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Houston Chronicle: Automakers All In on Electric Cars, Even as Sales Dip

Posted by James Osborne on Feb 3, 2020

Houston Chronicle covered automakers' efforts to promote new EV options, referencing recent Super Bowl ads and the Washington Auto Show (where AEE hosted a special EV press tour) and AEE's Matt Stanberry. Read excerpts below and the entire Houston Chronicle piece here

With slumping global sales and fading government subsidies, the electric vehicle market might appear to be stumbling before it ever really got started. Just don’t try telling that to auto manufacturers, who are only increasing their commitment to a technology that for now occupies a small fraction of a world market dominated by gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles. Witness the Super Bowl.

During Sunday’s game, when a 30-second spot could top $5 million, General Motors, Porsche and Audi all ran ads touting their new electric vehicle — using everything from Game of Thrones to climate change references to sell the concept of a cleaner transportation future. At the Washington Auto Show this month, Ford hawked an electric Mustang going on sale later this year while Volkswagen touted a new electric crossover similar to one with which it has already had success in Europe...

Hoping to replicate the success of Elon Musk’s luxury EV brand Tesla are startups such as Lucid Air, a California company planning to launch a luxury all-electric sedan in April. Michigan-based Rivian is expected to start delivering electric pickup trucks with 400-mile range later this year. At the same time, legacy automakers such as Ford and General Motors are rushing to expand their electric offerings, including pickup trucks and electric versions of classic brands such as Cadillac. Last July, Ford posted a video on YouTube of its prototype electric F150 towing a cargo train — its since been viewed more than 2 million times. 

“SUVs and pickup trucks are the one spot of the car market that’s growing, and EVs are only just starting to move into that space” said Matt Stanberry, managing director at Advanced Energy Economy, a trade group advocating for clean energy. “We’re expecting [2020] to be a bigger year...”

Read the entire Houston Chronicle piece here

Topics: United In The News