The Biden administration has a problem with the average American who wants nothing more than to be left alone. The administration wants to run our lives. Count the ways. It’s a long list that includes the displacement of cars powered by internal combustion engines by electric vehicles. We love the former and reject the latter.
They therefore intend to force EVs down our throat. It’s for our own good! (Not.)
Yesterday the EPA promulgated its rule to this effect. Readers can find the EPA summary and links to related materials here (press release here).
This way madness lies. The Wall Street Journal finds the bright side in the downside — i.e., the unworkability of the mandate:
EVs made up less than 8% of new auto sales last year, and more than half were Teslas. They accounted for less than 4% of General Motors and Ford sales. Foreign luxury auto makers such as BMW (12.5%), Mercedes (11.4%) and Porsche (10%) will have an easier time meeting the Biden mandates because their affluent customers can more easily afford EVs.
The average price of a new EV is roughly $50,000, and only two cost less than $40,000 as of December: the Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf. Some makers have slashed EV prices to boost sales, but they are also losing money. Ford ran an operating loss of $4.7 billion on its EV business in 2023, equivalent to $64,731 per EV sold.
The companies are heavily subsidizing EVs with profits from gas-powered cars. This means middle-class Americans in Fargo are paying more for gas-powered cars so the affluent in Napa Valley can buy cheaper EVs. This cost-shift won’t be financially sustainable as the Biden mandate ramps up, and it may not be politically sustainable either.
There is more in the Journal editorial and much more that can and should be said. What is to be done? These people are nuts and they must be defeated.
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