Which Car Manufacturers are switching electric only?
As governmental regulation continues to push automobile manufacturers to switch to electric, there are several companies that have committed to electric only production. Government regulation is the obvious reason for the switch, but there are also several other reasons why gas vehicles are falling out of favor at an ever increasing rate.
Consumer demand and technological advances are other factors compelling the industry to switch to electric vehicles. Consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious and concerned about air pollution. On top of that electric vehicles typically require less maintenance on an annual basis. For the day to day commute they can charged at home overnight potentially eliminating stops at the gas station.
When it comes to the technology for electric vehicles the battery is a major cost of the overall vehicle. As the battery technology matures and the cost comes down, electric vehicles are becoming more practical and affordable than traditional gas vehicles.
The following manufacturers have committed to electric only vehicle production.
- Audi: Starting in 2026 all new vehicles will be electric, they plan to phase out the internal combustion engine by 2033.
- Alfa Romero: they will sell only electric vehicles starting in 2027.
- Rolls Royce: by 2030 they will produce only electric vehicles.
- Mini: A brand owned by BMW has announced all electric fleet starting in 2026.
- Bentley: A brand owned by the Volkswagen group has plans to be fully electric by 2030.
- General Motors: General Motors has announced plans to exclusively produce electric vehicles by 2035.
- Fiat: They plan to become fully electric sometime between 2025 and 2030.
- Ford: Ford has committed to spending $22 billion on electric vehicle development by 2025 and plans to have 40% of its global sales volume come from EVs by 2030.
- Honda: The Japanese car maker plans to go all electric by 2040. They are planning to have electric and hydrogen cars account for 40% of sales by 2030, and 80% by 2035.
- Hyundai: Plans to go fully electric by 2040.
- Renault: The French brand has announced that 90% of its vehicles will be all electric by 2030.
- Nissan: The Japanese car maker Nissan has announced all new cars to be electric by the early 2030’s.
- Volkswagen: Volkswagen has set a goal of selling 70% of its vehicles in Europe as electric or hybrid vehicles by 2030 and plans to be entirely carbon-neutral by 2050.
- Volvo: Volvo has stated that it will only produce electric vehicles by 2030.
- Mercedes-Benz: Mercedes-Benz has announced that it will have electric vehicles make up 50% of its global sales by 2030, and that it plans to phase out combustion engines by 2039.
- Jaguar Land Rover: Jaguar Land Rover plans to be an all-electric luxury brand by 2025.
- Tesla: Tesla is a pioneer in the electric vehicle market, and currently only produces electric vehicles.
- Porsche: Porsche has committed to producing only electric and hybrid vehicles by 2030
- BMW: BMW has announced plans to produce at least 50% of its global sales volume from EVs by 2030.
- Stellantis: Stellantis, the company that was formed from the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, has set a goal of having EVs make up more than 40% of its sales in the US and Europe by 2030.
Notable exception from that list Toyota
Toyota is a little late to the game when it comes to EV development. As of early 2023 they are in the midst of a business structure reshuffle and a new CEO is taking over. Before they were taking a hybrid approach consisting of fuel cell, EV, Hybrid and gas vehicles. They are now pivoting and dedicating to an EV first approach. Starting with the luxury brand Lexus they plan to have Lexus all electric by 2030. Then presumable they will focus on Toyota and switching it to an all electric fleet in the future. The new CEO has publicly stated that “Now that the time is right, we will accelerate BEV development with a new approach.”
Conclusion:
The various interests of governments, consumers, and technology have converged to accelerate a fairly rapid switch in the automobile industry away from the internal combustion engine and into a future of electric vehicles. While dates have been committed to it will most likely be years or decades longer before an all electric automobile industry is realized. Overall the potential for environmentally cleaner vehicles combined with the perks of easier fueling, and more reliable vehicles overall is an exciting prospect.
Further Reading
- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-10/which-cars-going-all-electric-and-when/100529330
- https://electrek.co/2023/02/13/toyota-finally-admits-timing-is-right-for-ev-first-approach/#:~:text=Toyota%20will%20accelerate%20EV%20development%20with%20new%20approach&text=Now%20that%20the%20time%20is,zero%2Demission%20vehicles%20by%202030.