Electric SUVs are better than their gas counterparts for the climate, but they can be worse than compact gas burners
The electrification of the US’s vast fleet of cars and trucks is a cornerstone of Joe Biden’s plan to tackle the climate crisis. But the ballooning size of electric vehicles, crowding out smaller, more affordable models that strip fewer resources from the environment, threatens to undercut this goal.
Last week, General Motors announced that it will axe its Chevy Bolt electric vehicle by the end of the year. The compact Bolt, launched in 2016 as a way to challenge Tesla for mainstream EV buyers, is one of the cheapest electric cars on the market, costing less than $30,000 and eligible for the $7,500 tax credit offered to drivers for EVs in last year’s mammoth Inflation Reduction Act, unlike the similar Nissan Leaf, which doesn’t qualify due to its foreign manufacture.
Renault EZ-PRO: Urban delivery goes robo (Image: J. Oppenheim/Renault)
In a sign of how the US’s fixation upon large SUVs and pickup trucks is now infiltrating the nascent EV market, General Motors, which aims to sell 1m EVs in the US by 2025, said that the Michigan plant currently churning out Bolts will switch to new electric models of the Silverado and the GMC Sierra – hulking, and more expensive, alternatives that will probably provide the auto company a greater financial return than the modest Bolt.
Read more: TheGuardian
It’s Time to Go Green!
If you would like to know more about Solar Panels and the PowerBanx range of home battery systems, and get a free instant quote, please complete our online form:
