There have been quite a few headlines lately implying that the EV movement is in trouble. Is it? Let’s take a look at the facts. 

First, here’s a small sampling of some of the recent headlines out there: 

 “Mustang Mach-E is in trouble” – Motor Biscuit

“Ford just shut down EV production” –  Charge Drive

“Slowdown in electric car sales is a symptom of a much uglier problem” – Business Insider 

“Even Tesla knows EV Sales Are In Trouble” – Jalopnik

Based on those headlines and others you might think EVs are doomed to be a blip in history but let’s look at the actual sales numbers. 

Starting with Tesla, America’s biggest producer of EVs delivered a record-setting 1.8 million EVs in 2023. That’s a 38% year-over-year increase, according to the automaker. The flip side: its profits dropped 22% as it aggressively cut prices.  

Next, let’s look at Ford, which has taken a beating on some media outlets over its EV performance.  

Sales of its Mustang Mach-E were up 3.3% year over year to 40,771 units. An interesting footnote, its electric pony outsold the gasoline Mustang in December despite Ford giving the gas-powered Mustangs a redesign. 

Meanwhile, F-150 Lightning sales increased by 54.7% year over year. Ford sold 24,165 EV pickups in 2023, according to Ford Authority, and set a new record for EV sales in the 4th quarter of 2023.

BMW saw its U.S. EV sales surge 65% year over year, selling 14,374 EVs. 

BMW plug-in hybrids U.S. sales accounted for 25,318 vehicles. Taken together, plug-ins and EVs accounted for almost 20% of BMW’s U.S. sales in 2023, according to BMW of North America. 

Over at Volkswagen, its ID.4 sales shot up 84.2.% year-over-year in the U.S. to 37,789, the company said. 

Total deliveries at Rivian were up 147% year over year to 50,122. Rivian produced a total of 57,232 EVs, up 135% from 2022, according to InsideEVs. 

Final numbers for 2023 are still coming in as the automakers work on their annual reports but there’s no question the EV industry as a whole easily achieved another year of record growth record. 

As the time of this story’s publishing, Cox Automotive was forecasting that final numbers will put EVs at about 8% of all U.S. vehicle sales in 2023. 

In many cases the supply of EVs has finally caught up with demand, meaning it’s now often possible to find a selection of EVs on dealer lots without dealer markups or perhaps even with discounts. From a consumer perspective, that’s good and necessary for EVs to move beyond early adopters to mainstream automotive buyers. 

There will be peaks and valleys in growth, profit, loss, and supply chains as the auto industry works through the challenges of transitioning to EVs but none of detracts from the actual numbers that show EVs are continuing to rapidly gain market share.

The post Growth Of EVs: The Real Story appeared first on EV Rider.

As we all focus on 2024, here’s a quick look back at the top 10 EV Rider videos from 2023 and a brief look at some of what we’ll be doing in 2024. 

This list is comprised of the 10 most watched videos on the EV Rider YouTube channel that were produced 2023, with the most popular video coming in at number one. Shorts and videos from previous years were not eligble for inclusion.

#10 | Ford Mustang Mach-E Towing Test

Coming in at number ten was a Mustang Mach-E towing test. Plenty of you wanted to know how much the Mach-E can tow. The short answer is more than 3,300 pounds. The longer answer: Ford doesn’t want you towing in the U.S. but is happy to sell you an OEM hitch in Europe. 

#9 | Showdown: Ford F-150 Lightning Vs. Rivian R1T

There’s a ton of interest in EV pickup trucks right now which quickly became apparent as EV Rider pitted two local owners with a Rivian R1T and Ford F-150 Lightning against one another. 

8# | 2023 Kia EV6 GT Blows Away Many Performance Cars

Economical performance is also on the minds of EV Riders. Our road test of Kia’s EV6 GT checked in at number 8. It screams to 60 miles per hour in just 3.4 seconds. 

#7 | Tesla Owner Ditches Model X Plaid For Rivian R1S SUV

SUVs make up the hottest EV segment out there with thousands upon thousands of you wanting to know more about Rivian’s R1S SUV and why a Tesla owner dumped his Model X for the R1S. 

#6 | Owner Review: Cadillac Lyriq Debut Edition

Although Cadillac struggled with production volume for its Lyriq in 2023, our EV Rider review of Caddy’s first pure EV proved there’s plenty of interest as it checked in as our sixth-most watched video of the year. 

#5 | Energica Experia Delivers Top Notch EV Motorcycle Touring Experience

EV Rider’s fan base includes a lot of motorcyclists so it’s no surprise that so many of you couldn’t wait to learn more about Energica’s Experia, which at the time of its debut had the EV motorcycle industry’s largest battery pack. We called it a top-notch EV motorcycle touring experience. 

