Are Gasoline Vehicles Becoming Obsolete?
Luis Alvarez of Alvarez Technology Group sat down to talk with TechTalk about his views on whether or not the gasoline vehicle is becoming obsolete. In some places, it sure looks that way. Alvarez when on to explain that the “United Kingdom has accelerated their move to basically ban the sale of gasoline and diesel cars.” The UK’s original target date was 2015 but they moved that to 2030, giving manufacturers just ten years to make the switch. “They’re doing this because of the concerns around climate change and trying to reduce the carbon footprint.”
Essentially, their plan is to outlaw the sale of all gas and diesel-powered cars, so that just leaves electric vehicles as the only alternative for people to buy in 2030. Luis Alvarez goes on to say that on the heels of that, the Biden Administration coming in next year will probably be more focused on the environment than the Trump administration.
Are car manufacturers ready to make the switch? Some definitely are. In fact, several car manufacturers, including Tesla, along with companies like Uber and a few others, have formed a conglomerate called Zeda that advocates for the same thing, essentially banning gas and diesel-powered vehicles by 2030. “So it looks like the internal combustion engine’s life is coming to a close” But what about push back? There certainly will be push back from car manufacturers for more time.
The interview goes on to discuss the possibility of this happening in the United States in just 10 years. To Luis Alvarez, that seems like too aggressive a number, as is 2035. However, the latter is the target right now. Can it be done in 15 years? Maybe and maybe not. Our system of government is slow, and it’s designed to be that way. It causes us to step back and think things through before giving way to the latest passion of the time.
It will be interesting to follow the case in Sacramento, CA where they are discussing legislature to replace the state tax of 50 cents per gallon on gas with a tax per mile. When you think about it, electronic vehicles are using the roads that the gas tax pays for so they should be paying their fair share, too. To learn more about this topic, listen to the interview here.
