Are we still convinced that electric vehicles are the best way forward?

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
We had the Boston Tea Party and now reported in the USA today :

The British EV Party :)

Leave it to the British to take a potentially good idea and turn it into yet another tyrannical system against its own population.
For instance, it is indeed a good idea to cut down pollution in urban centers, no one would dispute that. But how?

So Britain created the ULEZ an ‘Ultra Low Emission Zone’ in London, where ‘an emissions standard based charge’ is applied to ‘non-compliant road vehicles’.

A network of cameras is checking traffic to make drivers pay every time they enter the zone with their ‘non-compliant’ cars.
Over time, it became an extremely unpopular solution, especially after leftist London Mayor Sadiq Khan greatly expanded the ULEZ.

A phenomenon emerged in which disgruntled citizens started taking out their frustration on the ‘spying cameras about a thousand cameras have been damaged or stolen over the last year alone.

That should give the authorities pause and make them rethink the strategy, but have they? NO.

It arises now that London Mayor Khan has hired a ‘goon squad of thugs aggressive men dressed in black, with face tattoos and wearing skeleton balaclavas – to oppress the citizens in order to allegedly protect his hated ULEZ cameras while filming everything with body cameras.

The Transit for London agency (TfL) claims that the guards are held to ‘high standards of professionalism’ and that they were necessary to protect ULEZ cameras from the so-called ‘Blade Runners’.

Self-proclaimed ‘freedom fighters’, the ‘Blade Runners’ have channeled the widespread hatred for the expanded ULEZ, and have been successfully targeting the cameras, gaining something of a folk hero status by a sympathetic population.

In the run-up to London’s mayoral election in May, the Conservative opposition leaders have slammed Khan’s goons as ‘intimidation,’ promising to scrap the ULEZ expansion if elected.

“Mother-of-five Claire Dyer, 47, from Biggin Hill in Bromley, claimed concerned residents lived in fear of the ULEZ protection gang. […]
You have thuggish security, they don’t need to be behaving the way that they are. […] All you can see is their eyes.
They are wearing masks and balaclavas even that might have skeletons on them. […] They seem to be above the law.”

The ‘gang’ presents itself as TfL representatives, but they are, in fact, outside contractors.

“Why are they trying to harass people?
We are not aggressive or violent, just every day people. We are not hardened criminals. […] It feels like there has been a direct order to get us accused of something we haven’t done. […] We are not inner city London. We have elderly [people] who live in the area who now can’t leave their homes.”

“Conservative mayoral candidate [for London] Susan Hall said: ‘Sadiq Khan’s masked ULEZ enforcers intimidating and scaring locals is outrageous. Londoners deserve respect, not fear. I will put an end to this intimidation by scrapping the ULEZ expansion on day one if elected in May’.”
A TfL spokesperson said ‘security workers’ can wear face coverings only if they feel threatened by being closely filmed.

They added:

“We have hired a small number of qualified security staff who are suitably licensed. They are held to high standards of professionalism.
Unfortunately, our contractors have been subjected to threats and abuse while carrying out their duties so they are advised to record any issues on body-worn cameras to deescalate conflict and if necessary, record evidence for police investigations.

Vandalism is unacceptable and all incidents on our network are reported to the police for investigation.
‘Criminal damage to ULEZ cameras or vehicles puts the perpetrators at risk of prosecution and injury, while simultaneously risking the safety of the public.”

The vandalism against the cameras will not stop the Ultra Low Emissions Zone, TfL insists.
All targeted cameras are repaired or replaced as soon as possible.
 

Roscobbc

Moderator
We had the Boston Tea Party and now reported in the USA today :

The British EV Party :)

Leave it to the British to take a potentially good idea and turn it into yet another tyrannical system against its own population.
For instance, it is indeed a good idea to cut down pollution in urban centers, no one would dispute that. But how?

