Latest news with #LorenMcDonald
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Warning Signs for Tesla: New Model Y Struggles to Find Buyers
Tesla's latest Model Y release was supposed to be a game-changer. Instead, it's raising eyebrows across the automotive industry for all the wrong reasons. The Cool Down reports that industry analysts reveal a troubling pattern: Tesla's new Model Y models are sitting untouched on dealership lots across the country, a surprising twist for a vehicle hyped as one of the year's biggest EV launches. The telltale signs are there. Tesla is already offering 0% financing on the Model Y—an unusually aggressive tactic for a model so fresh out of the gate. 'Why would you discount and have all these incentives and offers literally out of the gate?' asked Loren McDonald, chief analyst at EV data firm Paren. 'That just doesn't make sense when your margins are already at multi-year lows. That suggests very strongly that there is a demand problem.' While Tesla's global EV dominance remains intact, the cracks are showing. Sales of competing EVs from rivals like Ford, Hyundai, and even upstarts like Rivian and BYD have surged, while Tesla's numbers have been slipping. Some blame the growing competition, while others point to the controversies surrounding CEO Elon Musk that have cast a shadow over the Model Y sales stalling, Tesla isn't sitting idle. The company has been promoting the model with heavy incentives and continues work on future projects like the much-discussed Cybertaxi. There are also whispers of cheaper versions of the Model Y and Model S in the pipeline. But for now, the Model Y's underwhelming launch highlights a new reality for Tesla: the days of instant sellouts and long waitlists may be numbered. Warning Signs for Tesla: New Model Y Struggles to Find Buyers first appeared on Men's Journal on May 26, 2025
Express Tribune
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Express Tribune
Tesla Model Y: Why the car has bombed, with reports of dwindling sales
Tesla's much-anticipated Model Y, touted as a revolutionary addition to the electric vehicle market, is facing unexpected challenges. Despite initial hype, the new model is struggling to find buyers, according to industry analysts. As reported by Reuters, many Model Y vehicles are sitting unsold on dealership lots across the European market, raising concerns about demand for the electric car. This slow uptake is also noticed in the United States. This has led to Tesla introducing 0% financing on the Model Y, an unusually aggressive marketing move for a model that is still relatively new. Loren McDonald, chief analyst at EV data firm Paren, expressed concerns about the strategy, questioning why Tesla would offer such substantial incentives so early in the model's release. "Why would you discount and have all these incentives and offers literally out of the gate? That just doesn't make sense when your margins are already at multi-year lows. That suggests very strongly that there is a demand problem," McDonald said. Tesla misses out on European EV growth as Model Y fails to revive sales — Reuters (@Reuters) May 27, 2025 Tesla, which has long been the dominant player in the global electric vehicle market, now faces growing competition from established automakers like Ford and Hyundai, as well as emerging players such as Rivian and BYD. Sales from these competitors have been surging, further highlighting Tesla's declining numbers. Some observers attribute the slowdown in sales to the increased competition, while others point to the controversies surrounding Tesla CEO Elon Musk, which have cast a shadow over the brand. Despite the struggles, Tesla is not standing still. The company has ramped up its promotion of the Model Y with additional incentives and continues to push forward with future projects, including the much-discussed Cybertaxi. Speculation also suggests that more affordable versions of the Model Y and Model S could be in the works. However, the underwhelming launch of the Model Y serves as a wake-up call for Tesla, marking a shift in the EV market. The era of instant sellouts and long waitlists may be coming to an end.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Tesla scrambles to push sales after new models reportedlysit untouched on lots nationwide: 'That just doesn't make sense'
Tesla has found itself in yet another sticky situation, as the launch of its new and improved Model Y has not gotten off to a smooth start. According to Reuters, Tesla's launch of the Model Y has not gone according to plan. The retooled compact SUV was supposed to be one of the answers to the EV company's flagging sales in recent months, and was widely seen as one of the most anticipated debuts in the automotive industry. However, while sales data isn't yet available, there are a lot of troubling signs that analysts claim indicate that sales have not been good to this point on the Model Y. For starters, in most of the world, there is little to no wait time to get a Model Y at the moment, and Tesla is offering 0% financing on them. Given that the Model Y has only been out since January, analysts say that offering those kinds of financing deals on them is a bad sign. "Why would you discount and have all these incentives and offers literally out of the gate?" asked Loren McDonald, chief analyst with EV data firm Paren. "That just doesn't make sense when your margins are already at multiyear lows. That suggests very strongly that there is a demand problem." Tesla remains the largest EV manufacturer in the world, but the margin between its sales numbers and the sales numbers of the rest of the pack is shrinking. In many parts of Europe and the United States, EV sales numbers have continued to grow while Tesla has seen declining sales. The reasons for this are varied. Some of it is because more and more companies, including mainstream automakers like Ford, Hyundai, Honda, and General Motors, have started rolling out their own EV models, while other EV-exclusive manufacturers like Rivian and BYD have entered the market and gained an increasing foothold in recent years as well. Some of it is due to company policies and issues that have led to lawsuits painting the company in a less favorable light. And some of it is due to widespread protests of Tesla's brand over CEO Elon Musk's involvement far-right political movements in the U.S. and abroad, which has made the prospect of owning one feel like a political statement to many prospective EV buyers. Unfortunately for the EV manufacturer, all of it combines to paint a less than rosy picture for the company's outlook, even though drivers are increasingly looking to make their next car an EV. Do you think Tesla's vehicles have lost some of their appeal? Definitely No way Some models — but not others For some drivers — but not others Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. The company is clearly hoping that its offers on the Model Y will help boost sales numbers, but it's not stopping there. The EV manufacturer is also working on the Cybertaxi, and has been promising cheaper versions of the Model Y and Model S for several years now, in an effort to stay competitive in an increasingly crowded market. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
