2024/01/09
People hold up "Go for Gotion" signs while attending a Manteno Village Board meeting on Dec. 4, 2023, in Manteno.
- Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/TNS
After several years chasing electric-vehicle companies with state incentives that he had to sweeten for lack of interest, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker finally got his big ribbon-cutting.
In September, the governor arrived in Kankakee County to welcome a new $2 billion lithium battery “gigafactory” in Manteno. Gotion, a manufacturer headquartered in China, is slated to begin production later this year, marking what Pritzker described in Chinese-esque lingo as a “leap forward” for economic development in Illinois.
Then the pushback began. Using costly state incentives on companies with ties to China doesn’t sit well with many on the right, and in October some residents joined the conservative Illinois Freedom Caucus in protesting the arrival of a facility that will create about 2,600 good-paying jobs.
The thumbs-down response to Pritzker’s rah-rah moment reflects a growing recognition among the GOP that bashing electric vehicles is a potent wedge issue.
On the one hand are the outrageous lies that Donald Trump customarily spews. Speaking at a Michigan auto plant in September, the indicted ex-president complained that EVs hurt the environment, run out of power in 15 minutes and threaten to wipe out the domestic auto industry. Those claims are pure baloney, as usual, from the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination.
But more credible political leaders, too, have taken issue with the push for EVs.
Trump’s Republican presidential rivals have at various times vowed to roll back market-distorting EV subsidies and tax incentives, and reverse President Joe Biden’s strict fuel economy standards, which, as a practical matter, automakers can meet in the future only with zero-emission electric cars.
Many Americans love their gas-guzzlers and react viscerally to the perceived threat of a nanny-state government taking away the keys. GOP politicians routinely promise they’ll make sure people can drive whatever cars and trucks they want, forever. They also stress the higher upfront cost of EVs, concerns about vehicle range, a dearth of charging stations and, especially, China’s lead in producing the batteries that make EVs go. China-bashing plays well on the GOP campaign trail.
With an election year looming, attacks on EVs surely will continue, and they are having an impact. Nearly 4,000 car dealers signed a letter last month urging Biden to back off his strict emissions requirements, which are intended to make at least two-thirds of passenger cars all-electric by 2032.
Enthusiasm about EVs has stalled, the dealers wrote. “The majority of customers are simply not ready to make the change.” Unstated in the letter is that car sales generally are under pressure and EVs pose challenges to car-dealership business models, not least because, with fewer moving parts to repair, EVs can cut into service revenues.
The numbers suggest American consumers have not lost interest: EVs are still selling, though at a slower rate than once expected. U.S. sales of EVs will grow by an estimated 32% in 2024, according to BloombergNEF, down from about 47% last year. GM and Ford have pushed back their ultra-ambitious EV targets, and Tesla has struggled with an aging lineup of models, BNEF noted.
The research organization expects 2024 sales of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to top 16.7 million worldwide, an estimated 20% gain from 2023. That pace could accelerate in the future as a slew of new models debut, and EVs increasingly dominate in China and northern Europe.
The U.S. can’t afford to sit out this transition.
Sales of gasoline-powered passenger vehicles have peaked worldwide, and electric vehicles are expected to take big bites of global market share in coming years as they become the more affordable alternative. Range and reliability have gotten better at a lower cost each year, and public charging stations are proliferating. The commercial side is starting to embrace electric, too, from ride-share drivers to truckers.
Government policies are moving away from expensive and complicated direct-subsidy schemes, which do indeed distort the marketplace, to focus more directly on reducing emissions. The incentives in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act have encouraged a bonanza of EV investments across North America, especially battery-manufacturing projects like Gotion’s.
The tide is going out for gasoline-powered vehicles and while it’s possible to score political points in the short run by fighting it, that’s ultimately a losing battle. For the U.S. to stay competitive in an industry critical to Illinois and the rest of the Midwest, it needs not only to adapt but take the lead.
The same politicians who eagerly bash China should bear in mind that Chinese-made EVs are some of the most reliable and low-cost in the world. Want to “beat” China? Hot air and Luddite thinking won’t do it. America needs to focus on beating China in the marketplace, with better EVs.
