Big SUV And Pickup Sales Undermining EV Emissions Gains

EVs gross sales have been on the rise. We’re nonetheless a bit off from mass adoption however we’re slowly getting there. With these EV positive aspects come positive aspects in curbing carbon emissions. However there’s an issue as The Conversation factors out. Gross sales of huge ass vehicles and SUVs with dangerous gasoline mileage are offsetting the positive aspects made by EV adoption.

Whereas some automakers are touting EV gross sales, the ugly underside of these gross sales is that they’re on the backs of pickups and SUVs. Firms like Ford as an illustration. Ford says it’s the No. 2 EV automaker within the US with sales of the F-150-Lightning and Mustang Mach-E in August. However dig deeper into these gross sales and also you’ll see that over 58,000 F Collection pickups had been offered in August; almost 421,000 being offered this 12 months to date. And it’s not simply Ford. Through October 2021, mild truck gross sales had been over 75 % of latest car gross sales within the US.

The issue with all that is twofold. Whereas EV gross sales are gaining, they’re nonetheless a fraction of all US auto gross sales, anticipated to hit six % by 12 months’s finish. That’s nonetheless not sufficient to have a lot impact on curbing carbon emissions. And an evaluation of EPA knowledge by The Conversation exhibits that Individuals’ insatiable need for these massive automobiles does nothing to assist curb emissions.

My evaluation of the EPA knowledge exhibits that via 2021, the upper emissions from market shifts to bigger, extra highly effective automobiles swamp the potential carbon dioxide reductions from EVs by more than a factor of three.

So what may be finished? Heaps, primarily within the area of coverage. Nevertheless it’s all coated with pink tape, and something significant would take time and public acceptance. However steps are being made, such because the GM announcing a partnership with the Environmental Defense Fund which is able to “handle the massive mild vehicles as a part of new requirements concentrating on a 60 % discount in fleet-wide greenhouse gasoline emissions by 2030.” General although, individuals simply have to cease shopping for massive pickups and SUVs and automakers have to get to work on making them cleaner and extra environment friendly.