{"id":73605,"date":"2024-06-23T12:03:54","date_gmt":"2024-06-23T16:03:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=73605"},"modified":"2024-06-23T12:03:54","modified_gmt":"2024-06-23T16:03:54","slug":"when-will-the-u-s-get-its-first-25000-car-sooner-than-you-think","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=73605","title":{"rendered":"When will the U.S. get its first $25,000 car? Sooner than you think – Autoblog"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Jeep Renegade<\/a> e-hybrid crossover SUV<\/a>. Jeep<\/a> will launch a full-electric version of the Renegade<\/a> soon. (Getty Images)<\/em><\/p>\n

Electric-vehicle\u00a0prices are\u00a0falling fast\u00a0in the U.S., but the cheapest models remain far more costly than what other countries have on offer.<\/p>\n

The BYD Seagull\u00a0sells for about $10,000\u00a0in China<\/a>, the Dacia Spring\u00a0starts at $20,000\u00a0in Europe, the Renault<\/a> Kwid e-Tech costs $19,000 in Brazil, and the Kia Ray goes for $22,000\u00a0in South Korea.<\/p>\n

So where is America\u2019s $25,000 EV?<\/p>\n

In short, it\u2019s coming soon.\u00a0It may not seem that way at first glance: U.S. vehicle prices in general\u00a0have soared to around $47,000, on average, and prices\u00a0for electric models are\u00a0higher still. Even after price cuts,\u00a0the country\u2019s best-selling electric sedan,\u00a0Tesla\u2019s Model 3<\/a>, starts at around $40,000.<\/p>\n

But with signs of slowing growth in the premium EV market, manufacturers\u00a0have\u00a0been working\u00a0on\u00a0a substantial pivot from luxury\u00a0to practicality. The $25,000 economy electric car<\/a> is the industry\u2019s new target, and a number of models are set to hit the road\u00a0within a year. Whether they\u00a0can win over the next wave of American EV owners \u2014 and fend off Chinese imports currently held at bay by soon-to-be-102.5% tariffs\u00a0\u2014 depends on how much range and how many\u00a0features can be squeezed in.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we know about four efforts underway: \u00a0<\/p>\n

General Motors revamps the Chevy Bolt\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

The current U.S. leader in\u00a0EV affordability may well be the new electric version of the Chevy Equinox<\/a>. The SUV comes with 319 miles of range for around $42,000, before federal tax credits that can knock $7,500 off the price. Those incentives will drop the cost of a base model, available later this year, below $28,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s pretty cheap, relatively speaking, but it will soon be outdone by the updated Chevy Bolt.\u00a0GM<\/a>\u2019s new North American president,\u00a0Marissa West,\u00a0says\u00a0the Bolt will be \u201cthe most affordable vehicle on the market by 2025.\u201d<\/p>\n

The original Bolt, which GM discontinued this year, has been the most popular EV alternative to a Tesla in the U.S. for the past seven years. The unassuming car was known for\u00a0mediocre ride quality, limited range and slow charging\u00a0\u2014 but it won over a\u00a0loyal fanbase with an unmatched starting price of $26,500 before incentives.<\/p>\n

The updated Bolt reduces production costs while improving charging times, styling\u00a0and handling,\u00a0according to GM. For charging it will use the new North American Charging Standard, compatible with Tesla\u2019s Superchargers, and employ low-cost lithium iron phosphate batteries<\/a> on GM\u2019s new Ultium EV platform.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Price and specs haven\u2019t been announced, but it\u2019s a likely contender for best range for the price in the\u00a0new class of $25,000 EVs.<\/p>\n

Stellantis and the\u00a0$25,000 Jeep Renegade<\/span><\/h2>\n

Stellantis, which has been slow to offer electric models in the U.S.,\u00a0will launch a $25,000 electric Jeep\u00a0\u201cvery soon\u201d as part of a large-scale EV offensive, Chief Executive Officer Carlos Tavares said\u00a0at a Bernstein conference\u00a0on May 29.<\/p>\n

Stellantis\u00a0later confirmed\u00a0that\u00a0the EV\u00a0would take on the Jeep Renegade brand and would be one of at least three\u00a0new Jeeps on sale in the U.S. by 2027.\u00a0Stellantis brought\u00a0its first EVs to the U.S. this year:\u00a0the $32,500 Fiat 500e<\/a> subcompact car, and the Wagoneer S<\/a> that starts around\u00a0$70,000. At $25,000, the new model would be the cheapest Jeep of any type available in the U.S., undercutting the gas-powered Compass<\/a> compact crossover<\/a> at $26,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Surviving\u00a0the transition to electric vehicles<\/a>, Tavares said, requires offering\u00a0prices comparable to gas-powered vehicles, even if that means severe cost cuts and fewer profits across the supply chain during the transition years. Reaching economies of scale is key.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you ask me what is an affordable [battery electric vehicle], I would say \u20ac20,000\u00a0in Europe and $25,000 in the U.S.,\u201d Tavares said. \u201cSo our job is to bring the safe, clean and affordable (battery) EV to the U.S. \u2014 $25,000 \u2014\u00a0we\u2019ll do it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ford\u00a0goes back to the drawing board<\/span><\/h2>\n

