Check out your Company Bowl for anonymous work chats.
For the time being, electrified cars and trucks remain the province of early adopters, with EVs comprising less than 10 per cent of new vehicle sales. The sense that they are mainstream only exists in pockets of the US market, like California, where nearly a quarter of new vehicle sales in the first three months of the year were electric. But rising sales mean more people are likely to know someone who owns an EV, said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at Edmunds, and as “more vehicles hit the road . . . people will feel more comfortable with them”.
Edmunds.com (...) launched new plugin for ChatGPT on Monday to help car buyers find their next ride. Since Edmunds’ plugin taps right into the company’s database, users will get the latest 2023 reviews, ratings and listings information on all vehicles, Edmunds said. The free version of ChatGPT has a knowledge base of data only through 2021.
In its 2023 EV sentiment survey, the research firm found that 85% of EV consumers would consider purchasing from a brand they have never bought from. Jessica Caldwell, executive director of insights at Edmunds, noted that this trend challenges the norm car manufacturers are used to. “Traditionally, automakers count on consumer loyalty to carry their sales rates…” she writes. “EVs are throwing a monkey wrench into the loyalty patterns that automakers have grown accustomed to, and it will be fascinating to watch if the growing number of EV models from mainstream brands will shift consumers back fully toward their loyalty tendencies or if brand allegiances are a thing of the past.”
In April, the average new vehicle transaction price was $47,759, which is $511 below the average MSRP of $48,270. That gap — which amounts to the average discount — is the biggest recorded in two years, according to data from Edmunds. However, discounts are still relatively small compared to pre-pandemic years. For example, the average new car discount was $2,622 in April 2020.
Among the biggest challenges is determining the exact condition of a used BEV’s battery. Recurrent, a Seattle startup which has teamed with Edmunds, offers EV and plug-in hybrid consumers a free prediction of remaining battery life based on statistics it’s gathered on mileage, age, climate, and other factors. As with all used-car purchases, getting a professional inspection can be worth the cost. “I generally recommend consumers visit service departments at dealerships that sell [EVs]” said Ronald Montoya, Edmunds’ senior consumer advice editor. “Compared to independent mechanics, you can be certain that dealership mechanics have been trained on [EVs] by the manufacturer,” he said.
In the United States, market share for mid-size pickups, currently 3.6% of all new vehicles sold, has more than doubled over the past decade, according to data from Edmunds. The average price paid for smaller trucks has also shot up a lot as buyers add on features and options, said Ivan Drury, an industry analyst with Edmunds. The reason is simply that buyers like the functionality. Plus, with modern, sophisticated suspension systems and plush interiors, buyers can enjoy a comfortable experience, he said.
When you’re buying a car, Edmunds’ consumer insights analyst Joseph Yoon said the most important factor is to “really, really, really know your budget. [...] Go online, run every single payment calculator you can find and really familiarize yourself with how the numbers are going to shake out every month,” Yoon said. The average monthly car payment is now more than $730, compared to $527 five years ago, according to Edmunds.
Edmunds put a 2022 Rivian R1T and a 2022 Ford Lightning up against each other in its first all-electric towing contest. In the end, Edmunds says both trucks performed similarly in terms of efficiency and were equally good at climbing steep grades with a powerful electric truck. However, they did conclude that the Ford Lightning offers additional advantages over Rivian’s electric truck for towing.
Ford has raised the price of the Lightning multiple times since its launch. Customers who choose the entry-level Pro model now pay at least $20,000 more than the original $40,000 price. Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds, said Ford could charge even more and customers would pay up. "The Lightning is a home run for Ford," he told ABC News. "The company has hundreds of thousands of reservations -- it's sold out through 2024. There is no cooling down in this market."
"Auto loan rates hit their highest level in 15 years during the quarter, but seemed to have leveled off, said Edmunds Executive Director of Insights Jessica Caldwell."
