Before the war in Iran broke out, the global adoption of electric vehicles was largely being driven by a number of emerging economies, including India, Mexico and Brazil, who were reporting higher EV sales than developed economies like the U.S. and Japan. Now, the surge in global oil prices triggered by the Strait of Hormuz closure, appears to have brought an unexpected boon to the EV market—with increased interest and sales reported in a number of countries.
United States
At the start of the year, it seemed as though the EV revolution in the U.S. was dead in the water—sales in the final quarter of 2025 were at the lowest point since the end of 2022 as Biden-era government EV subsidies expired and domestic automakers pulled back on their investments in electric vehicle production.
But first-quarter data for 2026 shows that used EV sales were 12% higher than the same time last year and 17% higher than the previous quarter. One factor likely helping push buyers toward these cars is high gas prices, which recently topped $4.00 a gallon for the first time in four years.
U.K. & Europe
In the U.K., electric car sales reached a record high, with 86,120 vehicles sold in March. U.K.-based EV specialist Octopus Electric Vehicles said on March 25 it had seen EV leasing inquiries rise 36% since the start of the conflict.
The French online used-car retailer Aramisauto reported its share of EV sales nearly doubled from Feb. 16 to March 9, rising to 12.7% from 6.5%, while sales of fueled models dropped to 28% of sales from 34%, and sales of diesel models dropped to 10% from 14%.
Germany’s largest online car market, mobile.de, told Reuters that the share of EV searches on its website has tripled since the start of March—from 12% to 36%, with car dealers receiving 66% more enquiries for used EVs than in February.
Asia
Asia receives 80% of the crude oil that passes through the Strait of Hormuz. This has left the region hard hit by the shutdown. The uncertainty is causing an uptick in EV adoption in many countries.
South Korea reported that registrations for electric vehicles more than doubled in March compared to the prior year, due in part to rising fuel prices and government subsidies. In Malaysia, Chinese EV company BYD’s distributor told Reuters that it observed an uptick in enquiries and customer interest in March compared with the first two months of the year. In Pakistan, electric rickshaws have been selling out, according to Bloomberg.
Nepal, on the other hand, has stood out for its above average EV adoption rates. This pre-war trend has helped shield many people from the impact of the spike in oil prices. EVs made up 76% of new car sales in 2024, according to the most recent data from the energy think tank Ember.
New Zealand & Australia
In New Zealand, more than 1,000 EVs were registered in the week that ended on March 22, close to double the week before, making it the country’s biggest week for electric vehicle registrations since the end of 2023, according to the country’s Transport Minister, Chris Bishop.
Australia, meanwhile, has already been experiencing rising EV sales in recent years, but saw a surge in new interest as consumers face rising fuel costs.
As Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at the end of March: “I don’t think there’s anyone out there today who has bought an electric vehicle who’s regretting the decision at this point in time.”
Ofgem licence means firm can replicate Texas setup of powering homes, businesses and EVs
Elon Musk’s Tesla has won approval to supply electricity to households and businesses across Great Britain, as the tech billionaire expands his energy ambitions.
The energy regulator, Ofgem, has formally granted Tesla an electricity supply licence, enabling it to provide electricity to domestic and business premises in England, Scotland and Wales.
The company is expected to replicate its supply business in Texas, where it is branded as Tesla Electric and offers to help customers power “your home, electric vehicle and community with low-cost sustainable electricity”.
However, Tesla’s electricity licence means it cannot offer a dual fuel contract to households. It could supply a customer’s electricity if they had a separate tariff agreement for their gas supply.
In Texas the company already operates a “virtual power plant” that allows Tesla owners to charge their cars cheaply and then pays them for selling electricity stored in its Powerwall home batteries back to the grid.
In Britain the “virtual power plant” for Powerwall owners is offered through Octopus Energy, another household energy supplier.
Tesla does not report how many Powerwalls it has sold in Britain but it has sold more than 250,000 electric vehicles.
The carmaker’s sales have slumped in the UK and much of mainland Europe in the past year amid tougher competition in the electric car market and controversy around Musk’s politics.
Tesla’s UK sales fell 37% from 3,852 to 2,422 in February compared with the same period last year, according to the latest figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
It estimated that Tesla’s market share in the UK stands at 1.34% in the year to date, below its Chinese rival BYD at 2.64% and BMW at 5.43%.
Sales were hurt in part by a buyer backlash against Musk’s support for Donald Trump and a period working in the president’s administration. In his role at the “department of government efficiency”, or Doge, the billionaire led sweeping job cuts, but he quit in May after falling out with Trump over the “big, beautiful” tax and spending bill.
In December, Tesla launched a lower-priced version of its Model 3 car in Europe, in a push to revive sales. Musk has previously argued that the cheaper option would reinvigorate demand by appealing to a wider range of buyers.
BYD on Monday unveiled a new platform for electric vehicles (EVs) that it said could charge EVs as quickly as it takes to pump gas and announced for the first time that it would build a charging network across China.
The so-called “super e-platform” will be capable of peak charging speeds of 1,000 kilowatts (kW), enabling cars that use it to travel 400 km (249 miles) on a 5-minute charge, founder Wang Chuanfu said at an event livestreamed from the company’s Shenzhen headquarters.
Charging speeds of 1,000 kW would be twice as fast as Tesla’s (TSLA.O), opens new tab superchargers whose latest version offers up to 500 kw charging speeds. Fast-charging technology has been key to increasing EV adoption as it is seen to help assure EV drivers’ concerns over being able to charge their cars quickly.
