EV Mandates and Are People Smart?

Before I get into it for this issue, there’s something I want to address. The mandate for this newsletter is to talk about the automotive industry in a more analytical way, based on my experience. That means there’s going to be a lot of opinion on these pages. While I do write about the industry in a reporting sense — sometimes — don’t expect these pages to be “completely unbiased.” Of course, nobody is ever completely unbiased, and biased political opinion is the de rigueur of many places that call themselves “news.”

I also don’t have a capital J journalism degree. In fact, I have an MBA. It’s unlikely I’d ever join a union, and I’m a capitalist. My experience and education in managing businesses, especially influenced by the manufacturing sector, colors my opinion of chief executives like Elon Musk and how he chooses to run his companies.

As for Elon Musk himself, we wouldn’t be talking about electric cars today without him being part of the process. While he didn’t start Tesla, he is the reason the company is successful. He also managed to do a great job at convincing people that build quality doesn’t matter and that nobody else cares about saving humanity other than him. So the man isn’t perfect.

But Tesla in 2024 is run by an executive who spends an appreciable amount of time not running Tesla, and using the megaphone afforded to him by buying Twitter to pump the stock by talking about things that may or may not happen. TSLA has been described as a meme stock by some, and it’s hard to argue with that.

The point is, I’ll link to sources. I’ll talk about news. I’ll talk about how I feel and what I think, because I believe my time covering this business gives me insight that people who don’t cover it day in and day out don’t have. If that isn’t what you thought you signed up for, I won’t be offended if you unsubscribe.

In This Issue

• Should There Be EV Mandates?

• Dear PR Professionals: People Aren’t Smart

• Consumers Less Likely To Purchase An EV This Year

  • Battery Replacement Misinformation

  • Public Charging Misinformation

• The Reviews Are In

• More Goodies

Should There Be EV Mandates?

Right now, there are no active EV mandates in place in the United States. There’s talk about having them in the future, and there might even be guidance and potential future legislation on it, but as long as you can go out today and buy a Jeep Wrangler with a gas-guzzling 392 HEMI V-8 in it, there’s no real EV mandate.

(Note: I’ve driven the 392 Wrangler. It’s a ton of fun. I also recall having to fill the tank a few times during my week with it.)

Of course, you wouldn’t necessarily know that if you believe the misinformation out there. While I go into that later in this very post, I want to address whether or not there should be mandated EV adoption.

There are some things that definitely need to happen before an EV mandate could happen. The affordability of cars in general needs to be addressed more, as the average transaction price of new car is nearing $50,000. Transportation can’t just be for the better off, and since we don’t have public transit infrastructure in place to help, the automobile remains the most effective way for someone to get back and forth to a job.

Additionally, public charging needs to improve. While most EV owners charge at home or at work, if there is any form of real mandate in place there needs to be improved public charging. This doesn’t need to come in the form of DCFC, either, but improved level two options for street parking, parking structures, and apartment complexes.

And yes, there are some people who go on RT (isn’t that the state propaganda arm of Vladimir Putin?) and say that the grid can’t handle more EVs, but that’s also categorically false. My team at EV Pulse did research on the topic and you can watch it below.

I think we all can agree that lead is bad, and that you shouldn’t ingest lead. That’s why gasoline right now is sold almost everywhere in the unleaded variety. It was part of the Clean Air Act, signed by Nixon, and went fully into effect in 1996. It turns out, exposure to leaded gasoline can cause a lower IQ. It seems like banning something for public health reasons would be the role of the government, would it not?

So lead is bad. Today, we’re dealing with climate change caused by an increase in greenhouse gas emissions that are largely linked to human activity. We already know that electric vehicles are cleaner than gasoline-powered vehicles over the entire life cycle, so you’d think that’d be a good start?

Yes, I know that mining is dirty. And there are issues around how those raw materials are mined. Nothing is perfect. But all of the emissions in electric vehicle production is front-loaded, so if you look at just manufacturing you might think EVs are dirty little buggers. But over the entire cradle-to-grave, EVs are cleaner and continue to become more cleaner.

Increased CO₂ emissions can cause a litany of health problems, some of which we’re likely only learning about now. Who knows what the long-term affects will be? Additionally, rising sea levels could transform cities like Miami into coral reefs before the end of the century.

There are other pollution methods that are just as bad as the automobile, such as commercial food production and several large-scale industrial polluters, but being that I focus on vehicles I believe that vehicles also need to be part of the solution.

But you could consider cutting meat out of your diet, at least a little bit. According to EarthDay.org, if the entire United States cut meat and cheese out of their diet just ONE day a week, it’d be like not driving 91 billion miles – or basically taking 7.6 million cars off the road.

However, the argument is should there be an EV mandate? In parts of the world, it will definitely be a thing. There’ll be cities in Europe where you can’t drive into them if you’re in a vehicle that produces tailpipe emissions. That very likely will happen here in places like New York, though I’d also argue Manhattan isn’t the best place for a car to begin with.

There is long-standing precedent for the federal government to enact legislation to protect citizens, and if Congress were to ever become productive again it’s very possible some future mandates will be put on the books.

But as we all know, the United States Congress is one of the most inept public bodies anywhere on the planet, so it doesn’t seem likely to happen anytime soon.

If we can solve some of the affordability and infrastructure problems, though, I’d likely support a ban. Actually, I’d be indifferent towards a ban if infrastructure was in place. Why? The average age of a car on the road is over a decade old. A ban going into affect tomorrow would likely not make a difference until into the 2030s. Plus, for many cars on the road, the driving experience is similar. If you’re going to sit in rush hour traffic listening to tunes while riding the brake, what does it matter what is powering your vehicle? I can see why people identify themselves with certain sports or luxury cars, especially the engines that power them, but there’s no more “passion” or “soul” in a modern Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla.