So Britain created the ULEZ an ‘Ultra Low Emission Zone’ in London, where ‘an emissions standard based charge’ is applied to ‘non-compliant road vehicles’.

A network of cameras is checking traffic to make drivers pay every time they enter the zone with their ‘non-compliant’ cars.
Over time, it became an extremely unpopular solution, especially after leftist London Mayor Sadiq Khan greatly expanded the ULEZ.

A phenomenon emerged in which disgruntled citizens started taking out their frustration on the ‘spying cameras about a thousand cameras have been damaged or stolen over the last year alone.

That should give the authorities pause and make them rethink the strategy, but have they? NO.

It arises now that London Mayor Khan has hired a ‘goon squad of thugs aggressive men dressed in black, with face tattoos and wearing skeleton balaclavas – to oppress the citizens in order to allegedly protect his hated ULEZ cameras while filming everything with body cameras.

The Transit for London agency (TfL) claims that the guards are held to ‘high standards of professionalism’ and that they were necessary to protect ULEZ cameras from the so-called ‘Blade Runners’.

Self-proclaimed ‘freedom fighters’, the ‘Blade Runners’ have channeled the widespread hatred for the expanded ULEZ, and have been successfully targeting the cameras, gaining something of a folk hero status by a sympathetic population.

In the run-up to London’s mayoral election in May, the Conservative opposition leaders have slammed Khan’s goons as ‘intimidation,’ promising to scrap the ULEZ expansion if elected.

“Mother-of-five Claire Dyer, 47, from Biggin Hill in Bromley, claimed concerned residents lived in fear of the ULEZ protection gang. […]
You have thuggish security, they don’t need to be behaving the way that they are. […] All you can see is their eyes.
They are wearing masks and balaclavas even that might have skeletons on them. […] They seem to be above the law.”

The ‘gang’ presents itself as TfL representatives, but they are, in fact, outside contractors.

“Why are they trying to harass people?
We are not aggressive or violent, just every day people. We are not hardened criminals. […] It feels like there has been a direct order to get us accused of something we haven’t done. […] We are not inner city London. We have elderly [people] who live in the area who now can’t leave their homes.”

“Conservative mayoral candidate [for London] Susan Hall said: ‘Sadiq Khan’s masked ULEZ enforcers intimidating and scaring locals is outrageous. Londoners deserve respect, not fear. I will put an end to this intimidation by scrapping the ULEZ expansion on day one if elected in May’.”
A TfL spokesperson said ‘security workers’ can wear face coverings only if they feel threatened by being closely filmed.

They added:

“We have hired a small number of qualified security staff who are suitably licensed. They are held to high standards of professionalism.
Unfortunately, our contractors have been subjected to threats and abuse while carrying out their duties so they are advised to record any issues on body-worn cameras to deescalate conflict and if necessary, record evidence for police investigations.

Vandalism is unacceptable and all incidents on our network are reported to the police for investigation.
‘Criminal damage to ULEZ cameras or vehicles puts the perpetrators at risk of prosecution and injury, while simultaneously risking the safety of the public.”

The vandalism against the cameras will not stop the Ultra Low Emissions Zone, TfL insists.
All targeted cameras are repaired or replaced as soon as possible.
Amazing that it takes someone thousands of miles away (CCCUK's good friend Jon) to realise what is happening in London and other cities (and what if left unchecked and un-opposed will eventually spread to all populated corners of the UK.
Khan's recent ULEZ expansion received a higher percentage of votes against it - yet Khan still carried it through. The so named 'Blade Runners' are regarded in London and surrounding areas as modern day hero's taking-on risks of detroying ULEZ cameras for a scheme that so few people wanted.
The 2024 Tory candidate for London's mayor Susan Hall has promised to take-down the expanded ULEZ zone. Unfortunately she hasn't gone as far as to tell us what use the cameras will be put to afterwards - not any mention of removal of the original ULEZ network.
Its interesting also that Tory lead central government has made no real comment on Susan Halls plans - what would happen if she was voted-in her promises were 'blocked' by senior Tory officials?
TFL is bankrupt - (remember its not just the road network - its also Underground trains and the London bus network) since Covid with so many people now working from home their revenues have significantly reduced.......the government have 'bailed' them out financially several times. TFL's management organisation ius top heavy with grossly overpaid 'executives'.
 

