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Yahoo
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
EV registrations rise moderately in June, but U.S. market share drops to lackluster 8.6%
New U.S. electric vehicle registrations rose 4.6 percent in June from a year earlier — with Tesla falling and General Motors surging — but EV market share fell for the month and stayed flat for the first half of the year, according to the most recent S&P Global Mobility data. June's 113,460 EV registrations represented 8.6 percent of U.S. light-vehicle market share, down from 8.8 percent a year earlier. For the first half of 2025, EV registrations rose 7 percent to 620,642, with market share inching up just 0.1 percentage point to 7.5 percent. The data, which serves as a sales proxy since some EV makers don't report U.S. numbers, shows continued flattening of EV market share ahead of the Sept. 30 repeal of the $7,500 federal tax credit. The S&P Global Mobility numbers include only battery-electric vehicles and not hybrids. Tesla slips in June EV registrations, GM surges 2025 U.S. EVregistrations Change fromJune 2024 Tesla 57,260 -6% Chevrolet 9,517 152% Ford 5,759 -10% Hyundai 5,227 7% Rivian 4,613 -7% Cadillac 4,121 87% Honda 2,826 254% BMW 2,740 -21% Nissan 2,345 -2% Mercedes-Benz 2,224 16% Kia 2,065 -61% Audi 1,870 50% GMC 1,797 111% Acura 1,385 530% Toyota 1,384 2% Subaru 1,191 2% Jeep 964 9,540% Volkswagen 890 -49% Porsche 878 119% Lucid 838 52% Lexus 812 -26% Volvo 777 148% Dodge 530 N/A BrightDrop 388 1,041% Genesis 336 -43% Polestar 246 -79% Mini 192 -21% VinFast 102 343% Fiat 73 20% Fisker 51 -47% Jaguar 28 -86% Rolls-Royce 24 -27% Ram 7 N/A Source: S&P Global Mobility 'Share has been flat for around three straight years with a little bit of up and down,' said Loren McDonald, chief analyst at EV data analytics firm Paren. New models do well at launch but essentially take sales from other EVs rather than expand the market. In 2023, EV share was 7.7 percent before rising to 8 percent in 2024, S&P Global Mobility said. Switch Auto Insurance and Save Today! Great Rates and Award-Winning Service The Insurance Savings You Expect Affordable Auto Insurance, Customized for You Sign up for the weekly Automotive News Mobility Report newsletter for the latest developments at the intersection of transportation and technology. New hybrid models from Toyota, Honda and others are likely delaying a consumer shift to full-EVs, McDonald said. Buyers are likely waiting for more affordable EVs over the next two years from GM, Nissan, Toyota, Slate Auto and others, he said. 'People who would have maybe gone fully electric are thinking hybrid is the easy choice because I have to make zero changes to my lifestyle and I'll save money,' said McDonald. 'They're thinking, 'If I wait a couple of years, they're going to be way better.' ' EV affordability, charging perception keep sales numbers down Several automakers are promising EVs around $30,000 since affordability has also been a major drag on sales. The average EV transaction price was $56,910 in June, down 2.8 percent year-over-year but $8,785 above non-EVs, Cox Automotive said in July. Other barriers to EV sales include false narratives around public charging, which is expanding at record pace, and high sticker prices before government and automaker incentives that can bring monthly lease payments to parity with gasoline cars, McDonald said. In the short term, EV sales are likely to surge in the third quarter as consumers rush to use the tax credit before it expires, analysts said. The Republican budget bill eliminated several clean-energy credits when signed into law in July. After the EV rush, sales should be muted for several quarters, but by next year, consumers will likely forget about the tax credit and new electric models will reenergize the market, McDonald said. Cox said the EV market is headed into a more volatile phase with the elimination of support from the government through tax incentives. 'Automakers and retailers alike will need to navigate this next chapter with agility, as the EV landscape becomes more complex and demanding of true market resilience,' Cox said. June numbers show Chevrolet and Cadillac gaining and Tesla falling The June registration data showed a continuing shift away from market leader Tesla and toward legacy brands, such as Chevrolet and Cadillac, on the strength of fresh models. Tesla's registrations fell 6.1 percent to 57,260 vehicles. The Cybertruck dropped 53 percent to 2,184 while the Model 3 grew 31 percent to 17,015, S&P Global Mobility said. For the first half, Tesla registrations fell 7.5 percent to 271,050 vehicles. Its share of the EV segment dropped 6.8 percentage points to 43.7 percent, the data showed. Chevrolet ranked No. 2 as June EV registrations rose 152 percent to 9,517 vehicles. The Equinox EV surged 722 percent to 6,239, while the Silverado EV nearly doubled to 1,035, the data showed. For the first half, Chevrolet's electric registrations rose 143 percent to 47,506 vehicles. Its share of the EV segment more than doubled to 7.7 percent. Ford, in third place, saw a 9.5 percent downturn in EV registrations to 5,759 vehicles, S&P Global Mobility said. For the first half, its share of the EV segment slipped 0.7 percentage points to 6.7 percent. The brands gaining the most market share in the first half, after Chevrolet, included Honda with a gain of 2.5 percentage points, Acura with 1.7 percentage points and Cadillac with 1.1 percentage points. Kia, the No. 10 brand in the first half, lost 2.6 percentage points of EV market share. Hyundai, No. 4, lost 0.8 percentage points while Rivian, No. 6, also lost 0.8 percentage points. Send us a letter to the editor Have an opinion about this story? Tell us about it and we may publish it in print. Click here to submit a letter to the editor. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
