By Samuel Short August 28, 2024 at 11:09am
President Joe Biden’s attempt to thrust electric vehicles on the consumer just suffered a major setback.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that General Motors’ plans to build a battery plant in Indiana have been pushed back by about a year.
The scheduled building for 2026 with partner Samsung SDI will now begin production in 2027, with the plant’s location in New Carlise costing $3.5 billion dollars.
This is not the only time GM has revised their manufacturing projections, as the Wall Street Journal also reported their announcement in July of delaying a new Buick EV and a new EV truck factory.
GM also reversed course on its intent to have enough factories make one million EVs next year.
Inside Indiana Business announced GM and Samsung SDI’s plans in June 2023 when they became official. With the announcement came news of 1,700 new jobs in the area, and Indiana GOP Gov. Eric Holcomb expressed his optimism.
“This historic investment is further proof that Indiana has turned it up and shifted into a higher gear when it comes to helping create the future of mobility and more customer options out on the open road,” he said.
When news of the plant became official, Biden engaged in the usual EV rhetoric.
“Our work to build a clean energy economy is unleashing record private sector manufacturing investment, driving companies to shore up our supply chains here at home, and lowering energy costs for working families,” he said.
Have you ever driven an electric vehicle?
Now, the delay reminds manufacturers of the massive problem in putting billions into EVs — consumers don’t want them.
Despite the president and the Environmental Protection Agency’s emissions standards from March, which would require 70 percent of new car purchases to be electric or hybrid by 2032, Americans aren’t giving up their reliance on gas-powered vehicles.
While it may be tempting to turn to an EV with rising fuel costs in mind, studies show it is more costly to own an EV than a gas-powered car.
A survey by Consumer Reports from November 2023 found EVs from the three previous model years had 79 percent more problems than gas-powered vehicles. The same survey said hybrids were less problematic.
Tuesday’s news aligns with how consumers feel about EVs.
This is a top-down initiative that working people did not ask for.
Reliable vehicles are needed to get to work and take care of families. They are gas-powered.
Experience shows it, and consumer demand reflects it.
Sam Short is an Instructor of History with Motlow State Community College in Smyrna, Tennessee. He holds a BA in History from Middle Tennessee State University and an MA in History from University College London.
