Change to EVs will be decades
This past week, as the UAW strike against the “Big Three” continued, Trump and Biden both made a trip to Michigan.
Biden is the first president to visit a union strike picket line in history where he said: “Folks, stick with it because you deserve the significant raise you need and other benefits,” Biden, wearing a black UAW hat, said through a bullhorn as workers cheered. “Let’s get back what we lost, OK? If we can save them, then it’s about time for them to step up for us. The truth of the matter is you guys, UAW, you saved the automobile industry back in 2008 and before. You made a lot of sacrifices and gave up a lot. And the companies were in trouble. Now they’re doing incredibly well. And you should be doing incredibly well, too” UAW president Shawn Fain thanked Biden and said “Our president chose to stand up with workers in our fight for economic and social justice. It’s a historic day, a historic moment in time.”[1]
Meanwhile, Trump came to Michigan and went to a NON-union shop. While there he vowed to reverse any of the Inflation Reduction Act’s green new deal elements, especially those going toward increasing electric vehicles. And there was an odd dissonance in his plea to get the UAW to endorse him, coming as it did from a non-union shop appearance. Trump claimed the EV elements in the bill would cause a situation where “in two to three years, you will not have one job [Auto] in this state.”[2]
Nathan Stemple, president of the non-union Drake Enterprises, also spoke. He said “a shift to electric cars would cripple his business.[3] (Interestingly, Salon.com did some research into Drake Industries. Online commentary indicated it was NOT a good place to work).
While the transition to EV is of concern for the UAW because EV production does utilize fewer workers directly on final assembly as well as fewer parts upstream from part supplier production, addressing this transition in apocalyptic terms is ludicrous at this time.
Currently, EVs account for less than 1% of250 million vehicles on the road. Current US production in general results in only 17 million new vehicles built each year. The actual transition to EVs will be measured in likely a couple DECADES! Nobody’s shifter business is going to go away any time soon.
At this time only three EVs sell for less than $30,000. The Nissan Leaf and two versions of the Chevy Volt. Other prices can be seen at the link below. [4]
[1]
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/09/26/biden-uaw-picket-line-michigan/70969139007/
[2]
https://nypost.com/2023/09/27/trump-blasts-electric-vehicle-mandates-to-striking-auto-workers/
[4]
https://insideevs.com/news/565883/electric-car-prices-us/
