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 by AFP Staff Writers Glasgow (AFP) Nov 10, 2021
Countries and manufacturers Wednesday agreed to phase out sales of internal combustion engine vehicles by 2040 in a pledge at COP26 that the world's top four producers did not sign. The announcement from climate summit host Britain vowed that signatories would strive to have only new sales of zero-emissions vehicles from 2040 and "by no later than 2035 in leading markets". They said they would support governments in seeking "to make zero emission vehicles the new normal by making them accessible, affordable and sustainable in all regions by 2030". But the world's leading vehicle-producing countries -- China, the United States, Japan and Germany -- did not put their names on the announcement. Leading vehicle manufacturers Toyota, Volkswagen and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi were not on the list either. Ford, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors and Volvo Cars -- all of whom have pre-existing commitments to phase out internal combustion engine vehicles -- were, however, involved in the pledge. Road transport contributes most transport emissions, which accounts for around 20 percent of all man-made carbon pollution. In a separate pledge Wednesday, Britain said it would end the sale of new diesel-heavy goods vehicles sometime between 2035 and 2040. "Today marks a very proud moment in history as governments around the world come together behind 100-percent zero-emission car, van and heavy-goods vehicle sales by 2040," said Britain's Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. But environmental groups pointed out that the pledges did not cover the main producers of internal combustion engine vehicles. Martin Kaiser, executive director of Greenpeace Germany, said it was "gravely concerning" that major countries and manufacturers had not signed up. "To stop new fossil fuels, we need to cut off our dependency. That means moving on from combustion engines towards electric vehicles and creating clean public transport networks without delay," he said. Toyota defended its decision not to sign the pledge, saying its global business model would make the commitment "difficult". Kohei Yoshida, a general manager at Toyota ZEV Factory, the group's dedicated zero-emissions vehicle division, told AFP there were "many ways to approach carbon neutrality" other than the deal.
Top carmaker Toyota defends skipping COP26 emissions pledge Ford, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors and Volvo Cars were among the auto giants that said they would "work towards reaching 100% zero emission new car and van sales in leading markets by 2035 or earlier". Various national and local governments, companies and investors in the transport sector also signed the policy paper released by Britain ahead of an announcement at the Glasgow summit. But Toyota -- the world's top-selling carmaker -- has not signed the pledge, with Volkswagen, Hyundai-Kia, Stellantis and the Renault-Nissan alliance also absent from the list. In an interview with AFP on Wednesday, Kohei Yoshida, a general manager at Toyota ZEV Factory, the group's dedicated zero-emissions vehicle division, said there were "many ways to approach carbon neutrality" other than the deal. "It's very important to make sure that we have all countries and regions, different environments and different places in mind," he said. It will take time to establish infrastructure for electric, battery and fuel-cell vehicles in developing economies such as those in Africa and Latin America, Yoshida explained. Toyota said in a statement that it was "difficult for us to commit to the joint statement at this stage". But Yoshida stressed that the firm respects the COP26 discussions. "More important than having a joint statement is the fact that each and every player is taking up the challenge and trying to make efforts towards carbon neutrality," he said. The Japanese firm, which last week hiked its annual profit forecast, said in September it would invest 1.5 trillion yen ($13.2 billion) in batteries for electric and hybrid cars by 2030. It has also pioneered vehicles that burn hydrogen -- much hyped as a green fuel, as it emits just water vapour, although the way most of the gas is currently made produces harmful emissions. Yet the market for such cars remains small: since Toyota launched its hydrogen fuel-cell Mirai car in 2014, it has only sold 17,000 units. That pales in comparison to the 9-10 million vehicles it sells overall each year, including almost two million hybrid cars in 2020. While hybrid vehicles are increasingly popular worldwide, they have been criticised by environmental campaigners, with Greenpeace saying plug-in hybrids only reduce emissions by an estimated one-third compared to petrol or diesel cars. However, Toyota believes hybrids "will be a very important way to realize carbon neutrality" in developing economies by boosting energy efficiency, Yoshida said. The COP26 auto emissions pledge commits governments to work towards all sales of new cars and vans being zero-emission globally by 2040, and no later than 2035 in leading markets.
Going electric: Carmakers take the carbon pledge China's BYD Auto, Ford, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo were among 11 companies making the pledge. Other major manufacturers such as Volkswagen and Toyota were not on the list, but they and rivals have announced their own plans for an electric future, some more ambitious than others: GM The world's fourth-biggest carmaker 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. They could, for example, be hydrogen-fuelled. FORD The No.8 auto giant already announced plans in September to build four new plants to produce electric cars and batteries by 2025 as part of a $30 billion (35 billion euros) electrification programme. Ford expects as much as half of its global vehicle sales to be electric by 2030. In Europe, all sales will be for electric cars by then. VOLVO Volvo -- owned by the Chinese group Geely -- plans to no longer offer internal combustion models, including hybrids, by 2030. Polestar, an electric car firm controlled by Volvo and Geely, plans to fund its global expansion by going public in a stock market debut that could value it at about $20 billion. DAIMLER/MERCEDES German group Daimler -- world No.9 -- plans to invest more than 40 billion euros 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 car batteries. JAGUAR LAND ROVER These iconic brands are owned by the Indian group Tata, which plans to devote a large part of its annual $3.3 billion investment budget to electric vehicles. Jaguar expects to be completely electric by 2025. STELLANTIS The US-European STELLANTIS group, which owns Fiat, Chrysler, Jeep and Peugeot and was the world's sixth-biggest carmaker last year, has ditched development of internal combustion engines and plans to invest 30 billion euros to electrify its models by 2025. The DS and Lancia divisions will be fully electric from 2024, while Opel will join them four years later. Fiat says it will be 100-percent electric when the price of such cars is comparable to those with petrol engines -- now expected to happen by 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 pick-ups will launch an electric version of the popular 1500 model that year as well. VOLKSWAGEN The German giant -- and world No.2 -- wants to be the global leader in electric vehicles. Its ID3 model, 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. 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. 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. The group's Mini line is to be fully electric within 10 years. Toyota The world's biggest automaker was a hybrid pioneer, and stuck to its guns for a long time before deciding to launch 15 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.
DoorDash takes aim at Europe with purchase of Wolt San Francisco (AFP) Nov 10, 2021 DoorDash has added Europe to its menu with the purchase of Finland-based food delivery firm Wolt in an all-stock deal valued at $8.1 billion, the company announced Tuesday. The news came the same day DoorDash reported that its revenue grew 45 percent to $1.3 billion in the recently ended quarter but that its loss more than doubled to $101 million when compared with the same period last year. "DoorDash and Wolt share a vision to build a global platform for local commerce that empowers the communi ... read more
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