QOTD: Which Automaker Will Back Off EV Pronouncements First?

After yesterday's post about the Brits delaying their plan to stop the sale of new gasoline-powered cars, I started to wonder -- will any automakers slow their own plans?

Not stop -- EVs are definitely coming in greater numbers, like or not -- but slow.

A lot of automakers, more than I can list here, have declared that they will stop making new gas cars by year X, with X usually being 2030 or 2035. Some have quietly added a caveat that they might still have internal-combustion engines in hybrid models.

We've been a bit skeptical, not because we're anti-EV (I can't speak for others here, but I am not) but because the reality suggests that transition the market to EV dominance will be tough. There are not enough charging stations, charging is still too slow too often, EVs are generally too expensive, and while some EVs have range that compares to a gas car, many do not.

These problems might get solved in 7-12 years, or they may not. I understand why automakers are going to continue to invest in EV tech, but I sometimes wonder if they should avoid dramatic proclamations, especially since such bluster often comes across more as a marketing tactic than an acknowledgment of reality.

Of course, it's also easy to walk such statements back later. Like so: "At the time of our announcement, we thought the market would be better prepared for the adoption of EVs. However, it's clear certain challenges regarding the mass adoption of EVs remain and we will still commit some resources towards the internal-combustion engine for the foreseeable future."

There -- I could work in automotive PR.

Anyway, part of the reason automakers make these statements is to show alignment with proposed government mandates -- even if those mandates aren't yet law. When the government backs off, the automaker has a little more cover to do likewise with less risk of PR blowback from cranky keyboard warriors like -- well, us.

So, my question to you is -- with the Brits pulling back, will any automaker do the same, and if so, who?

Sound off below.

[Image: stockwerk-fotodesign/Shutterstock.com]

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