Car buyers want good, reliable cars. That’s what automakers deliver. At the end of the day it doesn’t matter what powers them.

Dear PR Professionals: People Aren’t Smart

This isn’t a rant to PR professionals, but rather a reminder that the general public might not know as much as you think they know. Or they might not know what you want them to know.

Recently, on my EV Pulse publication’s YouTube channel, Senior Editor Craig Cole interviewed Matt McAlear. He’s the new Dodge brand CEO in North America. He’s been in the role since sometime in June, 2024.

I feel like I’ve known him for a long time, and he’s always pleasant to interact with and knows his stuff. Don’t get me wrong, though. I do think it’s appropriate to criticize a CEO, especially when the criticism is made in good faith.

Here’s the interview mentioned:

You’d think that the product, which was introduced long before McAlear became brand CEO, wouldn’t be directly associated to McAlear. But the comments section of this video suggests otherwise.

“If this guy can run a car company then I can rule the world, how can he call himself a car guy and keep a straight face?” – @GevXander

“Matt. You let us all down..” – @KyTyko

“You are going to be a very short term CEO.” – @mistersecret88

“We miss you, Tim.” – @superrones3952

Of course, Dodge owners are probably some of the most reluctant to go EV considering that up until the beginning of this year basically everything had a Hellcat in it. But assigning all the blame on the current CEO is ridiculous and silly.

Was this product why Kuniskis left? It seems unlikely, but you can go ask him if you want. With so much shaking up of brand executives recently at Stellantis, I also wouldn’t be surprised if it wasn’t his choice to leave.

We all know how businesses operate. Automotive companies are making plans years in advance. But just a reminder when you’re drawing up your communications plans, don’t expect people to know or understand what’s going on.

I do believe it’s on us, as journalists, to not only report fairly but to provide the appropriate context for our audiences. And I do try to do that when I can. But also remember that when there’s someone in the room when you’re planning stuff out who says “but people are going to say [insert random crazy stuff here],” that person is probably right.

Consumers Less Likely To Purchase An EV This Year

According to the EY Mobility Consumer Index, and shared by Automotive News, people are 14 percentage points less likely to buy an electric vehicle this year than they were last year.

No kidding.

Some of the top list of concerns allegedly is the lack of public chargers and expensive battery replacement. Guess what? All of that anti-EV propaganda is working.

Battery Replacement Misinformation

Here is a video where a Canadian automotive content creator broke an “exclusive” where replacing the Ioniq five battery was $60,000 CAD to replace.

Of course, this video ends up being the most popular video on their channel because “if it bleeds, it leads.” If it’s something that fits the narrative that EVs are evil – and not just a different form of propulsion – it’ll get a ton of views.

And guess what? That’s a really scary headline. But if you dig a little deeper, you’ll quickly realize one thing: the owner didn’t have to pay that.

The $60,000 CAD price was the price on the dealer parts counter computer set by Hyundai. Is it the actual cost of replacement? Maybe. Is it just a made up number? Maybe. These things aren’t just off-the-shelf retail replacements you buy at AutoZone.

Here’s the thing: If it’s a defective battery, it’ll be covered by the OEM factory warranty. Most EVs on the road right now are years and years away from coming out of that warranty. In the meantime, companies are working hard to develop ways to refurbish and recycle batteries. I recently toured Cox Automotive’s EV Battery Solutions facility and it’s really impressive.

If the battery is damaged in an accident, that’s what insurance is for. “But insurance is already really high on EVs,” I hear you say. If you look at insurance averages, yes EVs are more expensive to repair on average. Why? Gigacasting. Tesla’s insistent use of this manufacturing process might save the company a few bucks per car sold, but it significantly increases the cost of repairs if the customer needs to get a car fixed. Since Tesla is the largest EV maker in the country by far, its repair costs skew the overall average.

Not every EV automaker is giga- or mega-casting everything. Recently, Magna’s CEO told me he’s not keen on the idea of a single large castings and the machines needed to handle it.

Public Charging Misinformation

Public charging, especially DC fast charging, could be better. But the truth of the matter is that EV owners are charging at home or at work. And if you don’t have the ability to charge at home or at work, you’re probably going to have a bad time with owning an EV right now.

Please re-read that paragraph again, so you completely understand my stance. Got it? Carry on. 😃

In the future, when there is street parking EV charging, like what is happening in LA right now, then things might change. But it’s a bit more complicated to set up here than it is in Europe, where voltage differs.

But when you have people out there telling you EVs charge slowly when fundamentally not understanding how an EV works or why batteries charge they way they do, people start to think that EVs aren’t a good idea and that gas-powered cars are the way to go until the end of time.

For the record, if you start charging at 70% you’ll never hit the peak DCFC rate. Also, who stops at a gas station with nearly three quarters of a tank full and refills?

Are EVs perfect? Of course not! Are they for everyone? Of course not! But there are people out there literally sowing misinformation for the sake of clicks under the guise of “independent journalism” and it’s becoming successful in swaying public opinion.

But why let facts get in a way of a good story?

(Note: I originally planned on linking to a few of my colleagues who were writing this misinformation, and going on places like RT to share it, but I opted against it. Here’s the thing, there’s a ton of this misinformation out there, and it’s coming for all sorts of places. Much of it is cherry-picked facts twisted and bent to fit a narrative that they don’t make sense or they don’t work. Electric propulsion is just a new and different way to power a car, but because being against it can make people more money than covering the industry in good faith, they choose to cover it in a way to make more money.)

The Reviews Are In

Reviews are already “pouring in” for The Kirchner Report. Here’s one from BlueSky. This newsletter is on BlueSky, by the way.

Friend Tom Appel made this suggestion over on LinkedIn…

Well, friend, have I got a treat for you!

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