Lux Research Claims Most Electric Cars Remain Unprofitable

Things are set to gradually improve and EVs will take the majority of car sales within 15-20 years, according to the forecast.

According to the most recent industry outlook report from Lux Research, despite all the progress in the past several years, most electric cars on the market remain unprofitable.

Lux Research explains that one of the main ways to solve this issue will be the sharing of EV platforms and “more efficient electric vehicle designs”. We believe that the difficulties with profitability (natural with most the new technologies) were the main cause behind so many high-end BEVs on the market, compared to the mainstream segment. The high-end cars are so expensive that you can more easily find room for the battery cost.

Chris Robinson, Senior Analyst at Lux Research and lead author of the report said:

“Nearly all automakers now sell some form of BEV, so the focus has shifted to making them profitable. We’ve seen a large focus on electrifying high-priced brands. Luxury brands offer vehicles at higher prices points and are able to absorb the additional costs of the battery pack.” This is also partly due to the need to offset higher emissions of their larger internal combustion engines, which cause more emissions due to their vehicles being larger and more powerful.

The company notes that the average BEV MSRP price has decreased by 20% from $42,189 in 2016 to $33,901 in 2019, while the range went up (at 13.7% CAGR since 2011 to 2019) reaching 370 km (230 miles) last year.

Another thing is that manufacturers have to make BEVs more convenient on long-distance travel, as today – according to Lux Research – EVs require, on average, a fifth more time (due to the necessity for charging along the route).

“Currently, BEVs are more expensive and less convenient to use than their nonelectric counterparts, but technology will continue to close this gap,” says Robinson. “We expect to see efficiency front and center as the next major focus of BEV design, with automakers either downsizing packs to increase profitability or offering more range.” As automakers continue to improve charging speed and minimize battery size, more consumers are expected to seek out electric vehicles.”

The final forecast from Lux Research is that EVs will make up more than half of all vehicle sales between 2035 and 2040. That’s at least 15 years from now.

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