According to a recent study on electric vehicle prices, it was found that luxury brand EVs cost more than internal combustion engine equivalents, but mass-market or mainstream brand EVs cost much more than their ICE counterparts. However, one exception to that trend is the upcoming Chevy Equinox EV if its announced base price holds true.
A J.D. Power report states that while EVs now account for 8.4 percent of new vehicle purchases and leases in the United States, 76 percent of these new electric vehicles were sold by luxury brands. According to J.D. Power, the biggest reason for that result is relative affordability.
More specifically, the average premium vehicle buyer is paying 0.4 percent more for an EV than a comparable ICE-powered vehicle. By comparison, the average mass-market brand buyer is paying 18 percent more to own an electric vehicle.
On average, new vehicles in the compact electric utility segment are priced $10,000 to $20,000 higher than comparable ICE-powered vehicles. One exception is the Chevy Equinox EV, which is projected to be introduced toward the lower end of the price curve.
As for how exactly the Chevy Equinox EV plays into this, the Bow Tie brand’s upcoming all-electric crossover was introduced with an approximate $30,000 starting MSRP for the entry-level 1LT trim. In comparison, the ICE Chevy Equinox’s price ranges from $28K to $35K. As a sidenote, after General Motors announced its decision to drop the 1LT trim level from the Chevy Blazer EV lineup in July, a petition was created challenging The General to maintain the Equinox EV’s base 1LT trim level and $30K entry price.
As a reminder, the first Equinox EV variant to be produced will be the limited-edition 2RS, scheduled to arrive this fall. The 1LT, 2LT, 3LT and 3RS trims will follow in the spring of 2024.
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Scheduled for a Spring 2025 launch.
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Do they consider Tesla as a luxury brand?
It seems that they might have started out that way, but now they are chasing volume by trying to build them as cheap as possible.
I don't think they are cheaply made. But they have lowered the build cost and passing that cost to the buyers to drive more demand. They are cheap to fuel, fun to drive and accelerate like sports cars. All the big things are standard. heated seats wheel etc. Very compelling. When it comes to EV bang for the buck Tesla rules.
Ever rented one??? Never thought I would be impressed by dodge build quality. Teslas are very cheaply made, and musk just passed it as "quirky".
Also, Tesla still loses money on their cars. Their profits are delivered by carbon credits and services. Everyone adopting their charger will definitely help with that.
There's no way the equinox EV will turn GM a profit at 30K, well unless we experience 50% deflation by next year, but then I'll just go buy a Tahoe for that same price.
@Steven...no longer true. Carbon credits are a bit of the profit but they are not losing money on their cars without those CC. Look up the latest.
Tesla has been profitable for over two years without carbon credits. They don't make much money from services at this point. You're way behind on your Tesla knowledge.
And I agree EV will lost a lot of money if the Equinox is priced anywhere in the 30s. The cheapest model Y is 43990 and cheaper model 3 is 38990 for comparison. With the 7500 rebates, those prices are pretty good.
I consider Tesla more of a tech forward brand than luxury. As far as the Equinox is concerned, it has to be in the 30K range to be a hit. Too many GM cars already in that high 50 - 100K range.
I don't know if the price is the biggest factor in sales. People need to be confident in charging. Don't think people feel that yet.
It's the CCS stations that are the problem. Many are broken at any given moment, and they all have different payment systems. Some need apps, others you can use a regular card, and others offer a confusing membership program that charges $4.00/mo for a reduced rate. I am trying to help someone who is getting a Lyriq, and I feel stupid at the prospect of trying to explain a membership program that they might not even need for a charger that might not work.
Almost more so than range is DC fast charging. It doesn't matter it the Equinox has 270 or 330 miles of range, If you are on a road trip and the charging is slow, Then it won't sell This vehicle needs to be compelling. Also, How many units do you think GM will produce? from the looks of things lately with the strike and the amount of money GM loses on every vehicle they produce, I would say not too many. They certainly can't make a profit on EVs at these low production numbers. Their battery tech is outdated and GM is not willing to pay battery factory workers a decent wage. They make more working at burger king. I think, for now, GM is just milking the profits they make from ICE vehicles before they start producing enough cars to be profitable in the EV segment.
