Tesla records a million orders for a truck from cyberspace. Now Ford gets 40,000 orders for their conventional-looking F 150 lightning within a week of the announcement!
I’m not going to talk about the 100,000,000 USD Tesla bagged as reservations to keep for years, interest-free ? But the mentality of some nations to pay a premium, prior to the price parity of EVs.
Interesting to note the thinking of our math on Cars. These e trucks are priced $50,000+, higher than their gas counterparts. Mind you, the above numbers are amidst Covid as well!
In a country like America, a range of 500 Kms + is not too big. Yet they decide to benefit their own pockets and the environment too!
And the world is now targeting half of overall passenger car sales be electrified by the end of this decade. Thanks to some countries who are poised to achieve the halfway mark within the year 2021!
Sri Lanka
We are a country where the majority (approximately 80%) of the daily usage needs will be within 30 Kms. (Refer to our prior posts to know the bases). And Sri Lanka is a country where the EVs already meet the price parity with similar class ICE.
But the EV penetration has been held for highly unjustifiable reasons for not knowing to work on the CPK (Cost per Km) and the TCO (Total cost of ownership). You will read about this phenomenon here, in Sinhala.
However, the role of infrastructure comes prior, the country needs a National Transport Policy where Electrification of Mobility takes a major weight. Unfortunately, Sri Lanka is a country with no National policies on Transport, Environment, or Energy!
Here we have outlined the principal components of a National Transport Policy for the country. In fact, it should go as a National Mobility Policy, in consideration of the impending mode shifts and mobility need analyses. Now, it is to the Government to take action.