Cleaning Up Podcast 
Are people losing interest in EVs, or is there more to the story? How will changes in the global automotive industry impact the net-zero transition? And if no one wants EVs, why do we need tariffs?
This week on Cleaning Up, host Michael Liebreich sits down with Colin McKerracher, Head of Clean Transport at BloombergNEF, to unpack the latest trends and dynamics in the electric vehicle market from cars to trucks to two wheelers. They dive deep into the regional differences, the strategies of European automakers, the impact of tariffs, as well as the latest forecasts and predictions in BloombergNEF’s Electric Vehicle Outlook.
Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live
Links:
• BloombergNEF’s Electric Vehicle Outlook: https://about.bnef.com/electric-vehicle-outlook/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmeaqJc-jYg
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fq0CaM1LX2M
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzDWFFRDK8o
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf5_r3V3Vs8
Chapters:
00:00 – Intro
02:30 – EV Slowdown?
06:58 – Europe Playing with Fire
09:26 – Anti-EV Narrative
12:05 – Hybrids vs Batteries
14:03 – Range and Charging
16:10 – Build Me a Restaurant
17:30 – Tariffs
21:00 – Why Can’t Europe Build?
24:07 – US Manufacturing Renaissance
29:30 – Postcard from the Future
30:54 – The Exception
33:07 – EV Forecasts
36:21 – ICE Bans
41:00 – Peak Combustion
44:00 – EVs Only for the Rich?
46:50 – Cheaper Batteries
48:15 – Electric Trucks
55:27 – Alternatives to Batteries
01:02:42 – Outro
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About The Author
Thank you to Colin McKerracher for joining us on Cleaning Up this week. Find more of Colin's work at: https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AQm2VBtBz0Y/colin-mckerracher and find BloombergNEF's Electric Vehicles forecasts at https://about.bnef.com/electric-vehicle-outlook. Please subscribe to the channel for all the latest from Cleaning Up.
Eddison Motors prototype range extender hybrid truck is showing promise in the vocational truck (e.g logging truck, mobile crane, cement delivery truck etc) market
Great point about fud posting on dropping EV sales yet demanding 100% tariffs to protect legacy automakers from foreign competition on the free market.
Really great episode from both of you, very interesting insights into the market. 31:45
This bladder thing from EV range apologists is getting really annoying. I spoke to someone at the weekend who have a PHEV, specifically because they have an occasional 500 mile trip. Their point was, when you have to drive that far, you just want to get through it. You don't want to be forced so stop for over half an hour just because your car can't do it in one go. I'm wholeheartedly an EV fan, but denying that it's a constraint is just annoying.
What is it with the bladders of middle-aged men? Some of us can go six hours before we even think about needing the loo. Last month I left home (in a 51 kwh car) about 10 am, and a few miles up the road thought, damn, forgot to "go before I left the house." Never mind, pass the motorway services at Stirling, can call in there. Come Stirling there was no need, so I went on. Some traffic congestion (roadworks and too many tourists) later I made it to the Fort William Tesla superchargers at 2 pm. Only food I could find near there was a McDonald's, so off I went. Consumed my Happy Meal or whatever it was, THEN thought, probably better go to the loo now. It was 2.30 by then and I'd last been when I got up, say 8.30.
I used to drive (petrol car) from Sussex to Lanarkshire in an evening, probably six hours again, maybe a bit more, and although I always had to stop once for petrol, often I didn't bother to go to the loo at that point, just filled up, paid, and got going again.
I'm with you on EVs being practical, and it's a good idea to have a break every three hours or so, but can we stop pretending everyone HAS to stop for bladder-related reasons?
There’s a crucial part of BEVs that’s never mentioned – the motor.
Huge debate about batteries, charging etc. I think that must mean that the motors are very long lifespan, high reliability items and so there’s no point the anti-ev crowd trying to pick a fight with the motor itself.
But never seen any actual industry data, so would love to see that analysis if it’s out there somewhere.
Are we really going to build 1.6 billion EVs, with crises multiplying worldwide? We should be aiming for massively increased public transport, a massive reduction in car ownership, and a massive increase in electric bikes. We aint replacing 1.6 billion ICEs with EVs, there isn't the time or materials for it.
Thank you very much for this very interesting episode. I find it very encouraging and pursuasive indeed. I will share this episode as much as I can, because it is really an important insight and learning for people interested in the future of transportation…..and for our collective climate action efforts
5 years of only EVs. What's not to like? Today our EVs are 'boring' just cars. Very high reliability. Easy quick quiet very low cost per mile transportation. No gasoline stench in garage. No heat blasting from engine compartment and underbody.
From web 'In 2023, London had 19.2 billion vehicle miles with average per mile emissions of 400g per mile. Every Londoner breathes this nasty soup. Hears the noise. Sit idling in traffic and inhale the fumes of the vehicles in front of you.