Battery tech outdated? Explain? Are you still driving the volt, bolt, bolt euv? Then yes.
VOLT is not even in production anymore and BOLT will continue under Ultium plattform. Some people regurgitate whatever opinion someone gives. Just like thinking that factory workers make the same salary as Buger King.
It seems like your spot on with their big idea to invest their recourcrs and effort into devreoping gas hogs for as long as they remain protected by their elite US connections. I'm a mason not a CEO but from where i sit i see a major hole in this big idea, as when they finaly get around to looking into ev industry the industry will already be established and already have its industry leaders to drive it. And the other complication i forsee is these industry leaders will be established by companies who lead with their product and their products value. Again I'm a brick mason not a auto exec but from my end of bench i look at Ford and Gm as prime targets for compete collapse, in fact while society and government joins hands to unite as one in support of union assembly labor i think we should let them take care of their end of bench and from our end immediatly warn evry one of them that this is your first and only warning to make very clear from our end we see your profession very much at risk, and your on your own if you dont seek other employment opportunities and instead follow your companies and your jobs to the bottom. Just a heads up that if your union goes boom don't look at us for a nickel. Your hardships and your contract is between you and your former employer. By the way before you even think about going after Ford or Gm to extract equity once they evaporate you will have to wait until we first extract evry nickel we invested into their failed ev attempt as well as enough capital to cover any warrenty work or full replacemts we may need.. from our end it looks like evry asset they hold won't cover our bill but your welcome to scrape the pile after were made solid. What we can offer you is a link to the tesla giga factory in Texas mabey their hiring!!!
Not only is it costlier, but the EV experience doesn’t fit the bulk of the driving public’s lifestyle right now.
It’s pointless to have so much production capacity devoted to an affordable EV if the charging infrastructure still can’t compete with gas/diesel alternatives. Tesla had to build out their own and even that has regional limitations.
Look for this to change in the next 4-5 years.
When that happens, the longer range versions of the Equinox EV are going to be right where they should be. That’s the price point where Chevy needs to focus. Maybe they can offer a Malibu EV on that chassis as well. They need to keep working towards a reliable 365 mile range for $30,000-$40,000 vehicle.
The Cadillac, Silverado, and Hummer products are nice but that’s not going to be the volume sellers. They’ve got to learn how to make money for their shareholders and dealers with a long range $30,000 EV. That is what will put them ahead of everyone. Not even Tesla can do that.
I am trying to understand how you have such a limited EV experience. Have you driven one? Do you not see the value proposition they give you. Do you love to have oil refineries in your back yard and pay Saudis and Russians for palaces bullets? Oil is the old tech that needs to go. Smog and the cancer it causes. Tesla Model 3 is currently selling below 40K. Gets 270 miles of range and is quicker enough. So you need to drive some of these wonderful machines. Or not. Just give Saudis some more cash
Meanwhile, the USA is actually the number one producer of oil.
And will widen our lead once Biden is gone...
Yeah we make it and sell it to Europe. We get most of the oil we turn into gas from Saudis. Go figure. They take that money but bullets start wars we sell things to blow stuff up, you seeing a trend? If our oil source is threatened we send the our sons and now daughters to war. All so oil and gas can keep you happy?
Oil is on it's way out. The Us will have to base it's dollar on gold again. Brics will take out the American dollar if we don't
Oil is not going anywhere anytime soon.
Oil will always be for things like plastic, another product that's so useful but so terrible for the environment and our health. But can't we reduce our need for oil as much as possible? Average person can't make Gas but with a few dollars and Youtube video's you can make your own electricity to power you home and car. Talk about being independence.
