BBC (September 17)
“Nine out of 10 new cars sold in Norway are electric vehicles” and the country “now has more electric cars on its roads than petrol-driven vehicles.” Ironically, the money from being one of the world’s largest oil exporters is making this possible, with things like “free parking for EVs,” no city tolls, and “numerous free chargers in every Norwegian town and city, with 2,000 of them in Oslo alone,” largely underwritten by petrodollars.
Tags: Cars, City tolls, EVs, Free chargers, Free parking, Norway, Oil exporter, Oslo, Petrodollars, Petrol
New York Times (August 30)
“The world is well stocked with oil…. Demand continues to grow, but production seems likely to keep pace.” This is one reason “the market seems surprisingly calm” given “the degree of political turmoil not only in Libya but in the Middle East.” The other reason is China. After accounting for “roughly half of consumption increases in the last two decades,” China is no longer driving consumption. The nation’s shift to EVs could even “lead to drops in demand there for diesel this year and for gasoline in 2025.”
Tags: 2025, Calm, China, Consumption, Demand, Diesel, EVs, Gasoline, Libya, Middle East, Oil, Political turmoil, Production, Well stocked, World
Wall Street Journal (August 17)
“Volkswagen, GM and other big brands are losing their grip on a once-lucrative market as Chinese consumers embrace homegrown electric vehicles.” The issue is broad ranging. “Manufacturers from China’s Asian neighbors aren’t faring better… Toyota’s Chinese JV income fell 73% in the quarter through June compared with the same period of 2023, while Honda’s equity income was all but wiped out.” China is turning into “a money pit for foreign automakers.”
Tags: Big brands, China, Consumers, Equity, EVs, GM, Homegrown, Honda, Income, JV, Manufacturers, Market, Money pit, Once-lucrative, Toyota, Volkswagen
New York Times (June 22)
“With billions of dollars in trade at stake, China and the European Union have agreed to engage in talks to try to resolve an escalating dispute over tariffs.” To block the threatened tariffs on electric vehicles, “Beijing would need to persuade a majority of European Union countries, representing at least 65 percent of the bloc’s population, to overrule the European Commission” and it is expected to strategically target Germany, France, Italy and other key countries.
Tags: China, Dispute, Escalating, EU, EVs, France, Germany, Overrule, Resolve, Target, Tariffs, Trade
Automotive News Europe (June 12)
“European automakers are being challenged by an influx of lower-cost EVs from Chinese rivals,” which have surged in popularity, with their EU market share rising to 8% (from less than 1% in 2019), and potential to reach 15% in 2025. Still, Mercedes, BMW and VW all lined up against the EU’s new 38% tariff on EVs exported from China because “China is a key profit center” for the German automakers who “could face counter measures in China.”
Tags: 38% tariff, BMW, Challenged, China, Chinese rivals, Counter measures, EU, EVs, German automakers, Influx, Market share, Mercedes, Popularity, Profit center, VW
Forbes (May 19)
“The Biden administration said this week the U.S will quadruple tariffs on Chinese EVs in a move aimed at protecting American workers and businesses from unfair Chinese trade practices.” Some think this will provide a lifeline, but at least one auto industry executive believes “the increase won’t help the long-term staying power of the industry or its jobs.” Instead, the “capitulation to the status quo” will “condemn” the U.S. auto industry “to a slow but certain death” as the rest of the industry moves “toward technology that doesn’t rely on oil.”
Tags: Auto industry, Biden, Businesses, Capitulation, China, EVs, Lifeline, Protecting, Status quo, Staying power, Tariffs, Technology, Trade practices, U.S., Unfair, Workers
New York Times (May 14)
President Biden unveiled “a wave of new tariffs on billions of dollars in Chinese products, ramping up duties on industries like electric cars and solar energy that are core to his economic agenda.” The new duties cover roughly $18 billion of annual Chinese imports and are in addition to the $300 billion worth of Chinese imports already covered by existing tariffs. The new tariffs will “appeal to voters in battleground states,” but it’s unclear if they will be “enough to rebuild America’s industrial base in a global race with China to lead in the new economy.”
Tags: $18 billion, $300 billion, Battleground states, Biden, China, Duties, Economic agenda, EVs, Imports, Industrial base, Solar energy, Tariffs, U.S., Unveiled, Voters
AP (May 13)
“The rapid emergence of low-priced EVs from China could shake up the global auto industry in ways not seen since Japanese makers exploded on the scene during the oil crises of the 1970s. BYD, which stands for ‘Build Your Dreams,’ could be a nightmare for the U.S. auto industry.” So far tariffs have shielded the U.S. market, but “Detroit needs to quickly re-learn a lot of design and engineering to keep up while shedding practices from a century of building vehicles.”
Tags: 1970s, BYD, China, Design, Detroit, Emergence, Engineering, EVs, Global auto industry, Japanese makers, Low-priced, Nightmare, Oil crises, Rapid, Shielded, Tariffs, U.S. market
The Economist (February 3)
Between 2012 and 2022, half of the Americans who adopted EVs and PHEVs were “living in the 10% of counties with the highest proportion of Democratic voters.” Polarization may best the biggest obstacle limiting “the American market for electric vehicles.” Polarization “is cursing not only America’s politics but, increasingly, its culture and marketplace.”
Tags: 2012, 2022, and PHEVs, Culture, Cursing, Democratic, EVs, Limiting, Market, Obstacle, Polarization, Politics, U.S., Vehicles, Voters
Wall Street Journal (January 3)
“Chinese automaker BYD for the first time topped Tesla as the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles on a quarterly basis, a sign of China’s emerging strength in the global market for battery-powered cars…. The Chinese rival’s ascent in the global pecking order has put new pressure on Tesla at a time when the U.S. electric-car maker is already leaning on steep price cuts to juice its sales.”
Tags: Ascent, Automaker, Battery-powered, BYD, China, Emerging, EVs, Global market, Pressure, Price cuts, Sales, Strength, Tesla, U.S.
