Over the holidays, Jonathan Zoes contacted me. You may recall he drove a Tesla across Canada, along the Dempster Highway and over the mountains, all the way to the Arctic Ocean and back, without benefit of proper charging infrastructure.
He informs me that not only is the vehicle still thriving in the Canadian Arctic SA国际影视传媒� he has been based out of Dawson City and hasnSA国际影视传媒檛 gone home yet SA国际影视传媒� heSA国际影视传媒檚 hoping to book time with the garages along the Dempster to make a return visit. HeSA国际影视传媒檚 effectively shut down all the armchair engineers who insist an EV would amount to a giant brick in the North, at least one made by TeslaSA国际影视传媒檚 knowledge trust. It would be interesting to see if a Ford Lighting F150 would have similar success or if the larger mass of a truck impacts range too significantly.
More interesting to see, however, is the entry of the Nammi compact EV, just launched by ChinaSA国际影视传媒檚 Dongfeng car manufacturing company. The manufacturer claims the vehicle can get 200 kilometres on an eight-minute charge SA国际影视传媒� at a starting price of $10,470 US. This isnSA国际影视传媒檛 even the first economic EV to be launched on the global market SA国际影视传媒� another Chinese EV manufacturer, BYD, has already outsold Tesla in quarterly worldwide sales.
Armchair engineers may snort at the idea of a China-dominated car market as they read this on their phones made in China, sitting in a chair made in China, in a home or office surrounded by Chinese-made electronics, composites and devices. They may be right SA国际影视传媒� the manufacturing decisions that have ensured archeologists will find the words SA国际影视传媒淢ade in ChinaSA国际影视传媒� in excavations from Inuvik to Istanbul may also minimize their effectiveness where Teslas appear to thrive, but that doesnSA国际影视传媒檛 really account for the other eight billion consumers living in non-Arctic conditions where a $10,000 EV would be a game changer.
Anyone who thinks car manufacturers are going to keep internal combustion engine lines going just for a select few people who insist on living in remote parts of the world is delusional. Since weSA国际影视传媒檙e somewhere between 20 to 50 years late on getting started on the energy transition, thereSA国际影视传媒檚 going to be increasing pressure on fossil fuel economies to switch as more governments dish out emergency response cash each year.
Similar to smartphones two decades ago, EVs are just in their infancy. While skeptics mock the hipster ideas of kids these days, universities, technical institutes and manufacturing giants are filled with engineers who know they can change the world by improving the charge time, range and overall efficiency of EVs. The EVs of 2035 will likely make the EVs of 2025 look like a horse and carriage.
Observing how the majority of the territory was evacuated over the summer because of wildfires fueled by climate change and then residents returned home and immediately started complaining about the carbon tax and the cost of living SA国际影视传媒� as opposed to asking how we prevent another evacuation in the near future or what happens if people canSA国际影视传媒檛 evacuate next time SA国际影视传媒� itSA国际影视传媒檚 clear Canadians are far more scared of being broke than being dead. You really do get the impression that some individuals have concluded routinely evacuating their homes is an acceptable risk as long as they can continue to afford to fill their gas tank to drive to work and pay to heat the home they may have to evacuate at any given moment during the summer.
Our collective stubbornness is working against us. If we keep indulging it weSA国际影视传媒檒l fall behind, sentencing our progeny to poverty.
