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Electric vehicles are here. Why aren’t they more widespread?

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Revving up EV adoption

In the news

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Expanding sales. In the US, the earliest electric-vehicle (EV) buyers were typically wealthy, sustainability-minded technology buffs from the West Coast. But now, EVs are appealing to a broader swath of Americans. Sales of battery-powered cars surged 70% in the first three quarters of 2022 compared with the same period the previous year, with many consumers drawn to EVs by the prospect of lower costs. While gas-powered cars make up the vast majority of new cars sold, EVs accounted for 5.6% of new cars sold in the US from January to September 2022. [NYT]

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Better batteries. For electric cars to go mainstream, they’ve got to be at least as affordable as gas-powered cars, if not more. But today’s EVs cost an average of roughly $62,000. That puts electric cars out of reach for many households. Much of the expense of the EV is due to pricey lithium-ion batteries. Because of the rising cost of raw materials, battery prices have increased this year for the first time in a decade. Solid-state batteries are a promising development, able to hold two times the energy as lithium-ion batteries, scientists believe. But the technology still needs up to ten years before it may be ready to power electric cars. [Axios]

“Toward the end of the decade, about half of the new vehicles sold in the US will likely be powered by an electric motor and battery.”

On McKinsey.com

•

Decade of EVs. The world has entered the decade of the EV, fueled by regulations promoting EV adoption, advances in energy storage and batteries, and concerns about sustainability, says Russell Hensley, coleader of the McKinsey Center for Future Mobility in the Americas, in our latest episode of The McKinsey Podcast. Still, some consumers remain hesitant to pivot to a relatively new technology. In the US, where a large proportion of new cars sold are SUVs and trucks, EV adoption remains slower than in China and Europe.

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Breaking down barriers. The auto industry has been based around mechanical systems and some electrical systems for more than a century. Now, it’s shifting to software-driven vehicles with multiple electric systems supported by mechanical systems. Much of the transition to EVs comes down to software and having the talent that can engineer and deploy the software, Hensley explains. Some companies are “acqui-hiring,” or finding software-led companies to partner with or potentially acquire. Learn three ways to break down the barriers to EV adoption.

See what could speed adoption

— Edited by Belinda Yu, editor, Atlanta

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by "McKinsey On Point" <publishing@email.mckinsey.com> - 12:42 - 14 Dec 2022

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info@learn.odoo.com

European talent is ready to walk out the door. How should companies respond?

Don’t just transform. Reinvent.

Electric vehicles are here. Why aren’t they more widespread?

Revving up EV adoption

In the news

“Toward the end of the decade, about half of the new vehicles sold in the US will likely be powered by an electric motor and battery.”

On McKinsey.com

Archives

in

info@learn.odoo.com

European talent is ready to walk out the door. How should companies respond?

Don’t just transform. Reinvent.

Electric vehicles are here. Why aren’t they more widespread?

Revving up EV adoption﻿

In the news

﻿“Toward the end of the decade, about half of the new vehicles sold in the US will likely be powered by an electric motor and battery.”

On McKinsey.com

Revving up EV adoption

“Toward the end of the decade, about half of the new vehicles sold in the US will likely be powered by an electric motor and battery.”