Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • European Rubber Journal
  • Plastics News
  • Tire Business
web
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Automotive
    • Tire
    • Non-Tire
    • Suppliers
    • Silicone
    • Latex
    • Coronavirus
    • Executive Action
    • Government/Legal
    • Opinion
    • Technical Notebooks
    • Women in Tire & Rubber
    • ITEC
    • International Elastomer Show
    • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Apollo brings commercial portfolio to North America
      Goodyear, Michelin honored by USTMA for injury-prevention efforts
      Guizhou Tyre starts production at Vietnam plant
      Annual CAR MBS will be held as hybrid event
    • Apollo brings commercial portfolio to North America
      Goodyear, Michelin honored by USTMA for injury-prevention efforts
      Guizhou Tyre starts production at Vietnam plant
      Annual CAR MBS will be held as hybrid event
    • Evco Plastics buys Georgia plant to add LSR, white room molding
      Annual CAR MBS will be held as hybrid event
      Goodyear Ventures, partnerships carrying tire maker into the future
      Cancarb recognized for sustainability efforts
    • NKNH starts sale of thermoplastic elastomers
      Kan-do attitude: Trelleborg brings intelligence to inventory management
      Cancarb recognized for sustainability efforts
      Kuraray resumes production at Texas plants
    • Evco Plastics buys Georgia plant to add LSR, white room molding
      Saint-Gobain unveils new silicone tubing for food, beverage market
      New Products: 3M rolls out new silicone adhesive for medical use
      Dow launches new LSR in Silastic portfolio
    • Titan Tire to offer free COVID-19 vaccines at Iowa facility
      Bridgestone hosts vaccination events for plant employees
      USTMA reveals data showing COVID-19 impact on tire industry
      China sees energy opportunities in post-COVID recovery
    • Motion Industries promotes industry veteran Jim May
      Hutchinson names new chairman, CEO
      Eagle Elastomer taps three to join executive team
      Motion Industries names VP for the automation segment
    • Avon Rubber expects 40 percent rise in half-year sales
      Top Glove says U.S. withhold order bears no financial impact
      AirBoss gets U.S. glove pact worth up to $576 million
      House Democrats seek to expand loan program for fuel-efficient vehicle projects
    • Column: Ramping up to an RPN milestone
      Our view: It may be time to rethink, rebuild supply chains
      Editorial: Auto industry's rebound a bright spot in difficult year
      Future looks positive for Goodyear-Cooper combo
    • Material to give tire compounds lower density, lower hysteresis and improved wear
      Technical notebook: How to control porosity in extruded EPDM dense profile
      Part 2: Studying RPA ASTM methods for detecting compound quality differences
      Studying RPA ASTM methods for detecting compound quality differences
    • WORD Conversations: Charles Goodyear Medalist Puskas says academia needs to ease time commitments
      Women find success, opportunity in petrochemicals
      Rubber Division to host WORD webinar series
      Rubber Division introduces WORD webinar series
    • Goodyear recognized by Lockheed Martin as 'elite supplier'
      EV tire advancements to help secure future
      Lambillotte: Only question on AVs is timing
      CAR official says EV future brighter than autonomous
    • Rubber Division preparing for Spring Technical Meeting
      Rubber Division introduces WORD webinar series
      Rubber Division seeks abstracts for 200th Technical Meeting
      WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
    • Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Faster Access to Your Polymer Compounding Experts Around the World
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Take a walk thru a HEXPOL Lab
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      HEXPOL offers a unique selection of High Performance Elastomers to match your application requirements
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      It’s what you can’t see that makes the Difference at HEXPOL
  • Blogs
    • Products
    • Wacky World of Rubber
    • New Products: MonTech adds to LP 3000 lab press lineup with custom options
      New Products: 3M rolls out new silicone adhesive for medical use
      GRI gains OE fitment for KION Group forklifts
      New Products: Hexpol develops new salt-water hydrophilic waterstops
    • Wacky World of Rubber: How Trelleborg, teens sealed a spot in the world record book
      Wacky World of Rubber: Of chicken and feet, but not chicken feet
      Wacky World of Rubber: Time to go mattress shopping
      Wacky World of Rubber: Because nothing says football like 'frunk' shrimp
  • Newsletters
    • Rubber in Automotive
    • Silicone News
    • Latex News
    • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Apollo brings commercial portfolio to North America
      Goodyear, Michelin honored by USTMA for injury-prevention efforts
      Guizhou Tyre starts production at Vietnam plant
      Annual CAR MBS will be held as hybrid event
    • Evco Plastics buys Georgia plant to add LSR, white room molding
      Saint-Gobain unveils new silicone tubing for food, beverage market
      New Products: 3M rolls out new silicone adhesive for medical use
      Dow launches new LSR in Silastic portfolio
    • Sunflower rubber research expands with new funding
      Top Glove says U.S. withhold order bears no financial impact
      Our view: It may be time to rethink, rebuild supply chains
      Top Glove products being seized at U.S. border
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Directory
  • Resources
    • Classifieds & Mold Mart
    • Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • HB Chemical
      Sponsored By HB Chemical
      The HB Chemical and Ravago Partnership: Taking Customer Service to a New Level
      Sponsored By HB Chemical
      Above and Beyond with HB Chemical
      Sponsored By HB Chemical
      The Company Behind the Inventory
      Sponsored By French Oil Mill Machinery
      Process Improvement, Cost Reduction with Custom Press Systems
    • Sponsored By AirBoss
      AirBoss introduces next-gen EPDM compound: HeatBoss EPDM
      Sponsored By Uncountable Inc.
      Labs of the Future: How to Choose a Laboratory Information Management System in 2021
      Sponsored By Uncountable Inc.
      Cooper Standard deploys lab informatics platform to synchronize R&D
      Sponsored By Elkem
      LSR Selectâ„¢: A solution to improve your financial impact in molding applications
  • Data
  • Events
    • RPN Events
    • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
    • Industry Events
    • Past Events
    • ITEC Library
    • International Silicone Conference Library
    • 2021 Healthcare Elastomers Virtual Edition
      2021 Rubber in Automotive Virtual Edition
      2021 International Latex Conference Virtual Edition
      2022 ITEC
  • Advertise
  • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Coronavirus
March 12, 2021 12:00 PM