CaptainK

CCCUK Member
Many people have had to sell or scrap perfectly good cars because they do not meet the ULEZ standard. Such a shame.
Indeed. In the FTO club I'm a member of, because they were made from 1994 - 2001, a lot of members have had to get rid of their beloved cars that some have owned for 20 years (like me in 2024). I'd be well peeved if that happened to me - I keep the car mostly for its sentimental value now, with all those memories it has.

I read an article yesterday that made me laugh - some "top people" had done some analysis and claimed that the London ULEZ (all of it) since started has saved more pollution than that of the planes from airports in London, or the equivalent of the rail and other transport divisions. I've forgotten it now as it was just too amusing - somewhere in it really low down they basically said they were mostly just guessing as its hard to read the actual pollution levels.
 

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
An owner of a caddy EV goes on a trip for these holidays
First day not enough battery for his evening stay over so he tried like 5 places to charge battery and either the charger
had the wrong wiring connector, was the wrong type of charger, chargers that were broken or long lines of others waiting to get charged

Finally, he gets a turn with long lines of vehicles behind him so he decided to only charge enough so he could get to the hotel he was booked
in for that night

Took him 2 hours just to get 20 minutes of charge, looked to see the charger charged him $40 !
He gets to that hotel, where they had chargers, plugs on and goes to his room
Hour later gets a cellphone call from On-Star saying the charging was interrupted
He looks out the window and can see his car and all looks OK

Alert happens again 2 more times so he has to get dressed, go to the car to find some Ahole with a ricer
Yanked the charge connector out of the caddy EV and plugged it into the ricer and locked it so it cannot be taken out !
He talks to the management of the hotel, and they say they do not know who owns the ricers
Guy finally goes to bed and in the morning finds the ricer gone and caddy stills needs charging and lost of time waiting for a full charge

Moral of this is those charger connectors have a hole in them, that is for you to carry a lock to use when charging like this

On another note, like fourth in the last year a large cargo ship full of EV batteries coming from Vietnam heading to southern Ca
catches fire near Alaska, smoke and pollution so bad Alaska tells that ship to stay like 2 miles from land
Has been burning for like 4 days now
 

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
General Motors claimed that it is “all-in on electric vehicles” for years, but today backtracked,
CEO Mary Barra confirmed that the automaker is changing strategy and going back to plug-in hybrids amid setback in its electric car plans.
In 2019, GM killed the Chevy Volt, its popular plug-in hybrid vehicle, and announced plans to focus on all-electric vehicles.

It continued selling some plug-in hybrids in other markets, but not in North America, which it saw going all-electric.

The automaker was expected to ride the success of the Chevy Bolt EV, its first all-electric vehicle, but it has had issues executing on its plan.

GM built its new Ultium EV platform, but the first few EVs it launched using the platform have yet to achieve significant production and delivery volumes while the Bolt EV/EUV, the only one with significant volumes, have been retired – for now at least.

Over the last few months, the automaker announced delays of several of its important new EV programs that should bring more volumes.
Now, CEO Mary Barra is even announcing that GM plans to bring back plug-in hybrid options.
She announced on GM’s latest earnings call today:

Our forward plans include bringing our plug-in hybrid technology to select vehicles in North America. Let me be clear, GM remains committed to eliminating tailpipe emissions from our light-duty vehicles by 2035. But in the interim, deploying plug-in technology in strategic segments will deliver some of the environmental benefits of EVs as the nation continues to build its charging infrastructure.
We are timing the launches to help us comply with the more stringent fuel economy and tailpipe emission standards that are being proposed.