#4 | Long-Term Review: ’22 Mustang Mach-E

While some traditional ICE Mustang fans are still upset that Ford used the storied nameplate on its Mach-E EV, that didn’t stop more than 10 thousand of you from wanting to know about how EV Rider’s personal electric pony is holding up. In a word: great. So far I’ve put about 35,000 miles on it. 

#3 | Owner Review: Tesla Model 3 Vs. Hyundai Ioniq 5

While one YouTube channels video views certainly aren’t scientific when it comes to automotive trends the more than 10 thousand of you that watched EV Rider’s Tesla Model 3 vs. Hyundai Ioniq 5 comparison anecdotally illustrates there seems to be quite a bit of cross shopping interest between the two brands. 

#2 | Canoo EV Startup: Factory Update, Other News

EV startup Canoo is just now gearing up for volume production at its new Oklahoma City plant and EV Rider’s audience is obviously very interested in this brand. Canoo videos produced this year would have dominated five of the top ten spots if I had broken them out one by one. Altogether, Canoo videos and shorts accounted for more than 348,000 EV Rider video views in 2023.

#1 | Why Tesla Model Y Owner Switched To BMW iX

The number one individual video EV Rider produced in 2023 was a look at why one EV Rider dumped his Tesla Model Y for a BMW iX. More than 38,000 of you had watched the iX video at last check.

The Road Ahead

So what’s ahead for EV Rider in 2024? Given the high-interest level, we’ll continue to follow Canoo as it looks to ramp up its production in 2024. 

EVs Assembled In Jacksonville, FL

Cenntro, an EV fleet maker with an assembly plant right here in Jacksonville, Florida has promised us a factory tour. So watch for that video, probably sometime in mid-to-late February. 

EV Motorcycle Industry’s 1st Heavyweight Cruiser Arrives In 2024

Evoke Motorcycles is preparing to rollout the industry’s first high-volume electric cruiser 6061-GT with a massive 29.8 kWh battery. Evoke plans to let EV Rider take one for a spin during a visit to Florida in June and we expect to get to experience its Urban Classic sometime in March.

Automotive EV manufacturer and owner reviews will continue to play a big part on the channel. We’ll also continue to occasionally feature product reviews, including a review of a universal LED-lit  topbox for motorcycles.   

To everyone that’s watched EV Rider in 2023, thank you, and here’s hoping we all have a safe, prosperous and happy 2024. Enjoy the ride. 

The post EV Rider’s 2023 Top 10; What’s Ahead In 2024 appeared first on EV Rider.

When it comes to EV pickups, Ford and Rivian were the first ones out of the gate to make it to volume production.  

While there are plenty of factories from General Motors, RAM, and Tesla ramping up to produce EV pickups, for this video, we’re looking at the two that have had their trucks on the road for many months now.  

Before anyone asks “what about the Hummer EV pickup,” since I haven’t had an opportunity to personally experience it yet, we’ll save that one for another day.  

Out of the gate, startup Rivian hit the ground running with a quad-motor setup and clean-sheet design while Ford has taken all the things that have made the gasoline F-series the best-selling vehicle in America and amped it up with an all-wheel-drive EV setup.  

Towing

Our first matchup is towing, which Rivian wins on paper with a maximum capacity of 11,000 pounds, while the Ford maxes out at 10,000.  

When it comes to real world towing, Ford has a neat trick up its sleeve.  It uses artificial intelligence, computer vision, and machine learning to automatically back up and align the truck’s hitch ball to a trailer coupler with a touch of a button.  

Lightning owner Sergio Rodriguez is also a big fan of how the Lightning recalculates range on the fly based on the towing load as he describes in this video:  

Both pickups come with integrated trailer-brake controllers.  

Speaking of towing, depending on the load, weather, terrain, etc. you could see your range take a hit of 40% or more, meaning with either vehicle you may be charging as often as 100 miles or so if you’re really pushing them to the limit. Edmunds did a detailed test between the two, using the same identical 7,500-pound payloads.

Charging

That brings us to charging speed. Car and Driver recently did a charging showdown and found the R1T hit a peak speed of nearly 200 kW while the Lightning managed 163.  

Perhaps more importantly, Rivian claims that eventually it will be able to charge at speeds of up to 300 kW via an over the air update.  

However, Ford may have the real trump card when it comes to charging. It recently announced a deal with Tesla that will open up every US Supercharger station to Ford EV owners.  

Ford will be mailing out adapters to existing Lightning owners in 2024 and adding a Tesla charging port to the next-gen Lighting.  

At the time of this video’s posting the question was whether Rivian might follow suit with a similar deal to gain full access to Superchargers. 

Storage

Both the Lightning and Rivian have massive frunks, putting them well ahead of gas pickups when it comes to storage.   

