Transport but not as we know it - will automated cars be private??
Younger people are choosing walking, cycling and public transport
Share cars, Uber, olah as sensible financial decisions all changing the
face of the car industry
V2G is also interesting
https://iceds.anu.edu.au/news-events/news/international-review-vehicle-grid-technology-interview-dr-bjorn-sturmberg-anu
On 18/6/21 12:05 am, Stephen Loosley wrote:
GM escalates the electric vehicle arms race
By Ben Klayman June 17, 2021
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/gm-boosts-spending-electric-vehicles-add-two-new-us-battery-plants-2021-06-16/
DETROIT, June 16 (Reuters) - General Motors boosted its spending on
electric and autonomous vehicles yesterday, and forecast
stronger-than-expected second-quarter profits.
The No. 1 U.S. automaker said it will now spend $35 billion through
2025 on EVs, an increase of 75% from March 2020 before the COVID-19
pandemic shut down the industry.
Shares of GM were up 1.5% in late trading on Wednesday.
GM's additional spending accelerates a global arms race among
automakers and technology companies to expand electric vehicle offerings.
Consulting firm AlixPartners on Wednesday said investments in electric
vehicles by 2025 could total $330 billion, a 41% increase from the
firm's comparable five-year investment outlook a year ago.
"EV adoption is increasing and reaching an inflection point," GM Chief
Financial Officer Paul Jacobson told reporters on a conference call.
"We want to be ready to be able to produce the capacity that we need
to meet demand over time."
The challenge for GM and other automakers will be that over the next
several years demand from consumers and businesses for electric
vehicles won't be on track to grow fast enough to sustain all the new
entries to the market, AlixPartners warned in its forecast.
As of now, electric vehicles represent about 2% of total global
vehicle sales, and will be about 24% of total sales by 2030, the
consulting firm forecast.
But EV sales would need to be 35% of total global sales by 2030 to
absorb the expected increase in production.
Electric vehicle investments are “well ahead of natural sales demand
and neutral total cost of ownership or industry profitability,”
AlixPartners cautioned in its annual outlook on the global auto
industry released on Wednesday.
Automakers are pressing government officials in the United States,
Europe and China to use public funds to offset the costs of shifting
their fleets from piston engines to batteries, particularly the
investments needed for charging infrastructure.
But forecasts for low profits and stranded capacity are not deterring
companies from charging ahead in the race to catch electric vehicle
industry leader Tesla, the world's most valuable automaker.
Demands from governments and investors to slash vehicle CO2 emissions,
and the preference for EVs among many affluent and younger buyers, are
driving the investment boom.
GM previously said it would introduce 30 new EVs globally by 2025, and
on Wednesday it said that number will now rise with the higher
spending, including additional electric commercial trucks.
As part of the spending, GM said it will build two additional U.S.
battery plants by mid-decade, joining plants in northeast Ohio and
Spring Hill, Tennessee. GM said details on where those plants will be
built will be announced later, but those plants will account for more
than half of the latest $8 billion increase in spending.
GM’s announcement comes less than a month after rival Ford Motor Co
upped its EV spending by more than a third to over $30 billion by 2030.
In January, GM set a goal to sell all its new cars, SUVs and light
pickup trucks with zero tailpipe emissions by 2035, a dramatic shift
away from gasoline and diesel engines.
GM also said it now expects to report better-than-expected results in
the second quarter despite the impact of the global chip shortage. It
now expects first-half operating earnings will be between $8.5 billion
and $9.5 billion due to strong GM Financial results and improved
vehicle production as it pulls forward chip supplies from the third
quarter. GM previously said it would significantly beat its previous
forecast for a first-half profit of $5.5 billion.
GM further said it will launch a third generation of its Hydrotec
hydrogen fuel-cell systems with greater power density and lower costs
by mid-decade.
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Marghanita da Cruz
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Email: [email protected]
Website: http://ramin.com.au
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