Forget Tesla, Mazda Sold More EVs than General Motors In November
The media can’t come to grips with GM being called an EV leader and Tesla being ignored. In a recent media event hosted by the President, GM received quite a bit of praise for being an electric vehicle leader. Of course, Tesla is the American leader in battery-electric vehicle development, sales, and pretty much any other metric you wish to apply except campaign funding by union membership. Tesla should have been the company being honored, but setting aside Tesla for a moment, GM was outsold by Mazda in the month that the President made this speech.
Related Story (Elektrek): GM promised 20 new EVs by 2023. They brought zero to the LA Auto Show /
All of the media who cover the electric vehicle genre reacted pretty much the same way; They called out the President for his “mistake.” But was it a mistake? The President has specifically thanked the UAW for putting him in the white house during prior EV-related events in which he spoke. Talk is cheap though. The real thank you will be the coming taxpayer subsidies for electric vehicles built by union workers in American plants.
Here is a quick selection of some of the media outlets that pointed out the obvious when the President “forgot” to mention Telsa:
Driven: Biden credits GM and ignores Tesla on electrification of cars, and Musk is not happy
Clean Technica: President Biden Claims GM Led The EV Revolution. What????
Bloomberg: Biden’s Praise for GM Overlooks Tesla’s Actual EV Leadership
Elektrek: Joe Biden gives GM CEO Mary Barra credit for ‘electrifying the entire auto industry,’ but he’s wrong
General Motors promised years ago a lot of battery-electric vehicles would be coming soon, but isn’t quite ready to put one in your driveway today. Unfortunately, GM had to stop selling the Bolt and Bolt EUV (which we love, for the record) because they were burning up in a driveway here and there. Although GM has some great super-expensive EV trucks and EV SUVs "on the way," and a luxury EV wagon sort of car coming at some point, GM’s BEV line you can buy and drive home today consists of zilch.
Related Story: Which $20K EV Would You Choose? MINI SE or Mazda MX-30?
Why pick on GM? Subaru doesn’t have a battery-electric vehicle. Nor does American-as-apple-pie Lincoln Motor company, established by the Pilgrims in 1640. Dodge doesn’t have any EVs. Nor does Ram. Honda seems to have killed off its only EV, the Clarity. Toyota sells EVs, but they are HFCEVs (don’t ask). Heck, a long list of companies don’t sell any battery-electric vehicles in America today. GM’s just one of that bunch.
Who does sell EVs? Well, Tesla is the most American name on the list by any measure. Followed by Ford, except they make their EVs in Mexico. Nissan sells EVs, Hyundai sells EVs, MINI sells EVs, Kia sells EVs, Ford sells EVs. Heck, even Jeep has a plug-in.
The funniest thing about Mazda’s EV is how it was received by the media. They could not wait to diss its range, performance, price, content, and anything else they could think of. Yet, Mazda sells those EVs right now in America. And GM, along with many other big automotive brands, don’t sell any.
Image of Mazda MX-30 by John Goreham. 2019 image of Mark Reuss courtesy of GM media support.
Note: We reached out to General Motors (Chevrolet) directly to verify the facts in this story and did receive confirmation that no Bolts or Bolt EUVs were sold in November. The vehicle remains under a stop-sale.
John Goreham is a long-time New England Motor Press Association member and recovering engineer. John's interest in EVs goes back to 1990 when he designed the thermal control system for an EV battery as part of an academic team. After earning his mechanical engineering degree, John completed a marketing program at Northeastern University and worked with automotive component manufacturers, in the semiconductor industry, and in biotech. In addition to Torque News, John's work has appeared in print in dozens of American news outlets and he provides reviews to many vehicle shopping sites. You can follow John on TikTok @ToknCars, on Twitter, and view his credentials at Linkedin
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