The US Is Catching Up In the EV Race

Europe has overtaken China as the world's biggest EV market. Encouraged by subsidies and offerings, consumers bought EVs at a record pace last year, nearly doubling the continent's share of global new electric car sales to 43%. But this success is largely owed to government support programs, some of which will expire this year which is why analysts warn the momentum could be reversed if and when that support is withdrawn. Meanwhile, the U.S. is going full speed ahead and unlike Europe, the US market is not as sensitive to government and company discounts.

The US is "waking up"

Around 65 new EV models launched in Europe last year which is twice as many as in China, with another 99 scheduled to hit the market this year. North America saw 15 launches last year, but 64 are planned for this year. What happened with Europe is that manufacturers had the right products to offer such as Volkswagen AG VWAGY, Europe's biggest automaker, with its ID.3 and ID.4 models. But, the US is well on its way to catch up as legacy automakers are set to being rolling out electric versions of their iconic models. General Motors GM went as far as making a Super Bowl ad starring Will Ferrell, who called on American consumers to buy EVs and crush Norway that ended up as the world's biggest EV market per capita last year.

Legacy automakers are catching up

GM's EVs are starting to take shape with the new lower-priced Chevy Bolts, the first in its lineup of ‘affordable' EVs. Ford Motor F vowed to sell only EVs in Europe and the UK by 2030, making it the largest automaker to commit to all-electric sales on the continent by that timeframe with its first Mustang Mach-E arriving hitting dealerships. Although this vehicle needs to convince Wall Street that Ford is headed in the right direction, Ford's most eagerly anticipated EV, the electric F-150 is a year away.

Electric pickups are coming

Until recently, the EV revolution was limited to small vehicles, with the most popular vehicles in the US, pickups and SUVs, absent from the offerings. But that is about to change this year as advances in technology made it more affordable to insert batteries into heavier vehicles, with many pickups due to hit the market over the next 12 to 24 months.

This includes the revived Hammer for GM as well as new entrants like Rivian R1T, Atlis XT pickup and Hercules Alpha, which have partnered with innovative truck tonneau cover manufacturer Worksport LTD WKSP to configure its TerraVis system solar charging and power storage system into their anticipated models. The technology received its first trademark registration in China in February, and the company announced this morning its strategic manufacturing expansion with Tier-1 and Tier-2 OEM manufacturing powerhouses in Canada to expand its manufacturing into North American state-of-the-art facilities.

Takeaway

While most industry leaders welcome government efforts to fuel new technology markets such as EVs, automakers worry that subsidies will only have a short-term impact. A global adoption without broader structural changes won't create a self-sustaining market. What governments should focus on is developing the supporting infrastructure such as charging stations.

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