The Accelerating Shift Toward Electric Vehicles
In recent years, the rise in electric vehicles (EVs) has been undeniable. Prominent American automotive manufacturer General Motors (GM) pledged in 2021 to eliminate all production of its gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2035 — a significant commitment for a corporation home to Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC (Mufson 2021). GM hopes to lead the way in automotive electrification, “moving us closer to a world with zero emissions” (General Motors 2022). As a part of its plan, GM would invest $27 billion in electric vehicles and associated products between 2020 and 2025, exceeding its spending on traditional gasoline and diesel vehicles. Across GM’s various car brands, 30 types of electric vehicles would be manufactured, accounting for 40% of GM’s U.S. models by 2025. Furthermore, GM’s factories and facilities would go carbon neutral by 2040 (Mufson 2021). GM’s goals reflect the increasingly rapid shift toward electric vehicles — the future of the car industry.
While other car companies have not made the same commitment as GM, the past year has seen explosive growth in new electric vehicle announcements and releases from a variety of brands: the GMC Hummer, the Ford Mustang Mach-E, the Polestar 2, the Nissan Ariya, the Chevrolet Silverado, and many more (Kitman 2022). In March 2022, Japanese companies Sony and Honda unveiled a new partnership that would allow Sony to develop electric cars, to be released as early as 2025, with the help of Honda’s existing vehicle manufacturing infrastructure (Dooley 2022). Even tech companies like Sony recognize the unique opportunity to join the automotive industry and capitalize on the growing EV market. Additionally, examining the number of electric vehicle Superbowl advertisements from this year display a clear change in the automotive industry and consumers’ tastes. As noted in a Bloomberg Green article, “Super Bowl car commercials were almost entirely for EVs, with only a Porsche ad and Toyota's spot for the Tundra pickup truck featuring The Joneses the exceptions. In 2018 there were 12 Super Bowl car ads, none of which featured an electric vehicle; this year, seven of nine ads featured a vehicle with a plug” (Bullard 2022). Car companies are aware of consumers’ increasing interest in electric vehicles, and they only want to expand EV demand by investing in ads during the most viewed broadcast of the year.
EV sales trends also point toward a shifting car industry. Global EV sales rose 65% between 2017 and 2018, accounting for a total of 2.1 million vehicles. While 2019 did not see much growth and the pandemic caused a 25% decrease in EV sales during 2020’s first quarter, Bloomberg News Energy Finance (BNEF) projects that electric vehicles will account for 10% of global passenger vehicle sales by 2025, 28% in 2030, and 58% in 2040 (Cohen 2020). BNEF’s predictions appear to be on track; in 2021, nearly 6.5 million of 74 million vehicles sold worldwide (about 9%) were fully electric or plug-in hybrid passenger cars— a 109% increase from 2020 (The Economic Times 2022).
Solely within the United States, however, only 4% of new cars sold in 2021 were electric (Clifford 2022). A major reason for this lower proportion is the limited EV charging network in the U.S. Individuals on the fence about switching to an electric vehicle often worry that they will run out of battery before they can reach the nearest EV charger, otherwise known as “range anxiety.” Samuel Abuelsamid, principal analyst with infrastructure advisory firm Guidehouse Insights, notes that while many current EV owners have the resources to charge their vehicle in their garage overnight, as the EV industry grows, most individuals will need public charging stations (Kitman 2022). Fortunately, in February of 2022, the Biden Administration announced that over the next five years, the U.S. will provide $5 billion across the country to expand the electric vehicle charging network, aiming to ease concerns over finding a charging station and decrease U.S. dependence on conventional gasoline cars. Current U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg hopes that with a larger EV charging network, “no matter where you’re headed, you know that you will not have a problem any more than you would worry about being able to find gas when you take a trip on the interstate highway system today” (Gilchrist and Tabet 2022). According to the Department of Energy, there are now 47,142 publicly accessible EV charging stations across the United States, which the Biden Administration hopes will increase to 500,000 (Gilchrist and Tabet 2022). The U.S. government’s considerable investment could be the catalyst for widespread electric vehicle purchases as EV popularity continues to grow.
This massive industry growth begs the question: with one of the hallmarks of electric vehicles being that they are more environmentally friendly, just how sustainable are they? While electric vehicles do not emit carbon dioxide like gasoline or diesel cars (tailpipe emissions), an expanded charging infrastructure requires large amounts of electricity, which may not be generated emissions-free. Jeremy Michalek, professor of engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, states that “coal tends to be the critical factor…If you’ve got electric cars in Pittsburgh that are being plugged in at night and leading nearby coal plants to burn more coal to charge them, then the climate benefits won’t be as great, and you can even get more air pollution” (Tabuchi and Plumer 2021). Most countries, though, have already significantly reduced their reliance on coal for energy. Over the last decade, the U.S. has retired hundreds of coal plants, opting for low-emissions natural gas and renewable wind and solar power (Tabuchi and Plumer 2021). As the electricity demand rapidly increases to fulfill charging needs, more renewable energy technology is likely to emerge, clearly making electric vehicles the better option for the environment.
Another concern about EVs’ impact on the environment is that currently, only about 5% of lithium-ion batteries commonly used in electric vehicles are recycled. However, scientists are confident that lithium-ion batteries will soon be more widely recycled. A 2021 study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that car batteries could be recycled as backup storage for solar power for over a decade. Additionally, a February 2022 study from Scientific American discovered a new method of recycling lithium-ion batteries, where the cathode, the key voltage supplier of the battery, is reused in a new battery. The new batteries with the recycled cathode were able to last longer and charge faster (Wilkerson 2022) — a promising find for the future of car battery sustainability.
