Car companies are beginning to give up on the all-electric
future,
“ANOTHER best-selling
carmaker has abandoned its plans to only sell EVs by 2030 - with three reasons
behind the shock U-turn.
The firm joins Ford as the
latest industry giant to back off its ambitious Net Zero targets despite
tightening legislation in the UK.
Bosses have blamed the
decision on a trio of factors squeezing their margins.
Namely, slower than
anticipated demand for EVs combined with the withdrawal of incentives to buy
one and the lingering uncertainty over whether Europe will enforce hefty
tariffs on electric cars made in China.
Several big-name
manufacturers have already invested in Chinese factories and could see profits
slashed by up to 25% per unit if the move goes through…
…The announcement comes just
a few months after Ford, one of the largest car brands in the world, broke the
industry trend by scaling back its zero-emission ambitions.
Marin Gjaja, chief operating
officer of the firm's EV division, told Autocar at the time: "I don't
think we can go all in on anything until our customers decide they're all in,
and that's progressing at different rates around the world.
"I think customers have
voted, and they told us [2030] was too ambitious, is what I would say - and I
think everyone in the industry has found that out the hard way.
"I would also say
reality has a way of making you adjust your plans."[1]
The idea of not having to rely on fossil fuels, many of
which force you to rely on energy from other countries who are potential
enemies, is an attractive one. If it were possible to park your car outside and let the sun charge it, even on a cloudy day, the would be awesome. But to paraphrase the Proverbs, Many are the
plans of a man’s heart, but this is God’s world and we don't always get what we want. Mankind has his plans, but
those plans will often come into conflict with reality.
If you have a high disposable income, and float in
certain social circles, then the idea of taking advantage of government rebates
to drive around in what is effectively the vehicle version of a SJW badge,
may sound like a great idea. And there is no doubt that government rebates have
driven the uptake of these vehicles, especially for company fleets, the tax
breaks are incredibly generous. But if you want a car that you can fill up in
under 5 minutes, and has a reliable range of over 500kms, then you need a
combustion engine car. Perhaps there are some people who want to sit at a charging station
for thirty minutes (or much more) while you put enough charge in the vehicle to get home, but most people
want to spend much less time at a refueling station of any kind.
Also consider this, electric cars are effectively like laptops or mobile phones, they are large lithium based throw away products that are worth virtually nothing once their life is over. A conventional car can last for decades if serviced and looked after well, even with high kilometers. They are just a far more viable and useful technology, and we have only just scratched the surface of why this is the case.
It makes complete sense why people are rejecting the electric
revolution, and it is good to see car companies are paying attention. They will
face stiff opposition from regulators, especially in the European Union, but as
the article says, “reality has a way of making you adjust your plans.”
List of References
[1] https://www.thesun.co.uk/motors/30274733/volvo-abandons-plans-evs-2030-reasons/
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