06-08-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Rivian reports Q2 net loss of $1.1 billion, keeps 2025 delivery guidance
Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive reported a second-quarter net loss of $1.1 billion, an improvement over its $1.5 billion net loss in the same period last year. Revenue rose 13 percent from a year earlier to $1.3 billion, the company said Aug. 5. The California automaker reiterated its 2025 delivery guidance of 40,000 to 46,000 vehicles, but it will need a strong second half to hit that range. On the company's earnings call, CEO RJ Scaringe said Rivian faces a more challenging business climate due to policy changes enacted during the Trump administration, including increased tariffs and cuts to federal support for EVs. 'The policy environment continues to be complex and rapidly evolving,' Scaringe said. 'Changes to EV tax credits, regulatory credits, trade regulation and tariffs are expected to have an impact on the results and the cash flow of our business.' Rivian posted a gross loss of $206 million in the second quarter, compared with a gross loss of $451 million a year earlier. Rivian achieved its first gross profit in the fourth quarter of 2024, followed by another one in the first quarter. The automaker said it no longer expects to reach positive gross margin in 2025, citing headwinds including policy changes that have reduced the value of regulatory credits and other subsidies. Rivian also forecast a bigger adjusted EBITDA loss this year, expecting it to be $2 billion to $2.25 billion, compared with a previous forecast of $1.7 billion to $1.9 billion. CFO Claire McDonough said tariffs, which didn't significantly impact costs in the second quarter, 'are expected to have a net impact of a couple thousand dollars per unit for the remainder of 2025.' Rivian expects a significant drop in revenue from emissions-related regulatory credits that it sells other automakers, McDonough said on the call. 'We do not expect to earn revenue from these programs for the remainder of 2025. We expect total 2025 regulatory credit sales to be approximately $160 million as compared to our prior outlook of $300 million,' McDonough said. The automaker's stock price fell about 5 percent in after-hours trading Aug. 5. Sign up for the weekly Automotive News Mobility Report newsletter for the latest developments at the intersection of transportation and technology. Rivian faces headwinds from flattening consumer demand for EVs, higher tariffs on imported parts and the elimination of the $7,500 consumer tax credit on Sept. 30. In July, Rivian reported a 23 percent decline in second-quarter deliveries from a year earlier to 10,661 vehicles. With first-quarter deliveries of 8,640, Rivian needs to sell about 21,000 vehicles in the second half of the year to meet the low end of its 2025 forecast. Rivian raised prices modestly for the 2026 model year. The R1T pickup now starts at $72,885, up from $71,700, and the R1S crossover starts at $78,885, up from $77,700. All prices include shipping. Rivian is betting on its lower-priced R2 crossover, scheduled to launch next year, to broaden its appeal. The automaker has a target price of $45,000 before shipping for the base R2 trim. Scaringe said the price target for the R2 remains the same despite the loss of the tax credit. Rivian will launch a premium trim before selling the base model, he added. 'Having spent a lot of time driving R2, I'm more bullish on this vehicle than any product we've developed,' he said. 'The product market fit is incredible. The packaging, the technology and overall value proposition set R2 up for meaningful share.' Future Product Rivian future product Find our what powertrains, redesigns and freshenings are planned for the next four years. View the list Brand future product timelines Send us a letter to the editor Have an opinion about this story? Tell us about it and we may publish it in print. Click here to submit a letter to the editor. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
The commercial EV segment is growing in the face of market slowdown