Whether it is because automotive companies and consumers desire to be more environmentally conscious or they simply want to own the most advanced technology, the accelerating shift toward electric vehicles is abundantly clear. A new electric vehicle seems to be revealed every month, and this trend will not stop any time soon. Rather, the expansion of EV charging networks will provide the necessary push for the continued growth of the electric vehicle industry. Regarding the environmental aspect, electric vehicles are not perfectly carbon neutral, but they are certainly better than traditional gasoline vehicles. With renewable energy and battery recycling technology on the horizon, increased electric vehicle consumption appears to be a positive sign for the earth, though surely not the only solution for protecting the environment.
References
Bullard, Nathaniel. "Super Bowl Ads, Conquests and Your Next Car." Bloomberg Green. February 17, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-17/super-bowl-ads-conquests-and-your-next-car.
Clifford, Catherine. "Electric vehicles dominated Super Bowl ads, but are still only 9% of passenger car sales." CNBC. February 14, 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/14/evs-dominated-super-bowl-ads-but-only-9percent-of-passenger-car-sales.html.
Cohen, Ariel. "Plugging Into The Future: The Electric Vehicle Market Outlook." Forbes. October 26, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielcohen/2020/10/26/plugging-into-the-future-the-electric-vehicle-market-outlook/?sh=274ced339812.
Dooley, Ben. "Sony and Honda Announce Tie-Up to Make Electric Cars." The New York Times. March 4, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/02/business/sony-honda-electric-cars.html?smid=url-share.
The Economic Times. "Global Electric Vehicle Sales Up 109% in 2021, Tesla Leads with 14% Share." The Economic Times. February 17, 2022. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/auto/auto-news/global-electric-vehicle-sales-up-109-in-2021-tesla-leads-with-14-share/articleshow/89590350.cms.
General Motors. "Electrification." General Motors. March 10, 2022. https://www.gm.com/commitments/electrification.
Gilchrist, Aaron, and Alex Tabet. "U.S. to provide $5 billion to help states build network of EV charging stations." NBC News. March 14, 2022. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/us-provide-5-billion-help-states-build-network-ev-charging-stations-rcna16159.
Kitman, Jamie Lincoln. "When Electric Cars Rule the Road, They'll Need Spots to Power Up." The New York Times. March 3, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/business/electric-vehicle-chargers-infrastructure.html.
Mufson, Steven. "General Motors to eliminate gasoline and diesel light-duty cars and SUVs by 2035." The Washington Post. January 28, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/01/28/general-motors-electric/.
Tabuchi, Hiroko, and Brad Plumer. "How Green Are Electric Vehicles?" The New York Times. March 2, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/climate/electric-vehicles-environment.html.
Wilkerson, Jordan. "Recycled Lithium-Ion Batteries Can Perform Better Than New Ones." Scientific American. February 1, 2022. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/recycled-lithium-ion-batteries-can-perform-better-than-new-ones/.
Bullard, Nathaniel. "Super Bowl Ads, Conquests and Your Next Car." Bloomberg Green. February 17, 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-17/super-bowl-ads-conquests-and-your-next-car.
Clifford, Catherine. "Electric vehicles dominated Super Bowl ads, but are still only 9% of passenger car sales." CNBC. February 14, 2022. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/14/evs-dominated-super-bowl-ads-but-only-9percent-of-passenger-car-sales.html.
Cohen, Ariel. "Plugging Into The Future: The Electric Vehicle Market Outlook." Forbes. October 26, 2020. https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielcohen/2020/10/26/plugging-into-the-future-the-electric-vehicle-market-outlook/?sh=274ced339812.
Dooley, Ben. "Sony and Honda Announce Tie-Up to Make Electric Cars." The New York Times. March 4, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/02/business/sony-honda-electric-cars.html?smid=url-share.
The Economic Times. "Global Electric Vehicle Sales Up 109% in 2021, Tesla Leads with 14% Share." The Economic Times. February 17, 2022. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/auto/auto-news/global-electric-vehicle-sales-up-109-in-2021-tesla-leads-with-14-share/articleshow/89590350.cms.
General Motors. "Electrification." General Motors. March 10, 2022. https://www.gm.com/commitments/electrification.
Gilchrist, Aaron, and Alex Tabet. "U.S. to provide $5 billion to help states build network of EV charging stations." NBC News. March 14, 2022. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/us-provide-5-billion-help-states-build-network-ev-charging-stations-rcna16159.
Kitman, Jamie Lincoln. "When Electric Cars Rule the Road, They'll Need Spots to Power Up." The New York Times. March 3, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/03/business/electric-vehicle-chargers-infrastructure.html.
Mufson, Steven. "General Motors to eliminate gasoline and diesel light-duty cars and SUVs by 2035." The Washington Post. January 28, 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/01/28/general-motors-electric/.
Tabuchi, Hiroko, and Brad Plumer. "How Green Are Electric Vehicles?" The New York Times. March 2, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/02/climate/electric-vehicles-environment.html.
Wilkerson, Jordan. "Recycled Lithium-Ion Batteries Can Perform Better Than New Ones." Scientific American. February 1, 2022. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/recycled-lithium-ion-batteries-can-perform-better-than-new-ones/.