COVID-19 pandemic plays role in surge of EVs

Erin Pustay Beaven
Rubber & Plastics News Staff
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Pandemic-related factors are helping to position electric vehicles for exponential growth in the coming decade.

    Get ready to see just what the electric vehicle segment can do.

    Sales of EVs began to pick up in earnest last year, a significant fact considering the low gas and oil prices, which historically would curb sales of EVs.

    But 2020—the year in which EV sales were up about 4.7 percent overall because of strong sales in the last two months of the year—may have been the beginning of something bigger for the segment. It could be on the cusp of really breaking out. Just look at the month of January.

    According to the Center for Automotive Research, EV sales in January 2021 were 31 percent higher than sales of EVs in the same month last year.

    "That really is outstanding growth for EVs," said Kristin Dziczek vice president of industry, labor and economics at the Center for Automotive Research. "It really is an incredible thing."

    One main factor driving the EV boom is consumer demand.

    Consumers are increasingly more focused on sustainability—and not just the sustainability of the product itself, be it a car or tire—but also from the raw materials procurement side.

    Matthew Portu, president of Freudenberg NOK Sealing Technologies, believes the pandemic may have played a factor in encouraging consumers to think more critically about their mobility. He recalls reading about a young man in India who, for the first time in his life, could see the mountains from his hometown because the air pollution had dwindled when travel trailed off, a result of country-wide lockdowns.

    "He can't be the only one who went through this 'oh my gosh' moment," Portu said. "I can't help but think it is going to increase the push globally to move in a direction where we (move away from) ICE vehicles toward electric."

    Dziczek said a number of factors are pushing the auto industry and consumers toward the adoption of EVs, and the pandemic certainly had a role. But the surge of EVs on roadways will begin with the number of electrified models auto makers are preparing to introduce.

    Last year, in North America, 67 EV models were available across all segments, including the most popular pickup, SUV and CUV segments. But by 2024, more than 200 electric vehicle models will be in showrooms across the continent, offering more choices for consumers, Dziczek said.

