EV show stoppers

Isssue #232, Dec 27, 2023

The slow down in electric vehicle (EV) sale in the US is widely reported in media, with the usual concerns of price, range and charging infrastructure, prompting car makers to slow down production. One reason could be the slow pace of charging infrastructure setup. As if on clue, the valuation of charging station firms took a hit. However, on the positive side, open collaboration could be the way to accelerate the setup of charging infra. The issue is not just for new car sale, but used car sale too - there is a lack of subsidies, price war and customers postponing the decision to buy. Japan's truck driver shortage issue may have to be addressed by relaxing the norms for drivers or autonomous trucks in the medium to long term. Below are some show stoppers faced by the EV industry and how manufacturers are addressing them.

Cooling off EV transition

The Biden administration’s push to entice more Americans to buy EVs is falling short of expectations as consumers fret over prices, battery range and a lack of charging stations. U.S. sales of fully electric cars are still growing at a fast clip — they are up by more than 50 percent this year over 2022 — but automakers say growth has slowed in recent months, prompting them to trim their production plans and pause some investments. - Washington Post

Accelerating charging infra

The White House has set a goal of building a network of at least 500,000 public chargers by 2030, but researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have projected that the US will need more than one million public charging ports by the end of the decade. Ben Shapiro, a researcher at RMI, a nonprofit that promotes the energy transition, said the country needed to accelerate the pace of new charging infrastructure considerably. - New York Times

Link: Slow rollout of national charging system could hinder E.V. adoption

The companies that install and operate electric-vehicle charging networks are in the middle of a building boom, but their share prices are sputtering. EV charging companies have fallen from lofty valuations as concerns mount about their profitability. - WSJ

Investors sour on EV charging companies

Open collaboration for faster charging infra

An open collaboration approach would bridge knowledge gaps and drive greater compatibility, without affecting competition. It would entail sharing of insights that would enable CPOs deploy chargers where the customers are asking for it, and co-development of protocols that make systems compatible for EV owners across the country. Open collaboration can create frameworks for advocacy and drive action across stakeholders, which no individual player alone can manage effectively at the scale that is needed. - ET Auto

Sale of used EVs

The shift away from cars with dirty combustion engines is running into a new hurdle: drivers don’t want to buy used EVs, and that’s undermining the market for new ones, too. In the $1.2 trillion secondhand market, prices for battery-powered cars are falling faster than for their combustion-engine cousins. Buyers are shunning them due to a lack of subsidies, a desire to wait for better technology and continued shortfalls in charging infrastructures. A fierce price war sparked by Tesla and competitive Chinese models are further depressing values of new and used cars alike, threatening earnings at rivals. - Bloomberg

Japan's "2024 problem"

Japan’s trucking industry is a crucial cog in its economy. But it, and its drivers, are under immense strain. To improve job conditions and make the work more appealing, the government is moving to cap overtime for the first time next year, easing the punishing hours that have long defined trucking in Japan. Addressing that problem will potentially disrupt the nation’s entire logistics system. It is unlikely that enough drivers can be hired anytime soon to make up for the lost overtime hours. The shortfall could leave supermarket shelves bare of some items and threaten the speedy door-to-door shipping to which Japanese people are accustomed. Officials are calling it the “2024 problem.” - New York Times

Link: How a crisis in truck driving could change life in Japan

Amazon said car buyers would be able to finance and purchase Hyundai vehicles on its platform starting in 2024. As the go-to company for toilet paper and batteries aiming to make online car purchases as seamless as getting everyday essentials, can it sell cars? - WSJ

Amazon is a go-To for toilet paper and batteries. Can it sell cars?