The promotion of electric vehicles is one of the important measures to deal with the climate crisis, but in the U.S. auto market, more and more electric cars become large and expensive, which not only discourages ordinary consumers but also brings an additional burden to the environment.
A key goal of President Joe Biden’s climate plan is to electrify U.S. vehicles. Transportation is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, and electric vehicles can significantly reduce tailpipe emissions compared to traditional gasoline or diesel vehicles. Biden hopes that by 2030, more than half of all new vehicle sales in the U.S. will be electric, compared to less than 5% today.
However, to achieve this goal, there are still many obstacles to overcome. First, the average price of an electric car is still $15,000 higher than the average non-luxury gasoline car (currently about RMB 104,000). Second, Americans’ enthusiasm for large SUVs and pickup trucks has also affected the development of the electric car market. It is estimated that by 2025, 78 percent of new car sales in the U.S. will be SUVs, pickups or vans.
This preference has led automakers to launch large electric SUVs and pickups in a bid to reap higher profit returns. For example, General Motors announced it will discontinue production of the Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle at the end of this year and shift its production line to larger and more expensive electric pickups like the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. The Chevrolet Bolt is one of the cheapest electric cars on the market, selling for less than $30,000 and qualifying for the $7,500 tax credit for electric cars offered in the Inflation Reduction Act passed last year.
In addition to GM, other automakers have entered the race for large electric vehicles. Ford has introduced an electric version of its best-selling pickup truck, the F-150, Tesla has unveiled its Cybertruck concept pickup and even Hummer, once considered a gas tiger, has been resurrected with a new electric version for a hefty $110,000.
While these large electric cars are more environmentally friendly than their gasoline or diesel counterparts, they have a greater environmental impact than smaller electric cars. First, they require more rare minerals, such as lithium and cobalt, to make the huge batteries. The mining of these minerals can lead to problems such as soil and water pollution and ecological damage. Second, they need more energy to power their massive bodies.
According to the American Council on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (ACEEE) ranking, the Chevrolet Bolt is one of the most environmentally friendly electric cars available in terms of pollution from manufacturing and use, while the new electric Hummer’s battery weighs as much as a small car and contains half the lithium needed for a bus. the ACEEE gave the Chevrolet Bolt a score of 57 “green score” while the electric Hummer scored only 47, even worse than some small gasoline cars.
Environmental engineering expert Alissa Kendall says she herself would “really like” to buy a cheap electric car to replace the Ford C-Max she bought in 2012, but she can’t find a suitable option. “The electric car market is almost entirely dominated by large, luxury, expensive models,” she said, “which doesn’t help low-income people and those who live on the front lines of polluting facilities and climate change.”
Kendall said it’s a positive sign to see extremely polluting large SUVs and pickup trucks replaced by electric versions, but there needs to be some policies and incentives in place to help the U.S. move away from the trend of producing only larger and larger vehicles. “In the long run, the challenge is how do we provide electric mobility for more people, rather than having everyone drive giant vehicles that are bad for the planet, bad for rare minerals, bad for so many other things,” she said, “and we need to think about some social support for smaller and more efficient vehicle policies.”
