For automakers with big electrical ambitions, 2021 will be a year of success or failure.
More than a dozen new electric vehicle models are expected to hit US showrooms this year, with Silicon Valley-inspired startups and established automakers like General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG showing drivers the results of billions in spending on technology.
For consumers, this will mean more plug-in options in the new car lot than ever before. But whether automakers can persuade buyers to abandon fossil fuels for good, it remains uncertain.
Many challenges remain for electric vehicles: there are not enough places to charge, limited travel range and ticket prices that are still higher than similar trips powered by conventional gasoline engines. An existing $ 7,500 federal tax credit is intended to help bridge the price gap, and industry officials said they hope to expand the benefit through new legislation.
A flow of new electric car models helped boost sales of battery-powered vehicles in Europe and China last year. But in the United States, where buyers had fewer options and less government-backed incentives, sales of electric cars fell by about 10% in 2020, industry analysts say.