Mar
31
California and the Electric Car
March 31, 2008 |
Don’t get me wrong, Harry Fuller has a valid point in his article ‘California killing the electric car…again?‘ - California is not only more wealthy but also more powerful than many (most) countries and consequently it is a very important market. Now, as with any important market those with a vested interest are undoubtedly going to fight hard to preserve their share!
The story of the electric cars initial demise as they were introduced to the Californian market was indeed tragic but, unfortunately for the cynics amongst us, painfully predictable. I would love to stop short of calling the people who thought that electric cars were going to sail-on-in 10 years ago naive, but I’m afraid I just can’t. Car manufacturers are one of the Worlds most powerful industry groups, period. They weren’t simply going to let a few enviro-geeks start diluting a key market like California a decade ago, were they?
Looking at the Worlds eco climate of today, it is easy to see that things might be a little different - everyone loves to be green, seemingly. Even car manufacturers who are desperate to extract every last $/£/Euro from our pockets are only too happy to flaunt their green credentials when it suits them. To a certain extent the uncool is now cool, green is good - its just unfortunate that car manufacturers are still thinking about the traditional green in our wallets 99% of the time.
In light of this aparent shift in consumer needs and wants, Fuller is obviously outraged at the latest California Air Resources Board (CARB) fiasco, and why wouldn’t he be? We should all be incensed at yet another blatant adjustment of the goalposts to suit the manufacturers who just can’t be bothered making the big push to sustainable power, but come on.. If you’re surprised then just take a look at the general state of the World at the minute and then realise that this is just another OIL related problem! No need to cast allegations of bribery and corruption, those are behind the scenes issues that simply muddy the obvious - which is that the manufacturers are in control here.
There is no reason why manufacturers support and involvement should be assumed or taken for granted - if producers, lobbyists, activists and the media are not prepared for another 10 years of fighting for this support then I’m afraid that will be one of the main factors in killing the electric car in California.
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