Markets Reverie

Now's as good a time as any to have a comprehensive report card about prominent technologies that have been extolled to save the planet, namely electric vehicles (EVs). Sales growth of electric vehicles has slowed dramatically this year. Tesla delivered 20% fewer cars in the first quarter of 2024 than in the prior quarter, and BYD saw sales decline more than 40% over the same period. BYD’s EV sales were still up 13% when compared to the same quarter a year earlier, while Tesla’s sales were down 9%. Both companies have been slashing prices to stimulate demand. Another possible sign of an EV downswing can be seen with Hertz, the car rental company, announcing in January that they would be selling 20,000 EVs from their rental fleet, citing a lack of demand from rental customers and high repair costs. They said that they would use the proceeds to buy more internal combustion engine cars. It is important to understand why EVs are seeing lower sales and whether the issue comes from the d