Hurry Up and Wait: Car Launches Delayed in 2023

by Matthew Guy

Published: December 27th, 2023

hurry up and wait car launches delayed in 2023

Building cars is hard, and it turns out that building electric cars may be even harder. According to number posted by eggheads at tony consulting firm PwC, roughly a third of new vehicles had their launches skewered in 2023 – with EVs not helping matters in the slightest.

Speaking to the complexity of rolling out machines with which legacy automakers are still grappling, Akshay Singh, an automotive partner at PwC, opined that the “designs are not as mature as the old traditional components,” which may lead to “significant late changes and that contributes to the launch issues." We’ve covered numerous such examples of such delays in the past year, including the Volvo EX90 and frustrations at General Motors.

The latter is an easy target, especially for this website, but there can be no doubting the clustermug which could happen if vehicles of this sort are pushed out to market before they are fully baked. Witness the myriad of problems experienced by some other publications with the Chevrolet Blazer EV, news followed by an alleged cavalcade of similar tales after the likes of outlets such as Edmunds and InsideEVs published their stories. With the vast similarities underpinning the Equinox EV and Blazer EV, not to mention the Ultium guts in the General’s EV pickup trucks, pushing back launch dates probably isn’t a bad idea.

Back at PwC, they go on to elaborate that while 34 percent of all vehicle launches – 38, by their count – experienced delays in 2023, only 5 percent missed their target dates in 2018. While PwC doesn’t immediately give a figure for that year, our (very) unofficial count pegs the number anywhere between 35 and 40, so the sample size should be similar (and, more importantly, relevant). There were a slew of products from Lexus in ’18, plus the Wrangler, Crosstrek, Odyssey, Kona, and Traverse, just to name a few. To these jaundiced eyes, the lone mainstream EV trotted out that year was the Nissan Leaf, though please by all means feel free to correct us in the comments.

What does 2024 portend? With only four days left in this calendar year, we won’t have long to wait and find out.

[Image: GM]

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#EVs #ElectricVehicles #Newcars #allelectric

Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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2 of 13 comments

Syke on Dec 28, 2023

A lot of this is due to years of the legacy automakers continually living the dream of "if Tesla can do it, then we can do it easily, in less time, and deliver a better product, without breaking a sweat." I've been enjoying the wake-up calls over the past few years.

1 Reply
ToolGuy on Jan 01, 2024

Look out, here comes 2024.

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Recent Comments

NJRide Let Cadillac be Cadillac, but in the context of 2024. As a new XT5 owner (the Emerald Green got me to buy an old design) I would have happy preferred a Lyriq hybrid. Some who really like the Lyriq's package but don't want an EV will buy another model. Most will go elsewhere. I love the V6 and good but easy to use infotainment. But I know my next car will probably be more electrified w more tech.I don't think anyone is confusing my car for a Blazer but i agree the XT6 is too derivative. Frankly the Enclave looks more prestigious. The Escalade still has got it, though I would love to see the ESV make a comeback. I still think GM missed the boat by not making a Colorado based mini-Blazer and Escalade. I don't get the 2 sedans. I feel a slightly larger and more distinctly Cadillac sedan would sell better. They also need to advertise beyond the Lyriq. I don't feel other luxury players are exactly hitting it out of the park right now so a strengthened Cadillac could regain share.
CM Korecko Cadillacs traditionally have been opulent, brash and leaders in the field; the "Standard of the World".That said, here's how to fix the brand:[list=1][*]Forget German luxury cars ever existed.[/*][*]Get rid of the astromech droid names and bring back Seville, Deville, Eldorado, Fleetwood and Brougham.[/*][*]End the electric crap altogether and make huge, gas guzzling land yachts for the significant portion of the population that would fight for a chance to buy one.[/*][*]Stop making sports cars and make true luxury cars for those of us who don't give a damn about the environment and are willing to swim upstream to get what we really want.[/*][*]Stop messing around with technology and make well-made and luxurious interiors.[/*][*]Watch sales skyrocket as a truly different product distinguishes itself to the delight of the target market and the damnation of the Sierra Club. Hell, there is no such thing as bad publicity and the "bad guy" image would actually have a lot of appeal.[/*][/list=1]
FreedMike Not surprisingly, I have some ideas. What Cadillac needs, I think, is a statement. They don’t really have an identity. They’re trying a statement car with the Celestiq, and while that’s the right idea, it has the wrong styling and a really wrong price tag. So, here’s a first step: instead of a sedan, do a huge, fast, capable and ridiculously smooth and quiet electric touring coupe. If you want an example of what I’m thinking of, check out the magnificent Rolls-Royce Spectre. But this Cadillac coupe would be uniquely American, it’d be named “Eldorado,” and it’d be a lot cheaper than the $450,000 Spectre – call it a buck twenty-five, with a range of bespoke options for prospective buyers that would make each one somewhat unique. Make it 220 inches long, on the same platform as the Celestiq, give it retro ‘60s styling (or you could do a ‘50s or ‘70s throwback, I suppose), and at least 700 horsepower, standard. Why electric? It’s the ultimate throwback to ‘60s powertrains: effortlessly fast, smooth, and quiet, but with a ton more horsepower. It’s the perfect drivetrain for a dignified touring coupe. In fact, I’d skip any mention of environmental responsibility in this car’s marketing – sell it on how it drives, period.  How many would they sell? Not many. But the point of the exercise is to do something that will turn heads and show people what this brand can do.  Second step: give the lineup a mix of electric and gas models, and make Cadillac gas engines bespoke to the brand. If they need to use generic GM engine designs, fine – take those engines and massage them thoroughly into something special to Cadillac, with specific tuning and output. No Cadillac should leave the factory with an engine straight out of a Malibu or a four-banger Silverado. Third step: a complete line-wide interior redo. Stop the cheapness that’s all over the current sedans and crossovers. Just stop it. Use the Lyriq as a blueprint – it’s a big improvement over the current crop and a good first step. I’d also say Cadillac has a good blend of screen-controlled and switch-controlled user interfaces; don’t give into the haptic-touch and wall-to-wall screen thing. (On the subject of Caddy interiors – as much as I bag on the Celestiq, check out the interior on that thing. Wow.)Fourth step: Blackwing All The Things – some gas, others electric. And keep the electric/gas mix so buyers have a choice.Fifth step: be patient. That’s not easy, but if they’re doing a brand reset, it’ll take time. 
NJRide So if GM was serious about selling this why no updates for so long? Or make something truly unique instead of something that looked like a downmarket Altima?
Kmars2009 I rented one last fall while visiting Ohio. Not a bad car...but not a great car either. I think it needs a new version. But CUVs are King... unfortunately!