General Motors has today announced plans to go “fully electric” although the company’s CEO is unwilling to give an exact year for this conversion. This is just the latest in a long line of traditional automobile manufacturers effectively being forced to “go electric” as the industry changes and consumer demands move towards cleaner energy.
Those who follow the electric car industry will be aware that GM is the devil incarnate amongst electric vehicle enthusiasts. The company introduced the EV1 in the late 1990s before literally pulling the vehicle overnight, crushing all EV1s ever manufactured and reverting its focus back to gasoline/diesel vehicles in an instant. So, what can we expect from General Motors in the future?
Governments are changing policy
Recently Chinese, French and British governments announced plans to ban gasoline vehicles in the future. The exact timing of these bans is a little vague at the moment but it does seem as though there is a real shift towards greener technology and cleaner fuels. So, when you bear in mind that China is one of General Motors biggest markets the company was really pushed into a corner and forced to make today’s announcement.
Many people will be unaware but electric vehicles have been around in some shape or form for more than 100 years. Quite why they have never hit the mass market so far is a little puzzling but critics would suggest that oil companies and oil dependent governments were behind the slow pace of change. Whatever the reason, we have seen massive government investment in electric vehicles and perhaps more importantly battery technology in recent times. In summary, government investment in the electric vehicle market has gone too far to turn back although at some point we will see the introduction of various taxes to plug the obvious tax income shortfalls from future oil revenues.
So, Elon Musk was right all along?
Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla Motors, has been an advocate of electric vehicles since the conception of Tesla in 2003 although he has attracted ridicule from traditional automobile manufacturers, oil companies and governments around the world. Despite constant criticism and barriers placed in his way Elon Musk never gave up on electric vehicles and recently introduced the Tesla Model 3 which is the most successful mass-market electric vehicle to date. The Tesla share price continues to defy gravity with recent fundraisings being oversubscribed by institutions – bodies that never give their money away!
Many people believe that battery technology and hydrogen fuel cell technology will come on in leaps and bounds in years to come. These two types of fuel are often compared to the development path of the microchip where advances in technology led to greater power, smaller components and mass-market unit costs slashed. It will take time, it will not happen overnight and there is much investment still required to reach the endgame but battery technology and perhaps to a lesser extent hydrogen fuel cell technology are well advanced but still in their relative infancy.
Conclusion
While many will applaud General Motors move towards electric vehicles, even if there is no conversion date as yet, electric vehicle aficionados will always remember the EV1 debacle. General Motors was seen as the company which effectively killed the electric vehicle despite the fact that sales had been encouraging and consumers were definitely warming to this new mode of transport. In reality General Motors is being forced to follow the crowd kicking and screaming like a child who is not able to demand the same attention as in years gone by. This “total conversion to electric vehicles” is headline grabbing but the proof is in the pudding and by the looks of it GM has only just recently switched on the oven.