While the consumer market for electric cars is starting to slow, the commercial vehicle business is still growing. Registrations for commercial electric vehicles — Classes 3 through 8 — rose 274 percent to 24,871 for the 12 months ended May 31 compared with the same period a year earlier, according to data from S&P Global Mobility. Those include delivery vans, utility trucks and big rigs. Registrations for Class 2 EVs — often used for work — rose 69 percent to 417,246 in the same period. Light EVs — the consumer market — shrunk by 2 percent to 694,678. Sign up for the weekly Automotive News Mobility Report newsletter for the latest developments at the intersection of transportation and technology. Companies like Ecolab, an infection prevention, water and hygiene supplier based in St. Paul, Minn., are behind the growth in sales of commercial EVs. Ecolab has a fleet of 11,000 vehicles, 1,000 of which are now electric. 'We see electrification of vehicles, long term, as being a really strong business model for us,' said Mike Hauge, manager of fleet electrification for the supplier. Ecolab is looking to electrify its entire North American fleet by 2030. Many of the businesses moving to electric fleets see a cost advantage over combustion engine vehicles, said Jacob Richard, technical project manager at Calstart, a Pasadena, Calif., clean transportation nonprofit. Amazon has more than 25,000 EVs on the road, all Rivian delivery vans. These EVs have helped with costs, in part because of route optimization, Tom Chempananical, director of Amazon's global last-mile fleet, said in an email. Companies that use fleets to run regular routes and then return to a depot to charge, often at night, are best able to integrate EVs into their operations. EVs also require less service than their fuel-powered counterparts, and the cost of electricity is often less than gasoline — though both expenses can vary by state and vehicle model. For companies that have fixed-price contracts with electric providers, costs tend to be more consistent than constantly fluctuating gasoline prices. While there are plenty of reasons to electrify — lower operating expenses, the convenience of starting the day with the equivalent of a full tank of gasoline and route optimization — certain factors are still holding some fleets back. The most important are high upfront costs, underdeveloped infrastructure and policy uncertainty, according to Calstart. What keeps fleets from converting to electric? Regulatory efforts and purchase incentives have helped many fleets handle the high entry costs of electrification. The Advanced Clean Trucks regulation originating in California that was adopted by 11 other states, including Maryland, New York and Washington, requires automakers marketing medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to sell zero-emission vehicles at an increasing percentage of annual sales. Of the cumulative zero-emission truck deployments in the U.S., 39 percent were in Advanced Clean Trucks regulation states. States that follow the standard represent 27 percent of the nation's total truck stock, according to Calstart. 'When looking at that total cost of ownership, you kind of need to have those upfront incentives in the near term,' Richard said. The share of zero-emission truck deployments in states that follow the Advanced Clean Trucks regulation has increased steadily, growing by 1 percent in all of the last three reporting periods to 39 percent. But President Donald Trump's administration is reversing many of the regulatory and environmental policies that supported EV sales. Trump signed congressional resolutions revoking EPA waivers that would uphold Advanced Clean Trucks standards. California Governor Gavin Newsom said that the state would file a lawsuit challenging Congress' ability to revoke EPA waivers. In addition, governors in some states that originally set enforcement at model year 2025 or 2026, including Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon and Vermont, signed executive orders pushing back compliance timelines by a year or longer. While Advanced Clean Trucks standards being scaled back presents a 'cloudy policy picture,' the impact won't stop progress because other efforts at the state and local level will continue to spur investment, Richard said. Infrastructure issues hamper commercial EV market Infrastructure is another major barrier to growth in the commercial EV segment. Getting local infrastructure to a level that will support the electricity needs of commercial EV fleets takes not just money, but time. The process could take up to two years, Richard said. 'The utility permitting process and all of that probably needs to be sped up,' he said. Fleets wanting to electrify sometimes have to take infrastructure efforts on themselves. Amazon has established an internal charging infrastructure, setting up more than 32,000 chargers spanning 180-plus sites in the U.S. To establish that infrastructure, Amazon first had to understand how to optimize vehicle range on delivery routes. Routes for Amazon electric vans consist of a mix of highway driving, short start-stop segments in neighborhoods and stationary time during deliveries, which interferes with the accuracy of industry standards for range estimation, Chempananical wrote. Amazon has taken it upon itself to learn what its vehicle range is to make the most out of its EVs — using artificial intelligence and machine learning to model routes considering distance, speed, elevation and environment — all to get accurate estimates. Education and outreach is also a prominent barrier to growth, Richard said. In order for the market to have sustainable growth, it's not just fleets that need educating, but dealers and policymakers. There have been instances of fleets wanting to electrify, but no dealers available to help them make that transition. 'They're excited, they go to the dealer,' Richard said. 