“In order to completely solve our user’s charging anxiety, we have been pursuing a goal to make the charging time of electric vehicles as short as the refuelling time of petrol vehicles,” Wang said.
“This is the first time in the industry that the unit of megawatt (charge) has been achieved on charging power,” he said.
The new charging architecture will be initially available in two new EVs – Han L sedan and Tang L SUV priced from 270,000 yuan ($37,328.91) and BYD said it would build over 4,000 ultra-fast charging piles, or units, across China to match the new platform.
The company didn’t specify the time frame or how much it would invest in building such facilities. To date, BYD owners have largely relied on other automakers’ charging facilities or public charging poles run by third-party operators to charge their vehicles.
Electric vehicles (EVs) are gaining momentum not just as cost-effective transportation but also as a key step toward reducing carbon footprints, protecting the environment, and achieving a sustainable lifestyle.
More EV owners are now turning to solar energy to enhance their eco-friendly lifestyle and protect themselves from rising and unpredictable energy costs.
The economic benefits of installing solar energy systems for EV charging are compelling. Once the initial investment is recouped, homeowners can generate their own electricity, effectively powering their EVs for free.
This long-term return on investment (ROI) makes solar a powerful incentive for EV owners seeking both financial savings and environmental sustainability.
Real Clients, Real Results
Solar Buzz has seen a growing demand from EV clients seeking to reduce their carbon footprint without increasing their energy bills.
This week, we highlight two of our EV clients who have successfully aligned their transportation needs with a strong commitment to renewable energy.
Looking to reduce reliance on the local grid, our featured clients turned to Solar Buzz for efficient, future-ready solar solutions.
We designed and installed lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery-based systems – known for safety, durability, and efficiency – projected to offset an average 85% of their energy use.
The JPS energy consumption graphs help to track monthly energy savings.
The sets of graphs below show that, since installation, the solar output is consistently meeting (and in some cases surpassing) 85% of the household and EV charging needs, aligning with our design projections.
Faster Payback, Bigger Savings
Did you know that charging your EV during peak sun hours can accelerate your return on investment? The more solar power you use, the faster you recoup your investment.
EV chargers require a significant amount of power, and using solar energy to charge during the day helps you maximize the value of your system.
Even clients who added EV chargers after their solar installation saw their savings continue to grow.
On average, our clients have reduced their monthly electricity bills to J$2,100, down from an average of J$38,000 before going solar – an impressive 95% average energy savings!
By charging their EVs during the day, clients not only exceeded their projected grid energy offset but are also on track to shorten their system’s payback period significantly.
Driving Future Energy Needs
With the rise of EV adoption across the island, Solar Buzz’s customized solar solutions are helping Jamaicans gain energy independence while lowering their carbon footprint.
Our comprehensive services that range from solar installation to safe EV charger integration and maintenance are designed to meet the evolving needs of today’s energy-conscious consumers.
The success of our EV clients demonstrates how solar power can reshape how Jamaicans fuel both homes and vehicles, paving the way for a cleaner, more sustainable future.
Solar Buzz remains committed to leading the way in delivering clean energy solutions for a sustainable green future.
Let us show you how rewarding it is to plug into the sun.
Deidre Wedderburn is the Client Relations Manager at SolarBuzz, dedicated to building long-term partnerships and delivering a top-tier client experience (deidre@solarbuzzjamaica.com).
Driving an electric vehicle is relatively simple; however, charging an EV can get complicated.
Car shoppers buying or leasing an electric car will want to take into consideration what sort of charging infrastructure they have at home or nearby that can support their new vehicle’s recharging needs. Unlike gas-powered vehicles, which in some locales are seemingly supported gas stations at just about every corner, battery-powered cars and trucks charging options are fewer, and often further, between. Though the process of going all in on an EV involves more planning and forethought, it shouldn’t dissuade you from considering such a vehicle.
To start, one of the best decisions you can make before purchasing an EV is to have a charger installed where you live. That’s certainly easier if you own your home, but there are plenty of hoops to jump through to make it happen (permits, contractors, fees). To simplify the process, some automakers incentivize this process, as do a number of state and local governments. If you happen to rent the place you call home, then it never hurts to ask your landlord about the possibility of installing an electric car charger.
EV Charging Levels and Charging at Home
There are three main classifications of EV charging: Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 (also known as DC fast charging). The one you’ll want to use often depends on how far you’re going and how much time you have for recharging.
If you charge at home, it’s easy to plug in at the end of each day and recharge overnight. The same is largely true during the day if you’re able to charge at work. Longer voyages require a different approach because you won’t want to waste hours for a suitable recharge to get back on the road.
Level 1 charge equipment is typically provided with all new EVs. This type plugs into an ordinary 120V household outlet, making this the most convenient but also the slowest way to charge an electric car. Level 1 chargers add roughly two to four miles of range per hour, with the lower end of that range corresponding to larger, less efficient EVs. This means Level 1 charging can take days, not hours, to fully replenish a depleted battery pack. But charging from empty is far from the norm, so Level 1 can work out just fine if you drive no more than 20 miles or so per day and can plug in every night.
