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Microchip Shortages and Supply Chain Issues Are Just a Tip of EV Hurdles To Come

The Toyota Prius deserves all the glory that Tesla gets when it comes to revolutionizing mobility. The Prius, once ridiculed for "having the styling only a mother could love," paved the way for today's popular hybrids. But before we could get enough of the hybrids, the industry is shifting to an even more sustainable solution - electricity.
Rivian R1T  EV Pickup Production 6 photos
Photo: YouTube Screenshot/DPCcars
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Everyone is jumping at the electric car market. Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, GM, and Ford have invested billions of dollars electrifying their production lines. The UK declared it would stop the sale of new diesel and gasoline engine cars by 2030, and the future for sure is electric.

2020 was a good year for EVs despite the global health crisis, recording more than 10 million units globally based on an IEA report. The figure is a 43% increase from 2019, but in 2021 things began to slow down.

Tesla is "the success story" of electric vehicles. The American automaker has enjoyed massive success since debuting its first all-electric car. Even though Tesla cruised unscathed through the microchip shortage, it still struggled with supply chain issues, as did other manufacturers, including newcomers Rivian.

Electric vehicles will still face new challenges, including costy battery materials, lack of charging infrastructure, effects on the grid, and high initial cost.

In the UK, only 25,000 charging stations were available by the last quarter of 2021, and the Competitions and Markets Authority warned it needed ten times the figure by 2030 if the country should stop selling ICEs.

However, the biggest challenge to EVs is cost. The technology behind EV batteries is expensive. Since EV batteries need to hold large amounts of charge, they require costly materials - which are not easy to procure.

Also, while maintenance costs are much lower on EVs than ICEs, not many global consumers are willing to pay a premium amount for an electric vehicle. According to a U.S. survey, consumers are willing to pay $25,000 for an EV even though the national new car average stands at $40,000.

If manufacturers are to overcome these obstacles, they need to develop EV infrastructure, plan how to mitigate EV effects on the grid, reduce charging time, and minimize the initial cost of electrified cars.
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Editor's note: Images featured are for illustration purposes

About the author: Humphrey Bwayo
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Humphrey is a car enthusiast whose love and passion for automobiles extended into collecting, writing, driving, and working on cars. He got his passion for cars from his Dad, who spent thousands of hours working on his old junky 1970 E20 Toyota Corolla. Years later, he would end up doing the same with a series of lemons he’s owned throughout his adult life.
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