Follow me down this rabbit hole & see if some of the dots connect. BTW I HATE getting political, but as a car enthusiast, it’s becoming impossible to separate from politics… since politics have inserted themselves so heavily into our hobby, lifestyle, and livelihood. Ok so a lot of you have probably already seen this video. If not, it’s definitely worth a watch.
1) So first, watch (or rewatch) this video from Johnny Harris & Cleo Abram.
Basically, China was nearly 2 decades ahead of the curve mining Cobalt, and now dominates that very ungreen industry.
Cobalt controls heat/volatility in EV batteries, and therefore extends the range of electric vehicles. But even the CEO of Stellantis, who recently seemed 100% all-in on EV, now warns that such an abrupt shift to EV is a lateral move to another finite resource.
2) Read this article from Motorious, where Stellantis CEO, Carlos Tavares, expresses his concerns.
Corona hit the world…
And the economic fall-out immensely disrupted supply chains, caused delays in production, and substantially increased cost of goods. It goes without saying that it’s effected car manufacturers (and the auto aftermarket) in unprecedented ways. And overall, we’ve now seen a glimpse of the bad things can happen in a 21st century global economy when we abandon control of our own production/supplies.
The current US administration & Europe are hastily legislating EVs, essentially making EVs ‘the law’ going into the future. But it seems like what should be happening instead – is the government should not be interfering with businesses so much, and ICE & EV vehicles should be competing naturally in a consumer-driven market. Which would also naturally, over time, evolve both ICE & EV to be better, smarter, cleaner, and more reliable. AND wisely – it would also allow for unforeseen environmental, economic, and/or production ‘kinks’ to start presenting themselves in manageable ways before it’s too late. Never put all your eggs in one basket, as they say.
3) Now read this article from Asia Financial about the Chinese EV market boom.
China controls the cobalt used in EV batteries…
Making American (and global) car manufacturers now reliant on China. At least that’s the case if we’re barreling down the path that ‘EVs are the future’. But what would/could China do if all the transportation eggs were in their basket? And if they controlled the cost & availability of those eggs? Why would China supply foreign car companies with batteries and/or cobalt, when they could make their own car companies & seize the opportunity to monopolize the EV market. Do we want the costs of new vehicles to continue to skyrocket? And/or do we want new American vehicles sitting in fields, unable to be sold because they’re waiting on Chinese-made batteries? That’s a ridiculous thought, right? It’s not like it’s happening right now with a Taiwanese chip shortage in new cars. Remember – Corona gave a model to the world, of how to hurt people, nations, businesses, & economies in the 21st century.
China is nobody’s BFF. Chinese government & Chinese economics are obviously one in the same. And when it comes to EV battery production, China is holding all the cards with cobalt. Does that seem like a great idea? Do we want global car manufacturers to be reliant on China for a finite resource that’s needed to power EVs, while 1st-world governments are simultaneously legislating a big switch-over to EVs?