She didn’t elaborate on the plan in terms of volumes or specific model to receive a plug-in option, but her comment about the technology existing on specific programs in other markets, especially China, could point to using the same models.

In the end she has blown billions of taxpayer and shareholders money and failed BIGLY
 

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
You would have thought this would have been tested many years ago
Imagine having to replace all guardrails in every country that forces an end to fuel based engines

Under an overcast sky last fall, engineers with a University of Nebraska road safety facility watched as an electric-powered pickup truck hurtled toward a guardrail installed on the facility's testing ground on the edge of the local municipal airport.

The test crash was to see how the guardrail, the same type found along tens of thousands of miles of roadway in the United States, would hold up against electric vehicles that can weigh thousands of pounds more than the average gas-powered sedan.

It came as little surprise when the nearly 4-ton 2022 Rivian R1T tore through the metal guardrail and hardly slowed until hitting a concrete barrier yards away on the other side.
“We knew it was going to be an extremely demanding test of the roadside safety system," said Cody Stolle with the university's Midwest Roadside Safety Facility. “The system was not made to handle vehicles greater than 5,000 pounds.”

The university released the results of the crash test Wednesday. The concern comes as the rising popularity of electric vehicles has led transportation officials to sound the alarm over the weight disparity of the new battery-powered vehicles and lighter gas-powered ones. Last year, the National Transportation Safety Board expressed concern about the safety risks heavy electric vehicles pose if they collide with lighter vehicles.

The entire purpose of guardrails is to help keep passenger vehicles from leaving the roadway, said Michael Brooks, executive director of the nonprofit Center for Auto Safety. Guardrails are intended to keep cars from careening off the road at critical areas, such as over bridges and waterways, near the edges of cliffs and ravines and over rocky terrain, where injury and death in an off-the-road crash is much more likely.

“Guardrails are kind of a safety feature of last resort,” Brooks said. “I think what you're seeing here is the real concern with EVs their weight. There are a lot of new vehicles in this larger-size range coming out in that 7,000-pound range. And that's a concern.”

The preliminary crash test sponsored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Research and Development Center also crashed a Tesla sedan into a guardrail, in which the sedan lifted the guardrail and passed under it.
The tests showed the barrier system is likely to be overmatched by heavier electric vehicles, officials said.

The extra weight of electric vehicles comes from their outsized batteries, needed to achieve a travel range of about 300 miles (480 kilometers) per charge. The batteries themselves can weigh almost as much as a small gas-powered car.
Electric vehicles typically weigh 20% to 50% more than gas-powered vehicles and have lower centers of gravity.

“So far, we don’t see good vehicle to guardrail compatibility with electric vehicles,” Stolle said.
More testing, involving computer simulations and test crashes of more electric vehicles, is planned, he said, and will be needed to determine how to engineer roadside barriers that minimize the effects of crashes for both lighter gas-powered vehicles and heavier electric vehicles.

"It could be concrete barriers. It could be something else,” he said. “The scope of what we have to change and update still remains to be determined.”

The concern over the weight of electric vehicles stretches beyond vehicle-to-vehicle crashes and compatibility with guardrails, Brooks said.
The extra weight will affect everything from faster wear on residential streets and driveways to vehicle tires and infrastructure like parking garages.
 

Chuffer

CCCUK regional rep
The headlong rush by politicians and `Greenies` to have us all driving EV`s in double quick time have totally ignored the physics of kinetic energy. Am I surprised ? NO !!!
 

