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A car that costs less than the median purchase price for new vehicles in the US seems pretty close to "for the masses" to me. It's at least in the running for more than half of all new car buyers in terms of price (not in size or amenities, obviously).

TCO for electrics is also likely to be lower: http://seekingalpha.com/article/543861-report-shows-lower-to... and their total lifespan is likely to be higher, even taking into account a battery swap after 10 - 20 years.

You jumped from mean to median. The /median/ new car price in this country is about $22k.

I stand corrected, I misread the article I was quoting. Apologies for the error.

The average price takes into account all sizes of cars. It is not an average sized car; it's towards the small end which makes prices lower. It's very close to the size of a Kia Soul which goes for $16k and smaller than a Chevy Trax which goes for $21k.

I'd be more inclined to agree with you if everyone always bought new cars.

By that measure, almost all cars aren't for the masses because they don't compete with used car prices.