Let's Figure Out Why EVs are More Expensive

   Let's sit down right now, you and me, and try to determine just why electric vehicles are so much more expensive than vehicles with internal combustion engines. Hey, some day you might want to buy an EV, but the price might stand in your way, right?
   If you are going to bawl about not being able to afford an EV, I just think we need to know the whys and the wherefores, so you'll know if you are being gypped or if it is just the way it is and you need to get over it.
   1.) Advertising. Everyone knows you have to market a product. That takes money, doesn't it? And which do you see more of in the TV ads -- internal combustion engines or electric cars? Ahem, maybe we better skip this one and get on to the next. I could be wrong, but I'm thinking we still see more ads for the ICE models.
   2.) Production labor costs. What? Turns out it takes more factory laborers to produce the ICE car than the EV! What's up with that? No clutches or gears, or mufflers or manifolds in the EV. There are a maybe a measly 20 moving parts in an EV, compared to about 2,000 in the ICE vehicle. Guess that one doesn't stack up on the side of the ICE, either. 
   3.) Shipping. Now we are getting somewhere -- but not far. With the battery packs weighing so much, the freight costs for oversea deliveries might be higher. And even just transporting across a continent, a semi pulling a shipment of EVs is going to burn more diesel than one pulling ICEVs. Here's guessing, though, the difference is not overly excessive. So don't use this one as your excuse, either. 4.) Increasing demand. It's called a market economy, isn't it? Supply and demand? With the crush of customers seeking EVs, and with such few of them on the lots at the dealerships, car makers are able to fetch more money for EVs. Trouble with this theory is that there are not an overabundance of EVs. Fact be told, EVs are piling up on car lots across the nation as the green revolution hits a speed bump. Maybe, with hope and luck, this will drop EV prices. We'll wait and see. But, as it stands, add this to the list of reasons EVs should be less expensive, not more. 5.) Extra technology. The typical EV carries a lot more gadgetry, a lot more bells and whistles. If so, perhaps a greater share of our EVs should not be so fancy. 6.) Factory amortization. EVs have been around for more than a decade now, so while we must concede it takes money to tool a plant for EVs, I'm not buying that this is a root cause for EVs being so expensive. A host of new factories have been built for ICE cars, as well. The amortization factor is in play for the new ICE factories, as well. 7.) R&D. This factor certainly seems in play. I'm not denying it. It does require more research and development before introducing a new EV model. But, while many new models are being introduced, consider how many have been on the market for years now. Even ICE models get updated. If the updates for existing EV models are so expensive, shouldn't this be true for ICE vehicles as well? 8.) The battery pack is expensive. Lithium is expensive. Come 2030 (prices are falling and I couldn't find current figures), it is said the battery pack will account for about 19 percent of the cost of the EV. We could compare that to the percentage of car cost for internal combustion engines cars, if we could find such a figure. I am guessing, however, that the engine is much more than 19 percent of the cost for an ICE vehicle. So, I'm not sure even this argument holds up. 9.) Economies of scale. This, too, is a definite one. But it, too, is probably milder than assumed. If you buy more product -- parts to make a car -- you might get a discount. But, the car manufacturers we are talking about are large companies and are already buying in large quantities. So, it seems likely car seats for their electrics are no more expensive than car seats for their gasoline counterparts. And, to boot, some items can be shared -- car seats being one -- and thus your savings are shared. Economies of scale is also evident in the number of vehicles sold vs. the total cost of employees. Some jobs pay more than others, and although there are fewer factory workers for EVs (as discussed above), there could be more executives and more R&D workers, which are higher-paying jobs. Once again, though, these expenses can be shared. If you are a wise businessperson, you will use some of the same personnel in the portion of the company that produces electrics as you do in the gasoline vehicle side of your show. Parts buyers can be common, for example. Even the marketing team can often be shared. If the car companies are not doing this, it is to their own fault. Send them back to business college and teach them how to run a company.

(Index -- Climate change info)