Why Are EVs Still So Expensive? Blame the Makers
Companies that spend crazy amounts of money on research and development while neglecting production are just frustrating consumer demand.
A flying car? Really?
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How much does it actually cost to build an electric car? As new EV makers burn through billions of dollars of cash and pour hundreds of millions more into research and development, the answer, it seems, is a lot. And all that money hasn’t moved the world much closer to mass adoption.
EVs are built with fewer parts than regular cars, and they’re often sourced from other companies. Vehicle makers don’t necessarily build the car, either, often buying off-the-shelf software and expanding on it. So how much value-add does the firm that ends up putting its brand on the product really contribute? What do the likes of Li Auto Inc., Rivian Automotive Inc., Nio Inc., XPeng Inc. and their peers spend billions of dollars on, even as most of them run net losses?