Toronto, Ontario – In this week’s electric and autonomous vehicle report, a B.C.-based developer electrified some classic cars for the SEMA show, Canadian politicians push back on the U.S.’s newly proposed EV incentives and Volvo speaks out at the COP26 climate conference.
Old Cars, New Hearts
A British Columbia-based EV developer turned a lot of heads at SEMA last week, not just because of the flashy classic cars they were showing off, but for the shocking surprise they had waiting under their hoods.
Canadian Electric Vehicles (CEV) was showing off a 1932 Ford Deuce coupe; 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air convertible; and a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Z28—all retrofitted with new e-crate electric powertrains.
“These powerplants are state-of-the-art systems with performance and drivability that is well beyond the engines they replaced,” said Todd Maliteare, president of CEV.
“We have surged through the low-voltage and horsepower barriers of the past. Our new approach rockets the conversion market to the performance level expected from high-end OEM electric vehicles.
“We’re in the early stages and the costs are quite high. But, just like cell phones and flatscreen TVs, the price should come down and EV conversions will make classic cars more valuable.”
Better for Every One
The U.S. government recently unveiled its “Build Back Better” plan which has sent Canadian policymakers scrambling to reaffirm North American joint trade goals and prompted Innovation and Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne to issue a warning to our southern neighbours.
“They understand that legislation like that would generate a response on the Canadian side,” Champagne told Reuters in a telephone interview from Washington. “We have always responded appropriately to these types of legislation.”
The U.S. House of Representatives is preparing to vote on a bill that includes a $4,500 incentive for union-made vehicles and $500 for U.S.-made batteries.
Champagne says that this directly flies in the face of rules set by the USMCA and the World Trade Organization.
Volvo’s Voice
With many of the world’s most influential leaders gathered together at the COP26 summit in Scotland, Volvo picked the perfect opportunity to once more call on leaders of government to make serious, concrete climate commitments to support EV automakers.
“We made a conscious strategic decision to become a fully electric car maker and an industry leader, but we can’t make the transition to climate neutrality alone,” said Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson.
“We need governments and energy firms around the globe to step up their investments in clean energy capacity and related charging infrastructure, so fully electric cars can truly fulfil their promise of cleaner mobility.”
According to a report from the International Energy Agency, global clean energy investments “would need to double in the 2020s to maintain temperatures well below a 2°C rise and more than triple in order to keep the door open for a 1.5°C stabilisation” of global temperature rises.
