4 ms·

Full article is here: https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2021/trends-and-developments-in-electric-vehicle-markets#abstract https://www.iea.org/report

Full article is here: https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2021/trends-and-developments-in-electric-vehicle-markets#abstract https://www.iea.org/reports/global-ev-outlook-2021/trends-an... Seems like there is a real opportunity to increase EV adoption through some level of government subsidy... which will likely pay great dividends in the future. All that being said, because it is going to be good later and not right now, I expect this policy change to never happen.

eloff 5y ago
There are currently a lot of government subsidies for electric vehicles in various countries, and I expect this will continue.
- itsoktocry 5y ago
  >and I expect this will continue. I expect it to end sooner than later, for two reasons: first, where I'm from (Canada), the vast majority of fuel surcharges go towards road maintenance. That revenue disappears with EVs under current policy. Second, the vast majority of EV subsidies are going to, essentially, rich people, who in most other aspects of their lives have disproportionate carbon footprints. It's not progressive policy.
  - eloff 5y ago
    I'll argue otherwise (I'm also from Canada) because countries are getting more aggressive in their battle against climate change, including enacting carbon taxes, and even banning sales of new ICE vehicles past certain cutoff dates. > the vast majority of fuel surcharges go towards road maintenance. That revenue disappears with EVs under current policy. I don't believe that's true. All taxes go into a mixed pool and are put towards the budget as a whole. It would be weird to "color" tax revenue from certain sources and earmark it only for specific uses
itsoktocry 5y ago
>Seems like there is a real opportunity to increase EV adoption through some level of government subsidy. If all of the claimed benefits of EVs are real (better for the environment, simpler and cheaper to maintain), why should we subsidize them at all? Perhaps we tax ICE vehicles based on emissions, but spending tax money to encourage people to buy more vehicles seems like an odd policy. EVs are cleaner, but they aren't clean, and cars in general have externalities.
- blandflakes 5y ago
  We could at least stop subsidizing ICE, then.
- sp332 5y ago
  Subsidizing them will make the cost of new EV cars more competitive with used ICE cars, which is what someone is much more likely to buy now. Also, subsidizing car sales indirectly funds development of more attractive EV car tech, which will increase people's desire to buy them in the next few years instead of having to wait decades for their personal killer feature.
- kewrkewm53 5y ago
  Taxing ICE vehicles hurts poor people who can't afford buying new EV even with subsidies, while subsidizing EV's doesn't. So I would argue it's more sustainable from a social perspective than a punitive tax. Eventually used EV's will end up being bought by poorer folks as well, as long as the wealthy buy them first. Besides, nothing you buy is exactly clean. At least vehicles provide real value by allowing people to move around, unlike your average cheap fashion item which is bought because some people just enjoy shopping, and soon forgotten after minimum use. Thus, typically purchasing a car is ethical compared to purchasing something you really don't need.
  - maherbeg 5y ago
    Tax ICE luxury cars. If you're purchasing a $50k vehicle, then you likely could afford a tax that subsidizes non-luxury EV vehicles.
  - 5y ago
blandflakes 5y ago
The federal tax credit in the US is nothing to sneeze at! I'd prefer investment in better infrastructure (in the form of more charging locations) to remove or at least reduce the fear people have about range.

eloff 5y ago

There are currently a lot of government subsidies for electric vehicles in various countries, and I expect this will continue.

itsoktocry 5y ago
>and I expect this will continue. I expect it to end sooner than later, for two reasons: first, where I'm from (Canada), the vast majority of fuel surcharges go towards road maintenance. That revenue disappears with EVs under current policy. Second, the vast majority of EV subsidies are going to, essentially, rich people, who in most other aspects of their lives have disproportionate carbon footprints. It's not progressive policy.
- eloff 5y ago
  I'll argue otherwise (I'm also from Canada) because countries are getting more aggressive in their battle against climate change, including enacting carbon taxes, and even banning sales of new ICE vehicles past certain cutoff dates. > the vast majority of fuel surcharges go towards road maintenance. That revenue disappears with EVs under current policy. I don't believe that's true. All taxes go into a mixed pool and are put towards the budget as a whole. It would be weird to "color" tax revenue from certain sources and earmark it only for specific uses

itsoktocry 5y ago

>Seems like there is a real opportunity to increase EV adoption through some level of government subsidy. If all of the claimed benefits of EVs are real (better for the environment, simpler and cheaper to maintain), why should we subsidize them at all? Perhaps we tax ICE vehicles based on emissions, but spending tax money to encourage people to buy more vehicles seems like an odd policy. EVs are cleaner, but they aren't clean, and cars in general have externalities.

blandflakes 5y ago
We could at least stop subsidizing ICE, then.
sp332 5y ago
Subsidizing them will make the cost of new EV cars more competitive with used ICE cars, which is what someone is much more likely to buy now. Also, subsidizing car sales indirectly funds development of more attractive EV car tech, which will increase people's desire to buy them in the next few years instead of having to wait decades for their personal killer feature.
kewrkewm53 5y ago
Taxing ICE vehicles hurts poor people who can't afford buying new EV even with subsidies, while subsidizing EV's doesn't. So I would argue it's more sustainable from a social perspective than a punitive tax. Eventually used EV's will end up being bought by poorer folks as well, as long as the wealthy buy them first. Besides, nothing you buy is exactly clean. At least vehicles provide real value by allowing people to move around, unlike your average cheap fashion item which is bought because some people just enjoy shopping, and soon forgotten after minimum use. Thus, typically purchasing a car is ethical compared to purchasing something you really don't need.
- maherbeg 5y ago
  Tax ICE luxury cars. If you're purchasing a $50k vehicle, then you likely could afford a tax that subsidizes non-luxury EV vehicles.
- 5y ago

blandflakes 5y ago

The federal tax credit in the US is nothing to sneeze at! I'd prefer investment in better infrastructure (in the form of more charging locations) to remove or at least reduce the fear people have about range.