We’ve long known that left-leaning Green New Dealers want our only driving options to be an electric car, truck or SUV. And we’ve seen their increasingly successful efforts to force their will on everyone through the political process. But at least consumers had a choice and could rely on the car manufacturers to offer a number of conventional, fossil-fuel powered vehicles. Well, those days may be coming to an end.
General Motors recently announced that by 2025—just five years away—40 percent of its vehicle line-up will be electric.
Now, that transition would make sense if consumers were demanding more electric cars and trucks—but they aren’t.
According to the Associated Press, U.S. carmakers sold just over 17 million new cars, trucks and SUVs in 2019. Electric vehicle (EV) sales were just 236,000 of that number.
While EV sales have been climbing for several years, they're only 1.4 percent of total U.S. vehicle sales.
What industry decides to dedicate 40 percent of its product line for only 1.4 percent of the market? But, the industry may just be reading the political tea leaves.
The auto industry had been pushing back against California Governor Gavin Newsom’s stricter emissions standards and efforts to phase out fossil-fuel powered vehicles by 2035.
But with a Joe Biden victory, it appears the fight is over. According to Cal Matters reporter Rachel Becker, “General Motors chairman and CEO Mary Barra said the company was immediately pulling its support from the Trump administration in court battles against California and environmental groups because it supports President-elect Joe Biden’s plans to expand electrification of cars.”
Barra sent a white-flag letter to environmental groups stating, “Given this shared enthusiasm and the President-elect’s call to bring the country back together, we believe there is now a path to achieve agreement on a national standard and complementary policies to accelerate the electrification of the light-duty transportation sector.”
The problem is the vast majority of consumers, using their own money, don’t currently choose EVs—even with a taxpayer-funded tax credit of up to $7,500. New Tesla’s are no longer eligible for the credit.
So what happens if carmakers begin making millions of EVs that consumers don’t want? Progressive politicians will begin mandating their purchase, as Newsom is trying to do.
That government support, both politically and financially, helps explain why Tesla’s valuation has surged to $500 billion—2.5 times that of Toyota and eight times the valuation of GM—even though its 2019 U.S. sales were fewer than 200,000 vehicles.
It’s the beginning of a new era in America’s longtime love affair with the car. Americans used to dream about buying the car they really wanted.
Now liberal politicians dream about forcing you to buy the car they want you to have.
November 24, 2020