Pinhead

Regular user
I think we are missing the point here a little
In a previous employment I worked on barriers installing them up and down the country
Most of the stuff I did was on Bridges where containment was key there were various strengths of barriers avaliable and all rested rigorously down at the mira research facility
The barriers chosen were done so due to various factors like speed, acheavable angle,weight of vehicles on the road and what was underneath
We had barriers that could stop a 44 ton arctic fully laden getting on to a railway line at 56 mph
But we wouldn't put them over small side roads on the motorway where a low containment spec of just a large car would be specd
So basically if you are in a laden van at 3.5 ton or above you will probably be going through if you hit it at a decent speed and angle
It's all about risk vs cost
Most have a design life of 30 years so there is a constant replacement program in place if vehicles get bigger and heavier on average then its very easy to up spec the barriers at point of replacement

In other news for those that have followed my postings before on real life EV ownership
I have sold my model S and a new model 3 face lift is getting delivered tomorrow
And right at this moment I am on my way to collect a C7 I have purchased

In my opinion there is plenty of room for both
Ev for the daily is perfect and a v8 for the weekend
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ben

Roscobbc

Moderator
I have sold my model S and a new model 3 face lift is getting delivered tomorrow
Questions for you Pinhead. Does owing a Tesla Model S (whether you are the first owner or a subsequent owner) still qualify for 'free' charging at Tesla Supercharger stations? - Given the popularity of Tesla's, certainly with company car users (and especially the Model 3) do you now have issues 'getting on' Supercharger points? Was the 'experiment' with some Supercharger stations (to allow other makes of electric vehicles to charge-up) a success? did it create issues for Tesla owners? curious to understand.
 

Pinhead

Regular user
The free supercharging was offered an all tesla delivered before March 2017
They then pulled the offer
Free supercharging stays with the car it transfers to the new owner
Now when tesla pulled free supercharging they had quite a few canceled orders with owners not willing to upgrade and loose free supercharging
So it came back again but this was for the first owner only
It wasn't time limited but as soon as the car changed ownership it reverted to pay as you go supercharging
It pretty much disappeared for good around 2019 but has come back every now and then as a tool to increase demand

Now this is where things get really tricky
At some point (can't remember the date)
Tesla started to strip free supercharging from the pre 17 cars but to do this they have to own the car
So any that got traded in or returned at end of lease had it taken away
So if its something you want in a car your looking for be very careful that it will actually transfer
 

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
Ford on Thursday introduced the seventh generation of the Explorer, which will no longer be available as a hybrid due to poor demand.

While some automakers are racing to electrify their range, Ford has hit reverse with its best-selling SUV by offering the car with only a 2.3 liter or 3.0 liter gas engine.
Ford blamed poor sales of the hybrid variant, which was first offered with the introduction of the sixth generation in 2020.

Imagine pulling the weight of that vehicle up hills or mountains with these ricer engines
 

Roscobbc

Moderator
We had the Boston Tea Party and now reported in the USA today :

The British EV Party :)

Leave it to the British to take a potentially good idea and turn it into yet another tyrannical system against its own population.
For instance, it is indeed a good idea to cut down pollution in urban centers, no one would dispute that. But how?

So Britain created the ULEZ an ‘Ultra Low Emission Zone’ in London, where ‘an emissions standard based charge’ is applied to ‘non-compliant road vehicles’.

A network of cameras is checking traffic to make drivers pay every time they enter the zone with their ‘non-compliant’ cars.
Over time, it became an extremely unpopular solution, especially after leftist London Mayor Sadiq Khan greatly expanded the ULEZ.

A phenomenon emerged in which disgruntled citizens started taking out their frustration on the ‘spying cameras about a thousand cameras have been damaged or stolen over the last year alone.

That should give the authorities pause and make them rethink the strategy, but have they? NO.

It arises now that London Mayor Khan has hired a ‘goon squad of thugs aggressive men dressed in black, with face tattoos and wearing skeleton balaclavas – to oppress the citizens in order to allegedly protect his hated ULEZ cameras while filming everything with body cameras.

The Transit for London agency (TfL) claims that the guards are held to ‘high standards of professionalism’ and that they were necessary to protect ULEZ cameras from the so-called ‘Blade Runners’.

