MONTREAL — U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff on the auto sector is a new blow to electric vehicle owners in Quebec but, in the province with the most electric vehicles in the country, EVs were already losing their lustre.
Robert Brunelle, a resident of Saint-Lambert, Quebec, is almost relieved after getting into a car accident last year. He bought a Tesla Model S in 2021 because it’s “a great car.” It’s fast. It’s quiet. It’s cutting-edge technology.
The $270 million invested by Quebec in Northvolt’s parent company in Sweden is now worthless, confirmed the provincial government.
“We estimate that the value of this amount is lost,” said Christine Fréchette, Minister of the Economy, Innovation and Energy, on Wednesday.
The amount was part of a $2.9 billion investment by Quebec and Ottawa.
The Liberals’ carbon tax ploy is utterly shameless. For years they’ve been telling us that the Carbon Tax was a hallmark of Canadian patriotism, that it was the best way to save the planet, that it was really a “price on pollution,” which would ultimately benefit the little guy, in the form of a rebate in which Canadians would get back all the money they paid in, and more!
Meanwhile big, faceless Captain Planet villain corporations — who are out there wrecking the planet for the sheer fun of it! — will shoulder the whole burden.
Canada started a trade war with China, yet few in Ottawa seem willing to acknowledge the consequences.
Unlike the United States, which often imposes tariffs as a bargaining chip only to later negotiate, China takes a far more calculated and punitive approach. When Beijing retaliates, it targets industries with economic and symbolic significance, ensuring maximum pressure on its adversary.
Audi plans to cut 7,500 jobs as the German car maker scrambles to find money to fund the “challenging transition to electric mobility”.
The manufacturer, which is owned by Volkswagen, on Monday announced plans to axe around 8pc of its workforce by 2029. The job cuts are part of a series of measures aimed at saving €1bn (£840m) a year.
Audi said: “The economic conditions are becoming increasingly tougher, competitive pressure and political uncertainties are presenting the company with immense challenges.”
News this week emerged about the collapse of Swedish battery startup Northvolt. “Like many companies in the battery sector,” the failed company’s website explained, “Northvolt has experienced a series of compounding challenges in recent months that eroded its financial position.” European Governments, including those of Britain and the EU, have long claimed that as pioneers of green policy and the ‘transition to a low carbon economy’, their policies will cause domestic industries and the green economy to boom. But instead of the green dream turning into reality, across the continent there is only a bleak economic outlook and deindustrialisation. Given that so much of this was predicted, yet those predictions met with policymakers’ intransigence, isn’t it time to ask if this nightmare is a feature of green policy, not merely a bug?
A wise friend of mine says that the leftist push to change government policies based on alleged “anthropogenic climate change” has been the greatest Trojan horse in history. Why? Because if you control CO2, you quite literally control everything. It was always about power, not about saving the planet.
Setting ourselves stringent net zero targets will help us get ahead of other countries in the race to develop green technologies of the future. We know this must be true because Ed Miliband, and many others, keep telling us so. It is just that things don’t seem to be working out quite this way in the real world.
The collapse this week of the Swedish electric vehicle (EV) battery-maker Northvolt has once again shown how the countries most committed to net zero seem to be the ones which keep missing out on the spoils – while their industries drain away abroad, quite often to China.
Heavy electric cars are more likely to smash through crash barriers, putting lives at risk, a transport trade body has warned.
The Vehicle Restraint Manufacturers Association (VRMA) has written to the Government claiming the extra weight of banks of batteries in electric cars means “out of date” safety barriers on British motorways are at risk of being breached by an impact.
The group, which represents British manufacturers of road safety equipment, says design standards for barriers are failing to keep pace with the Government’s commitment to promote electric vehicles.
Over 10 years ago, experts with most tribunes were assuring the world that combustion engines were on the way out and electric vehicles would soon dominate markets. Despite this optimism, Canadians didn’t embrace EVs widely, thus the call for subsidies for manufacturers and purchasers went out. The federal government answered the call and billions in tax dollars were dedicated to rebate programs, subsidies, and loan guarantees for EVs.
It’s unclear whether Northvolt North America’s electric vehicle battery plant project in Quebec will proceed after its parent company filed for bankruptcy in Sweden on Wednesday.
The manufacturer’s Canadian subsidiary says Northvolt AB underwent an “exhaustive effort … to secure a viable financial and operational future” but was ultimately unsuccessful.
Despite increasing competition from Chinese automakers, disappearing rebates for electric vehicles, growing unease about the economy and other headwinds, one threat above all others is rattling the auto sector: United States President Donald Trump’s potential 25 per cent tariffs.
Aston Martin’s new chief executive has warned that electric cars are “too extreme a step” for many of its customers as the company axed 170 jobs and delayed the launch of its first battery-powered vehicle for a second time.
Adrian Hallmark, who left rival Bentley to take the top job last September, said wealthy drivers were split over electric vehicles (EVs) despite calling the technology an “inevitable and somewhat necessary” shift for the car industry.
Quebec-based electric-vehicle manufacturer Lion Electric Co. is facing a class-action lawsuit from shareholders who allege the company misled investors and misrepresented its financial health.
The proposed lawsuit claims Lion Electric hid facts and details about its order book and production capacities from investors.
Because of their modern designs, we might be led to believe that electric cars are technological marvels. Yet, really, most of the purported conveniences and innovations of new EVs are already available in most standard gas-powered cars at a far cheaper price. EVs are, at best, a lateral technology for most consumers — if you never plan on driving in the cold or long distances, that is.
Yet, judging from the number of EV spots on television, which have increased by nearly 400 percent over the past few years, you’d think that Americans were clamoring to buy them. EV sales have risen only a fraction of the percentage since last year despite the endless good press, the endless ads, and the endless government subsidies.