    GM and EVgo plan to add more than 2,700 new chargers over the next five years to cities and suburbs, providing EV drivers convenient charging options to meet their lifestyle.

    Additionally, the technology around EVs is increasing the range of the automobiles even as pushes for charging infrastructure move forward and global regulations continue to align. Add in consumer awareness of environmental impacts of travel and the increasing financial incentives for the purchase of EVs and you have a recipe for significant segment growth.

    But it's not just the preferences of new-car buyers that will drive electric vehicle demand; there are a number of factors at play.

    The rise of e-commerce, propelled by the pandemic, is spurring growth in the EV segment because it has redefined the needs of fleet customers. For instance, rental car services didn't fare well during the pandemic, Dziczek said. But delivery services did, especially as consumers became more comfortable with and reliant on online ordering and home delivery.

    "Amazon is on my street six times a day," Dziczek said. "The post-pandemic reality of online ordering and delivery has pushed a lot more fleets into the delivery and last-mile (spheres)."

    Because delivery vehicles travel far fewer miles than a single charge allows, and because they are most likely to begin and end their days at the same location, charging infrastructure isn't a big concern. The vans can charge overnight, conduct their deliveries and return to the facility to recharge before setting out the next day for deliveries. This makes EVs a practical choice for last-mile delivery fleets.

    Additionally, the U.S. government, an enormous fleet operator, is driving change now that the Biden administration has signaled the government's purchasing power will be used to bolster EV technology.

    With the signing of the Made in America executive order on Jan. 25, President Biden pledged to completely transition the U.S.' vehicle fleet to EVs, a significant move considering the government's fleet comprises 650,000 vehicles. How many of those are light vehicles is hard to tell, but the potential impact of an investment like the one Biden proposed is substantial.

    Another factor driving the industry toward the adoption of EV technology is the financial backing of Wall Street, which increasingly is looking to reward companies that focus on sustainability.

    "There is a big push amongst investors on Wall Street to have companies that have sustainable operations from an environmental, social and governance perspective," Dziczek said.

    Auto makers like Tesla and GM, she noted, were rewarded when they took big, bold steps toward embracing new technology and leading the industry toward electrification. She expects those trends to continue.

    In the end, all of these factors are coming together to position the EV segment for significant growth, and that presents great opportunities for auto suppliers post-pandemic.

    "If I consider that, globally, the automobile industry is on the cusp of the largest revolution ever, we believe that the tire has a great role to play here," said Alexis Garcin, Michelin North America Inc. chairman and president. "And we are proud to be part of its journey."

    Related Article
    EV surge brings greater demand for rubber
    Congressman Andy Levin backs EV push, calls vehicles 'easy to love'
    Jennifer Granholm: Energy Department to 'double down' on efforts to speed EV adoption
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Rubber & Plastics News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].

    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Rubber & Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe Today

    Subscribe to Rubber & Plastics News to get the best coverage and leading insights in the industry.

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    MISSION

    To serve companies in the global rubber product industry by delivering news, industry insights, opinions and technical information.

    web
    Contact Us

    2291 Riverfront Pkwy, Suite 1000
    Cuyahoga Falls,
    OH 44221

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1726

    Resources
    • About Us
    • Digital Edition
    • Contact the Staff
    • Advertise
    • Order Reprints
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Partner Sites
    • Tire Business
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Automotive News
    • Crain Brands
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Automotive
      • Tire
      • Non-Tire
      • Suppliers
      • Silicone
      • Latex
      • Coronavirus
      • Executive Action
      • Government/Legal
      • Opinion
      • Technical Notebooks
      • Women in Tire & Rubber
      • ITEC
      • International Elastomer Show
      • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Blogs
      • Products
      • Wacky World of Rubber
    • Newsletters
      • Rubber in Automotive
      • Silicone News
      • Latex News
      • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Photo Galleries
    • Directory
    • Resources
      • Classifieds & Mold Mart
      • Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
    • Data
    • Events
      • RPN Events
      • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
      • Industry Events
      • Past Events
      • ITEC Library
      • International Silicone Conference Library
    • Advertise
    • DIGITAL EDITION