Cooling Interest in EV Cars Threatening Climate Targets
October 4, 2024Technology ArticleThe world is burning. All but the most pig-headed and ignorant people, desperate to believe that everything is a conspiracy and constantly using words like ‘woke’ understand that.
One of the few things that companies with power seemed to be willing to do was to move away from cars that use fossil fuels like petrol and diesel in favour of electricity-powered options instead.
Now it appears as though some of those companies are going back on their word, with Volvo being the latest major car maker to change its mind. Why?
What Volvo Said They’d Do
In 2021, Volvo released a ‘Global Announcement‘ in which the company pledged that it would become ‘a fully electric car company by 2030’. They would, they said, sell fully electric cars and look to phase out any of the cars in its ‘global portfolio’ that had an internal combustion engine.
That, they said, would include hybrid cars, which are at least a step towards the world becoming a slightly more sustainable place. The plan laid out by Volvo was part of the company’s aim to launch an ‘ambitious climate plan thought ‘concrete action’.
As well as moving to fully electric cars, the company also made a commitment to begin to move its sales force online.
The fully electric line would, they said, only be available via the internet. It was all driven by ‘strong demand’ for the company’s electric line in the preceding years, with the company’s Chief Executive, Håkan Samuelsson, saying that the company wanted to ‘remain successful’ and would look to do so by investing ‘in the future’ rather than in what he called a ‘shrinking business’. The XC40 Recharge was Volvo’s first electric car and launched in 2020.
What They’re Saying Now
The phrase ‘talk is cheap’ might well have been invented for what Volvo said three years ago. It was a big, brave strategy that the company went for and yet, even as the world still burns, they’re now going back on their promise.
There is, at least, a small grain of truth in what Volvo said, insomuch as the company is looking to have removed combustion engine vehicles from its lineup. It is, however, likely to still be offering some hybrid options when the year 2030 comes around. They are, in their defence, not the only car manufacturers to have abandoned such a pledge.
🚨 Volvo is the latest automaker to scrap its plan to go all-electric by 2030. Why? Because the plan was never fully thought out. 🤯 Charging stations are costly, powered by wasteful plants, and too rare. Plus, consumers just aren’t interested. pic.twitter.com/6lBHHKA53g
— Redacted (@TheRedactedInc) September 11, 2024
The likes of Renault, Porsche and Ford have all also had to back away from promises to move away from petrol and diesel cars, whilst Mercedes-Benz have confessed that their plan to end production of the A-Class at the end of 2024 will instead come in in 2026.
The likes of Audi aren’t immune from similar issues, so it is perhaps unfair to be overly critical of Volvo when plenty of other car manufacturers have been quick to back away from promises that, they might feel, were made in haste in the first instance and now require a more realistic approach.
Why the Change in Stance?
The obvious question that most people will ask is why it is that Volvo and the other manufacturers have decided to back away from their promise to be complete electric by 2030. The Chinese-owned company referred to ‘changing market conditions’ as one of the main reasons why they had to change their strategy.
Instead of going 100% electric, it expects 90% of its output to be made up of a combination of electric cars and hybrids. The company’s new Chief Executive, Jim Rowan, said that it is because ‘it is clear that the transition to electrification will not be linear’.
@autonewseveryday_ It’s the latest in a string of major automakers reacting to slowing EV demand by introducing more hybrid models. Volvo Cars said in a statement that by 2030 it now aims for between 90% and 100% of cars sold to be fully electric or plug-in hybrid models, while up to 10% would be so-called mild hybrid models if needed. Its previous target, from 2021, was for all its cars to be fully electric by 2030. CEO Jim Rowan said. “It is clear that the transition to electrification will not be linear, and customers and markets are moving at different speeds of adoption”. #volvo #geely #xc40 #recharge #Igreels #reels #reelsvideo #viralreels #viral #car #carlover #cargram #carinstagram #explore #explorepage #carsofinstagram #ytshorts #shorts #ev #electricvehicle #hybrid #bev #phev ♬ original sound – AutoNewsEveryday
One of the biggest issues when it comes to any plan to go 100% electric in the near future is the poor state of the infrastructure around charging units. According to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, registration of electric vehicles across the European Union dropped by close to 11% in July, showing that the demand for them isn’t there.
With the EU, Canada and the United States of America reportedly ready to put 100% tariffs on Chinese-made electric cars, it is fair to say that car manufacturers aren’t overly keen to make a loss on the cars any time soon.
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