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By 2021, Ford hadn’t introduced a battery-powered pickup truck, the White House was more interested in lowering fuel-economy regulations than backing zero-emission vehicles, and longshot electric vehicle startups had a lot of orders but no sales.
After a year, everything has changed.
Since its May launch, Ford’s F-150 Lightning has received over 200,000 bookings. The Biden administration intends to install 500,000 new electric vehicle charging stations around the country. This fall, two upstarts — Rivian and Lucid — beat the odds and started shipping impressive luxury EVs to customers.
All of this is to say that 2021 was a watershed moment in the transition to electric vehicles. As demand for zero-emission vehicles develops, production speeds up, and more options hit the market, 2022 is expected to be even bigger.
Tesla has struggled to keep up with soaring demand for its cars, and we can expect them to ramp up production capacity even more in 2022. Two new plants, one in Berlin and the other in Texas, will be operational soon, greatly increasing the capabilities of the country’s most popular EV manufacturer to meet demand.
Tesla may be the most well-known electric-car manufacturer today, but it’s far from the only one to keep an eye on. Ford, Volkswagen, and Toyota are all planning a tidal wave of new electric vehicles in 2022 and beyond.
According to Sam Abuelsamid, a principal research analyst at Guidehouse Insights, the number of electric alternatives in the US should increase from the roughly 20 that are currently available to around 40 by the end of next year.
Consumers will have an easier time than ever before picking an electric car that suits their lifestyle and price, according to Abuelsamid, which should boost adoption. Until recently, EV enthusiasts had to choose between an expensive Tesla and a tiny hatchback.
However, purchasers will be able to choose from a growing number of battery-powered pickup trucks and SUVs in the coming years, body shapes that have been critically lacking in the electric market while being precisely the types of vehicles that Americans desire.
“In order for EVs to generate even more success than they have had so far, they need to first and foremost be in a vehicle type that the consumer wants.”
“A consumer who needs a pickup truck is not going to settle for a hatchback electric vehicle for the sake of electricity.”
— Stephanie Brinley, principal automotive analyst at IHS Markit
Ford will begin selling the F-150 Lightning in 2022, and Cadillac will release the Lyriq, its first electric SUV. Toyota, which sells the most tiny SUVs in the country, will introduce the BZ4X, an electric vehicle.
However, there will be challenges in 2022. The supply-chain snarls of this year wrought havoc on the car industry, affecting everyone from Tesla to GM.
The continued computer chip shortage, as well as unforeseen increases in the cost of raw materials, could stymie EV production in the near future, according to Abuelsamid.
Per the IHS Markit, the zero-emissions share of the US car market will reach a record high of 5% in 2022. That’s a significant increase from the about 3% market share EVs captured in 2021, but it’s still only a fragment of the 15.5 million new vehicles expected to be sold next year, according to the business.
EVs are making headlines, and new developments are on the way in 2022, but Brinley says the transition away from gas cars is just getting started. IHS Markit forecasts that EV market share will approach double digits in 2025 and reach around 31% by 2030.
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