Self-proclaimed ‘freedom fighters’, the ‘Blade Runners’ have channeled the widespread hatred for the expanded ULEZ, and have been successfully targeting the cameras, gaining something of a folk hero status by a sympathetic population.

In the run-up to London’s mayoral election in May, the Conservative opposition leaders have slammed Khan’s goons as ‘intimidation,’ promising to scrap the ULEZ expansion if elected.

“Mother-of-five Claire Dyer, 47, from Biggin Hill in Bromley, claimed concerned residents lived in fear of the ULEZ protection gang. […]
You have thuggish security, they don’t need to be behaving the way that they are. […] All you can see is their eyes.
They are wearing masks and balaclavas even that might have skeletons on them. […] They seem to be above the law.”

The ‘gang’ presents itself as TfL representatives, but they are, in fact, outside contractors.

“Why are they trying to harass people?
We are not aggressive or violent, just every day people. We are not hardened criminals. […] It feels like there has been a direct order to get us accused of something we haven’t done. […] We are not inner city London. We have elderly [people] who live in the area who now can’t leave their homes.”

“Conservative mayoral candidate [for London] Susan Hall said: ‘Sadiq Khan’s masked ULEZ enforcers intimidating and scaring locals is outrageous. Londoners deserve respect, not fear. I will put an end to this intimidation by scrapping the ULEZ expansion on day one if elected in May’.”
A TfL spokesperson said ‘security workers’ can wear face coverings only if they feel threatened by being closely filmed.

They added:

“We have hired a small number of qualified security staff who are suitably licensed. They are held to high standards of professionalism.
Unfortunately, our contractors have been subjected to threats and abuse while carrying out their duties so they are advised to record any issues on body-worn cameras to deescalate conflict and if necessary, record evidence for police investigations.

Vandalism is unacceptable and all incidents on our network are reported to the police for investigation.
‘Criminal damage to ULEZ cameras or vehicles puts the perpetrators at risk of prosecution and injury, while simultaneously risking the safety of the public.”

The vandalism against the cameras will not stop the Ultra Low Emissions Zone, TfL insists.
All targeted cameras are repaired or replaced as soon as possible.
On the subject of the Boston Tea Party - have you heard this rock song from a few years back - SAHB (Sensational Alex Harvey Band) -
 

Chuffer

CCCUK regional rep
On the subject of the Boston Tea Party - have you heard this rock song from a few years back - SAHB (Sensational Alex Harvey Band) -
Quite a few years back and the some !!! That Top of the Pops gig must have been one of the few gigs Alex Harvey did stone cold sober . He had quite a reputation as Glasgow tough nut and he drank line a drain . Saw him twice live back in the day and was off his face both times . The second time was at Northampton Collage circa 1970 and me and my mate walked out after about the third song ( if you could call it that !! ) . He could barely stand and couldn`t string two words together . I dare say a few illegal substances were involved too .
 

Roscobbc

Moderator
Quite a few years back and the some !!! That Top of the Pops gig must have been one of the few gigs Alex Harvey did stone cold sober . He had quite a reputation as Glasgow tough nut and he drank line a drain . Saw him twice live back in the day and was off his face both times . The second time was at Northampton Collage circa 1970 and me and my mate walked out after about the third song ( if you could call it that !! ) . He could barely stand and couldn`t string two words together . I dare say a few illegal substances were involved too .
His 'passing' wasn't really a surprise 'in the day' - saw them several times - quite possibly the best 'live' band I ever saw (and I saw many) - sadly the McKenna brothers died recently - their superb lead guitarist Zal Cleminson is still going (tbh I don't particularly care for his current music) - band is called Sin Dogs.
 

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
West Virginia and South Dakota lawmakers have introduced legislation that prevents any county or city in either state from limiting access to internal combustion engines (ICE) and related technology.
Other states (Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio, and North Carolina) have already passed similar legislation and resolutions.

