Experts Say Switching to EVs Could Signal End of S
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As Americans grow increasingly fond of sports utility vehicles (“SUVs”) and pickup trucks, the demand for sedans has declined significantly. Consequently, automakers have begun eliminating sedans from their lineups, with automakers such as Ford, Chrysler and Lincoln abandoning sedans years ago. As it stands, the Toyota Avalon, Volkswagen Passat and the Mazda 6 will be the next victims. But while the popularity of larger vehicles has pushed sedans into the background, some experts say it is the mass adoption of electric vehicles (“EVs”) that will finally push them out of the market.
Thanks in part to more than a century of human industrialization, greenhouse gas emissions have gotten completely out of hand. Runaway climate change and global warming have forced governments around the world to recognize humanity’s part in creating the climate crisis, especially now as extreme weather ravages parts of the world. Consequently, several territories have pledged to replace fossil fuel-powered vehicles with zero-emission electric cars. It is this push for clean vehicular transportation that may put the final nail into the sedan segment’s coffin.
Joe Wiesenfelder, executive editor at Cars.com, says that sedans and sports cars have been on the edge of the cliff for quite a while now and EVs “may be responsible for giving them the final shove.” As automakers turn their attention to alternative energy vehicles, something is bound to lose, he says, and as sedans were already in a precarious position, this segment may be the one to take the bullet. Stephanie Brinley, an IHS Markit analyst, concurs, stating that automakers are abandoning sedans and putting a halt to the production of longtime models because of electric vehicles.
As such, the production of sedans and sports cars will continue to fall, Brinley wrote in a LinkedIn post. While SUVs and crossovers made up 51% of vehicle sales in America last year — up from 30.2% in 2010 — sedan sales accounted for only 22.6% of 2020 vehicle sales, down from 46.2% in 2010.
Automakers have zeroed in on the fact that Americans like big cars, and several are already working on electric SUVs and pickup trucks for the mass market. Ford, which dropped out of the sedan game a long time ago, recently unveiled the F-150 Lightning, an electric version of its bestselling F-150 pickup truck.
Michale Tripp, Toyota North America’s vice president of vehicle marketing and communications, says the Toyota Avalon Sedan had a good 28-year production run. But with customer tastes shifting toward larger SUVs and pickup trucks, automakers have no choice but to go where the market demand is highest. Jalopnik‘s editor in chief Rory Caroll says that automakers have one objective — to make money — and if EVs are the hottest thing on the market, then that’s where they will go.
If the switch to electric forms of vehicular transportation carries the price of bringing an end to the era of sedans, no one will fault sector players such as Net Element (NASDAQ: NETE) since the bigger goal is to reduce the rate at which global warming is taking place.
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