Auto Wage Hikes Complicate the Search for an Affordable EV

A combustion engine has about 2,000 moving parts. An electric motor, by comparison, has about 20. However, the economics of making and selling electric vehicles are proving far trickier to cobble together than their supply chain might suggest.

Detroit’s recent standoff with the United Auto Workers union has added another wrinkle. After coordinated strikes lasting six weeks, the UAW reached agreements with Ford, Stellantis and General Motors that would bring pay up by as much as 33% over the life of the contracts. The deals are already elevating wages outside the union tent — Toyota immediately raised hourly rates for its US assembly workers — ...