“Net-Zero Tyranny”

More than 1,000 jobs at one of the country’s largest vehicle plants have been put at risk after Vauxhall became the latest company to scale back its UK production.

Ministers have been forced into talks with manufacturers amid fears that electric vehicle (EV) targets will hit carmakers with ruinous fines.

Stellantis, Vauxhall’s parent company, said that the government’s “challenging” mandates, aimed at phasing out petrol and diesel vehicles, had played a significant part in its decision to shut its van-making plant in Luton.

Rules governing the switch to electric vehicles (EVs) are poised to be watered down after a backlash from carmakers.

Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, will announce a fast-track consultation on potential policy changes to the phase-out of petrol engines at an industry gathering on Tuesday, it is understood.

The rethink comes after Mr Reynolds and Louise Haigh, the Transport Secretary, last week met executives from seven carmakers, trade groups and charging firms.

Electric-vehicle dreams are crashing into reality, and the latest signs come from Europe. Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt last week filed for bankruptcy, one day after Ford announced 4,000 job cuts in Europe because of the government-mandated EV transition. Will the next Trump Administration learn from Europe’s blunders?

“The global auto industry continues to be in a period of significant disruption as it shifts to electrified mobility,” Ford said Wednesday. “The transformation is particularly intense in Europe where automakers face significant competitive and economic headwinds while also tackling a misalignment between CO2 regulations and consumer demand for electrified vehicles.”

Ottawa and Queen’s Park bet your farm on electric vehicles and the hand they’re playing looks worse every day.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Doug Ford teamed up to hand $57 billion in electric vehicle manufacturing subsidies to wealthy auto giants like Volkswagen, Stellantis, Honda and General Motors in recent years.

Northvolt, a Swedish battery maker, has filed for bankruptcy.

The company received millions from Quebec taxpayers and was promised billions from the Liberals. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau referred to the company’s Canadian activity as a “win–win–win.”

Based on photos and artist renderings found online, the company didn’t build much on its site southeast of Montreal.

Ford said on Wednesday it would cut around 14% of its European workforce, blaming significant losses in recent years compounded by weak demand for electric vehicles, a lack of government support for the shift to EVs, and rising competition.

The U.S. company is the latest automaker after Nissan, Stellantis and GM to cut costs as the industry struggles with growing competition from Chinese rivals in Europe, waning demand in China, and the challenges of shifting to EVs that remain too expensive for most consumers to buy.

h/t DS

What does Donald Trump’s resounding win in the recent U.S. election mean for Canada? Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to have been much thought about the answer to this question in Ottawa, because the vast majority of our political and pundit class expected his opponent to be victorious. Suddenly they’re all having to process this unwelcome intrusion of reality into their narrow mental picture.

Well, what does it mean?

California’s electric vehicle mandates, which go into effect next year, are “impossible” to meet and will result in reduced choices on dealer lots.

“I have not seen a forecast by anyone,” Jack Hollis, chief operating officer of Toyota Motor North America, said on a Friday roundtable discussion, “government or private, anywhere that has told us that that number is achievable. At this point, it looks impossible.”