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Just last week, one of our frequent guest columnists penned an insightful piece on the risks associated with “EV corporate cronyism,” or crony capitalist incentive deals linked to electric vehicle manufacturers.
In her column, Diane Hardy noted that “given how the EV industry is so heavily subsidized, we may see many more busts than booms” related to this industry.
That’s concerning given how heavily South Carolina’s uniparty establishment has invested in EVs and related technology – including $1.3 billion worth of subsidies for a Scout Motors facility in Blythewood, S.C.
This week, Chinese-owned Volvo announced it was backing off of its ambitious 2021 promise to manufacture and sell only electric vehicles by the year 2030. In discussing its “strategic adjustments to its electrification ambitions,” the company placed the blame for its backtrack on “slower than expected rollout of charging infrastructure, withdrawal of government incentives in some markets and additional uncertainties created by recent tariffs on EVs in various markets.”
That’s a reference to tariffs on Chinese-made EVs – including Volvos – that have been imposed by the United States, Canada and the European Union (EU).
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Volvo’s release also called for “stronger and more stable government policies to support the transition to electrification.” In other words, the company wants more market-distorting subsidies. More stringent emissions regulations aimed at compelling EV purchases – especially by fleet operators.
In short, more corporate cronyism.
Volvo’s announcement came one week after Polestar – which is jointly owned by Volvo and its Chinese parent company – announced an operating loss of $242.3 million during the second quarter of 2024 based on sharply declining revenues.
Volvo also followed Ford, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and others in scaling back its EV promises, which are based on slowing sales growth. According to EV Volumes, sales of electric vehicles are expected to top 16.5 million units this year – up 16 percent from 2023. The vast majority of those sales – 10 million units – will be made in China. North American sales are projected at 2 million units. Two-thirds of the EV sales are plug-in hybrids, incidentally, i.e. vehicles which consume fuel and feature an internal combustion engine. Only a third of EVs are fully electric.
While the market is still growing, this year’s expansion would be the slowest in five years – well below growth seen in 2020 (43 percent), 2021 (109 percent), 2022 (55 percent) and 2023 (35 percent).
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the owner and founding editor of FITSNews. Prior to founding his own news outlet, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina, bass guitarist in an alternative rock band and bouncer at a Columbia, S.C. dive bar. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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4 comments
It’s also a shame to see what they did to those woods on Highway 101 in Woodruff for that BMW battery plant.
Every manufacturer in the EV market is losing money except Tesla: Rivian, Audi/VW, GM, Ford, Mercedes, Volvo have all slashed their production projections for 2024 and are posting huge losses on their EV fleet. Rivian halted construction on a 2000+ acre facility in Georgia, who committed and/or spent about $1.5B on the project. Fisker filed for bankruptcy reorganization in June. Apple abandoned its 16 year project to develop an EV. All this stems from governments trying to pick winners and losers in the open market and using tax dollars to push this round peg into a square hole. The warning signs of the EV industry demand cooling have been around for a couple of years, but the guys in the various states’ commerce departments have simply refused to acknowledge the facts staring them right in the face. The subsidization and mandating of EVs needs to end – completely – and allow those who want to invest their own money in these ventures take the risk and reap whatever reward or failure may come of it.
America, the power grid, the roads, and the people are not ready for EVs. Especially when the government proposes it, it was not well thought out. If we all bought EVs tomorrow we would have rolling blackouts for days on end, and really skyrocketing electric prices. They pay no road tax because that’s in the gasoline tax, extremely heavy and damage the roads and bridges, dangerous vehicle fires, and not reliable under extreme cold or heat conditions. Just another stupid idea from the clueless government. And the government is subsidizing this stupid idea. That should tell it all.
America, the power grid, the roads, and the people are not ready for EVs. Especially when the government proposes it, it was not well thought out. If we all bought EVs tomorrow we would have rolling blackouts for days on end, and really skyrocketing electric prices. They pay no road tax because that’s in the gasoline tax, extremely heavy and damage the roads and bridges, dangerous vehicle fires, and not reliable under extreme cold or heat conditions. Just another stupid idea from the clueless government. And the government is subsidizing this stupid idea. That should tell it all.