You do need to consider a couple of points. First, you should consult an electrician to see if the socket you plan to use is up to it, especially if your home isn’t relatively new. Also, you should never plug your car’s Level 1 charge cord in via an extension cord, because the extra wire length adds resistance that can overheat your home wiring. Also, if you’re unable to plug in regularly, or want to be able to add spontaneous side trips during the day or on weekends, you may find that this setup charges at a rate that’s too slow for your liking.
To satiate your need for charging speed, you’re going to want to look into stepping up to Level 2 home charging, which can support up to 240 volts at triple (and in some cases quadruple) the amperage of Level 1. That makes most Level 2 setups six to eight times faster than Level 1, which equates to between 12 and 32 miles of range added per hour of charging, with the more efficient EVs toward the higher end of that range. With Level 2, you can add a significant amount of range to most EVs in a couple of hours, and it makes full overnight top-ups a breeze even if you happened to drive more miles than usual, skipped charging for a couple of days, or programmed your car to delay charging until the wee hours when electricity rates can plummet.
Level 2 is fairly attainable, especially if you are a homeowner. Some of the supplied cords that come with EVs have swappable ends that feature 240V plugs, but if the cord that comes with the EV you’re considering doesn’t have such a feature, you can purchase standalone Level 2 home charge equipment. Either way, you’ll need a 220–240V outlet that’s connected to a dedicated circuit breaker. A consultation with an electrician is necessary to add such a circuit and make sure your panel is up to it. There are a few notable plug options, but the best and most common is called a NEMA 14-50. This is the same outlet RV parks provide for Class A motorhomes, so you might be in a plug-and-play situation if you’ve already had your garage wired up to support such an RV.
But Level 2 isn’t just found at home. It’s the predominant type found in public spaces, workplaces, and certain shopping malls. Also, the cord-end that you plug into the car looks the same as home Level 1 and Level 2 equipment. You can add a significant chunk of range if you plug in while you’re having dinner-and-a-movie with a friend or significant other, but they are not intended for a full fill from near-empty, mainly because they’re generally not located where people spend many hours in one place.
Fast-Charging
Level 3 chargers are also known as DC fast chargers, and as the name suggests, this equipment can much more rapidly charge your electric car’s battery. Fast charging is particularly helpful on long trips that require intermediate charges to reach a destination because most compatible EVs can take on 100–250 miles or more of range in significantly less than an hour. Level 3 chargers differ from Level 2 charge equipment in that they utilize a different socket on the vehicle side, with extra pins intended to handle additional higher voltage.
There are three types. Tesla Superchargers have long utilized their own proprietary socket known as the North American Charging Standard (NACS) This made the extensive Supercharger network a Tesla-only recharging option for a long time. This has recently changed, and a number of other automakers currently do, or plan to, offer access to these chargers.
Until this seismic shift in recharging hardware, the vast majority of EVs outside of Tesla used the SAE Combo (also known as CCS or simply Combo) chargers. These are based on the same socket used by the Level 2 plug, but with an extra pair of large pins grafted on below. CCS-enabled cars typically have a secondary flap the user folds down to expose the socket for these extra pins.
Finally, there’s CHAdeMO, the BetaMax of the trio. This socket is mainly found on a few Mitsubishis and the Nissan Leaf, though Nissan’s future products will use the CCS interface going forward.
The rate of charge is measured in kilowatts (kW), which currently range from a low of 50 kW to a high of 350 kW depending on the specific charger. The fast-charge capability of the car itself matters, too. A car that has a maximum DC Fast charge rate of 50 kW will gain nothing by plugging into a 350 kW station, and will instead take up a spot that a car with faster-charging capability could use.
EV owners will see a noticeable dip in the charge rate once their car’s battery reaches approximately 80 percent capacity. In practical terms, an 80 or 90 percent charge is more than enough to get you down the road to the next stop. But this is also done to prevent damaging the battery pack by way of overcharging or overheating it. Think of it like pouring water into a glass. You can dump in a lot at first, but you generally slow the flow as the glass approaches full and dribble it in near the end, otherwise, you run the risk the water may overflow.
Fast-Charging Networks
Tesla’s Supercharger network is made up of Level 3 chargers, which the company strategically places around the country. The sheer number of Supercharger locations is high because the network has been built out over some 10 years. This and the fact that its chargers are reliably in working order make Tesla’s electric car charging infrastructure one of the best currently available.
For everyone else (including Tesla drivers), there are several charge networks available to the public, such as ChargePoint, Electrify America, EVGo, and others. These networks are generally newer and less extensive, so we recommend joining as many as you can in order to increase your odds of finding an available and functioning station on your travels. It’s also a good idea to download each network’s app on your phone, have an active account, and keep a physical charge card with you.
Some automakers are also beginning to implement plug and charge, which is a way of accessing multiple networks for charging your electric car. The Mercedes EQS battery-electric sedan, for instance, can consolidate several networks under a single user account. It also includes a plug-and-charge function when using participating chargers. This allows you to simply plug your EQS in without having to interact with the charger’s app or physical charge card.
Charging on the go is further simplified by way of many electric cars’ in-dash navigation systems, which will typically suggest charging locations to stop at along your route should your EV need a charge in order to reach the final destination. That said, we recommend picking several alternate charging stations in case your range depletes quicker than expected or in the event a chosen charging station’s charger is already in use or out of order.
