Posted on 06/27/2023 5:54:40 PM PDT by george76
In the world of all things wonderful and green, the biggest push has been to hasten the demise of the internal combustion engine and the chirpiest assessments have been how EVs will save the planet.
From California to New York state to the federal government and internationally, the powers that be have been on a tear to declare the ICE deadly and obsolete, while the EV in all its incarnations is the future.
Perhaps the bloom is coming off of that overly optimistic and premature rose.
Some EV business models aren’t motoring along as well as previously anticipated, even with subsidies and buyer incentives.
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Biden's EV Job Bust:
Just 9 months after this White House 'fact sheet', Ford lays off 1,000 employees because of EV manufacturing losses amounting to $34,000 on each Ford EV sold.
Green = Disaster
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Per above, Ford just announced it’s in a bit of a pickle going into the first round of negotiations on new 4 year United Auto Worker (read: Teamster) hourly contracts.
Ford Motor plans to lay off at least 1,000 salaried employees and contract workers in North America, people familiar with the matter said, the automaker’s latest effort to defray the heavy cost of investing in electric cars.
…This latest reduction of Ford’s white-collar workforce includes employees in its electric-vehicle and software side of the business, the company spokesman confirmed.
…For traditional automakers, boosting profit margins on the internal-combustion side of the business has become a crucial focus, because the profitability of EVs is expected to be skimpy for several years as companies scale up output and work to reduce battery costs, analysts say. Farley said last month that the cost of making an EV might not be equal to that of internal-combustion vehicles until after 2030.
Ford has said it expects to lose $3 billion in operating profit on its EVs business this year. While executives at the automaker have said profits from its gas-engine operations would sustain the business in the midst of these losses, some analysts have questioned whether the automaker would require additional funding.
Another EV start-up in Ohio, Lordstown Motors which manufactured the “Endurance” EV, filed for both bankruptcy and a breach-of-contract lawsuit this morning.
Lordstown Motors officially filed for bankruptcy and sued Foxconn early Tuesday morning after a tumultuous few months in the stock market as its deal with Foxconn fell apart.
The official filing for bankruptcy was filed in Delaware on Tuesday.
The filing estimates Lordstown EV Corporation has 5,001 to 10,000 creditors and estimates $100,000,001 to $500 million in assets and liabilities.
The sales worries aren’t confined to U.S. manufacturers, either. Not only is Volkswagen is cutting back on EV production at its facility in Emden, Germany because of lackluster sales – it’s indefinitely delaying the planned start of a new model that was scheduled for July. They’re only going to produce a “few models in advance.” As well, the company had planned a third shift to start in the fall in anticipation of EV sales that never materialized, and now that shift won’t either.
Volkswagen is temporarily cutting back production of e-cars at its Emden plant due to flagging sales, according to the works council. In the next two weeks until the plant vacations, the late shift in the production of the ID.4 compact SUV and the first models of the new ID.7 electric sedan will be canceled, works council head Manfred Wulff said in response to a question, confirming a report in the “Nordwest-Zeitung” newspaper. A VW spokeswoman in Emden told the paper, “We are confident that capacity utilization at the plant will increase again with the market launch of the ID.7 at the end of the year.”
Interestingly enough, Volkswagen blames “customer reticence” for the dearth of sales – in other words, they mean NO ONE WANTS TO BUY OUR ELECTRIC CARS.
…According to the works council, the reason for the production cuts is flagging sales of e-vehicles. “We are noticing customer reticence quite vehemently in the electric world,” Wulff said. Uncertainty among customers is high, he said. Demand is nearly 30 percent below the originally planned production figures, he said. Among VW’s Emden workforce, disillusionment reigned in the face of news of the shortened shifts, Wulff said.
Well, HELLO.
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Perhaps John Q. Public can see through all the enviro-weenie razzle-dazzle. Not to mention most people aren’t fond of having their mode of transportation dictated to them, especially when the choices are 1) obviously inferior to what they have already 2) being mandated by elected and unelected bureaucratic fascists enacting an agenda very few people believe in 3) in no way beneficial to the individual.
