Speaking of autoworkers, the editors of the Wall Street Journal point out that a substantial increase in in electric vehicles would be likely to reduce the number of jobs for autoworkers:
Some CEOs including GM’s Mary Barra believe electric cars will become more popular as batteries improve and decline in cost. But EVs make up only 2% of U.S. auto sales despite state and federal subsidies that can exceed $10,000 per car.
The economic risks are clear even to the UAW, which published a paper this spring warning that electric cars could cause thousands of job losses because they require fewer parts and less labor. An electric powertrain for a Chevy Bolt has 80% fewer moving parts compared to an internal combustion engine, but it is about three times as expensive.
Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess has said that “building an electric car involves some 30% less effort than one powered by an [internal combustion engine]. That means we will need to make job cuts.†GM will have to do likewise to compete. According to the paper, Ford has told investors “the product simplification that comes from EVs†can lead to “a 30% reduction in labor hours per unit compared to ICE production.â€
Auto makers will also have to cut labor costs as electric cars crimp profits. The UAW says that auto makers won’t produce a profit on EVs comparable to gas-powered cars until 2028, which is one reason the UAW has demanded job guarantees and much higher wages in its new GM contract. The union knows EVs will dent future profits so workers better strike while they have more leverage.
I guess we don’t have much to worry about since at the present rate at which EVs are being purposed they will never make up a majority of the cars on the road. Even if 100% of new cars purchase were EVs it would take 20 years before they constituted nearly all of the cars on the road. Speeding that process up would be an enormously expensive proposition. And that doesn’t even take into account the massive changes to power generation and the power grid that would be needed to support a nationwide fleet of electric vehicles.
30% less effort, less moving parts, $10,000 credits, sounds like EV s should be cheaper to buy than conventional. I don’t see gas stations moving to put in charging stations. I’d bet in 40 years EV s will be the norm and about as repairable as refrigerators, but automakers are pouring money in now, mistake there.
The largest cost component of an EV is the battery and, with the exception of Tesla, 100% of all batteries used in EVs by U. S. manufacturers are made overseas. Tesla claims to make its own batteries but I don’t believe them. I think that Panasonic is making the batteries elsewhere and they might be assembled at Tesla’s Gigafactory.