The Cost of Charging an Electric Car
Though the price of electricity varies by location, charging an electric car at home ought to cost notably less than filling your gas-powered car’s tank with an equivalent amount of gas. In some areas, your electricity provider may incentivize charging by lowering rates during off-peak hours. Generally, these lower rates take effect late in the evening and last through the early morning. Many electric cars allow you to schedule your daily at-home charging times, which ought to ensure your EV is charging during these off-peak hours. Prepare to spend a good deal more money on charging if you regularly rely on charging networks to recharge your electric car.
Those charging at home may want to invest in solar panels that feed a series of batteries called an energy storage system, an example of which is Tesla’s Powerwall. These systems collect energy from the sun during the day and store it for later uses, such as charging an electric car. In some areas, any excess power collected can be sold back to the local utility company. Be warned, energy storage systems can currently be prohibitively expensive.
EV Charging Etiquette
If you are a recent electric car convert, then you ought to be aware of a few of the simple etiquette guidelines that come with EV ownership. For instance, when using a charger in a public parking area, it’s best to keep tabs on your electric car’s state of charge. Once its battery is at full capacity, it’s common courtesy to move your car—even if that means hoofing it back to the charging station well before you’re ready to leave the area—so other drivers can charge their EVs. In fact, some charging networks will penalize you for keeping your car plugged into the charger after its battery reaches full capacity.
Additionally, it’s a good idea to make sure your electric car is correctly plugged in and actively charging before walking away. Faults sometimes occur within a minute or two of plugging in.
Once your EV’s done charging, place the charger handle back on the receptacle and neatly coil the cable. These components take a beating in everyday use and keeping them in good working order will pay dividends for you and other EV drivers alike. These cables are also a tripping hazard, so keeping them off the ground is always a smart idea. If you encounter a faulty charger, then your best bet is to notify the network of this issue so it can be fixed.
Charging an electric car may seem complex, but with the exception of the additional time it takes to get your car to its full energy capacity, it’s generally no harder than fueling up a gas- or diesel-powered vehicle. Even better, those with an at-home charger will find charging their electric car is just as easy as charging any mobile device. Just plug it in overnight, and wake up with it ready to go.
Northvolt CEO Peter Carlsson speaks at the company’s office in Stockholm, Sweden, September 30, 2021. Picture taken September 30, 2021. REUTERS/Supantha Mukherjee/File Photo
The underlying shift towards electric vehicles is continuing despite a recent slowdown in the pace of growth, Northvolt’s CEO said while presenting the Swedish battery maker’s investment plans for a new plant in Germany on Monday.
The Northvolt 3 battery cell factory in Heide, in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein, is expected to produce climate-friendly battery cells for 1 million cars a year once completed later this decade, the company has said.
“We’re seeing today some clouds on the sky, we are seeing a little bit of a decline of the electric vehicle trend overall, but I think that when you take a step back and look at the transition, the megatrend and the underlying change is there,” Northvolt CEO Peter Carlsson said at a groundbreaking ceremony for the new plant.
“The fact that we are going to go from (internal) combustion to electric is without a doubt going to happen,” he added.
High energy prices, soaring interest rates and a rise in the cost of raw materials had created “bumps in the road”, but the EV industry will continue to grow, the CEO said.
“We’re now seeing even stronger products coming out in the market, that will also be produced here at Northvolt 3, that will drive even stronger adoption of electric vehicles,” Carlsson said.
Attending the event, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed the factory as a sign of his country’s industrial appeal.
“The production of good cars will remain the backbone of our industry beyond the combustion engine. For this we need battery cells made in Germany, made in Europe,” Scholz said.
“This is how we secure our technological sovereignty. This is how we secure value creation in Europe,” he added.
Cell assembly in the new factory is planned for 2026 and its final expansion is scheduled to be completed in 2029. The investment amounts to 4.5 billion euros ($4.86 billion) and around 3,000 new jobs will be created, Northvolt said.
The EU Commission in January approved state aid for the project. In total, there are subsidies amounting to 902 million euros – 700 million of which are grants and 202 million are guarantees.
Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida, left, and Honda President Toshihiro Mibe attend a joint news conference in Tokyo, Friday, March 15, 2024.
Nissan and Honda announced that they will work together in developing electric vehicles and auto intelligence technology, sectors where Japanese automakers have fallen behind.
The chief executives of Nissan Motor Company and Honda Motor Company appeared together at a news conference in Tokyo to announce that Japan’s second and third biggest automakers will look into areas with a potential for collaboration.
The details of the non-binding agreement are still being worked out, both sides said. The executives said the companies will develop core technologies together, but their products will remain different.
Nissan Chief Executive Makoto Uchida stressed that speed is crucial for the companies in developing technological solutions.
“We don’t have time,” he said. “It is significant that we have reached this agreement based on a mutual understanding that Honda and Nissan face common challenges.”
Honda President Toshihiro Mibe said the companies share common values and could create “synergies” in facing their formidable rivals.
The world’s automakers are rapidly shifting toward electric vehicles, focusing on batteries and motors instead of gas engines, as concerns grow about emissions and climate change.
But Japanese automakers have fallen behind rivals such as Tesla of the United States and BYD of China in developing EVs, partly because they have historically been so successful with combustion engine vehicles.
Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s largest automaker, has often said the world is not ready for a complete shift to EVs, in part because of the lack of a charging infrastructure, and instead has pushed hybrids, which have a gas engine in addition to an electric motor.
But Toyota is also expected to aggressively deliver on an EV push in coming years.