Dribs and drabs about problems with EVs are now making their way into general media release which you might not have noticed in the chorus of hosannas surrounding their development and the ensuing narrative push.
For example, EVs weigh a buttload, thanks to that battery, which can be anywhere from 1000-2000 (which is a ton) lbs. The average is about a grand of extra weight on the vehicle. As a set of regular tires will wear out 20% faster on an EV than an ICE, they have to have specially formulated tires to handle the load and torque.
The Brits are finding out that that extra weight raises hell with road surfaces.
News that EVs damage roads twice as much as their petrol equivalents as the pothole crisis grows on Britain’s roads brings together two great failings of the British state.
First, potholes are now an epidemic on our decrepit road network. The tarmac is littered with hazardous bumps and craters. Tyres are being worn much more quickly as a result, creating new hazards: worn and defective tyres are among the leading causes of accidents on UK roads. And even if there is no collision, or even damage to the vehicle, journeys are punctured by stomach churning bumps and jolts. The state of our country roads are not what you would expect in a developed nation.
Second, our obsession with centrally planned decarbonisation is causing all sorts of unintended consequences. Electric vehicles put a massive stress on roads: last month it was reported that their sheer weight could sink our bridges. The batteries are heavy, with many popular models weighing more than two tonnes, and while that might be fine for motorways built for big lorries, on smaller roads it has put huge strain on surfaces of many highways. They are literally buckling under the pressure. What’s more, EVs are not currently charged a fuel duty on the electricity used to recharge them. Drivers of electric cars will have to start paying vehicle excise duty from 2025, bringing them in line with petrol and diesel vehicles.
That’s another point which the Brits have addressed, and we haven’t – EV drivers pay no fuel taxes, which are what maintain the roads. I am not a fan of my mileage being tracked because of EVs. They can hit EV owners up for a separate fee or add a surcharge on public charging stations. I’m sure they can figure out something so they help shoulder the load.
That weight also makes it more dangerous to wind up in an accident with an EV. Astonishingly enough, CBS News recently aired a report on potentially how much more dangerous all that weight impacting your ICE could be. Of course, that makes sense – everyone knows the outcome is grimmer for the Honda hit by an Escalade than if it were hit by a Corolla. Well, add half a ton of weight or more to an EV SUV or the Corolla and…yeesh.
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For all the “thou shalt have only electric vehicles by [insert date]” mandating going on by state legislatures, greasy governors, and a Biden administration desperate to shove them down our throats, the numbers on the ground are signaling pretty stiff resistance. The fact that there are also stories appearing in mainstream sites tentatively beginning to question any aspect, including safety, of this regime’s most favored vehicle is signaling they sense it, too.
Good. More, please.
EV’s pollute more than an eighteen wheeler when you add in battery mining and disposal.
I just traded out my hybrid, one year old, for a full-size pick up. The pick up was nearly 3 times the price, yet cost me $35 less per month for insurance. Go figure.
Friend of mine on a condo association board said that they just banned EVs in the parking garage. One idiot in the condo owns one - they put up a shelter and make him park it there. The fire risk is such that the insurance companies have started to notice and premiums include an EV surcharge.
“Second, our obsession with centrally planned decarbonisation is causing all sorts of unintended consequences”
Unintended consequences? What an imbecilic thing to say, clearly the writer has an IQ challenge.
LOL... right?
When my wife's ICE crossover (Dodge Journey with curb weight 3,999 lbs) got so worn out it needed replacing, we replaced it with an EV crossover (Hyundai Ioniq 5 with curb weight 4,199 lbs). Oh the horrors! An amazingly large increase of 5%! LOL
Now I'm sure there are other comparisons where the EV weighs a lot more than the ICE car. And I'm aware of plenty of reasons one would not get an EV (i.e. live in cold climate, don't drive enough miles annually to have enough gas savings to be worth it, just bought a new car and have no reason to even contemplate replacing it, live in a 3rd world country like California where the power isn't dependable, etc.). But for our use case, driving 26K miles in the first year of owning our EV has been a good experience, particularly with our 2nd vehicle (we're married and need 2 cars anyway) being an ICE pickup to handle the few driving situations/needs that the EV can't do.
thru the looking glass...
causing road deterioration quicker- which will mean higher mileage taxes every few years- Yay!
