Photo: Ford
As opposed to Donald Trump, the Biden administration takes emissions very seriously. In order to reduce the carbon footprint of the United States, the White House is urging automakers to increase EV sales.
According to Bloomberg, the Biden administration wants General Motors, the Ford Motor Company, and Stellantis NV to pledge that 40 percent of the vehicles they sell in the U.S. will be fully electric by decade’s end. But at first glance, that’s not technically possible from at least two standpoints.
On the one hand, think about how many billions of dollars the Big Three will have to invest into research and development, manufacturing capacity, and so forth. On the other hand, the charging infrastructure of 2021 cannot handle that volume of electric vehicles. Oh, and by the way, think about how many people are hesitant in regard to the viability of electric vehicles.
Charging takes a lot, driving range is abysmal in cold-weather states, and servicing costs are shocking in some instances. For example, an independent garage has recently fixed a gentleman’s Model 3 for $700 whereas Tesla quoted him a ridiculous $16,000 to replace the whole battery.
We also have to consider what sells best in the United States. I am referring to pickup trucks and utility vehicles, and most of those are sold with internal combustion engines because lithium-ion batteries still are too darn costly.
Think about GMC for a minute. The Sierra 1500 goes for approximately $50,000 with a few extras while the Hummer EV starts at $79,995. Adding insult to injury, the most affordable Hummer of the lot is a 2024 model.
Criticism aside, there is a glimmer of hope for the Biden administration because the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning and Tesla Cybertruck are bringing those prices down. But if you ask me, internal combustion is here to stay for at least one more decade. On that bombshell, the Ford has pledged to switch to EVs by 2030 in Europe while GM intends to be fully electric by 2035.
On the one hand, think about how many billions of dollars the Big Three will have to invest into research and development, manufacturing capacity, and so forth. On the other hand, the charging infrastructure of 2021 cannot handle that volume of electric vehicles. Oh, and by the way, think about how many people are hesitant in regard to the viability of electric vehicles.
Charging takes a lot, driving range is abysmal in cold-weather states, and servicing costs are shocking in some instances. For example, an independent garage has recently fixed a gentleman’s Model 3 for $700 whereas Tesla quoted him a ridiculous $16,000 to replace the whole battery.
We also have to consider what sells best in the United States. I am referring to pickup trucks and utility vehicles, and most of those are sold with internal combustion engines because lithium-ion batteries still are too darn costly.
Think about GMC for a minute. The Sierra 1500 goes for approximately $50,000 with a few extras while the Hummer EV starts at $79,995. Adding insult to injury, the most affordable Hummer of the lot is a 2024 model.
Criticism aside, there is a glimmer of hope for the Biden administration because the 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning and Tesla Cybertruck are bringing those prices down. But if you ask me, internal combustion is here to stay for at least one more decade. On that bombshell, the Ford has pledged to switch to EVs by 2030 in Europe while GM intends to be fully electric by 2035.
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