Why is nobody manufacturing low tech electric cars?

Little known secret --- "fancy screens" are often used as marketing gimmicks but they can actually reduce the manufacturing cost of modern autos.

In an environment where control systems are already digital/computerized for valid functional reasons, adding a display screen is more cost effective than analog instruments.

I am old school and I prefer the analog style; however, it is fairly easy to simulate analog instrumentation on a digital display and some manufacturers are doing it very well.

All that being said, EVs are still a low volume specialty product that hasn't reached mass market status yet. Once they do, cheaper, more stripped down models will become available.

The real answer: the actual cost to manufacturer vs the value perceived by consumers is skewed.

Would you pay $1000 less for a Tesla that is otherwise equal, but has a crummy old school infotainment screen? Even if you would, I guarantee 99.9% of people wouldn't.

By giving you fancy infotainment features, most consumers perceive the value as much higher than the marginal cost to the OEM, so they're more likely to buy it vs some barebones device that just has a battery, motor, and basic radio.

I have a 2014 Nissan Leaf S (the lowest trim). It’s refreshingly simple, it has a screen but it’s only for the radio and it’s not a touch screen. Tactile controls for everything.

It has an 80 mile range, which is fine for everything around the region, and my family has a gas car anyway. The 80 mile range keeps the prices pretty low, too. Highly recommended for a nearly free-to-use EV without the techno stuff.

(We also have a 2015 Leaf SL, the top trim, and it has the touchscreen stuff. SL has 360 camera, leather seats, fancy sound system and that’s about it. Get the S. It’s all you need.)

Thr biggest expense in an EV by far are the batteries so it makes sense to deck the car out and sell in the upper range of the market. If they tried to sell a low tech EV it would still be expensive with all the problems that go with that. Manufacturers would have a harder sale and make less profit. It makes better sense to go high tech.

Having said that it is possible to get a low tech inexpensive EV shipped to you from China but they are closer to golf cars than the type of cars we expect.

There are some lower-fidelity electric cars out there, such as the Dacia Spring or some of the very cheap Chinese cars.

That being said, electric cars will always be more high tech than ICE cars because they have to. You will need a more or less fancy screen for finding charging stations and navigating them. You will need at least one app on your car or mobile for payments. You will need a mobile app connected with your car for pre-conditioning and bringing the battery to operating temperature.

EVs are a different means of transport than ICE cars, and they're being used differently.

This is pretty nearly what the lower trim Chevy Bolt is. Of course, GM recently decided they needed to stop selling it this year so they could push the more expensive Blazer and Equinox..

I would say there is demand for low tech cars in general.

Even ICE vehicles have way too much garbage tech tacked on.

I want a dumb, secure, machine, not a rolling CVE.

I go through this list of cars on the Norwegian market and here are the brands selling low tech electric cars in the order of appearance:

Maxus, Toyota, Subaru, MG, Kia, Peugeot, Hyundai, Opel, Citroën, Fiat, Mazda, Seat, Nissan, Renault, Volkswagen.

https://elbil.no/elbiler/

As an example, California allows street-legal electric golf carts:

https://www.pressenterprise.com/2021/10/13/whats-required-to...

This problem goes way back. I bought a sport car back in the 80s and got the fancy package. Unfortunately that came with leather seats and I wanted cloth (leather is hot and sweaty in summer). Had to make a special order because "who wouldn't want the more expensive leather seats?"

Well, Aptera is pretty low tech but it's not being manufactured yet. Are you thinking low tech as in cheap? There are a few very cheap, low end electric vehicles coming out of China, but the safety is questionable

Economies of scale aren’t nearly there for EVs, also:

Every safety regulation has an associated regulatory overhead tax on the cost of vehicles (and homes) due to the increased people/materials/machine/quality control/etc complexity.

It is great to raise the safety bar, but knowing it helps put new things out of price ranges is a trade off.

The low tech electric car is an electric bike, scooter, skateboard, etc..

Because that’s what the market wants, a spaceship.