Going electric: Carmakers make the switch

Leading automakers have signalled their intention to scrap internal combustion engines by 2030 or cut back sharply on their production as the sector turns towards electric vehicles.

The latest to unveil plans was German group Daimler, maker of Mercedes Benz and smart cars, which aims to be fully electric before 2030 -- five years ahead of a deadline proposed by the European Commission.

Here is a look at who wants to do what.

Daimler

Plans to invest more than 40 billion euros ($47 billion) to be able to electrify all of its cars by the end of the decade.

From 2025, all Mercedes "architectures" -- the chassis, motor and wheels -- are to be 100-percent electric.

Daimler also plans to build eight factories to produce the batteries that are the vehicles' key component.

Stellantis

The Stellantis group, which owns brands Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep and Peugeot amongst others, has ditched development of internal combustion engines and plans to invest 30 billion euros to electrify its models by 2025.

The Opel division says it will be 100-percent electric in Europe by 2028.

Fiat will be, as well, once the price of electric cars is comparable to those with petrol engines, currently estimated to occur between 2025-2030.

In the United States, the group's Dodge division plans to roll out an electric "muscle car" in 2024, and its Ram line of pickups will launch an electric version of the popular 1500 model that year as well.

Volkswagen

The German giant wants to be the global leader in electric vehicles.

Its ID3 model, which was launched in late 2020, is battling Tesla for top spot in the European electric market.

VW expects electric vehicles to represent half of all sales by 2030 and "almost 100 percent" by 2040 in its main markets.

It has earmarked 73 billion euros in investments and, like Tesla, plans to create a global network of charging stations.

VW's high-end Audi brand expects to be 100-percent electric in 2033.

Lamborghini forecasts all its sports cars will be hybrid by the end of 2024.

Volvo

Volvo is owned by the Chinese group Geely, and plans to no longer offer internal combustion models, including hybrids, by 2030.

The same date applies for Bentley, and Ford in Europe.

Volvo chief Hakan Samuelsson told AFP in March that by 2025, "half of our cars will be electric."

Jaguar and Land Rover

These iconic brands are owned by the Indian group Tata, which plans to devote a large part of its annual investment budget of 2.5 billion pounds (2.8 billion euros, $3.3 billion) to electric vehicles.

Jaguar expects to be completely electric by 2025.

Renault

The French group was one of the first to offer an electric vehicle, the Zoe, and it expects EVs to account for more than 65 percent of its vehicles by 2025.

Plans call for 10 new electric models by that date, including a new and affordable version of its classic compact, the Renault 5.

BMW

The German luxury brand is aiming for sales of 10 million fully electric vehicles within 10 years, a sharp jump from its previous target of four million vehicles.

BMW already sells the i3 model but it has nonetheless lost market share to Tesla.

The group's Mini line is to be fully electric within 10 years.

The US giant has said it will no longer sell cars that emit pollution by 2035, but has not specified whether that means all its vehicles will be electric.

Toyota

The world's biggest automaker was a hybrid pioneer, and stuck to its guns for a long time before deciding to launch seven fully electric models by 2025.

It expects 10 percent of European sales to be vehicles powered by electricity or hydrogen by then, along with 70 percent hybrids, 10 percent rechargeable hybrids and 10 percent petrol.

Hyundai-Kia

The Korean group Hyundai plans to present 23 electric models by 2025 and expects to sell more than one million of them.

Kia forecasts seven electrics by 2026, and expects them to account for 20 percent of total sales.

Europe to boost battery production as electric shift accelerates
Paris (AFP) July 25, 2021 - As electric car sales take off and petrol engines face being phased out by 2035, Europe is looking to develop its own battery production base.

Far from being autonomous, Europe needs to accelerate domestic battery output as a national security issue as well as a boost for businesses and jobs.

Batteries that power electric cars and which weigh up to 600 kilograms (1,300 pounds), represent a considerable part of the vehicle's value.

At the moment, they are mostly produced in Asia, with China, South Korea and Japan the leading manufacturers.

With a mid-July announcement that it intends to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2035, the European Commission has set a timetable for the bloc's shift to electric cars.

Many carmakers, having sensed which way the wind is blowing with governments, have now announced plans to shift towards electric vehicles.

Germany's Daimler was the latest, announcing last week that from 2025 it will launch only electric vehicle platforms as it gears up for a full shift to electric cars from 2030.

It is not only governments pushing the change, as the latest European data shows that electric cars doubled their market share in the second quarter of 2021.

- Giga plans -

If Europe is going to shift to electric cars, it will need lots of batteries.

After years of slow progress, there are now plans to invest 40 billion euros ($47 billion) in 38 European factories that could turn out 1,000 gigawatt hours of batteries per year, according to Transport & Environment, a non-governmental organisation.

With average battery capacity of 60 kilowatt hours, that would be enough to power 16.7 million vehicles, according to the group.

One initiative is Sweden's Northvolt, which already has a factory under construction that is to produce batteries with total capacity of 150 gigawatt hours by 2030.

Volkswagen is a major partner, and the German carmaker is seeking to build five other factories as well.

Daimler, as part of its announcement this past week, said it would build eight battery factories worldwide for its Mercedes-Benz and Smart cars.

Stellantis, which includes 12 brands including Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep and Peugeot, plans to build five factories in Europe and North America.

Tesla expects to open its first European "gigafactory" near Berlin later this year, which it claims will be the world's largest battery cell production site with 250 gigawatt hours of capacity in 2030.

EU Commission Vice President Maros Sefcovic recently said the planned factories put the EU "well on track to achieve open strategic autonomy in this critical sector".

- Partners needed -

That view is not shared by Olivier Montique, an automotive analyst at Fitch Solutions.

He said the planned facilities "will make the bloc a significant player in the space, but will not enable it to meet anywhere close to all of its internal demand for EV batteries."

Montique said that is why automakers are still working with Asian battery makers.

China's Envision AESC is partnering with Nissan and Renault to build factories in Britain and France.

South Korean firms LG Chem and SKI have plants in Poland and Hungary, while China's CATL is building one in Germany.

- Lithium needed -

Raw materials are essential of course to manufacture batteries.

Car batteries currently use lithium-ion technology, similar to what powers most electronic devices today.

Unless there is a rapid breakthrough in solid-state batteries that could use other materials, huge amounts of lithium will be needed.

Europe has domestic sources of lithium, notably in the Czech Republic and Germany, but it will also probably have to depend on imports.

Montique said Europe would likely end up "developing supply agreements with markets where there are abundant resources, favourable diplomatic ties, and strong investment frameworks" to reduce the threat of shortages.

Related Links
Car Technology at SpaceMart.com

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