The Rivian also offers a unique pass-through innovation which is one of the things that attracted R1T owner Jimmy McGovern to his Rivian, as you’ll see in this video: 

Both trucks have some neat features in their cargo beds but the Ford runs away with the race when it comes to actual bed capacity with 52.8 cubic feet vs. The Rivian’s 22.6 cubic feet.  

Features

Both trucks come in a variety of packages. The top tier Lightning delivers 580 horsepower and 775 lb-ft of torque from its 131 kWh battery pack with 320 miles of EPA-estimated range. 

The fully loaded R1T has a 135 kWh battery with 835 horsepower and 908 lb-ft of torque, which explains its additional thousand pounds of towing capacity. The EPA rates the R1T at 314 miles of range.  

Both Ford and Rivian do over-the-air software updates so it’s possible those figures might be tweaked a bit by the time you read or watch this EV Rider episode. 

Tech

Moving inside, the Lightning and R1T are comfortable with large center stacks that boast plenty of tech, including a variety of driving modes.  

But the Ford once again pulls in the lead, offering wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.  

Neither is available in the Rivian and two different Rivian owners I spoke with complained about the Rivian’s native navigation. 

When it comes to build quality, I interviewed one Lightning owner and two Rivian owners. Both Rivian owners had taken their EVs back to have some panel gap issues addressed but were otherwise happy with their cars. 

All three owners were generally happy with their choices and I found the ride quality good in both pickups. 

As for off-road chops, Motor Trend did extensive testing, concluding the Rivian is more capable thanks in part to its five off-road modes and height-adjustable suspension. 

Looking at driver assist packages, Ford currently wins with Blue Cruise since it offers true hands-free driving on mapped interstates. The Rivian requires drivers to touch the wheel occasionally. 

Both the Rivian and Ford can be used as a backup generator. They have plenty of power outlets, including traditional household 12-volt outlets that are capable of charging another EV. But Ford amps it up with an optional kit that allows you to power your entire house, including air conditioning and refrigerator by tying directly into your home’s circuit breaker box.  

When it comes to price, the Lightning starts lower at around $60,000, compared to $73,000 for  the R1T.  That’s based on a June 11, 2023 price check. Those prices do not include additional fees, taxes or incentives.

Once you start checking all the boxes, their prices become very similar at roughly $98,000 for the Lightning and approximately $99,000 for the RT1. 

Unless you luck out or are willing to pay big markups, both trucks will likely require months of waiting before they’re delivered. 

When it comes to getting service, Ford pulls back in the lead in most parts of the country with more than 2,900 dealers, while Rivian had less than three dozen service centers across the country at last check, although it was planning a major expansion.

Rivian R1T Specs, Pricing & Equipment Packages

More information about the Rivian R1T is available at Rivian.com.

More information about the F-150 Lightning is available at Ford.com.

The post Showdown: Ford F-150 Lightning Vs. Rivian R1T appeared first on EV Rider.

At one point Tesla’s Model S Paid had the field of high-end EV SUVs to itself, but Rivian and others have since debuted clean sheet designs that have some customers switching.

Post your questions or comments about the Rivian R1S SUV

A case in point is Buddy Boyter of Jacksonville, FL, who previously owned a Model X Plaid and Tesla Model 3 Performance. He has since moved on to a brand new Rivian R1S SUV.

Related:

• Tesla Owner Dumps Model X For Ford Mustang Mach-E
• F-150 Lightning: Features Tour, Owner Perspective

Over time Buddy decided the Model X “was complicated to be complicated.” He ultimately decided things like the yoke steering wheel, touch-based forward/reverse controls, touch horn and falcon wing doors weren’t as practical as the way Rivian and more traditional automakers had designed their vehicles.

Buddy cross shopped a wide-variety of tow-capable EVs, including the Ford -150 Lightning, Hummer, Fisker Ocean and Cadillac Lyriq. In the end he decided the R1S did the best job meeting his family’s needs with 7,700 pounds of towing capacity for their race car and boat.

The R1S with the large battery pack is rated at up to 316 miles of range and Buddy says 300 miles of real interstate range is realistic to achieve in Conserve mode, which Buddy discusses in the video at the top of this post.

Buddy’s R1S has the quad-motor setup, with 835 horsepower, getting him from 0 to 60 mph in about three seconds.

Like the Rivian R1T pickup, the R1S boasts a nicely designed interior with contemporary styling, leather, wood trim, and two large displays — one for infotainment and one for the driver’s gauge display. A 12-cubic-foot front trunk, a large rear cargo area, a split tailgate, and a third row of seats make the R1S one of the most practical EV SUVs currently available.

Buddy says the Rivian’s infotainment system is a bit behind Tesla’s. “I this is where I think Tesla still has a leg up on everybody because they’ve been doing it for so long,” said Buddy. He says the Rivian’s navigation system isn’t as good as Google-based systems, and unlike many EVs, the R1S isn’t available with either Apple Car Play or Android Auto.