Tom Mologhney "State of charge channel" made a good point. CONCENTRATE ON THE CHARGING. We have plenty of range with current EVs. No need to add more. If chargers are plentiful and reliable a 300 mile EV is more than enough. Economy ones can have 250-260 such as the BOLT.
If it's not 35k they will have huge issues selling it Tesla model 3 is at 39k now and is a decent car with a proven record. With the highland update, really cool
"Could change that", but won't. Between more government mandates and once the UAW increases kick in, that MSRP will skyrocket just like everything else.
If they can hold the price down like they did with the Bolt, then they may have a winner (with the existing customer base that would consider an electric car). Biggest issue that will be a deciding factor with this customer base is that Apple CarPlay won't be offered.
Note: If you don't want an electric vehicle, then you are not in the customer base.
The basic reason there is no more Bolt is they lost money making them. So we will see if GM can crack the Tesla code.
The bolt like the volt were on old platforms. If the EQ is sufficiently similar in size if not bigger than the BOLT EUV why would they want that ongoing....other than maybe to have the cheapest one on the road. I DO NOT believe they dont at least break even with sales at what hitting 60k a year in 2023 projected.
The $30,000 EV Equinox will be the unicorn that nobody will see on a dealer lot. Once the battery plants are included in the national UAW agreement, GM's EV prices will skyrocket along with Ford and Stellantis.
My guess is that the lowest price you will see an EV Equinox is $40,000, maybe. Look at what GM did with the Blazer EV and the Silverado EV. Both of them were thousands of dollars higher in "base" trims than what GM had initially promised. The new EV Blazer starts in the $55,000 range and the Silverado EV WT is in the $70,000-$80,000 range. You can buy an ICE Blazer for around $40,000 and an ICE Silverado around $50,000.
How many gallons of gas can you buy for the extra $15,000 investment on the Blazer? Try 4065 gallons or about 121,000 miles worth of driving at highway speed in a 4cyl Blazer. Considering most people drive 12,000 miles per year, that is over 10 years worth of gasoline/driving.
How many gallons for the extra $20,000-$30,000 investment on the Silverado? Try between 5420 and 8130 gallons or about 108,000 to 162,000 miles worth of driving in a 4cyl or V8 Silverado. Considering most people drive 12,000 miles per year, that is 9 to 13.5 years worth of gasoline/driving.
That is a lot of gasoline you would have to save before seeing any real savings to switch from ICE to EV. I don't care about fancy screens, estimated range, or acceleration numbers, I care about real savings. If the EV Blazer or the Silverado EV were similar in price to their ICE-equivalent trims, then the savings of electricity over gasoline would start to make sense, but not when you have to pay tens of thousands of dollars more for the same trim. EV's will get there, but not anytime soon.
The $30,000 EV Equinox
Buy the 38K for the Model 3
Like the "$60,000" C8 Corvettes that all the Boomers paid six figures for, lol.
I know several people who bought 1LT C8s at MSRP with no or few options. They're still well equipped cars and drive just as well as the more expensive trims.
I suspect the more desirable, and much better selling, 2LT trim is going to display that more typical $10K plus price premium over the ICE version. The 1LT is going to be a low content, small battery model that will be available in very limited quantities show GM can advertise a low price.
If the 2RS arrives at dealers in the fall and it's now October 7th, When is "fall" according to GM?
I just bought a 2023 Bolt EUV for about $28k and I'm crazy about it! I really hope the Equinox 1LT will be similar in price. I'd also be interested in Blazer EV but I won't be able to afford one probably ever if it's much beyond that $30k price point. I don't understand where Equinox and Blazer EVs are all that different in size?
I also think somebody needs to make and offer an affordable 7 or 8 passenger EV with at least 250 miles of range and quick DC recharging.that can replace all the current ICE minivans and larger SUVs. Kia EV9 might work but I'd like to see one from Chevy too. I feel like it would sell like crazy to larger families who want to be free of ICE.
Affordable depends what you think that is but the R1S Rivian has three rows.