Spencer Platt
The macroeconomic backdrop for 2023 has sent what was supposed to be a boom in EV sales into skids and raised questions about which brands will survive and thrive. Notably, a new UBS survey indicated a drop in the percentage of consumers who said they are likely to purchase an all-electric vehicle. The extensive global survey showed that 46% of consumers had an electric vehicle on their shopping list, up from 49% a year ago due to affordability in some key markets such as Europe.
In particular, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) maintained its lead in the brand survey with 42% of those interested in buying battery electric vehicles considering buying a Tesla, up from 41% last year. German automakers BMW (OTCPK:BMWYY), Audi (OTCPK:VLKAF) and Mercedes-Benz (OTCPK:MBGAF) held the next three highest spots on the list, with Toyota (TM) coming in at number five. While Tesla (TSLA) was the clear winner of the survey, the brand was outperformed in China and BYD Company (OTCPK:BYDDF) had the highest percentage of respondents indicating interest in a BEV purchase.
In direct comparisons with Tesla, Fisker (FSR) and Lucid Automotive (LCID) saw minor gains in consumer interest. 18% of respondents were more interested in a Fisker vehicle than a Tesla vehicle vs. 14% a year ago and 18% of respondents were more interested in a Lucid EV than a Tesla EV vs. 16% a year ago anus. Polestar Automotive (PSNY) lost ground with 22% of consumers preferring the brand to Tesla versus 30% a year ago. In a head-to-head comparison with Tesla in China alone, Nio (NIO) found that 34% of consumers indicated a preference for their electric vehicles, up from 40% a year ago.
As for electric trucks, Tesla saw consumer interest in Cybertruck increase in percentage than electric trucks from Ford (F), General Motors (GM) and Rivian Automotive (RIVN).
UBS’s conclusion is that Buy-rated Tesla (TSLA) remains the undisputed leader globally. Meanwhile, a combination of ongoing enforcement problems and a gradually growing international popularity of Chinese brands increasingly puts the EV strategies of mass-market legacy brands at risk as price competition intensifies.
Read a preview of US auto sales for March.
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