WIRED
14-02-2025
- Automotive
- WIRED
Federal EV Charger Freeze Sows Chaos, but Chargers Are Still Getting Built
Chargers funded through the program were due to be just a small share of those opening this year. The longer-term effects aren't yet clear. The US government program that awarded states funding to build public EV chargers along the nation's highways was halted last week by a White House executive order. Photograph:Last week, the US federal government froze a national program intended to send $5 billion in funding to efforts at building charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, with the goal being the construction of half a million new EV chargers in the United States by 2030. The funding freeze is the latest in a spate of bad news flung at the electric vehicle sector and the wider auto sector. In just his first month in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at 'terminat[ing] … the electric vehicle mandate' and contemplated high tariffs against Canadian, Mexican, and European goods. Collectively, these moves could devastate the global auto industry. The EV charging freeze has thrown the still-fledgling charger industry into confusion. Legal experts say the move could be against the law. Still, industry observers say the pause in funding likely won't spell doom for the nation's charging infrastructure—or the wider goal of getting more people into electric cars. 'The industry is not dependent on this,' says Loren McDonald, chief analyst at Paren, an EV charging data-analytics firm. 'They're building out charging infrastructure anyway.' Funding Confusion The three-year-old National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program is funded by the federal government. But it is administrated by individual states, meaning state officials are responsible for planning charging sites and writing contracts with companies to build and operate them. Some of those state officials are still evaluating what the funding freeze means for them. The state of Ohio has built 19 stations with NEVI funding—one third of the 57 already open nationwide. The state is 'working to understand the specific funding impacts of the new guidance as it applies to our remaining contracted projects,' Breanna Badanes, a spokesperson for the Ohio DOT's charging initiative, wrote to WIRED in a statement. In general, states seem to believe that they can move forward with projects where contracts have already been signed, but can't sign any more, even if they've already been awarded the money to build. 'What's going to happen is, any obligations that have been currently made, contracts that have been signed, those are still going to be funded,' US transportation secretary Sean Duffy told Fox Business over the weekend. He acknowledged that killing the NEVI program would require an act of Congress. But he said no more funding will be released until the Transportation Department reevaluates the program. That process likely won't be completed for several months. The Price of Delay? In the near term, the delay in NEVI funding may be hardly noticeable to EV drivers. For one thing, NEVI-funded chargers are 'a drop in the bucket' of the nation's budding charging infrastructure, says McDonald, the analyst. He estimates that NEVI-funded electric fast-charging ports will account for some 10 or 15 percent of the 16,000-odd due to come online in the US this year. If states follow through with sites that already have contracts, some 750 to 850 of the 1,000 planned NEVI sites will open, McDonald says. For another, the NEVI program was designed to build chargers that aren't always close to where most EV owners live. The rules of the program (which could be changed now that it's under review) stipulate that the money be used to build stations every 50 miles along high-traffic stretches of national highway. The idea was that the government would subsidize public fast-charging in places where the market might not support it, to enable long-distance trips. But most people aren't taking daily road trips, so they may not immediately notice the delay in construction. Those who do notice might be rural drivers. In the longer term, the freeze will likely hit a few charging companies in the pocketbook. A handful of firms have built their profit strategies around big funding opportunities like NEVI. 'The freeze does really have an impact on how much infrastructure gets to roll out,' says Jeremy Michalek, professor of engineering and public policy who studies electric vehicles at Carnegie Mellon University. 'It puts some players in a bad spot where they've already invested.' But other companies, including Elon Musk's Tesla, have opted to use NEVI funds to build only some of their chargers, and others have declined to use the funding opportunity at all. This is in part because stations built with the first tranche of NEVI money are required to be positioned in those 50-mile intervals. Charging companies see more opportunity in other locations. Ionna, a joint venture between eight major automakers focused on charging, applied for no NEVI funding, and still plans to open more than 1,000 charging ports this year, with a goal of building 30,000 by 2030. 'The team has not stopped,' spokesperson Katherine Rankin wrote in a statement. Ionna is less interested in NEVI funding because it wants to build chargers in metropolitan areas, CEO Seth Cutler explained at an industry forum earlier this month. 'There's a lot of need for that right now,' he said, pointing to data that the charging company collects on EV registrations and current charger use. Cities are where the company expects to find its future customers—people who live in apartments, or without off-street parking, or in homes with less-than-ideal electricity hookups that prevent them from charging overnight in the garage. Walmart, too, is quietly building its own 'coast-to-coast' network of chargers. The ride-hail turned charging station firm Revel is also focused on building in cities, where governments are pushing Uber and Lyft to put their drivers in electric cars. Just a few days ago, the company won a $60 million state grant to put nearly 300 new fast chargers in New York. In the long term, then, the NEVI pause could have the greatest effect on the vibes around electric vehicles, rather than the actual experience of owning one. Freezing the program might have already accomplished what the Trump administration really wants, points out McDonald, the analyst: widespread confusion. 'It's about the messaging: creating chaos and havoc and getting the headlines,' he says. 'Getting everyone in hysterics about canceling this charging program could appease the followers who think EVs are evil.' The antidote might be sticking to the facts.
