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Politicians can make all the declarations they want concerning Electric Vehicles.
But at some point, reality intrudes. Several recent stories underscore the fact that EVs come with a load of environmental and production problems, can’t compete in terms of performance with gas and diesel powered vehicles, and present other serious hazards.
One of those hazards just made regional news, when Connecticut news station WTNH reported that firefighters are facing huge costs and other problems trying to figure out how to deal with EVs that catch on fire.
EV fires are subject to “thermal runaway,” caused by thousands of small lithium-ion battery components burning in a super-heated chain reaction, according to the report.
Environmental costs? Try 8,000 gallons of water to extinguish an EV fire, compared to an average 1,000 gallons to douse a gas powered vehicle blaze.
The report noted that firefighters can’t even train on how to put out EV fires, because EVs are so expensive, using them in training is prohibitive.
Prior to that report, EV fires made news in Florida during Hurricane Ian, after multiple EV fires caused huge problems for firefighters and endangered citizens.
Florida’s chief financial officer and state fire marshal, Jimmy Patronis, sent a letter in mid October to multiple vehicle manufacturers, including Tesla, Ford and GM. According to Batterytechonline.com, Patronis demanded the companies to do more to help firefighters deal with risks from battery fires that could result from storm surge waters and other conditions.
A previous January 2022 CNBC report acknowledged that EVs present elevated dangers if they catch on fire, that not only most American homes are completely unequipped to deal with, but also average local fire departments.
And it’s hardly only the U.S. experiencing EV fire problems. The United FireFighters Union of Australia just called on the government to “develop policy and regulate the management of risks and hazards associated with electric vehicles (EVs) and battery energy storage systems (BESS),” CarExpert.com reported.
Limited, Costly Technology
Many EV drivers are finding the vehicles are much more limited in range, refueling options, and more sensitive to weather, wind and weight conditions, than traditional gas powered cars.
Motor Trend reported in July that truck drivers who expect that 90 thousand plus new F-150 to tow anything of significance for any length of time are in for…well, a shock:
“Before you hitch an Airstream to your electric truck and set out to circumnavigate the country, you need to understand this: With the largest available battery pack, a fully charged 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning electric truck has less energy onboard than a regular F-150 with four gallons of gas in its tank.”
Even friendly reviews of EV trucks have pointed out that they can’t compete with gas powered vehicles when it comes to towing, hauling heavy loads, going off road, and powering up quickly—things many real world working truck drivers happen to need.
Add all that to the expense, ridiculous even by truck standards.
As if all this wouldn’t be enough to perhaps cool the political jets to cancel gas powered cars and dictate timetables for forced EV use, Reuters is now reporting on huge expenses and losses being incurred by EV manufacturers.
In short, the report details how raw materials and other costs involved in producing EVs is, to use a climate agenda term, unsustainable.
As a result, Electric Vehicle (EV) manufacturers’ quarterly reports show that they are having difficulty meeting their delivery deadlines and are quickly using up their financial resources, said Reuters.
For example, manufacturer Lucid’s cost of revenue increased to $492.5 million from $3.3 million a year earlier, and its losses increased as consumers canceled orders due to concerns about lengthy wait periods, the Reuters report noted.
The business’s market value decreased by two-thirds this year to approximately $20 billion from $95 billion at its peak in November 2021.
Other companies like Rivian and British firm Arrival SA are experiencing similar problems.
Add it all up, and it appears even the whopping Biden “Inflation Reduction Act,” with 300 million allocated to climate agenda initiatives and subsidies, won’t be nearly enough to get EVs across any finish line, when it comes to competing with gas and diesel vehicles.