By Jo Nova
It’s just another day in the death of the early 21st Century EV bubble
The fantasy of battery powered vehicles that also fix the weather was foisted upon the people by Big Government. But all the regulatory wands in the world, and even billions in free gifts don’t make a market appear when the product is a dog.
EV’s are meant to be storming the market on their way to domination. But in the UK the market share of EV’s rose only 3.8% last month but the whole car market grew by 10% — so EV’s are in danger of becoming a shrinking part of the UK car fleet. Plug-in hybrids saw a 37% increase.
The EV experiment has gone so very wrong. Last year Ford was the number 2 EV brand in the US, but it was hit with the $4.5 billion dollar black hole of fiscal carnage, losing $38,000 on every single EV. Obviously, something had to change, and now months later, Ford is abandoning plans to bring in two new EV models, and retool their EV manufacturing plants. Instead, it is shifting to hybrid vehicles — copying the Toyota plan.
EVs have crashed into the hard reality that Americans just don’t want them
David Blackmom, The Telegraph
Something big is happening in the US market for battery electric vehicles (EVs), and it isn’t positive for the industry that makes them, or for the Biden administration’s subsidised dreams.
Ford suddenly puts the brakes on EV models, and factories, and is copying Toyota which was mocked and ridiculed for focusing on hybrids instead of the purist EV’s:
…on April 4, Ford Motor Company put the icing on this cake of electric carnage with an announcement that it is pulling back from plans to introduce two new EV models, an SUV and another pickup to tag along with the F-150 Lightning, and delaying major investments in building and “retooling” EV manufacturing plants in the US and Canada.
Ford says that after three years of making massive investments in new plant and equipment needed for the production of its F-150 Lightning and electric Mustang Mach E models, it will now focus on developing hybrid options across its entire model lineup. This places Ford on a strategic path similar to Japanese giant Toyota, which has become an object of scorn and ridicule from the climate alarmist left and globalist policymakers in the US and Europe for its stubborn, ongoing focus on making and successfully selling hybrids rather than pure EVs.
Meanwhile Fisker, a new EV startup, is pausing production for three weeks, and is on the verge of bankruptcy. Things are so desperate they have dropped the price of the “Ocean Extreme” from £58,000 to £44,000 in the hope of staving off the grim reaper. Not surprisingly, after sales support is “not guaranteed”.
Resistance is growing downunder
The Guardian is still giving free adverts for EVs and pretending its news. They report that there are now 180,000 EV’s in the Australian market, but don’t mention that that is a mere 1% of the total car fleet.
In Australia the EV market is in its infancy, but people already seem to realize “they catch fire” a lot. In the driest continent with the lowest population density and most expensive electricity on Earth, range anxiety and fear of fire is real thing. Far from being excited about being offered low emissions cars, there are signs from middle Australia that the people are unimpressed already.
Dissent is so strong, people in Strata-title buildings have to struggle for 12 months to even get one EV installer added to the building. And when they do succeed the charging spot is often placed in the furthest part of the carpark, out in the garden, lest it combust. One contractor has quoted to install an EV charging outlet on 100 buildings but only two have taken the job up. “Resistance is growing” he says:
The Battle for EV Charging in Strata Title Buildings Continues in Australia
It has taken somewhere near 12 months — 3 Body Corporate Committee meetings, dozens of emails, an Extraordinary General Meeting and an Annual General Meeting to get to this stage — a single 10amp GPO.
To date, he has quoted to install the electrical backbone infrastructure in over 100 buildings. It works out at roughly AU$1000 per parking bay. Only two buildings have taken up the quotes. He believes that body corporates are looking for more reasons to resist the change. “There appear to be more and more rules and regulations,” he says.
“In apartment blocks there are so many people to deal with: committees; on site management. I think the resistance is growing. Some are using fire risk as a means to stop installs. Quotes have become more expensive and more complex as I have had to add fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, fire blankets and a stop/start button. Safe EV training has to be provided for those responsible in the building. More work, more cost.”
And the unsold cars pile up in the US:
Unsold Ford Lightning EV’s stockpiled at Michigan Motor Speedway. Miscalculation born from a non-crisis of epic proportion. pic.twitter.com/15RN3QYdVL
— Mark Nantz (@BullseyeBanjo) April 2, 2024