The bill was introduced in West Virginia by Gary Howell, a Republican delegate who is also chairman emeritus of SEMA's State Automotive Enthusiast Leadership Caucus.
Howell's bill aims to prevent limiting access to engines powered by any particular source, not just fossil fuels.
In South Dakota, the bill is awaiting consideration by the House Local Government Committee.

SEMA has come out in support of both states' bills, claiming that the states' residents, not their governments, should be allowed to choose the type of vehicle technology that best serves them.
 

Roscobbc

Moderator
It seems that two of the worlds largest auto manufacturers (BMW & Toyota) are now 'bigging-up' alternative ICE fueled (Hydrogen) tech and engines for the near future. Currently there are virtually no hydrogen filling stations.......
 

teamzr1

Supporting vendor
Americans were sold the promise that electric vehicles would bring production companies and an influx of jobs to small towns nationwide as part of a modern day gold rush.

However, as interest in EVs has slipped, lithium and nickel facilities of metals used in lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles are taking cost-cutting measures including mass layoffs and suspending operations.

Car buyers are still reluctant to trade in their gas-guzzling vehicle for an EV over the high price tag and concerns about their ability to easily charge the vehicle.
The waning interest in EVs has caused the price of lithium to dropped by 90 percent since January of last year.
In response, Ford has slashed 1,400 jobs at its once-promising lithium factory in Michigan while General Motors laid off all of its nearly 1,000 workers at its plant in Detroit

On average, it takes carmakers three weeks longer to sell an electric vehicle than a standard gas vehicle, prompting companies to offer discounts and lower interest-rate deals to draw in buyers.

As a result, companies including General Motors (GM) and Ford were forced to slow the expansion of EV development and battery production plants even as they made new promises to open more production plants in the next two years.

‘It's true, the pace of EV growth has slowed, which has created some uncertainty,’ Ahole Mary Barra, the chairman and CEO of General Motors said in an earnings call last month.

She claimed GM has 100,000 reservations for EV pickups for this year into next year but expressed the caveat that if the demand for EVs changes, the company will instead look to building more internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles.

‘We know the EV market is not going to grow linearly,’ GM’s CFO, Paul Jacobson, said in the earnings call, adding:
‘We are prepared to flex between ICE and EV production.’

This marks a significant shift from GM’s goals in 2021 that it would sell only fully electric vehicles by 2035 and invest $27 billion in EVs, Barra said in a LinkedIn post at the time.

In February 2023, Ford promised to build a $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan to take advantage of Joey Biden’s proposed landmark climate law that would ensure two-thirds of all cars sold in the U.S. would be fully electric by 2032.

Biden is expected to back down from the stringent measures to give car companies time to make the switch to EVs, even as more American consumers turned to hybrid vehicles than the fully electric alternative last year

Hybrid vehicles accounted for 8.3 percent of car sales in 2023 compared with fully electric vehicles accounting for 6.9 percent of cars sold.

ripoff.jpg

Because EV sales aren’t increasing as fast as car companies expected, the slowdown of lithium and nickel production means people are losing their jobs in a once-promising industry.

This comes as the prices for lithium and nickel collapse, affecting major lithium production companies in the U.S., like Albemarle, which was supposed to begin construction on a lithium plant in South Carolina this year.

Albemarle planned to produce enough lithium to power 2.4 million EVs annually, but the company was forced to pause spending on the plant and lay off four percent of its workforce, amounting to 300 employees.

‘Where prices are today, the economics aren’t there for those projects,’ said Albemarle’s chief executive Kent Masters.

‘Ultimately it all stems from demand, and demand is just not showing up to where all these CEOs thought.

‘So a lot of the initial targets put out by GM or Ford a couple of years ago have maybe proven to be a bit too optimistic and probably too aggressive,’ Gabe Daoud, a sustainable energy senior analyst at TD Cowen said

‘I think everybody was expecting the entire car fleet to change overnight and go electric, but that’s obviously just impossible and impractical.’
 
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