he auto industry has been struggling with a global microchip shortage for almost two years. This has caused widespread supply issues for new vehicles on dealer lots everywhere, and used car prices have been skyrocketing for months on end. But just when prices and availability look as if they're stabilizing, the industry may have yet another hurdle to overcome caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine is home to nearly 70 percent of the world's neon gas supply. While this might not immediately seem like a gigantic auto-industry item, this particular inert gas plays a crucial role in the manufacturing of nearly all semiconductors foundries around the world, according to research from TrendForce. And if the supply of neon gas is interrupted, the world may find itself reversing course back to sky-high prices and limited component availability.
How much range do electric vehicles need to appeal to American car buyers? 300 miles? Maybe 400, like GM thinks people want of the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado EV? Well, according to the 2022 Global Automotive Consumer Study from professional services firm Deloitte, even that isn't enough. Instead, Americans expect 518 miles of driving range from battery-powered cars.
Deloitte reached this figure by surveying 927 American "consumers of driving age," whose range demands would today be met only by the 520-mile 2022 Lucid Air. It comes as no surprise, then, that American drivers still overwhelmingly prefer internal combustion power, with 69 percent of respondents stating they want their next vehicles to be fossil-fueled exclusively—not even aided by a hybrid system, which just 22 percent of respondents would consider. Only five percent said they wanted an EV, as opposed to 91 percent sticking with some form of combustion power.
I tend to think the EV Battery Fire debacle is a whole lot of bull about nothing -- cars catch on fire from time to time, as powering them takes a lot of energy, and when you have energy you have fuel -- be in the form of the battery or gasoline. And both burn really well. But it's good they are fixing this issues now before the cars become even more popular.
I thought about getting an Chevy Bolt eventually, they might be a good car once the bugs are worked out fully. Kind of like the Corvair, which was said to be a great car by the late 1960s. That said, I have a friend whose had a few issues with her Bolt -- making random noises and other issues and GM has been a bit difficult to work with ove warranty work. My other, much bigger issue with the Bolt is it doesn't use a heat pump but only resistance heating, which means running the heat in the winter can be very taxing on the batteries, leaving to quick discharge.
With two gleaming pickup trucks and the Georgia Capitol's gold dome behind him, Gov. Brian Kemp announced a $5 billion electric vehicle plant was coming to Georgia.
At the rollout event earlier this month, Kemp called his state the economic engine of the Southeast "and now a world leader in electric vehicles and electric mobility."
A bold statement, to be sure, but the company Kemp helped lure to Georgia is indeed a big deal. Rivian is one of the hottest electric vehicle startups. And while it has produced only a few hundred pickup trucks so far, the California company is already valued more than Ford Motor Co. Amazon has committed to buying 100,000 of Rivian's electric delivery vans.
Companies like Rivian are helping drive the automotive industry's electric future. When they look to build new plants, states go all out to woo them. Sun Belt states like Georgia see an opening to chip away at the auto dominance Michigan and the Motor City have cemented for over a century.