Governments, oil companies, automakers, Tony Seba — they all have an opinion on when EVs will overtake ICE, and then move on to 100% of new car sales. Anywhere in the range 2025 to 2050, take your pick. It is all when, not if. That is a huge shift. It was golf carts 2 years ago.
Well, I must admit, I had almost given up on it. But then I got this message from the Danish electric car union, which had worked very hard to organize this particular attempt to beat the world record of the largest parade of electric vehicles …
If you are a reservation holder of a Tesla Model 3, I guess you would be pretty excited these days following news of the ramp up of production. Unless you live in Denmark. Then you should be worried if you will get your car at all.
What would it take to get a person to buy an electric car? The debate rages about range, environmental issues, performance, size, looks, and repair issues. All important topics, but what’s occurred in just 5 years? In 2011 practically zero EVs were available. Five years later, Nissan has sold a quarter million, Tesla has roughly 200,000 sold and 500,000 ordered, and the Chevy Bolt appears to be selling about 1,000 a month. The Fiat 500E sells in the tens of thousands despite CEO Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Chief Executive, Sergio Marchionne, begging people not to purchase his car. Don’t even mention the EV capital of the world, China.
Michael Liebreich’s slidedeck for the recent BNEF Summit was, to use Zachary’s words, epic. I love his presentations too, and not just because the first girl I asked to marry me was a Liebreich. (No relation to Michael. She said no. I was 5.)
For all the naysayers who think electric cars, and in particular lighter-range Nissan LEAFs, are not up to making it at the Mongol Rally, think again. Husband and wife team Chris and Julie Ramsey showed the Nissan LEAF’s agile prowess does have enough longevity at the Mongol Rally. Take a few notes from Chris Ramsey:
Toyota and Mazda have formed a new joint venture devoted to the development of plug-in electric vehicle tech, with the intent being to “catch up” to rivals, according to recent reports.
Plug-in electric vehicle sales in New York State have surged 74% (year-on-year comparison) since the launch of the Drive Clean Rebate program there, a statement from the governor’s office has revealed.
China has moved the starting date of its EV cap and trade program one year, giving manufacturers more time to adjust their product mix in time.
Dyson might succeed. They might fail. But at 2.7 billion pounds and with their success points, they are one of the more interesting new entrants.
