Electric vehicles are losing their luster as major automakers grapple with waning customer demand and the realization that mass adoption of EVs won’t happen without some hiccups. Mercedes-Benz is the latest to feel the pinch of high interest rates on consumers, with its chief financial officer, Harald Wilhelm, describing the EV market as a “pretty brutal space,” Reuters reported.
Mercedes-Benz noted rocky third-quarter earnings on Thursday, with profits and revenues down year over year. The German car company’s shares fell nearly 6% to $15.17 after the announcement. Tesla, the American leader in EVs, also reported disappointing quarterly results, which tanked Elon Musk’s net worth by some $30 billion as Tesla investors pulled back. And other traditional automakers are slowing their EV rollout plans as they fight to compete with low prices and as Detroit’s Big Three wrestle through a historic autoworkers’ strike, which may soon end.
