The gas price graphs look sheer. White-collar workers are being summoned back to their offices. Russian gas and oil have been banned by many nations after the invasion of Ukraine. The climate crisis demands that humanity keep every possible bit of carbon out of the atmosphere and even pull some out, although transportation accounts for nearly a quarter of global emissions.
It would be great to own an electric vehicle.
A bunch of people agree. In the first week of March, searches for hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles increased by 18 percent. Security wonks and environmentalists are in. Last week, a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council called for Americans to ditch their gas-powered rides, arguing that drivers have been held hostage to the whims of the gas companies.
It's a bad time to buy an electric car. We don't have enough batteries and auto manufacturing capacity to meet the demand. For the people who are most affected by the rising cost of gas, going electric likely isn't an option. In February, the average transaction price for a new EV was $60,054, which was almost $15,000 higher than the one for all new vehicles.
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Gas prices were already inching skyward in the US thanks to increasing demand, brought on by the country's Covid recovery. The nations that control global oil and gas supplies have yet to increase their production. Russia invaded Ukraine. Global sanctions on Russian industry have put enormous pressure on the market. The average retail price for gasoline in the US hit $4.33 per gallon on Monday, according to the American Automobile Association, but California's high of $5.74 per gallon hasn't changed.
The auto world has been upended by the same things that have upended the gasoline market. Silicon chips are now used in a wide range of products, including toys, light bulbs, and industrial machines. The auto industry is not different. Even the most basic new gas-powered car might require 100 chips to power its engine, safety, and infotainment systems; advanced EV can have more than 1,000. The global reach of Covid-19 made it harder for automakers to find the chips that make their cars go. The crunch will get worse because of the fact that Ukraine is a major producer of neon gas, which is used to power the lasers that write on computer chips. Efforts to ramp up chip production in the US won't last long.
According to Warren Browne, an automotive veteran who now runs his own supplier consultancy, US sales of vehicles may hit only 15 million this year, 2 million below a normal production year.
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