sales

Biden aims to juice EV sales, but would his plan work?

By Michael J. Moody 2 weeks ago

DETROIT — Dangling tax credits and rebates in his drive to fight climate change, President Joe Biden wants you to trade your gas-burning car, truck or SUV for a zero-emissions electric vehicle.

Some buyers would find his offer persuasive. Yet Biden’s goal is a daunting one: Even if Congress approves his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, along with its incentives, it would take many years to replace enough internal combustion vehicles with EVs to make a huge dent in tailpipe emissions.

Right now, there are about 279 million vehicles on the road in the United States. The proportion that are fully electric, according to IHS Markit, is 0.36%. Of the 14.5 million new vehicles that were sold last year, 2% were fully electric.

Even if every new vehicle sold were battery powered — something no one envisions — it would take about 15 years to swap out the entire fleet.

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Biden Aims to Juice EV Sales, but Would His Plan Work? | Political News

By Michael J. Moody 2 weeks ago

By TOM KRISHER, AP Auto Writer

DETROIT (AP) — Dangling tax credits and rebates in his drive to fight climate change, President Joe Biden wants you to trade your gas-burning car, truck or SUV for a zero-emissions electric vehicle.

Some buyers would find his offer persuasive. Yet Biden’s goal is a daunting one: Even if Congress approves his $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan, along with its incentives, it would take many years to replace enough internal combustion vehicles with EVs to make a huge dent in tailpipe emissions.

Right now, there are about 279 million vehicles on the road in the United States. The proportion that are fully electric, according to IHS Markit, is 0.36%. Of the 14.5 million new vehicles that were sold last year, 2% were fully electric.

Even if every new vehicle sold were battery powered — something no one envisions — it would take about 15

… Read More

Monthly car payments near $600 as SUV and truck sales surge: Experian

By Michael J. Moody 1 month ago

Fox Business Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on FoxBusiness.com.

The average monthly car loan payments are on the rise, surging upwards of $600, as an increasing number of consumers switch back to financing new vehicles, according to Experian’s latest auto financing report.

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During the last three months of the 2020 fiscal year, consumers borrowed almost $2,000 more for new vehicles, spending on average $35,228, according to Experian’s State of the Automotive Finance Market report.

This pushed their monthly bill from about $13 to upwards of $576 during that period, according to Experian.

“The events of 2020 disrupted the automotive industry and we’ve seen some consumers shift away from patterns that have been cemented over previous quarters such as opting for used vehicles,” Experian senior director of automotive financial solutions Melinda Zabritski, said.

This change can be attributed

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New car sales sink to lowest level since 1959

By Michael J. Moody 1 month ago
UK car dealership

UK car dealership

Sales of new cars plunged to levels not seen since 1959 in February as coronavirus lockdowns continued to ravage Britain’s automotive industry.

Just 51,312 new cars were registered last month according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) – a 35.5pc decline that equated to 28,282 fewer cars than in February last year.

February is traditionally a quiet month for the car industry as it comes ahead of the new registration plate in March.

Motorists keen to have the latest car on their drives mean March is normally the busiest time for dealers, accounting for a fifth of all new vehicle sales each year.

However, with January lockdowns forcing showrooms to shut and dealers going online to make sales, demand has collapsed.

According to the SMMT, closures and weaker consumer confidence related to the pandemic have cost the industry £23bn in lost

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