Ex-Chrysler CEO predicts EV startup ‘won’t make it’

With electric vehicle (EV) names such as Tesla and Rivian announcing financial troubles recently, the former CEO and chairman of Chrysler offered a cautionary tale about the market’s future.

“They’re having a good time. These startups are not going to make it,” Bob Nardelli, who led Chrysler during the Great Recession, said Tuesday on “Cavuto: Coast to Coast.”

“This is another issue, another discussion of this administration trying to create a revolution versus allowing reforms,” ​​he continued. “You can’t force it down consumers’ throats.”

On the same day as Nardelli’s comments, Tesla’s stock began to decline due to a significant decrease in shipments: The EV manufacturer produced more than 433,000 vehicles in the first three months of the year, down 12% from the previous quarter, and delivered 387,000, less than 20. % from the previous quarter, the company reported. Analysts expected the manufacturer to deliver more than 400,000, according to estimates.

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The latest picture is another trend for shareholders, with Tesla shares down more than 30% so far this year.

Just last month, Rivian announced it would cut 10% of its salaried workforce as it expects vehicle output to soften. The company expects to produce the same number, about 57,000 vehicles, in 2024 as it did the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing.

President Biden’s policies pushing zero-emissions, regulations that fit the EV-only car market Nardelli allegedly saw as CEO of Chrysler during the Obama-Biden administration.

“Basically they said the average mileage of the internal combustion engine had to be increased significantly, therefore reducing the number of Ram trucks I could produce. So we had to make smaller vehicles. The consumer said ‘no thanks,’ and they had to find a way. get on the bus,” Nardelli explained.

“When I was at Chrysler, the average age (of a vehicle) was 11 years. Now it has increased to 12.6 years,” he added. “Consumers are still saying, ‘I’m going to make a decision about what I want to buy. (This) administration, yet another debate with EVs, is not going to force me to do that.'”

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American consumers’ interest in electric vehicles has lost momentum, according to a recent survey that found 41% of respondents said they were interested in buying or leasing an EV as their next vehicle, up from 49% from a year ago.

The study showed that when respondents were asked to choose between two hypothetically identical vehicles with the same price tag – a hybrid that doesn’t need a charge and an EV that doesn’t – 83% chose the hybrid. The most frequently cited reason (66%) was the option to use gas, followed by limited EV driving range (57%) and the inconvenience of charging EVs (52%).

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FOX Business’ Daniella Genovese and Breck Dumas contributed to this report.