'But then the dealer's like 'I don't know — what? Why should I?'' The future of the commercial EV market While registration numbers are holding strong, threats to the industry might put that growth in jeopardy. 'I don't think we're gonna see probably exponential growth in the next at least few years,' Richard said. But these changes won't be the end of electrification, he said. A lot of projects are already in motion, specifically battery projects that would help domesticate the supply chain. And better access to batteries means better prices. That might make 2027 a crucial year for growth, Richard said. The people in businesses are already electrifying, and they don't plan on stopping, he added. Ecolab hasn't backed down on its promise to electrify its entire 11,000-vehicle North American fleet by 2030. Neither has Amazon, which has promised to expand its electric fleet to 100,000 vehicles by 2030. And the states that already have plans and efforts in place to decrease carbon emissions aren't stopping, either. Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington and more have plans in place to incentivize electrification on the state level, according to Calstart. 'That makes up a big vehicle population,' Richard said. 'So it's going to still continue to happen.' Send us a letter to the editor Have an opinion about this story? Tell us about it and we may publish it in print. Click here to submit a letter to the editor.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
EV tax credits are out in budget bill, but House and Senate clash on how fast to kill key incentive
President Donald Trump is moving forward on his promise to end the $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids, but it's up to Republicans in Congress to decide whether the cutoff date comes at the end of 2026 or much earlier that year. Competing versions of the incentive rollback in the House and Senate are now up for negotiation, with the House version offering to continue the credit for smaller EV and PHEV makers through the end of 2026 while cutting off bigger ones at the end of this year. The provisions are part of proposals for Trump's 'big, beautiful' budget bill. The Senate version, released from the Finance Committee on June 16, treats all automakers the same by ending the EV tax credit within 180 days of the bill's passage. That proposal would also cut the EV leasing credit immediately for vehicles that don't meet local content rules and in 180 days for those that do. A $7,500 incentive would end this year for automakers that reach a quota of 200,000 electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids sold since 2010 under a House Republican proposal for the Trump administration's budget bill. Those under the cap remain eligible through 2026. S&P Global Mobility registration data from January 2015 to April 2025 gives a rough idea of where automakers stand. Manufacturers are listed as they appear on the IRS page. American Honda(Honda, Acura) 99,347 BMW of North America(BMW, Mini) 343,402 Ford Motor Co.(Ford, Lincoln) 406,786 General Motors(Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC) 468,952 Hyundai Motor America(Hyundai, Genesis) 241,605 JLR(Jaguar, Land Rover) 19,749 Kia America 212,667 Lucid USA 19,991 Maserati North America 21 Mazda Motor America 33,969 McLaren Automotive 946 Mercedes-Benz USA(Mercedes, Smart) 140,194 Mitsubishi Motors North America 27,512 Nissan North America(Nissan, Infiniti) 166,303 Polestar Automotive USA 29,866 Porsche Cars North America 63,766 Rivian Automotive 126,322 Rolls-Royce Motor Cars N.A. 688 Stellantis 457,955 Subaru of America 36,638 Tesla 2,897,522 Toyota Motor Sales(Toyota, Lexus) 361,692 VinFast 5,174 Volvo Car North America 158,068 Volkswagen of America(VW, Audi, Bentley) 259,086 The Senate text suggests that the chamber is taking an even harder line than the House bill passed May 22 in eliminating Biden-era incentives for EVs. The Senate proposal would also end a $4,000 used-vehicle EV tax credit after 90 days. 'I think the Senate version is worse, totally cold turkey, and the lease thing is so important,' said Mike Murphy, a Republican political consultant and CEO of the American EV Jobs Alliance, a pro-EV lobbying group. 'Bottom line is the Senate is really trying to put a stake in the heart of EV subsidies.' While both rollback plans will likely reduce consumer demand and automaker investments by also phasing out credits for battery production, the House version gives some automakers more time to build on their modest EV sales, analysts say. Sign up for the weekly Automotive News Mobility Report newsletter for the latest developments at the intersection of transportation and technology. The House proposal does that by returning to the quota-based program from 2010 to 2022 that phased out the credits once an automaker reached sales of 200,000 electric models, including battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. With the proposed revival of that mechanism, automakers exceeding that threshold would lose access to the credit Dec. 31 while those still under the cap would have until the end of 2026. The result could be a short-term rush by consumers to take advantage of the tax break, followed by a decline in demand. 