___
© Chicago Tribune
After several years chasing electric-vehicle companies with state incentives that he had to sweeten for lack of interest, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker finally got his big ribbon-cutting.
In September, the governor arrived in Kankakee County to welcome a new $2 billion lithium battery “gigafactory” in Manteno. Gotion, a manufacturer headquartered in China, is slated to begin production later this year, marking what Pritzker described in Chinese-esque lingo as a “leap forward” for economic development in Illinois.
Then the pushback began. Using costly state incentives on companies with ties to China doesn’t sit well with many on the right, and in October some residents joined the conservative Illinois Freedom Caucus in protesting the arrival of a facility that will create about 2,600 good-paying jobs.
The thumbs-down response to Pritzker’s rah-rah moment reflects a growing recognition among the GOP that bashing electric vehicles is a potent wedge issue.
On the one hand are the outrageous lies that Donald Trump customarily spews. Speaking at a Michigan auto plant in September, the indicted ex-president complained that EVs hurt the environment, run out of power in 15 minutes and threaten to wipe out the domestic auto industry. Those claims are pure baloney, as usual, from the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination.
But more credible political leaders, too, have taken issue with the push for EVs.
Trump’s Republican presidential rivals have at various times vowed to roll back market-distorting EV subsidies and tax incentives, and reverse President Joe Biden’s strict fuel economy standards, which, as a practical matter, automakers can meet in the future only with zero-emission electric cars.
Many Americans love their gas-guzzlers and react viscerally to the perceived threat of a nanny-state government taking away the keys. GOP politicians routinely promise they’ll make sure people can drive whatever cars and trucks they want, forever. They also stress the higher upfront cost of EVs, concerns about vehicle range, a dearth of charging stations and, especially, China’s lead in producing the batteries that make EVs go. China-bashing plays well on the GOP campaign trail.
With an election year looming, attacks on EVs surely will continue, and they are having an impact. Nearly 4,000 car dealers signed a letter last month urging Biden to back off his strict emissions requirements, which are intended to make at least two-thirds of passenger cars all-electric by 2032.
Enthusiasm about EVs has stalled, the dealers wrote. “The majority of customers are simply not ready to make the change.” Unstated in the letter is that car sales generally are under pressure and EVs pose challenges to car-dealership business models, not least because, with fewer moving parts to repair, EVs can cut into service revenues.
The numbers suggest American consumers have not lost interest: EVs are still selling, though at a slower rate than once expected. U.S. sales of EVs will grow by an estimated 32% in 2024, according to BloombergNEF, down from about 47% last year. GM and Ford have pushed back their ultra-ambitious EV targets, and Tesla has struggled with an aging lineup of models, BNEF noted.
The research organization expects 2024 sales of battery-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles to top 16.7 million worldwide, an estimated 20% gain from 2023. That pace could accelerate in the future as a slew of new models debut, and EVs increasingly dominate in China and northern Europe.
The U.S. can’t afford to sit out this transition.
Sales of gasoline-powered passenger vehicles have peaked worldwide, and electric vehicles are expected to take big bites of global market share in coming years as they become the more affordable alternative. Range and reliability have gotten better at a lower cost each year, and public charging stations are proliferating. The commercial side is starting to embrace electric, too, from ride-share drivers to truckers.
Government policies are moving away from expensive and complicated direct-subsidy schemes, which do indeed distort the marketplace, to focus more directly on reducing emissions. The incentives in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act have encouraged a bonanza of EV investments across North America, especially battery-manufacturing projects like Gotion’s.
The tide is going out for gasoline-powered vehicles and while it’s possible to score political points in the short run by fighting it, that’s ultimately a losing battle. For the U.S. to stay competitive in an industry critical to Illinois and the rest of the Midwest, it needs not only to adapt but take the lead.
The same politicians who eagerly bash China should bear in mind that Chinese-made EVs are some of the most reliable and low-cost in the world. Want to “beat” China? Hot air and Luddite thinking won’t do it. America needs to focus on beating China in the marketplace, with better EVs.
___
© Chicago Tribune
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