The future of the automotive industry is electrified. In 2020, sales of electric cars rose by 43% during the pandemic, despite overall car sales slumping by a fifth. Tesla led the sales, followed closely by Volkswagen.
In November 2020, the UK announced a ban on new petrol and diesel cars 2030, although some hybrids will be allowed until 2035. This is ten years earlier than anticipated and car manufacturers will need to react quickly to remain competitive. The Prime Minister announced that the UK government will spend £2.8bn on electric car manufacturing which includes charging points and creating long-lasting batteries in UK gigafactories.
The question remains, what does the future hold for traditional car manufacturers and will they look to adopt the electric trend shaping the current climate? As it stands, a move into electric or hybrid-models may be the only solution to compete against Tesla and a host of new EV start-ups.
General Motors:
Earlier this year, General Motors, the largest US automaker announced that it would commit to an “all-electric” future by 2035 in which it envisages phasing out of gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles globally.
GM boss Mary Berra said the firm will invest $27 billion (£20bn) in developing electric and autonomous vehicles in the next five years, a rise from a previously announced investment of $20bn. The firm will introduce 30 all-electric models worldwide by 2025 and says 40% of its US models offered will be battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) by that date.
Stellaris:
Stellaris also has plans to electrify.
Stellaris, a 2021 merger between Groupe PSA and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, now owns Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Mopar, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, and Vauxhall. The merger created the world’s fourth-largest carmaker behind Toyota, Volkswagen Group, and Ford.
Stellaris has planned to include 10 new hybrid, plug-in hybrid, or all-electric models this year, with an array of hybrid cars through 2025, including 10 new models in 2021.
Ford:
Ford also plans to make all of its cars sold in Europe electric by 2030. The US firm has pledged to spend $1bn converting a plant in Cologne to become its first electric vehicle facility in Europe. It has promised to start rolling its first all-electric cars off of the production line by 2023.
Daimler:
Daimler appears to be following suit.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Mercedes-Benz, which is owned by Daimler AG, says that by the end of the decade it will make as much money from its electric vehicles as it does from its luxury combustion engine models. It has pledged to invest more than €10bn into the expansion of its electric fleet at Mercedes-Benz. So far, it appears that this is holding since, at the start of 2021, the sale of electric Mercedes-Benz had tripled.
Tata Motors:
The Jaguar Land Rover, owned by the Indian conglomerate Tata Motors, has also pledged to make Jaguar electric-only by 2025. It has announced that it would end mass production of cars at its historic Castle Bromwich Plant.
Land Rover brand will launch six pure electric cars within the next five years, although it will continue to offer hybrid cars combining internal combustion engines with batteries until about 2036.
Toyota:
Toyota, which also owns Lexus, has also made its pledge to electrify.
Toyota plans to unveil an entirely electric vehicle into Europe and the US in the coming months, as well as a solid-state battery EV in the early 2020s. Toyota is one of the last to jump into the world of EVs but this is not because it lacked the technology, rather its hybrid technology allowed it to hit targeted emissions.
The race to electrify comes from a shift in political attitude. Biden pledged in the early days of his administration that he will replace the entire federal fleet with electric vehicles and that these vehicles will be manufactured in the US. The 2016 Paris Agreement also has a part to play in the green motoring revolution because it involves a commitment to reduce CO2 emissions. The electricity used to power the new electric cars can be generated using both wind and solar power, making it the cleanest option for vehicles in the future.
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