Yep
Maybe another universe...
With 10% for the Big Guy
Don’t think we have the same situations here (am in Vietnam) I have a cheap, slow electric vehicle, which works well for our living situation, although we still need a gas vehicle.
Electric is starting to gradually offer real competition in cities.
At least here, where there are very inexpensive new options.
Quite limited range still, for the cheaper options.
I picked up the Ioniq6 a few weeks ago.
Over 300 miles on a charge. In Florida, these cars are starting to make sense. I added a 240 volt 20 AMP circuit in the garage. I run a 16 amp charger. It adds back about 10 miles of charge per hour with this level 2 charger. I can also add 300 miles in about a half hour at an Electrify America charging station, for free.
With the driving I do, this car is perfect. From central FL I can reach every big city in the state with ease. Plenty of charging stations.
My typical day is less than 100 miles, so the car is always “full”, ready for a 300 mile trip, every morning.
It’s so nice having Hunter at the big guy’s side, 24-7, as he slides into dementia. Having a crack head who collected bribes for a living at the helm of our national government is so reassuring. I need to thank democrats for putting this POS into the oval office.
Tesla
A coupla points I absolutely can't get behind with EV's. One item is them being controlled from afar by unknown entities or software ala Idiocracy.
And as it works with "cordless" tools you're at the mercy of the batteries. When they stop functioning the replacements cost almost as much as the tool with batteries. Bad enough with inexpensive tools. No thanks with a pricey vehicle. I know some folks like my FIL are ok with eternal car payments. I have no interest in that.
Some days it's ok to be older.. d;^)
One thing I can't stand about modern politics is how the Dims polarize everything, and us conservatives fall for it. Even if we think we're arguing against the Dims, in a way we're supporting the Dims' polarization efforts by arguing against whatever they're for without arguing mainly that they shouldn't force the rest of us to do like they like to do. Take EV's for example. The Dim leaders make their followers religiously believe that anybody who is against the government forcing everyone into EV's is trying to kill the planet. That is stupid. We should call them out for enveloping all of their efforts around a façade of "saving the world". But our side doesn't do that if all we say is EV's are bad and should be banned. If that's all we say, then we're helping the Dim leaders promote an atmosphere of polarization where people seem to win if the government controls us and forces the other side to comply.
What our side should always, always, always push is that control-freak government is bad, and that the Dims should adopt our policy of live and let live and quit falling for the Dim cult BS that makes them believe that people outside their cult should be punished.
About my I5, I usually charge mine on the minimum setting (5.6kW) to reduce the amount of power I pull from the grid. Sounds strange: most EV owners charge at the fastest rate possible at home to reduce the loss when converting from AC to DC. But I also have 20kW of solar and a large battery stack at home. So the power is usually free, but one situation that will cause my solar inverters to pull power from the grid is if my overall power load exceeds the 18kW continuous AC power my inverters can supply without having to pull the extra from the grid. Thus, if I usually charge the EV at a lower setting there's less odds that the EV charging + running whatever other appliances happen to be running at the same time exceeds 18kW. Or if the load does exceed, I don't want it to exceed it by much (and thus pull only a little from the grid instead of a lot). That's also part of the benefit of other appliances running more efficiently: the home cooled by a variable speed heat pump and variable speed blower (though almost constantly running, it's usually at low power). Same for the 50 gallon water heater being a hybrid water heater (usually set to run in efficiency mode with draws 300W instead of 4kW like a standard electric water heater or 12kW like I think inline electric water heaters do).
yup
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