Top Electric Vehicle Trends

As global car sales fell by approximately 20 percent in 2020, plug-in electric cars (battery-electric and plug-in hybrid) have risen by up to 21 percent, demonstrating electric vehicles’ impressive resiliency in the face of an economic downturn. As ridehailing struggled last year and technology companies pulled out of autonomous vehicles, it highlights the need for significant investment in autonomous vehicles. Although autonomous vehicles are still relevant, electrification is the top priority, with policymakers and consumers driving demand. Below are three key electric vehicle trends.

FIT THE BATTERY TO THE SPACE

 In 2020, announcements marked that the end of the battery module may be near. By simply eliminating module casings and other obsolete module materials, automakers can be able to increase ‘pack level’ energy density without making cell-level changes. Startups with a more vertically integrated business model would have an easier time, but incumbent OEMs will be hampered by legacy designs and long development cycles.

FREE MONEY FOR TESLA

 In Europe, fines for electric vehicle laggards result in free money flowing into Tesla. In 2021, the European policy of 95 grams of CO2 per kilometer will be completely implemented; if it is not met, automakers will face penalties of 95 euros per gram of CO2 excess, which may total billions of euros for laggards. Automakers are permitted to exchange credits with one another; in the past, GM and FCA have bought billions of dollars in credits from Tesla, which is less expensive than paying penalties. This could cover a large portion, if not all, of Tesla’s R&D costs.

 ELECTRIC LONG-HAUL TRUCKS

Since Tesla failed to meet production timelines when prioritizing electric vehicles’ production, the Tesla Semi’s release date has been pushed back. Nikola has pushed back the release of the Nikola 2 to 2023 and announced that it would first release battery-electric models. So, zeroemission long-haul trucking is a little bit further round the corner than originally predicted, but 2021 will be an interesting year for assessing the importance of batteries as a solution in this segment.