Nissan is relatively ahead in EVs among Japanese automakers because it was among the first to come out with an EV with its Leaf, which went on sale in late 2010.
High expectations for the Nissan-Honda agreement were reflected in sharp increases in the stock prices of both companies on Thursday after a Japanese media report said such a deal might be in the works.
Their shares continued to rise Friday, with Nissan finishing 3.2 per cent higher Friday and Honda rising 1.7 per cent. The agreement was announced after trading closed in Tokyo.
The executives said no mutual capital ownership is involved in the agreement for now, but the companies may look into the possibility down the road.
“How we can raise our competitiveness is what we are determined to pursue,” Uchida said.
Automakers are fiercely lobbying governments to water down already-compromised emissions rules, but doing so will only lead to their doom as market entrants that are serious about EVs will continue ramping them anyway.
The auto industry is electrifying, and all new cars will be electric in the relatively near future. This is not in dispute by any serious person – and any alternative scenario, where humans continue to pollute as much as we do today, will result in worse and worse results for humanity the longer we pollute as climate change becomes progressively worse.
It is necessary that we stop burning fossil fuels, and fast. This is not a matter of opinion, it’s a matter of physics, and physics does not care about your arguments to the contrary.
And yet, the auto industry – which is responsible for more pollution than any other sector, at least in rich countries – still lobbies to worsen emissions reduction targets, even when those targets were already pushed back to begin with.
Automakers beg governments to let them emit more poison
We saw it this week in both Europe and the US. BMW, VW and Renault asked European regulators to push back the 2035 gas car phase-out, despite that this timeline has already been loosened. And in the US, the EPA finalized rules, but softened them due to auto industry lobbying – and the president of the main auto industry lobbyist characterized the final rules as a “stretch goal,” suggesting that he thinks there should be further softening of the already-softened rule.
Even these softened EPA rules will upend the industry, as current automaker commitments are not enough to meet the targets. Either automakers need to up their game, or someone is going to have to fill the millions-vehicle gap between commitments and requirements. And if traditional automakers don’t fill that gap, then new entrants will.
Today, the exact same automaker lobby which originally lobbied to fracture US and CA regulations – the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, previously known as Global Automakers, led by John Bozzella both then and now – still routinely complains about the two regulatory regimes being different, despite being personally responsible for the current state of affairs.
The compulsion against regulation is pathological. Even in situations where it doesn’t make sense to lobby against regulation, businesses will often still do so.
But wait, maybe it’s not a compulsion against all regulation. Because at the same time that automakers are begging for the ability to continue the global-scale mass murder that they continually enable (via pollution that kills millions worldwide per year), they’re also begging governments to slow down other parts of the industry that are taking the EV transition seriously.
Namely: China.
Chinese EVs will grow, whether you like it or not
China is actually a little late to the EV party. Until a few years ago, EV market share in China lagged other leading regions, but uptake in recent years has been quite rapid. NEV (EV+PHEV) market share should crest 50% in China next quarter, ahead of basically everywhere except the Nordic countries.
But as often happens, China may not always be the first entrant into a market, but once it truly commits its effort to something, those efforts tend to bear fruit rapidly.
In response to this rise in Chinese EV sales, instead of recognizing that they need to pick up their game, European automakers are… begging the EU to investigate the “flood” of Chinese EVs, even to the point of proposing retroactive tariffs. They contend that the Chinese government unfairly subsidizes its auto sector, making prices uncompetitively low. Nevermind that European governments also subsidize their auto sector (not to mention the massive worldwide subsidies for pollution), and that low prices are good for consumers (in fact, if EU consumers are benefitting from Chinese subsidies, that represents a transfer of wealth from China to the EU).
In the US, the anti-China lobbying has been more pre-emptive. There aren’t significant amounts of Chinese-built EVs in the US, and the country already has a number of protectionist tariffs against China.
The recent Inflation Reduction Act, which created hundreds of billions of dollars of incentives for EVs and green energy, does include provisions intended to advantage automakers who avoid using China as any part of their supply chain. And scaremongering about China is abundant throughout US political and economic discussions.
So it’s clear that Western automakers aren’t looking to compete on price or volume, they’re looking to change the rules of the game instead – in a way that ensures more pollution and more expensive vehicles for consumers. They don’t want to win the game, they want the ref to hand it to them. It’s gamesmanship – which the industry is well acquainted with.
Rising EV penetration isn’t due to regulatory minimums, it’s due to demand
So loosening the rules doesn’t seem likely to slow down consumer demand – and the public wants stronger rules anyway. Instead, it will just annoy customers who are frustrated that there aren’t enough options available (as has been the case for years – look at the excitement over the R3 and EX30 when so few other small EVs exist), and mollify laggard manufacturers into thinking they can take longer to join the party.
But if automakers (and countries with prominent auto industries, like Japan) want to survive the transition, they cannot be the last to the party. The longer they wait, the more trouble they’ll be in, and the more advantage they cede to their competition. Doing nothing didn’t work for Kodak in the shift to digital, and it won’t work for automakers during the shift to electric.
How do we know this? Because it’s already happened, in this very industry, just over the course of the trailing decade.
And yet, despite a decade of warning, it’s only recently that we’ve started seeing serious EV programs from other automakers start to spin up. But most automakers still only have a few EVs, and many of them still share platforms with gas cars. And due to Tesla’s head start, they’re the one company that has gotten scale and costs to the level that they can arbitrarily cut prices, starting an EV price war that they’re best positioned to deal with.
