Forget Tesla’s production hell. The hardest bit of EVs is the powering up

Car-buyers are getting behind the wheel of an electric vehicle (ev) in ever greater numbers. As battery costs tumble, prices are falling. Compared with internal combustion engine (ice) cars, which can be a pain to drive and service, electric cars are a thrillseeking motorist’s dream. But the shift to evs is about more than driving pleasure. Transport accounts for around a quarter of the world’s carbon emissions, and road vehicles for around three-quarters of that share. If the world is to have any chance of reaching net-zero by 2050, evs will need to take over, and soon.

The 6m pioneers who opt for evs this year will still represent only 8% of all car purchasers. That figure must rise to two-thirds by 2030 and to 100% by 2050. Many investors are operating on the assumption that this will all happen as smoothly as a Tesla accelerates. The soaring market values of Elon Musk’s $1trn company, newcomers such as Rivian, which makes electric pickup trucks, and Chinese luxury ev firms, attest to sky-high confidence. Electric-battery makers, too, are booming.

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