Multiple lines of cars will end this year as automakers progressively transition toward an all-electric-vehicle (EV) economy.
Key Details
- By the end of 2023, the Dodge Charger and Challenger, Audi R8 and TT, Kia Stinger, Nissan Maxima, and Mercedes-Benz CLS, C-Class Coupe, Cabriolet, E-Class Coupe, and Cabriolet will cease production, USA Today reports.
- Chevrolet will also cease production on its electric Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EUV—one of the most popular EV brands—to focus limited resources on producing other new EV model trucks and SUVs.
- Automakers are rushing to meet the goal of reducing gas-powered vehicle production by 2035, with Stellanis and Nissan planning a partial transition by 2030 and Audi planning a full transition by 2033.
Why it’s Important
On August 16, 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act and signed $369 billion in climate research and spending into law in an effort to help the U.S. meet UN Climate goals of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Among its provisions were efforts to decrease domestic gas-powered car production and spur rapid adoption of EVs through tax credits and infrastructure buildup.
“This is really this first big sort of changing of the guard moment for an established mainstream brand. As more and more (electric cars) come out, the question is going to start being less if other nameplates are going to be discontinued to make more room for them, but when those are going to be discontinued,” Edmunds news editor Will Kaufman tells USA Today.
The Problem
EV production faces many challenges and hurdles before mass adoption is possible. Automakers continue struggling to source the necessary raw materials for battery production and have slowed production. Limited infrastructure and extreme demands on power have also fed into general reluctance from the public to consider buying EVs—which are generally too expensive at the moment for lower-class and middle-class car buyers.
The auto industry itself has expressed criticisms that it cannot meet the Biden administration’s transition timeline. Lobbyists pushed back against a recent rule push from the White House requiring 67% of vehicles to be EVs by 2032. Toyota’s executives and researchers have also repeatedly argued that the EV transition is happening too quickly and that keeping gas-powered vehicles and hybrids in production for the foreseeable future is the wisest decision.