In refusing to act faster to accept the future that’s already here, automakers have already ceded ground. On top of the aforementioned points of market share ceded to Tesla, the industry also gave Tesla the whole concept of fueling stations.
Over the last decade, every automaker said that charging wasn’t their problem and that someone else would come along to solve it, while simultaneously saying that they can’t ramp EVs because there isn’t enough charging out there.
Tesla also said that there wasn’t enough charging out there… so it built chargers (without having to be forced into doing so). And now, as a result of automakers’ intransigence – and also thanks to President Biden’s infrastructure law, which influenced Tesla to finally open up its Supercharger network – every vehicle manufacturer is now using Tesla’s NACS plug, which means all of them will use its Supercharger network, and Tesla will be able to extract profits on fueling from basically every car on the road. “Tesla, you’re welcome”; signed – the auto industry.
The Biden administration on Wednesday finalized one of the most significant pieces of its ambitious climate agenda: the strongest new tailpipe rules for passenger cars and trucks that will decisively push the US auto market toward electric vehicles and hybrids.
But in a concession to automakers and labor unions, the rules will be phased in more slowly than originally proposed and will give automakers more choices for how to comply.
Nearly a year ago, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed a fast ramp-up into EVs — a rule that would have ensured two-thirds of all vehicles sold were electric by the end of this decade. The EPA pumped the brakes on that plan Wednesday.
Instead of pushing automakers to sell more EVs to meet stringent pollution targets, the administration is allowing plug-in hybrids — vehicles that combine gas engines and EV-like batteries — to play a much bigger role in the electric transition.
In 2023, EVs made up just 7.6% of new car sales, according to Kelley Blue Book. The new rule is targeting 35% to 56% for EVs in 2032, and 13% to 36% for plug-in hybrids.
Transportation has an outsized climate impact, making up nearly a third of all US climate pollution, so even small steps can lead to significant change. Margo Oge, who previously headed the agency’s office of Transportation and Air Quality, called the new standard “the single most important climate regulation in the history of the country.”
In a statement Wednesday, President Joe Biden vowed the cars would be made by American workers. “US workers will lead the world on autos making clean cars and trucks, each stamped ‘Made in America,’” Biden said. “You have my word.”
Federal officials said the rule doesn’t favor electric vehicles over other types of vehicles, and will reduce nearly as much pollution as the original proposal — more than 7 billion metric tons of planet-warming emissions, along with other pollution that is detrimental to human health. By 2032, the new rule is expected to slash passenger car pollution nearly in half from 2026 levels.
“Within those ranges, we got to the same place” as the standard proposed last year, said Joe Goffman, who leads the agency’s Office of Air and Radiation.
Goffman said the agency considered different ways automakers could “mix and match” new vehicle models to meet the standard — by using more efficient gasoline engines, hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery electric vehicles.
“By taking seriously the concerns of workers and communities, the EPA has created a more feasible emissions rule that protects workers building (traditional, gas-powered) vehicles, while providing a path forward for automakers to implement the full range of automotive technologies to reduce emissions,” the United Auto Workers union said in a statement.
White House national climate adviser Ali Zaidi said that “one of the really strong features” of the new rule was its flexibility.
“Different automakers are going to approach this in different ways,” Zaidi said. “You’ll have some automakers that maybe have a third of their fleet be plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.” Zaidi argued that would “translate into a lot of consumer choice.”
Carmakers get flexibility
Automakers like Toyota, who are favoring hybrids and plug-in hybrids and moving slowly on EVs, could be big benefactors of EPA’s new rule.
Toyota, the world’s largest automaker, is among the companies that aggressively pushed back against the Biden administration’s original proposal.
In a memo sent in the fall of 2023 to car dealers across the US, Toyota Motor North America group vice president of government affairs Stephen Ciccone described the EPA’s original EV proposal as a “mandate” and “draconian,” CNN recently reported. Ciccone wrote the proposal had caused an “existential crisis” in the industry and suggested an option giving automakers more choice.
“Toyota’s position is that the best way to reduce carbon is by giving consumers a choice of powertrain options, including hybrids, plug-in hybrids, fuel cells, fuel efficient ICE vehicles, and BEVs,” Ciccone wrote.
That flexibility is what the EPA finalized on Wednesday. But Toyota continued to characterize EPA’s rule as a “regulatory mandate” that will force it further into the EV game than it’s currently positioned.
The rule “requires a precipitous shift from around 8% market share of battery electric vehicles today to more than half by 2032 – an aggressive, sixfold increase over just eight years,” said Toyota spokesperson Edward Lewis in a statement. “Toyota will continue to lead the industry and comply with regulations, but serious challenges around affordability, charging infrastructure, and supply chain will need to be addressed before this mandate is realized.”
President Joe Biden has made the transition to EVs a signature issue of his presidency, stressing the economic impacts, in addition to the climate benefits, of cutting pollution. In August 2021, after the president announced an ambitious target that half of vehicles sold in the country by 2030 would be either battery electric, fuel-cell electric or plug-in hybrid, Biden test-drove a hybrid-electric Jeep on the White House grounds.
But political battle lines are being drawn around the EV transition. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election, has railed against EVs in his speeches. He recently characterized EVs as “all” being made in China, even though Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act has pushed a new EV manufacturing and assembly to the United States.
