Electric vehicles (EVs) are the future of transportation. As a driver of an (American-made) electric vehicle myself, I know firsthand the amount of money I have already saved compared to when I drove the gas-powered version of the same model. And that is before considering the benefit to our air quality, the climate, and how fun it is to drive.
But roughly 60% of electric vehicles sold worldwide are made by China. That is compared to just 8% for American EVs. Moreover, Chinese sales continue to increase at a faster rate — 79% compared to 55% for American EVs between 2021 and 2022.
Of course, part of the reason for this is the low prices of Chinese models. And part of the reason those low prices are possible is that the Chinese government has not exactly played fair, heavily subsidizing the industry in order to maintain its market dominance. But another reason China is so competitive is because of its domestic supply chain, especially localized battery production.
U.S. policymakers and our big automakers are finally waking up to the urgency of investing in EVs, as they are with solar and wind energy and battery manufacturing. But these staples of the next economy have their detractors — primarily the fossil fuel industry and the politicians and media outlets that often act as their mouthpieces. It goes further than that, though.
A big part of the naysayers’…
