Charged Fleet Readers Sound Off on Electric Vehicles

While reader comments may not qualify as an accurate poll, they do point to the topics and concerns most likely to motivate someone to publicly comment on the news and information about electric vehicles.

During much of 2023 and into 2024, more website visitors have responded to news items and articles speaking to emerging challenges and setbacks in fleet electrification and electric vehicle adoption.

Media headlines keep mounting about EV operational problems, high adoption costs, charging access, and most notable, the financial losses and pullback on EV production, purchasing, and sales among OEMs, dealerships, and rental car fleets.

In the near term, fleet operations, auctions and consignors, dealerships, and commercial customers will need to consider serious business choices whether or when to invest in EVs and to what extent.

Here’s a sample of reader comments and insights on recent Charged Fleet content. Comments have been edited and corrected for accuracy and attributed to the initial(s) of posters:

2/14/24: What Are EV Charging Trends For Fleet and Automotive Sectors in 2024?

“Wow. Bad timing for this article with the REAL news about what Hertz is experiencing. I drive a (Ford F-150) Lightning and I'm directly involved in the automotive business. I'm not a hater, but it's over folks. Where can I place that bet? It will be back someday, a decade or two down the road, because it makes sense. But for now, you can build all the chargers money can buy, but there's no place to plug them in and no place supplying the juice. — B

12/27/23: EV Mandates Jump Ahead of Energy and Charging Resources

“Yes, there are complexities when transitioning from an ICE-based vehicle fleet to an EV fleet. Especially, when you are transitioning high power need vehicles such as Class 8 tractors. Like most complex challenges, it is wise to understand your options, your needs, and your limitations. Too often companies are sold pilot programs that lack depth of planning under the guise of "low hanging fruit.” These projects feel like forward movement, but ultimately may not help solve the broader need or achieve companies’ goals. The best advice is to start sooner than you think, ask for help with questions you should be asking, and add electrification as a learning objective for 2024. There are a lot of folks willing to help you move forward for all the right reasons.” — JL

12/20/23: Plenty of Electric Vehicles Available for Sale

“The problem is EVs are being forced on the public. The public will make up its mind when it is ready for EVs. I am all for saving money. That means low up-front cost and a lifespan without hassles. The upfront cost is too high, infrastructure is not there, the life span is short on the battery. Can it be fixed? Yes, in due time. Right now, let the consumer set the demand or at least listen to them. — S

12/30/23: “Steve, I believe to be totally right on. I could only add EV alone is just not flexible enough for us mere mortal Americans. I would consider a hybrid before straight EV. For whatever reason I was unable in 2020 to get an F-150 Hybrid and ended up with EcoBoost which is basically a super truck compared to my first 1966 F-100 289 3-speed. I can load up the truck and be in Florida in 14hours +/- for traffic, but according to Tesla and their recharge chart, it would be a minimum of 24 hours to Orlando. Not to mention the lifecycle; my last new truck is still running at 22 years old and 140,000 miles as a daily driver. — J

12/5/23: EV Transition Could Drag U.S. Auto Market

“Nobody wants the fricking things. It’s pretty simple.” — SH

“This article is very comprehensive and summarizes a lot of interesting information. We recently took a trip to Florida, and saw very few EVs, in comparison to the Northeast where we see many. — RB

“Reality is this has been and will remain a niche market until automakers figure out how to overcome inflated prices, range anxiety, and charging. This is a prime example of our mainstream media portraying their wishes rather than reality and common sense. — W

“America has had a love affair with the internal combustion engine for over 100 years. Even at the rate that technology moves today, it is going to take a very long time to grow the EV market. The product does not suit a broad segment of the market. Many people can't afford them. Many people will not have access to a charger at home due to their living quarters like apartment style homes. And many people are scared to own them because of range anxiety and a fear of the hazards associated with lithium-ion batteries. There have been too many fires and explosions to make people feel comfortable about charging at home inside your garage. And then there is the unknown about battery life and replacement cost. Tesla battery packs range from $13k to 20k. If you get stuck with that, how much money did an EV save you? It's no wonder that used EV prices are plummeting. And it's no wonder that auto dealers across the nation are telling the government to back off on their force fed mandates. America has always been about choice!” — RF

11/272023: Ford Trims Electric Vehicle Plant as Losses Mount

“Ford and the rest of these manufacturers need to get SERIOUS about alternate fuels and come to grips with the fact that electric is NOT the answer. If they want to set themselves apart from these other two-bit knockoffs that have started up since emissions are no longer an issue, Ford would be developing hydrogen. It's fast to refuel and takes an engine to burn it which they can easily develop with their experience with the current product portfolio. I for one would never buy electric. When I travel, I travel. I have no interest in wearing out my library card waiting for hours for a battery to charge.” — MJG

“Challenging market dynamics" while at the same time "...we remain bullish on our long-term strategy for electric vehicles". You can't make this stuff up. The consumers as well as fleet professionals have been screaming at the top of our lungs for years now... WE'RE NOT INTERESTED IN EVs! Is there so much federal money being crammed down the automakers throats that free market economic theories simply don't matter anymore? — DD

10/16/23: EV Sales Hit Another Record as Tesla Sales Share Tumbles

“This is a rosy article; the Wall Street Journal published a write up on 10-15-23 titled "Automakers Have Big Hopes for EVs; Buyers Aren’t Cooperating" that pulls this rather idealist summary of the EV world into a more realistic lens. — DD

Originally posted on Charged Fleet