2022 was the year automakers figured out how to make electric cars really work

• 2022 was a pivotal year for the auto industry’s $500 billion transition to electric vehicles.
• Automotive executives have lost faith in electrification, but have learned a lot about how to make EVs work.
• Here’s how the auto industry figured out what it takes to make EVs successful this year.

As 2022 draws to a close, the auto industry faces macroeconomic challenges, unprecedented supply constraints and crisis of talent — and its leader is starting Lose confidence in moving to electric vehicles.

But even with the negative connotations, this was a pivotal year for the industry. $515 billion push Leave the internal combustion engine behind.

It was the year the industry (and other stakeholders) figured out how to make electric vehicles really work.

Stacy Noblet, vice president of transport electrification at consulting firm ICF, said: Said. “A lot of people in the industry were using the behavioral lull to take a step back and really assess what problems they needed to solve for long-term success.”

Here’s a look at why 2022 has become so important to the EV space, and why 2023 and beyond is likely to be even more important.

Plugin

As auto companies promised more profits in their EV business this year, problems around charging All these plug-in cars came one after another.

Prior to this year, EV adoption wasn’t widespread enough to broadly expose the impact of substandard charging infrastructure. Additionally, the majority of existing EV drivers own Tesla, which maintains its own nationwide Supercharger network.

But in 2022, EVs account for 5% of new car sales in the US — some turning pointIt created a new need chargingand fast.

as a result, Industry collaborations and mergers and acquisitions in charging this year. car manufacturer We started taking matters into our own hands. And fortunately, the industry got his $1.2 trillion big boost from the bipartisan Infrastructure Act.

Most of the time, businesses have yet to see those dollars spent in a meaningful way. Hurdles for popularization of EVs.

But this year’s momentum has shown the space exactly what it needs in terms of charging to make all this happen.

battery

The industry saw the beginning and end of the year battery supply A crisis that will not go away anytime soon.

Earlier this year, auto industry executives said their lives were dominated by concerns. Soaring Nickel PricesIt quickly became the industry’s Lithium supply shortage.

“Ensuring adequate supply is key,” said Andreas Breiter, partner at consultancy McKinsey.

battery after all problem of supply and demand literally high cost EVThat’s why automakers prefer Rivian, general motorsWhen ford We have started to tackle the lithium shortage.

As a result they Compete to secure your own supply — take Page out of Tesla’s playbook When “vertical integrationor may enter into direct deals with mining companies and other key stakeholders with whom they typically do not work so closely. different types of batteries in hope of Diversify plans and reduce bottlenecks future.

The new climate rules in the Inflation Reduction Act have taken this sense of urgency one step further.The provision is not yet confirmed but probably includes Domestic procurement requirements for automobile companies hoping to rob significant tax deduction.

All this battery talk has made the industry realize how important batteries are. battery space It was what made the transition to EVs successful, it worked and the newly conceived supply chain was how EVs work. The question remains whether the industry will be able to tackle the problem in time.

manufacturing

An all-new EV production battle has come to light for all automakers in 2022. This is because the industry has pushed to ramp up EV production.

Startups especially struggled We have started manufacturing our flagship vehicle and put it into operation. Between industry-wide supply chain constraints, logistical hurdles, and the cost of running large factories to mass-produce EVs for the first time, Startups hit hard.

However, traditional car companies have not been exempt from some of these challenges. Problem spreads to customer.

As a result, we understand the importance of starting production if we want to accelerate adoption of EVs.

Christian Magoon, CEO of investment firm Amplify ETFs, said, “The government is investing a lot of money and tax subsidies in this space. We embrace the benefits, and the companies that mine and process metals have more jobs than they know what to do.

“We are moving forward with electrification.”