The R1S has a peak DC fast-charge output of up to 220 kW and 300 kW+ in the future, according to Rivian’s website, which would seem to imply over the air software updates will gradually improve the Rivian’s charging curve as the engineers learn more about the battery’s limits. It an 11.5 kW onboard AC Level 2 charger.

In this week’s EV Rider video episode, Buddy gives us an extensive tour and road test of the Rivian R1S. For all the handling details, different modes and more, check out the video at the top of this post. If you enjoy this episode of EV Rider, please give the video a like and subscribe to the EV Rider YouTube channel.

EPA Fuel Economy

Combined/City/Highway: 69/73/65 MPGe

Specs

The R1S is available with three AWD drive systems: Dual-Motor, Performance Dual-Motor and Quad-Motor. Based on the drive system and battery pack a customer chooses, the R1S has an estimated 260–390 miles of range. Here are a few of the highlights:

The post Tesla Owner Ditches Model X Plaid For Rivian R1S SUV appeared first on EV Rider.

Jimmy McGovern was the first person in Jacksonville, FL to take delivery of a new Rivian R1T in April 2022. He previously owned a Nissan Titan and also owns a Tesla Model S.

Post your Rivian R1T questions or comments here

In this video post Jimmy runs down the features of the R1T and also compares it to both his Titan and Model S.

After watching the video, if you would like additional information about Rivian or the R1T, visit rivianstories.com, which is a website and enthusiast forum run by Jimmy and other Rivian fans. They also have a Rivian Stories YouTube channel.

If you enjoy or find the EV Rider R1T video useful, please give it a like on YouTube and subscribe to the EV Rider YouTube channel.

Rivian R1T Specs, Pricing & Equipment Packages

More information about the Rivian R1T is available at Rivian.com.

The post Rivian R1T: Owner’s Perspective appeared first on EV Rider.

One sign that electric vehicles are going mainstream is that more EV-only car shows are starting to pop up around the country.

More than a hundred EV owners signed up to show their rides at a JEA Drive Electric show in Jacksonville, FL on April 16, 2022, including self-proclaimed former Lexus girl Tanya Bolden, who ended up getting a Tesla Model 3 after first thinking it might be too plain for her.

“I got it in 2019 and now I can’t stand other cars because to me there’s too much stuff. So what I didn’t like about it at first is why I love it. The car, it’s just very minimalistic, if that’s the word, I think so, and it’s just all I need.  I don’t do carpool anymore and the S was just too much too much car. It was too low for my hips,” said Tanya.

She was referring to Tesla’s larger Model S sedan. Speaking of Tesla, dozens of owners signed up for the show.

The first Rivian R1T sold in Jacksonville was also on display, along with a few Mustang Mach-E EVs, including a Cyber Orange GT-Performance owned by Sergio Rodriguez of St. Marys, Ga. Watch for an evrider.tv episode with Sergio coming soon.

2019 Hyundai Kona owner Eric Boyd was excited to see Hyundai’s latest EV, the Ioniq 5 on display. Although Eric lives in Jacksonville, he bought his Kona in Maryland since Florida dealers weren’t selling it.

Eric says he’s getting about 300 miles to a charge around town and about 240 miles of range on the highway.

“I’ve made numerous trips down to the Orlando area and back.  I’ve made a road trip to Homeland Mississippi and it, you know it does take some time,” he said.

Eric said he can understand why some people are hesitant about EV road trips, adding it does take some additional planning.

“Just like you would plan a trip to Disney, and all the stops you’re going to make, all the different restaurants you are going to go, take another 10 or 15 minutes and look up where the EV charging stations are. How many do you need to stop at along the way? What’s your total drive distance going to be? And, just kind of plot out where those are. And even when you get there, does your hotel have a charger available to you?  For free – usually – or is there a any other kind of level 2 charger around the area. So there are options out there, you just have to do a little bit extra planning.”

Eric says he’ll never go back to gas if he can help it.

JTA, Jacksonville’s mass transit agency, had one of its electric buses on display along with an autonomous electric people mover that’s in development to be rolled out along Downtown Jacksonville’s Bay Street Innovation Corridor.

Area car and e-bike dealers were also doing test rides & drives. Cenntro Automotive, which is building an EV plant in Jacksonville, showed off its EV work vehicles.

I’ll be following up with some of the people I met at the show for some upcoming EV Rider episodes. But to do that, I need to know you’re interested. If you enjoyed this episode of EV Rider, please give it a like on You Tube and subscribe to my YouTube channel so I can bring you more EV adventures from Florida.

The post EV Car Show: Rivian R1T, Mustang Mach-E GT-P, Teslas & More appeared first on EV Rider.