It’s not that Americans don’t want electric vehicles, according to the chief executive of American EV-maker Rivian. It’s just that they don’t have many good options.
At the Fortune Brainstorm AI conference in San Francisco earlier this month, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe pointed to the scant choices consumers have in picking a midprice EV, noting that Tesla has continued to dominate sales, making up about 50% of the market share, with few other competitors making an impression.
“That’s not a reflection of a healthy market with lots of choice,” Scaringe said. “If you think of it as a consumer, you have 300 different internal combustion engine choices at that price or lower, and you have maybe one highly compelling EV choice.”
EV demand in the U.S. has continued to lag behind other parts of the world, making up just about 5% of new car sales, according to November data from Edmunds. In China, meanwhile, EVs make up more than 50% of the auto market share, China Association of Automobile Manufacturers data shows. Battery-electric cars make up about 16% of the EU market share, per the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
U.S. automakers are feeling the squeeze from middling demand, with Ford pivoting away from heavy EV investment, citing lackluster American interest. It announced this week it would take a $19.5 billion charge and refocus on gas- and hybrid-powered vehicles, discontinuing some larger EV models.