With the new standard giving automakers more flexibility, EPA administrator Michael Regan denounced the characterization that the agency was setting an EV “mandate.”
“When you look at the differences between the proposal and final, you will see that there is absolutely no mandate,” Regan told reporters, adding his agency was staying “well within the confines of the law.”
It’s not just Trump; the jump to EVs has some of Biden’s political allies worried, too. The United Auto Workers, a powerful union that has endorsed Biden, has also expressed concerns about what the shift to EVs could mean for their workers, who believe battery-powered cars require less labor to build.
But the demand for fully electric cars is growing in the US. The nation crossed a key threshold at the end of last year: 1.2 million electric vehicles were sold — a 46.3% jump from 2022.
EV adoption rates are likely to slow down this year, which is to be expected, said Trevor Houser, partner at the nonpartisan Rhodium Group. He’s looking for two main signs of EV success in the coming years: whether automakers can make a wide enough variety of the vehicles Americans want to drive, and whether the cost can come down to a more affordable range of $20,000 to $30,000.
“We won’t really know before (2025) how successfully we’re making that transition because the next generation of more affordable EVs won’t be on the market,” Houser told CNN.
Zaidi agreed it would take time to see whether more Americans move to fully electric cars.
“That’s something we’ll see over time,” Zaidi said. “But this rule is very flexible and allows for all of those pathways to emerge, and for (automakers) to pursue those in a manner that’s consistent with their strategies.”
Climate and health impacts
While the climate impact of the tailpipe rules have drawn the most attention, there is a big public-health component, as well.
Reducing pollution from cars and trucks could help Americans’ health on multiple levels, since the EPA’s multi-pollutant standards will tackle greenhouse gases that cause climate change, smog and particle emissions.
No amount of air pollution is safe, and according to the World Health Organization, it’s one of the greatest environmental risks to human health.
Vehicle exhaust is made up of all sorts of pollutants, including carbon monoxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide and carbon emissions that contribute to a warming world, which is also itself a major threat to health.
Particle pollution led to more than 107,000 premature deaths in the US in just one year, one 2019 study found. That’s more than the number of people killed each year in homicides and traffic accidents combined, researchers said.
“These standards really provide significant relief that communities across America need from vehicle exhaust,” said Will Barrett, the American Lung Association’s senior director of advocacy for clean air. “It’s very much setting a strong direction to ensuring the auto industry cleans up harmful pollutants and communities are better protected from traffic emissions.”
In order to make your EV green-energy approved, you’ll need to charge it using a renewable energy source. Solar panels are one way to accomplish that.
Charging your electric car at home will only increase your electric usage unless you add another renewable energy source, such as solar panels, to offset it.
For the eco-conscious EV driver, an electric vehicle is only as clean and green as the source of electricity charging its battery.
That’s because EVs plugged into the grid can either be powered by “dirty” sources such as fossil fuels such as coal, or from “clean” renewable energy that comes from sources such as solar, hydro or wind power. With many utilities, it’s likely to be a mix of renewables and fossil fuels. The best way to ensure your EV is actually powered by renewable energy is to connect your home’s EV charger to a solar energy system or use a public charger also sourced by solar panels.
Forget the statistics, it’s in plain sight and we can’t ignore it. EV charging stations are becoming the norm, automakers are making headlines as they invest in new EV technology, and rooftop solar panels are also becoming commonplace to see.
Even with the upswing in EVs and home solar systems, switching from a combustion car to an electric vehicle, however, can be a complicated decision with considerations conventional car drivers don’t have to worry about, like installing a charger in your garage. Adding solar panels to the equation adds even more layers of complexity to an already significant investment.
Here’s what you need to know about powering your home and EV with solar panels and how many you’ll need if you do.
Why use solar panels to charge an electric vehicle (EV)?
There are some less obvious benefits to home solar charging in addition to watching free, clean electrons pulled from the sky streaming into your car’s battery.
Most home EV chargers treat your car like any other appliance that needs to be plugged in and charged overnight. Actually, it’s more like a quite needy appliance that requires a particular current (DC) and lots of it as quickly as possible, which can mean operating at high voltage.
All of this increases strain on the grid and can add a load to your home’s electrical system, especially if your wiring is older or in need of upgrading. In the worst cases of neglect or poor electrical work, it can even be dangerous.
Using solar panels to charge an EV actually streamlines the charging process because both systems speak the same electrical language, in a way.
As Wyldon Fishman, founder of the New York Solar Energy Society, explained, solar panels and electric vehicles both operate with direct current (DC), meaning there’s no need to install an inverter between your panels and EV, although a charge controller is still imperative to have in the circuit. DC can also run at lower, safer voltages.
Relying on solar panels rather than the grid to charge your electric vehicle also means not having to worry about being stuck at home with a dead battery if the power goes out, especially if you opt to pair your panels with a battery or other solar storage.
A home’s energy set up could consist of solar panels, battery storage, inverter and an EV charger. Depending on the consumption, size, efficiency and how many panels you get, this equipment could accommodate all or some of this home energy production. – Getty
How much energy is needed to charge your EV at home?
First, consider your goals for your solar charging system. Do you want to charge your car using your solar panels, and will you primarily be charging overnight? If so, you’re going to need to install a battery or other storage system.
In most cases, you’re likely to have a solar system that’s hooked into the grid as well as your home, perhaps with a connected battery for emergency backup, or not.
