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Fiskar's Karma electric car uses plug in technology but will cost $80,000. It is nearing commercial production with company estimates of 15,000 vehicle sales. The price is simply too high for large scale use.

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BYD electric car Chinese automaker has doubled sales in 2022 and is surging past Tesla in China. Most of its component makers are located in Shenzen which were not affected by the lockdowns in 2022, compared to its competitors VW and Tesla with parts makers in Shanghai area. BYD was a pioneer in making batteries for cars in China, which gives it a considerable advantage over VW and Tesla which source the batteries from outside.

Warren Buffett invested 210 million for 7.7% of BYD in 2008. Other US investors also invested in BYD.

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The big difference between the US at about 1.2 million electric car sales and China at over 9 million in the last year is that companies such as BYD have found away to come up new battery technology that uses different more accessible materials. BYD's research into new batteries came up with a iron phosphate battery as shown on articles on BYD in 2024 to substitute for less available lithium and cobalt. On one of its models BYD is offering a price of $11000. This attracts a different kind of buyer than what American makers are reaching. Another plus for BYD is that while sales are stalling in the US because of battery range and lack of charging station access, BYD also sells a large number of hybrid electric cars that help urban dwellers go back to their homes in the countryside. BYD also manufactures two thirds of its parts internally producing needed savings. China is also pushing electric cars with government subsidies and government is working hand in hand with industry in a concerted effort for two decades. Compare that with US where the Biden administration was the first to start changing the way the US does business to put government industry cooperation and working together at the heart of the way of doing things. The US could learn from other nations and adapt its own industrial and modernization efforts in the world after the pandemic and as supply chains are being renewed and restructured. Every nation can learn from its peers. ...

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The vehicle scrapping policy gets more financing in the 2023 Indian budget. This will have the effect of increasing car sales and jobs as newer cars, buses and other vehicles are put on the road. By increasing electric vehicles it is a fight for climate change prevention. The simple act of removing fossil fuel guzzling older vehicles with newer fuel efficient vehicles cuts oil use and cuts oil import costs. Doing this on scale is what will help in the fight for climate change. In just one move India will remove about 1 million buses, trucks and transport vehicles used by federal and state governments by April 1, 2023.

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BYD and Brilliance Auto display their cars on the main floor of the Detroit Auto Show. BYD plans to sell an electric crossover vehicle with a 250 mile range and a plug in hybrid vehicle by 2011. See the link to its electric car development ahead of rivals Toyota and GM. It introduced an electric car in China recently, and is the first to bring one out.

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The cost of electric and hybrid cars, with the added factor of electricity shortages, make 'green cars' a rare sight on Indian roads. The Prius in India costs $40,000. Only 12,000 battery powered scooters and motorcycles were sold in 2010. With the right economics and convenience the situation could change. About 1 million compressed natural gas vehicles are on Indian roads, according to Asian NGV. This is because CNG vehicles are similiar in price to gasoline vehicles and the switch to CNG is inexpensive for regular vehicles.

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A large number of utility companies ( most of the big companies like Duke, AEP, Consolidated Edison, DTE, Edison, PG&E and so on) in the USA are working with General Motors to come up with the whole system for putting electric cars on the road and to work out all the issues relating to electricity recharging of the batteries in the cars. Even though coal is used to generate this electricity it reduces overall emissions as the electric plants burn coal with lower emisssions than the internal combustion engine burns gasoline. Charging the cars at night might be attractive as the utilities might find that this is more efficient for them as they may be able to increase production at power plants with extra capacity.

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China's BYD faces competition in electric car batteries from the likes of Sanyo-Panasonic with joint venture with Toyota to develop hybrid and electric car batteries. And as asupplier for Honda Motor, Ford Motor and Peugeot-Cotroen

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Peter Goodman who covers the consequences in the lives of ordinary people of the industrial changes going on around us, gives this report from Michigan. He shows how today's Michigan, was home to Henry Ford's automobile plants that made it a major part of the industrial revolution in the US after 1910, when Ford's first assembly line manufacturing was set up in Highland Park, Detroit. Industrial growth till 1960 made the US the leading industrial nation in the world. Followed by Japanese imports and auto manufacturing shifting to Asia and Mexico, that led to deindustrialization and neglect in Michigan and the midwestern US.  Key aspects of resurgence today is coming from lessons learned in the period of deindustrialization. From labor and management not working together, from huge pension obligations and costs that had to be overcome, that made existing wage and cost structures uncompetitive with Asian manufacturing. Labor concessions in the last decade have made a rearrangement of cost structure possible, yet along with the financial crisis of 2008 further worsened worker incomes. The first steps of a return for Michigan to its role in the early industrialization of America, the new labor contract negotiated in 2023, the support of president Biden and the government, the investment in the new technology of electric car manufacturing by Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. Goodman shows how the state, federal government, community colleges and other educational institutions training workers and students, and car companies are working together to promote interests of workers and communities. There is uncertainty created about the fewer parts in the electric car manufacturing process, automation advances, and fewer jobs. Yet the process is a transition over many years and this is accepted by the Biden administration and by the industry as it responds to slower demand for electric cars in 2024. This provides the time to bring up new training programs for workers, enable the funding of new research into battery technologies that would bring down the cost and make electric car prices accessible to the wider population. Uncertainty and fears about the transition are counteracted by the effort the Biden administration is making to bring up all manufacturing and to make large investments in American manufacturing.   ...

