“Sales for battery-powered vehicles grew 65% in 2022,” says Paradigm’s tech expert Ray Blanco. “The mass adoption of electric vehicles seemed like a foregone conclusion.

“But now in 2023,” he says, “we’re seeing manufacturers slamming on the brakes…

• “Tesla is delaying the construction of their gigafactory in Monterrey, Mexico.

• Ford is postponing $12 billion in spending on electric vehicles and pressing pause on their construction of a new EV battery plant

• General Motors is delaying the release of the EV versions of their Silverado and Sierra pickup trucks by one year. They’re also abandoning their target of producing 400,000 electric vehicles by mid-2024.”

Per Ray’s last point, given the choice between using $10 billion for EV research and development or returning cash to shareholders — via stock buybacks — GM recently chose the latter.

Taken as a whole, these factors indicate “demand is not matching the investment made by these companies…

Send your opinions to, feedback@newsyoucanacton.com

Your Rundown for Monday, December 4, 2023...

A Carbon-Emissions Compromise

“EV makers have aggressively cut prices, sacrificing profits in order to increase sales growth,” says Ray. “But adoption is still slowing.

“The average price for an EV has already dropped almost $10k so far this year,” he adds, with the average sticker price around $50,000.

“Companies will only be willing to forego profits for so long,” he notes, “and they can only cut prices so much.” Which still might not be good enough for many consumers.

“With inflation driving down the expendable income available for new vehicles and rising interest rates driving up the cost of financing, we’re seeing a growing unwillingness for consumers to match the lofty price tags of all-electric vehicles.

“Instead, cars and trucks priced under $50k are moving off of lots much faster than vehicles priced above that mark…

“Possibly the most damning thing for electric vehicles is that consumers have a better alternative.” Namely, Hybrid vehicles.

“Eco-conscious consumers seem content to reduce without totally eliminating their emissions, especially if it means being able to afford their car payments,” Ray says.

“Who could have seen this coming? Toyota…

“The Japanese automaker bet heavily on hybrids while the rest of the auto world jumped on government incentives and an apparent EV-market boom.

“Now Toyota is taking a victory lap after reporting Q3 profits that were more than double those of 2022, driven by a 41% year-over-year sales increase in conventional hybrids and an almost 90% increase for plug-in hybrids.”

Ray’s takeaway? Automakers — not including Toyota — believed “hybrids would become history and all-electric vehicles would be the future.” But at present, at least, “it seems that a compromise is the best option.”

Market Rundown for Monday, Dec. 4, 2023

The S&P 500 is down 0.60% to 4,565. 

Oil is down 1% to $73.30 for a barrel of WTI. 

Gold is down 1% to $2,046.40 per ounce. 

And Bitcoin is up 3.70%, pushing past $40,000. 

Send your comments and questions to, feedback@newsyoucanacton.com