker revealed this week. And, as Ford underscored, they’ll be free, with coverage extending back to the 2021 model year.
According to a new survey from the industry journal Automotive News, dealers think Biden is moving too fast on EVs. The survey claims to have found that dealers are particularly concerned about proposed EPA emissions rules and surprisingly uninterested in even registering for the EV tax credit as a point-of-sale rebate. Based on its very small 208-dealership slice of the nearly 17,000 franchised new-car dealers, you might not want to take its shocking levels of pushback versus EVs as seriously as its percentages suggest.
Volvo is ending its funding of Polestar, with its parent company Geely likely to gain more direct control from the shift, as the startup EV brand struggles to meet delivery targets and roll out an ambitious lineup of performance EVs. The move might make Volvo easier to sell in the future, Reuters suggested.
There’s been no slump in plug-in vehicle sales according to several EV sales forecasts and summaries out this week. S&P Global Mobility forecasts steady growth in EV market share over the next few months, with EVs set to reach 8.0% of the U.S. vehicle market this month. At the same time, U.S. plug-in hybrid sales hit a record high in 2023, with PHEVs making up about 20% of total plug-in vehicle sales.
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