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Decades of investment in car manufacturing and EV's is paying off for China. It now exports 5.7 million cars of which 1.7 million are EV's. EV exports are twice that of Germany. Car production capacity in China surged as the Chinese market expanded to be larger than Europe and the US combined. The production capacity is twice the size of the domestic market- 40 million gasoline cars from 100 factories.  As domestic sales have slowed down there is a push for exporting this excess capacity. The US and the EU are imposing tariffs on Chinese cars to protect their domestic manufacturing. The push to become a leader dates back to premier Wen Jiabao 20003-2013. Wen chose Audi engineer Wan Gang as minister of science and technology, and gave him the task of making China the leader in electric vehicles. Manufacturers were given subsidies, tax breaks, cheap land and electricity. By one estimate the EV manufacturers and battery makers in China received $230 billion in subsidies since 2009.  This is one reason the EU and the US are imposing tariffs to protect their domestic manufacturers. As the shift to EV's continues in China- half of the cars in 2024 EV's- the gasoline models are shipped overseas. China has now replaced the western brands in Russia with it's gasoline models.  China makes great savings in batteries as it controls the supply chain in batteries. It makes EV's at 30% lower cost with these efficiencies. ...

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Daimler CEO Zietsche, says he sees global demand for all electric cars or electric hybrids at 1-5% of total demand by 2020. This was a cautious and measured view for Merceds Benz. Benz joined BYD of China in a joint electric car venture in China, with an investment of $90 million. This is in conrtrast to the view of Nissan's Ghosn, who sees the demand closer to 10% by 2020 for electric cars. Nissan plans to produce 500,000 Leaf electric cars by 2012.

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Electric vehicles (EV's) get a tax credit under the Biden Climate Bill also called the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. To qualify for the tax credit of upto $7500 buyers of EV's have to meet income and other requirements. Only cars with final assembly in the US qualify for the tax credit which should help boost American EV manufacturing capabilities and technology. This removes the problem of automobile job losses for factories shipped overseas.  EV's must not be priced above $25,000 for 2 year used cars, and $55,000 for new cars. SUV's can go upto $80,000. Income limits (as AGI) are $300,000 for joint filers, 150,000 for single filers for new cars. For old cars it is $150,000 for joint filers and $75,000 for single filers.

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New York, Washington and Illinois have lost manufacturing as Florida, Texas and Arizona have gained over the last 5 years. Manufacturing continues to make gains in Tennessee, Kentucky and North Carolina. Caterpillar is moving its manufacturing headquarters to Texas from its home state of Illinois. Ford is making $11.4 billion investment in electric cars in Tennessee and Kentucky.

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Japan, the US and the EU are lagging behind in electric car manufacturing as China moves ahead, as shown here in the NYT.

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This story in WSJ says China may have a lead in electric car battery sales in 2024 and beyond. China is investing heavily in battery plants and EV plants in Europe and the US. This would help China meet the restrictions on import of electric vehicles from China by the Biden administration. CATL increased its market share in Europe from 10% to 24%. Sales of EV vehicles in China went up by 37% in the first 9 months of 2023, and China is the top exporter of electric vehicles. CATL's electric battery sales in Europe doubled compared to 60% for LG. And in excluding China sales CATL has caught up with LG both having 28% of the market.

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Did you know that SUV's are the second largest source of emissions after Power. We hear a lot about aviation which is much smaller but little about SUV's in the impact on climate change. SUV's make up about 40% of cars in Britain, and higher in the U.S. at 43%, 40% worldwide an astounding sixfold increase from 32 million to 200 million since 2010. People may even be driving an SUV and talking a lot about climate change.

Any savings from electric cars expected to grow from 2 million to 20 million by 2030  will be offset by more SUV's on the road. This is the view of the International Energy Agency in its recent report. Again all the talk about electric cars as a way to address climate change misses what is really happening in automobiles. Even in China the SUV's make up 42% of sales, and in India 30%. It is more profitable to make SUV's and they are harder to electrify adding 25% to energy consumed compared to cars. 

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The new price of the Leaf is $35,200 for the 2012 model year as more features were made standard by Nissan. The Leaf will now cost $27,700 after a $7,500 federal tax credit in the U.S. The higher price also reflects the stronger yen as the Leaf is made in Japan. Every Leaf is sold from a waiting list, with sales in only some states- including Arizona, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington. Nissan's marketing chief, Brian Carolin, says about 1000 vehicles a month will be sold for the remainder of 2011. The average customer of the Leaf drives the car with an all electric range of 75 miles, for 30 miles each day and charges it for 3 hours a day. Average household income is $140,000. The 2012 standard model comes with a cold weather package, heated seats, battery warmer and steering wheel, and a fast charging arrangement that gets it recharged in 30 minutes, instead of the 8 hours.