I wonder if EVs contribute to this at all. Apart from being more expensive than ICE equivalents, the fact a large percentage of the vehicle cost (the battery) is a non replaceable consumable, would seem to make renting the most sane way of purchasing one.
17 million new vehicles are sold per year in the US. I would argue EVs are not yet sold at a volume sufficient to drag the average new vehicles sales price up much beyond the $48k it’s currently at. Cars are just more expensive, interest rates keep rising, and wages aren’t keeping up.
Sorry, consumable was completely the wrong choice of word. It is of course not intended to be replaced. That's the problem.
The batteries have been reported to deteriorate to subpar performance at a rate similar to that of a part on an ICE vehicle that would be a consumable [1] (also shown by the links you provided).
For example, around the time an ICE car might ordinarily undergo a major service (e.g. timing belt).
I was speculating that the fact it deteriorates and isn't an inexpensive consumable, may be why people are choosing not to purchase them outright.
Given the miserable quality of Nissan vehicles, I am unsurprised that the battery would still be functional long after the vehicle ceases to be operable.