'Although some brands may have a longer runway with the House's proposal for discontinuing the EV credits, the cap would eliminate EVs from many of the industry's most popular brands,' said Brent Gruber, executive director at J.D. Power's EV practice. 'The Senate's version may spur EV sales in the short term, but it, like the House's version, ultimately may jeopardize EV adoption.' The current tax credit, signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, doesn't use quotas. It does impose North American content rules and battery-material requirements, but leased EVs get the credit without having to comply with those rules. EV makers already exceeding 200,000 in U.S. registrations include Tesla, General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Hyundai, Volkswagen, BMW and Stellantis, according to data from S&P Global Mobility that covers the period from January 2015 to April 2025. EV makers who are safely under the quota include startups Rivian Automotive and Lucid Motors, electric vehicle latecomers Honda and Subaru, low-volume brands such as Mazda and Mitsubishi, and sports car manufacturers including Porsche, McLaren and Maserati. The registration data from S&P Global Mobility does not include the years 2010 to 2014 when EV and plug-in hybrid sales were still relatively modest. Ultimately, it would be up to the IRS to determine which automakers would get cut off at the end of this year and which would still be eligible in 2026, analysts said. Also, the House and Senate could negotiate a different set of rules from their original proposals for the EV credit phaseout. In response to questions from Automotive News, Mercedes-Benz said its cumulative EV and PHEV sales in the U.S. were approaching 150,000 as of mid-June. Mercedes said interest in 'sustainable mobility' remains strong, and it will offer a variety of powertrains to meet consumer needs. 'The pace of transformation is determined by market conditions and the needs of our customers,' Mercedes said. 'Into the 2030s, we can flexibly offer vehicles with both fully electric drivetrains and electrified high-tech combustion engines.' Mercedes said it supports 'a more orderly phase out of the existing federal EV incentives,' a stance shared by the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents most automakers selling vehicles in the U.S. According to J.D. Power survey data, a majority of EV buyers cited tax credits and incentives as a key reason for purchasing a new electric vehicle in 2024 and this year. 'For customers of Honda and Volkswagen, on average, the tax credit was the No. 1 purchase reason. For brands like Tesla, Cadillac and Chevrolet, among others, tax credits were amid the top three most influential purchase reasons,' Gruber said. Nissan, an EV pioneer with the Leaf hatchback in 2010, said EV adoption will continue to grow despite the loss of the federal tax credit. 'We anticipate continued growth in the EV market, driven by strong demand and the many benefits that EVs provide,' Nissan said. 'However, we acknowledge that the pace of growth may slow compared to earlier projections.' In addition to targeting the consumer EV tax credit, the Trump administration has taken steps to roll back federal emissions standards and withhold funding for a nationwide charging network. 'If tax credits are abolished, the price competitiveness of BEVs and PHEVs relative to internal combustion engine vehicles is generally expected to decline,' Mazda said. BMW said that a change in the tax credits wouldn't affect its strategy of offering different powertrains for different consumer needs. 'From the start, BMW's strategic approach has been one of 'technology openness,' where we offer our customers the ability to choose the vehicle that best suits their lifestyle — whether that be a highly efficient internal combustion vehicle, plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, or battery electric vehicle," the automaker said. Toyota, which has focused on hybrids over fully electric vehicles, said the loss of the EV and PHEV tax credits would not have a significant impact on its business. 'While there may be a small impact on leases in the short term, the impact to our business will not be substantial,' Toyota said. 'We feel a strong, competitive product with a more robust national charging infrastructure will drive sales when consumers are ready to purchase a BEV.' Some EV fans expect sales to suffer without the tax credit but mostly on lower-cost electric vehicles where the credit allows monthly payments similar to gasoline vehicles and hybrids. Some buyers will still prefer EVs even at a higher price. 'I don't want to say the tax credit had no impact. Clearly it did,' said Loren McDonald, chief analyst at EV consultancy Paren. 'But I've always believed that it was 10 percent, 20 percent maximum of the market where it actually converted people to EVs.' Some EV skeptics welcome the return to a more level playing field where consumers, not government regulations, drive the auto business. 'Once the smoke clears and the incentives clear, I think you'll see a pullback from how much the automakers are investing in this technology and the number of consumers who are buying EVs,' said Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars. He said EVs have advantages in refinement, but range and charging limit their appeal. 'I believe that financial viability is supposed to be a cornerstone of capitalism, which is supposed to be the cornerstone of the U.S. economy,' Brauer said. 'You shouldn't have cars that are drastically losing money with no real long-term horizon on when they're going to be profitable.' Hans Greimel, Urvaksh Karkaria, Carly Schaffner and Larry P. Vellequette contributed to this report. Have an opinion about this story? Tell us about it and we may publish it in print. Click here to submit a letter to the editor. 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Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Slate Auto draws 100,000 reservations, raises $700 million for EV mini-truck
