EVs were all the rage for a while, and it seemed inevitable that it was only a matter of time until they replaced gas powered cars entirely. The government threw truckloads of (taxpayer) dollars at automakers to make them and at shoppers to buy them. But…it seems the momentum has died out! What’s going on?
Here are Five Fast Facts on the problem with the current EV strategy:
- ⚡ The Roadmap - The move toward EVs has been in process for a while, but in 2021 the Biden White House set the goal of half of all new cars being EVs by 2030, throwing massive amounts of cash at the issue. Gotta love those government mandates, right?
- 👍 It Worked… - All that cash prompted new EV plants, battery facilities, and mining operations, and lots of new EV car production. Auto execs bragged about things taking off, and sales of EVs went up to 300k by the middle of 2023. Things looked positively charged with excitement!
- 👎 …Until It Didn’t - And then reality set in. Demand slowed to a trickle and inventory backed up on car lots. Automakers like Ford, GM, and even Tesla delayed or canceled billions of dollars of EV expansion or production facilities. Those auto execs started walking back their estimates and enthusiasm. (Insert sad trombone sound here)
- 🤔 The Problems - There are a lot of reasons demand fell off a cliff. The charging infrastructure is insufficient. Range isn’t what most buyers demand. The promise of electric SUVs and trucks fell through because it required such big batteries that they take more energy (which comes mostly from coal and natural gas, btw.) Despite prices plummeting 22% since last year due to excess inventory, EVs are still 28% more expensive than gas-powered cars. That math isn’t great.
- 💡 Possible Solutions - If America is to readily adopt EVs on a mass scale, the strategy needs to change. It needs to embrace the smaller cars that are cheaper but still sufficient for the short drives that most people need every day.
🔥Bottom line: You can bend the markets only so far, even with billions of dollars. The fact is the current strategy being pushed to implement EVs on a mass scale just isn’t working, and it does no good to pretend otherwise. If it’s gonna happen, a new strategy is needed that incorporates all of transportation - short range, mid-range, and long range. Also, economics. Maybe try starting with that.
What do you think about these developments on EVs?
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