{"id":12848,"date":"2021-06-15T10:29:35","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T02:29:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/battery9999.com\/en\/?p=12848"},"modified":"2021-06-15T10:29:35","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T02:29:35","slug":"ready-to-try-an-electric-car-good-luck-finding-one-in-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/battery9999.com\/en\/ready-to-try-an-electric-car-good-luck-finding-one-in-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"Ready to try an electric car? Good luck finding one in Utah"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Art Raymond<\/span><\/span>\u00a0

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Now that you\u2019re flush with cash from pandemic-induced savings and a series of federal stimulus checks, it may feel like the perfect time to buy your first electric vehicle.<\/p>\n

But if you\u2019re a Utah resident, you might want to keep that extra-long extension cord bundled up for the time being.<\/p>\n

A global shortage in the high-tech semiconductor chips that have become the lynchpins of modern automotive manufacturing was first noticed last fall, and the fallout has been impacting the global car market ever since. The problem rose to become a major issue for automakers, with some manufacturers significantly slashing production of some of the world\u2019s most popular models and, in some cases, holding off on releasing new, all-electric vehicles.<\/p>\n

The result has been far fewer vehicles available for purchase as the waning pandemic has lit the flame on pent-up consumer demand for a new ride. Given the robust customer interest, dealers likely could sell many more cars and trucks \u2014 if they were available.<\/p>\n

Why is automotive supply low?<\/h3>\n

While restrictions wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic laid waste to large swaths of the retail sector, car sales actually fared very well and, in Utah,\u00a0were up significantly even in the early months of the health crisis<\/a>. Now, however, the supply side of the equation is wreaking its own kind of havoc.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe car industry is doing OK, and we will hopefully come out of COVID OK,\u201d Craig Bickmore, executive director of the New Car Dealers of Utah association,\u00a0told the Deseret News last month<\/a>. \u201cThe dealers have done OK and we\u2019re grateful. But what\u2019s happening now is inventories are tight for reasons that have been in the news a lot \u2014 inventory is tight and will probably get a little tighter as manufacturers work through those issues with supply chains.\u201d<\/p>\n

And nowhere is this economic dilemma more evident than in an unprecedented confluence of record-high interest in electric vehicles and a meager, if not nonexistent, number of the battery-powered buggies available on dealership lots not just in Utah but across the country.<\/p>\n

Even large Salt Lake dealerships have only a few, if any, all-electrics available for purchase and the world\u2019s biggest electric vehicle maker, Tesla, is citing a wait of up to three months for their \u201centry level\u201d Model 3, which starts at just under $40,000.<\/p>\n

\"David<\/picture><\/span><\/span>
David Mack charges his electric vehicle in Salt Lake City on Friday, June 4, 2021. Disruptions to production of semiconductor chips have led to inventory shortages and record prices for new electric cars.<\/figcaption>\u00a0Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News<\/cite><\/span><\/figure>\n

Glen Schmidt, who chairs the department of operations and information systems at the University of Utah\u2019s David Eccles School of Business, said electric vehicle manufacturers were preparing for a big market jump a couple of years ago that never really came to fruition. But now that surge appears to be in full effect.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s something called the S-curve in product innovation,\u201d Schmidt said. \u201cYou hit an inflection point where all of a sudden things take off. Things like battery production were ramping up a few years ago when automakers thought demand was going to take off, but it didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, it seems that we\u2019re finally there.\u201d<\/p>\n

And new data from\u00a0Cox Automotive\u2019s report on U.S. auto sales for the first quarter of 2021<\/a>\u00a0supports the contention that interest in electric vehicles has been truly sparked.<\/p>\n

U.S. sales of hybrid and electric vehicles were up 81% in the first quarter of 2021 over the same time period last year, and now account for 7.8% of all U.S. auto sales, up from 4.8% a year ago.<\/p>\n

Cox reported that there are now more than 60 hybrid or plug-in hybrid vehicles available in the U.S. Tesla currently outpaces all competitors, and sold over 69,000 vehicles in the first three months of the year. The Tesla Model Y is top seller so far in 2021, with the Model 3 in second place and the Chevrolet Bolt rounding out the top three choices among U.S. buyers.<\/p>\n