EV startup Slate Auto is moving quickly on plans to launch a sub-$30,000 mini-pickup out of a brownfield site in the Midwest, drawing 100,000 customer reservations and $700 million in financing, the company said. 'America has shown that it wants what we're making,' Slate said in an email. The startup opened reservations — with a modest $50 refundable deposit — when it revealed its two-door pickup April 24. Slate, which is targeting late-2026 production, also revealed more information about top financial backers after quietly building in 'stealth mode' since 2022. One key investor is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, it said. The Troy, Mich. startup said it's raised $700 million and the latest funding round closed in late 2024. Slate said its biggest backers include investment funds Bezos Expeditions, General Catalyst and TWG Global. General Catalyst is invested in a variety of brands, including Airbnb and Snapchat, its website says. TWG Global has investments in the L.A. Dodgers and Cadillac Formula 1 Team as part of its portfolio, it said. Slate CEO Chris Barman is a former engineering vice president at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Other top executives have industry experience, including at EV maker Rivian, according to their LinkedIn profiles. Sign up for the weekly Automotive News Mobility Report newsletter for the latest developments at the intersection of transportation and technology. Slate plans to sell one basic vehicle configuration and offer a long list of accessories designed for do-it-yourself installation. The options to personalize the base vehicle are extensive, down to colorful decals. The base 'Blank Slate' is a rear-wheel-drive pickup similar in size to the subcompact Subaru Crosstrek. It has plastic body panels with no paint, comes without a radio and offers an estimated 150 miles of range, Slate said. As part of the reservation process, Slate collects $50 and asks whether the buyer is interested in an 'SUV Kit,' which is essentially a camper shell with three passenger seats, seat belts, airbags and a roll bar. Slate also asks customers about their interest in an optional battery with around 240 miles of range. Slate hasn't given prices for the upgrades beyond the estimated starting cost for a DIY body wrap at about $500. The base pickup is expected to cost under $20,000 after federal incentives, the company said. Without the tax break, the price would be $7,500 higher, not including shipping. Slate didn't provide shipping costs. Accessory categories include: vinyls wrap including two-tone designs; bigger wheels and tires; lighting upgrades; bluetooth speakers; and an electric window kit to convert the standard, hand-crank windows. The automaker says that it will provide instructions for owners to install the accessories themselves, including three versions of the SUV Kit, two with a roof and one open air. Slate says it can arrange installation for a fee. For infotainment, Slate said owners can use their smartphones or install a tablet. The phone mount is standard and the tablet mount is optional. The truck doesn't come with any screens but does offer a phone app. The startup's focus on a basic, attractive vehicle with limited standard equipment — which does include air conditioning and heat — has drawn an enthusiastic response on social media and among industry analysts. But some warn that the quoted 'under $20,000″ sticker is unrealistic. Republican lawmakers are working to repeal the $7,500 EV incentive and added accessories are likely to push up average transaction prices. 'A normally equipped one that most people want is going to end up costing $35,000 and for that money you get 150 miles of range, 200 horsepower and a two-door truck,' auto analyst Doug DeMuro said on his podcast May 6. DeMuro warned that U.S. customers have shunned two-door vehicles in general in recent years. Slate says it's disrupting traditional automotive manufacturing that requires enormous upfront investments and high fixed costs. It plans to build its pickup at a former printing plant in Warsaw, Ind. By using plastic exterior panels, Slate doesn't need a factory paint shop or metal stamping, two high-cost areas. The company said it will sell direct to consumers and use a service partner that it hasn't yet named. Despite skepticism from hard-nosed analysts, Slate said it's on track for a 2026 start of production, 'thanks to our highly experienced team and top industry partners.' Have an opinion about this story? Tell us about it and we may publish it in print. Click here to submit a letter to the editor. Sign in to access your portfolio
