General Motors is hoping to grab a bigger share of the market for luxury electric vehicles. To that end, it just unveiled a souped-up version of its Cadillac Lyriq-V SUV. But when the average price of an EV already tops $50,000, is there much of a market for something even pricier?
The price of this Lyriq EV starts at $80,000. Hardly a bargain. But in the EV world, luxury is in.
“The EV market is lux-heavy,” said Elaine Buckberg, a former chief economist at GM.
She said in model year 2024, there were more than 30 EV models that she considers luxury or premium — compared to only around 20 cheaper models. And she said EV buyers wouldn’t necessarily blink at an $80,000 price tag.
One reason? Buckberg estimates that with gasoline selling at, say, $3.15 a gallon, “an EV owner could expect to save about $1,000 to $1,200 per year because it’s cheaper to charge at home versus buy gas.”
You can also get a longer battery range with a higher-priced EV.
Then there are the early adopters. Sean Tucker, lead editor with Kelley Blue Book, said some people will even shell out $100,000 or more for really high-end EVs.
“I think there’s a cachet sense. These are extremely high-technology vehicles and, yeah — it’s the latest thing. Often when you’re shopping in that price range, that’s what you’re looking for,” he said.
But there are limits. Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds, said the market for EVs selling for a $100,000 or more is really quite small.
“A $100,000 EV is not going to be selling like hotcakes. It’s just — no one can afford it,” she said.
Caldwell estimates that EVs with six-figure price tags are just a fraction of the market. Probably less than 1% of all vehicles sold.
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