Corporations jump ship on EVs

Major carmakers are increasingly abandoning plans that focus on electric vehicles as demand for EVs continues to plummet.

Mercedes-Benz recently reversed an ambitious pledge to sell only electric cars by 2030, The Verge reported last week. According to new projections, EVs are expected to comprise up to 50% of the company’s total sales in the next decade.

“The company plans to be in a position to cater to different customer needs, whether it’s an all-electric drivetrain or an electrified combustion engine, until well into the 2030s,” Mercedes said in an earnings statement.

Mercedes Chief Executive Ola Kaellenius confirmed that EV sales are “not going to be 100% in 2030, obviously.”

This week Apple ditched Project Titan, a multi-billion dollar, decade-long effort to enter the EV market. The corporation had plans to manufacture EV batteries and build fully autonomous electric cars, but lower-than-expected market demand and Tesla’s market dominance have the tech giant abandoning its vision. Approximately 2,000 employees will either be transferred to Apple’s AI department or will be laid off in the coming weeks, reported the Wall Street Journal.

Aston Martin is also putting its EV project on hold. The luxury automaker announced this week that the release of its battery-operated “supercar” will be delayed until 2026 due in part to failing demand.

“Demand, certainly at an Aston Martin price point, is not what we thought it was going to be two years ago,” Aston Martin Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll said.

In December Ford cut production of its flagship EV by 50%, also citing low demand. The auto giant instructed its assembly plant in Dearborn, Michigan to halve its monthly quota for the all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck from 3,200 units to 1,600 units per month.

Perhaps in reaction to this change in the market, the Biden administration is easing its campaign to force all Americans to buy EVs. In April last year the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new rules mandating that two out of every three cars in the US be electric by 2032. Although the EPA is not allowed to impose legal limits on automakers, the regulations imposed such strict emissions criteria that automakers would have to make sure that two-thirds of their vehicles are electric in order to comply.

In response, the House in December approved the bipartisan Choice in Automobile Retail Sales Act (CARS) which prevents the EPA from “finalizing, implementing, or enforcing a proposed rule with respect to emissions from vehicles, and for other purposes.” 

Now the Biden administration has reportedly toned down its EV push and will allow carmakers to increase EV sales more gradually, according to the New York Times.