After being burned by high costs and underwhelming demand for its first two EVs, Ford reversed course. It cut spending on battery-powered models by $12 billion, postponed battery plants\u00a0and delayed an electric F-Series pickup and a three-row\u00a0SUV until 2026 and 2027, respectively.<\/p>\n

Having decided\u00a0that big electric SUVs and trucks are too pricy\u00a0for mainstream customers, Ford is\u00a0thinking smaller. Two years ago, the company quietly started development on a\u00a0more affordable line of\u00a0EVs. The work is being done by a satellite team of engineers in Irvine, California,\u00a0run by Alan Clarke, who previously led engineering for Tesla\u2019s\u00a0Model Y<\/a> SUV.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first of three new EVs on that platform will arrive late 2026, with a starting price around $25,000, according to reporting that first appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek\u00a0and was later confirmed by CEO Jim Farley. He\u00a0said Ford\u2019s new goal is clear: to create mainstream EVs that are profitable\u00a0within a year on the market. That\u2019s\u00a0in stark\u00a0contrast to the losses incurred by its current lineup.<\/p>\n

Ford\u2019s internal customer data shows most EV buyers live\u00a0in the suburbs, drive\u00a0relatively short distances, and care more about cost than high-end features, Farley said on an earnings call\u00a0in April.\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s where adoption of EVs will grow the fastest,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cIncreasingly, our bet will be on our new small affordable platform developed by our team on the West Coast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unboxing Tesla\u2019s mystery EV<\/span><\/h2>\n

Tesla, the world\u2019s leading producer of fully electric cars,\u00a0has been the biggest source of pressure to develop a $25,000 car in the U.S. \u2014 and also the biggest source of uncertainty. Musk has\u00a0talked\u00a0up a $25,000\u00a0Tesla for years\u00a0in public, while apparently\u00a0arguing\u00a0against it in private. Reports suggest\u00a0he told\u00a0suppliers in January to\u00a0prepare for a mid-2025 launch, then told his engineers in April to scrap those plans altogether. Musk\u00a0flatly denied shuttering the program, but then\u00a0refused to say he remains committed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If the goal was to leave everyone guessing, well, mission accomplished.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the heart of the matter is whether Tesla will prioritize making small, low-cost vehicles that can compete with the rising sea of\u00a0Chinese challengers, or whether it\u00a0will focus first on building cars for\u00a0a moonshot self-driving taxi. Only Musk knows why the\u00a0two are mutually exclusive, and at least far now, he isn\u2019t sharing.<\/p>\n

On an earnings call in April, Musk said Tesla has accelerated, rather than delayed, its future-products roadmap and that \u201cmore affordable models\u201d are coming\u00a0in late 2024 or early 2025. Those models will be produced on Tesla\u2019s existing production lines, rather than using the\u00a0experimental\u00a0production method, which Musk calls \u201cunboxed,\u201d that was originally planned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tesla confirmed\u00a0last week that three vehicles are in development\u00a0\u2014 presumably the Roadster supercar<\/a> announced in 2017, the driverless Cybercab robotaxi to be unveiled in August, and the yet-to-be-named budget vehicle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What will come of it all\u00a0is anyone\u2019s guess, but if Tesla were able to win over American drivers with a\u00a0tiny lightweight personal vehicle in the way it did for large electric SUVs, that could do more to transform\u00a0U.S. roadways and reduce road pollution than anything the company has done so far. Except this\u00a0time, with the $25,000 EV segment, Tesla won\u2019t be the only one trying.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Jeep Renegade e-hybrid crossover SUV. Jeep will launch a full-electric version of the Renegade soon. (Getty Images) Electric-vehicle\u00a0prices are\u00a0falling fast\u00a0in the U.S., but the cheapest models remain far more costly than what other countries have on offer. The BYD Seagull\u00a0sells for about $10,000\u00a0in China, the Dacia Spring\u00a0starts at $20,000\u00a0in Europe, the Renault Kwid e-Tech […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":73606,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-design-concepts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=73605"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73605\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/73606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=73605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=73605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=73605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}