If this is your scenario, it could be helpful to know how much of your existing solar output the rest of your home is consuming. If you never pay a utility bill or your utility bill is primarily for nighttime or cloudy days (when your solar panels aren’t at work), this means your existing solar system is probably producing more than you need and the extra is being fed into the grid or a battery or both. Some of this excess energy could be used to charge your EV, meaning you will need fewer solar panels to drive a fully solar-powered car.
Once you’ve got an idea of whether you’re running a solar surplus, the next step is determining how much additional demand an EV will add to your system.
How many solar panels will I need to charge just my EV?
First, consider how much you typically drive in a day. Put simply, the more you drive, the more wattage you’re likely to need in panels.
Here’s the steps to figuring out how your average daily energy needs to power an EV.
Step 1. Determine how many kilowatt-hours your EV uses per mile. The EPA and US Department of Energy’s fueleconomy.gov site lists the estimated efficiency of all electric cars in kWh per 100 miles; simply divide by 100 for a per-mile estimate.
Step 2. Multiply your EV’s kWh/mi by the number of miles you anticipate you drive on an average day. (You can get your average daily miles by observing your driving habits for a few days or by dividing your annual observed mileage by 365). This gets you the total number of kilowatt-hours you’ll need to produce to power your daily driving.
Step 3. You can then divide the EVs needed kilowatt-hours by the number of peak sun hours you can expect to receive at your location each day.
Step 4. The final figure should give you the size of your ideal EV-charging solar array in kilowatts.
Step 1. According to fueleconomy.gov, it averages 24 kWh/100 mi or 0.24 kWh/mi.
Step 2. We’ll also use the EPA’s average mileage estimate of 15,000 annual miles, which works out to around 41 miles per day.
Step 3. 0.24 kWh/mi x 41 miles = 9.86 kWh daily power EV usage
Step 4. 9.86 kWh / 4 peak sun hours = 2.4 kW (This is how much solar energy in kW you will need to charge your EV).
Step 5. We will use a solar panel wattage of 410W, such as the Q.PEAK Duo Black from Qcells, to calculate the number of panels needed for the Hyundai Ioniq 6. Convert the 410W to kilowatts by dividing by 1,000 (0.41 kW).
Step 6. EV production needed to charge the Hyundai Ioniq 6 (in kWh per day) / energy needed per Q.PEAK Qcells solar panel) = number of solar panels needed. 2.4 kW / 0.41 kW = 5.85 solar panels
In this example, six Qcells solar panels are needed to accommodate the energy needs of the Hyundai Ioniq 6 with average driving habits. Six Qcells solar panels don’t accommodate the rest of the home’s energy consumption.
Meanwhile, at the other extreme, dropping the Ford F-150 Lightning‘s 48 kWh/100 mi into the same formula yields a daily energy use of 19.68 kWh and a 4.9 kW solar requirement, doubling the Qcells solar panels needed to 12 panels.
If that’s too much math, Fishman simply recommends putting around eight to 12 solar modules on a canopy that you can use as a solar carport.
“It’s about 2.5 kilowatts that you need for a canopy. You might go a little more, but that’s all you need,” Fishman said.
We’ve seen others in the industry put the figure at closer to 3 kW, but if you’re unsure, you can run through all the math for your situation.
How many solar panels will I need to power my whole home?
This basically comes down to figuring out your home’s total energy needs and then designing a solar array that can meet those needs.
There’s a lot of things to consider to determine both sides of this equation, and CNET goes into further detail on the subject here. Adding EV chargers to your home simply means adding more energy use to both sides of the equation.
Most reputable solar companies will help you work out your energy needs and propose a solution that they will surely be willing to install for you. But doing the math on your own as well can help you make the most informed choice when it comes to picking an installer and assisting in designing a system that meets your needs best.
Don’t forget that there are other things you might want to do before even beginning to consider solar for your home. Making energy efficiency improvements can go a long way toward shrinking your overall needs and thereby shrinking the size of the solar system you require.
Is it worth it to add more solar panels to accommodate an EV?
Adding more panels to your existing solar system or to one that you’re planning is one way to power all your home’s energy needs, including your EV. But it isn’t necessarily the only way to charge your EV. You can also build a stand-alone off-grid system that’s dedicated to just your car.
Fishman recommends building a carport topped with solar panels at just the right tilt to get a good amount of sun on average, based on your location on the globe.
“A carport is fixed at latitude,” she explained. “So if you’re at 42 degrees above the Equator, then your tilt for your solar modules is 42 degrees.”
Which comes first: A solar panel or EV purchase?
If you’re dedicated to renewable energy and kicking fossil fuels to the curb, it makes sense to have your solar system all setup before you spring for the EV so you never have to worry about charging your car from dirtier energy sources that mix with renewables on the grid.
But the reality for many people will be that an EV and home solar energy are two very costly investments. A car or EV tends to be a personal purchase that we spend a lot of time in, whereas energy is a readily available commodity that we tend to think about less. So it wouldn’t be surprising for people to prioritize a flashy new EV over adding solar panels to a home that already has access to electricity via the grid.
Ultimately, it comes down to your priorities and your situation. Maybe your utility is good about incorporating solar into its energy mix via its own solar farm systems, renewable energy credits or offering a community solar program. If so, you might have fewer qualms with plugging in your car at night, no matter how many panels are on the roof.
