Car giants are being forced to confront some hard truths over the EV transition

8 comments

1. European car giants are [contending](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/13/ev-euphoria-is-dead-automakers-trumpet-consumer-choice-in-us.html) with a perfect storm of challenges on the path to full electrification, including a lack of affordable models, a slower-than-anticipated rollout of charging points and the [potential impact](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/08/20/european-union-slashes-planned-tariff-on-china-made-tesla-evs.html) of European tariffs on EVs made in China.

   [Volvo Cars](https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/VLVOF/) on Wednesday [announced](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/04/swedens-volvo-cars-scraps-plan-to-only-sell-electric-vehicles-by-2030.html) it had abandoned its heavily promoted plan to sell only EVs by 2030, citing a need to be “pragmatic and flexible” amid changing market conditions.

   The Swedish automaker [said](https://www.media.volvocars.com/global/en-gb/media/pressreleases/333213/volvo-cars-adjusts-electrification-ambitions-remains-committed-to-fully-electric-future) it now aims for between 90% and 100% of its car sales to be fully electric or plug-in hybrid models by 2030. The company now says that up to 10% of its sales will represent a limited number of mild hybrid models by that deadline.

   [Crisis-stricken](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/02/volkswagen-warns-of-plant-closures-in-germany-amid-cost-cutting-drive.html) [Volkswagen](https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/VOW3-DE/) and several other carmakers, including [Ford](https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/F/) and [Mercedes-Benz Group](https://www.cnbc.com/quotes/MBG), have all [announced](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/04/ford-to-delay-all-electric-suv-to-focus-on-hybrid-vehicles.html) plans to delay earlier targets to phase out sales of internal combustion engines vehicles in Europe.

   “I think a lot of manufacturers are obviously going through this process [of delaying electrification targets] at the moment. We’re seeing it across the industry,” Tim Urquhart, principal automotive analyst at S&P Global Mobility, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Monday.

   “A lot of manufacturers who had sort of stopped investing in internal combustion engine technology have started to realize that, if we don’t continue to invest, we’re not going to be competitive, we’re not going to actually have the product in showrooms that people want to buy,” he added.

   More: [https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/10/autos-car-giants-forced-to-confront-hard-truths-over-ev-transition.html](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/09/10/autos-car-giants-forced-to-confront-hard-truths-over-ev-transition.html)

2. Not mentioned: the personal automobile is a menace and we should restructure the world to eliminate it. 

3. The expected results of going green at all cost. The cost is too high.

4. Sink or swim

5. Companies release overpriced terrible products with huge depreciation and battery packs that can’t be serviced. Fail to address range issues. Act confused why EVS aren’t more popular

6. I am shocked hybrids didn’t take off. I got my Chevy volt for 17k (I would NEVER have expected to buy Chevy before) and it’s a dream. My entire commute is free both ways, the gas savings are huge – I think I see estimates of 1-2k per year.

   No range anxiety since the gas part works fine, and even without charging I get like 40mpg. Genuinely amazing.

   Also: you don’t need a tier 2 charger, standard wall plugs work fine for most people.

7. Ultimately gas is just WAY too cheap. The transition won’t happen in the US if gas is 3.50 a gallon

8. I feel the lack of charging points is a real drag on the take up rate. Seeing a paltry 6 EV charging points at a service station does not inspire confidence in me, none at all.