The Politicization of Electric Vehicles

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In This Issue

• Why Is Every EV $80,000?

• Yes, EVs Are Political

• Is China a Threat?

• From Around the Internet

• More Goodies

Why Is Every EV $80,000?

Maybe it’s just because I’ve recently driven both the Volvo EX90 and the Polestar 3, which seemingly both have an average starting point around the $80,000 mark, but it just seems like everything is that expensive in the EV space.

That electric BMW I drove a few weeks back? The sticker was over $90,000, but the starting MSRP was – you guessed it – $84,000. Everything reasonably equipped starts with an 8 these days.

Yes, that doesn’t include a litany of more affordable EVs that people are buying. But it appears like the entry point for luxury in the EV space these days is that magic number.

Luxury EV Starting Prices (with destination):

• Genesis Electrified G80 - $75,625 (with 7.5% sales tax: $81,296)

• BMW iX xDrive50 - $88,425

• Mercedes-EQ EQE 350+ - $79,050

• Polestar 3 - $74,800 (with 7.5% sales tax: $80,410)

• Volvo EX90 - $81,290

Sure, I took some liberties in adding sales tax, but the long and short of it is that $80,000 seems to be where luxury EVs sit, and while that’s not a lot of money for some, it’s a ton of money for others.

But here’s the thing: this is where automakers can really start to differentiate themselves. If every EV at this price drives and feels the same, then there’s no point in having multiple models. For some automakers, they’re taking that to heart.

The BMW i5 delivers the je ne sais quoi you expect from a higher-performance German sedan. The Genesis feels like you’re driving something even more expensive than you are. The Volvo is quiet enough at highway speed it’s almost too quiet.

Of course there are EVs that start at a lot less than the cars and SUVs I’ve mentioned here, and some of them are really quite good. Maybe I’m just getting old (fact check: true), but it seems like if you have the means you’re spoiled for choice on a new electric vehicle while cars continue to get more expensive.

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Yes, EVs Are Political

Over the weekend, according to reporting from Green Car Reports, the CEO of General Motors said she is “surprised” that EVs are political.

Some context is needed here, of course. Barra was commenting on the ridiculousness of the fact it is politicized. Why should it matter, at least politically, on what powers a vehicle? She’s right. But she also has more faith in humanity than I do.

Who can we blame for the politicization? Probably everyone. But since green energy is often discussed during political campaigns, the tribalization of our politics has created factions bent on making sure the other side loses.

Just look at the comments sections on the internet. Literally anywhere (not just on news sites or sites devoted to politics).

Additionally, former President Donald Trump has publicly waged war against EVs (and the clean energy that can and should power them), mandates relating to cleaner tailpipe emissions, and even Elon Musk himself before the billionaire decided to suck up to him.

The rhetoric from the left is a bit more nuanced, citing the need for cleaner transportation as a way to help mitigate the effects of climate change. But heck, people can’t even agree on the very realness of climate change, so here we are. In the meantime, Florida is about to be hit with potentially one of the worst hurricanes in a century.

Regardless, if you campaign on it, someone is going to politicize it for personal gain.

In 2021, General Motors said that it wouldn’t sell a vehicle without a tailpipe by the year 2035. Now, Barra said that the company will be “guided by the consumer.” She also said that heavy-duty pickup trucks aren’t part of this goal. While not surprising that the goal posts have moved, it’s also a bit frustrating when we all know that, at the end of the day, electrification will happen.

The dichotomy from automakers is interesting. There are EV-only manufacturers, like Polestar, who have no choice but to go all-in on EVs, and have plans in place to try to sustain growth. The Big 3 appear to be re-focusing their collective efforts on pickup trucks, which make them the most money, and not on electrification. But again, at the end of the day that’s where we’re going to end up, no matter what a few vocal people on the internet say.

Barra was asked if GM can move fast enough to compete on the world stage – specifically China – with new vehicles and presumably electrification.

There are tons of super smart people working at General Motors, and I believe the company could easily be a leader in electrification if it wanted to be. The Big 3 seem to be in a holding pattern, waiting for the elections in the fall, before deciding how they are going to proceed.

Of course I think this is all ridiculous. While no automaker will say that they let the U.S. elections dictate policy, who wins in November will have a dramatic effect on auto manufacturing for years to come. Plus, driving an EV doesn’t make you a “woke” “soy boy” or a “beta cuck.” Those are, of course, all comments I’ve read on my own videos on YouTube. Auto makers shouldn’t be worried about that vocal minority that attach their entire personalities to toxic traits and the vehicles they drive.

It’s unfortunate that it’s become so politicized, and I can only hope after the elections the temperature can be lowered on the hatred around a different way to power a vehicle.

But we’ll probably experience the heat death of the universe first…

Is China a Threat?

Recently, Ford CEO Jim Farley was quoted as saying that Chinese EVs are “an existential threat.” He plans on focusing on low cost materials and manufacturing techniques, and not focus as heavily on larger EVs, like the upcoming Ford Explorer that has been canceled.

Is China a threat? To an extent, yes it is. With a tariff of over 100% on imported Chinese EVs, it’s not as direct of a threat as it was. But if companies like BYD build facilities in Mexico (or even the United States), then the tariff protections no longer play a part.

Trump just said he’d put a 100% tariff on all cars coming from Mexico, but I don’t understand how he could do that legally without breaking up the United States - Mexico - Canada Agreement (USMCA). Regardless, nothing is stopping a Chinese OEM from building a plant in the United States.

The real issue lies within the cost of labor. If you’re someone who believes in labor unions and applaud the efforts made by the United Auto Workers during the last round of contract negotiations, then you should be against Chinese-made EVs. The vehicles currently produced are used using labor that’s extremely inexpensive, and the cars are heavily subsidized by the Chinese government. While they might be able to hire as cheap of labor in the U.S., Chinese automakers will have every incentive to not unionize and drive the cost of labor as low as possible.

If Farley wants to focus on inexpensive EVs, I welcome that. Let’s go ahead and put a battery in the Ford Maverick. Let’s bring back a Focus or even a Fiesta with an EV battery. Let’s stop raising the price of the base F-150 Lightning. Let’s work with Volkswagen to bring some of those MEB cars (like the Polestar 2… I mean Ford Capri) over here.

Yes, I know the MEB-based Ford Explorer is much smaller than the U.S.-spec Explorer, but if you’re going to cancel the big EV Explorer, it’s still fine to lean on that brand equity and market the smaller one here. It might create some confusion, but it’d be no more difficult than convincing people that an EV crossover is a Mustang.

But the Fiesta and Focus didn’t really work here long term because customer tastes have gravitated to larger cars – specifically SUVs and crossovers. Sure, it’s easy to be impressed by a small, Chinese electric car on the surface, but unless it’s what customers want in the United States then it’s kind of pointless to try to bring something like that here.

My advice? Keep working on battery technology. Let’s get the price of batteries cheaper so that you can keep putting them in more and more vehicles. Don’t cancel electrifying the bigger vehicles because it’s too hard or too expensive. Figure out how to do it for less, and figure out how to do it easier. Some of the best engineering talent in the world exists right here in the United States. Surely we can figure this out?

From Around the Internet

Island Power Grid - This excellent explainer breaks down why the power grid in Hawai’i is incredibly difficult to keep reliable, and how it’ll be a test bed for larger-scale decarbonization efforts.

Silverado EV Range - Tech reviewer MKBHD spent some time in the Silverado EV RST and shares that he was able to get 470 miles of range on a single charge. He better! The battery pack is the size of nearly 4 regular EVs. Still, it’s important for EVs to meet or exceed EPA-rated range.

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