The Frankfurt Motor Show, is currently taking place thru September 22nd, is one of the biggest outlets for automakers to showcase their newest wares, and to more broadly showcase trends in the automotive industry. One notable trend is the ongoing shift towards electrification, with a wave of electric, and soon-to-be electric vehicles debuting at the show.
But vehicles weren’t the only things on display at Frankfurt. They were joined by the ideals of climate change groups, including Greenpeace, who is calling for a ban on internal combustion engine-powered SUVs and crossovers. While the organization has not yet gone after GM, it has gone after rival automakers like the Volkswagen Group.
The organization’s interest in SUVs is likely directly related to the ongoing increase in new utility vehicle sales around the globe, as consumers continue to shift away from conventional sedans and toward crossovers and SUVs.
“As long as SUVs rather than small electric vehicles dominate automotive transport, cars will remain the problem child for us climate activists,” Greenpeace told Reuters in a statement.
While we aren’t here to discuss the merits and ideals of climate change groups, one thing is for sure: the ideology puts automakers in a rather tough spot. Larger vehicles like SUVs tend to be automakers’ most profitable products, thanks to high transaction prices and healthy sales volumes. General Motors in particular derives much of its profits from full-size SUV models like the Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV, as well as pickups like the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra.
None of these models are currently available with an electrified powertrain, and, other than a brief flirtation with hybridization in the last-generation GMT-900 era models, none have ever offered the option.
However, the next-generation Cadillac Escalade is expected to introduce a battery electric version at some point in its lifecycle. As GM Authority was first to report earlier this year, engineers are shooting for a 400-mile driving range for the vehicle.
A prototype of the upcoming all-new 2021 Cadillac Escalade
Meanwhile, GM is continuing to refine its internal combustion engines, extracting more power, delivering better fuel economy and increasing overall efficiency from downsized powertrains, primarily in part due to regulations like CAFE.
A concept of a future Cadillac EV crossover (not to be confused with the upcoming Escalade EV)
These kinds of regulations, as well as the broader societal push from groups like Greenpeace, will eventually push automakers towards mass electrification – which GM has in its cards. In fact, the automaker is planning a slew of battery electric models to launch over the next few years.
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Source: Reuters
Comments
It sucks seeing activists dictating where the market should go. EV tech is still premature and until they show that they can keep up with the range of ICE and not have its performance dictated by weather (i.e. range and power output being cut in half in sub zero weather), most SUV buyers will go ICE for now.
That’s not to say that EV tech will never get there because solid state batteries will solve a lot of these issues, but forcing people to adopt premature technology just makes life miserable for the consumer and manufacturer.
Wonder if activists really study where this electricity that powers EV tech comes from… https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=427&t=3
a bunch of idiots, climate change is a scam and a hoax.
Yeah all these freak weather occurrences, just a huge coincidence.
Nothing to see here.
You mean the Hurricanes that happen in Hurricane season in Hurrcane alley?
The weather has not changes as much as people living in places they never lived in before with 24/7 news to cover it, Years ago they only got a headline or so and a mention by Cronkite for a night or two.
Times have changed much more than the weather.
Ev’s also use more energy to create and use over the life time compared to a ICE vehicle. Where do these people think all the power to charge the EV’s come from the Air? You have to use fossil fuels unless we start building more Nuclear plants because wind and solar are not going to work.
that’s right.
Slow news day? Environmental groups have targeted all manner of ICE-powered transportation for decades. When all the cars are electric, they’ll still protest the environmental impact of manufacturing the cars and producing the electricity. Protestors gonna protest…
It wasn’t mentioned, but GM wasn’t even at the Frankfurt Auto Show, so of course they escaped mention by the protestors in this instance. Keep in mind that Europe hasn’t traditionally been an SUV market, so it seems to me they’re protesting/bringing attention to the comparatively recent market shift in Europe more so than what’s been the status quo in North America for quite a while.
Except the ones they drive.. and the private jets they fly and the multiple homes they heat: Prince Harry, DiCaprio, algore, Barry Soetoro, The Clintstones, the Kennedys, HollyWeird Cowards, the pathetic list of hypocrites is endless! DO AS WE say, not as we do liberals… the worst…
Funny how Meteorologists, Climatologists and basically the entire global scientific community of experts can’t predict an accurate “5-Day Forecast”…yet they can predict with near 100% certainty and conviction what’s going to happen in 5,000 years.
Astronomers can predict what will happen to the sun in 4.5 billion years, and geologists can predict were billion year old faults and folds are without digging. I think predicting climatic models within 5000 years is easy.
It’s best not to think of predictions and hypothesis as wild guess. Doing so will unfortunately condition you into thinking that all of scientific understanding is 100% certainty.
The only thing with complete certainty is mathematics. Predictive modeling with scientific analyst isn’t the same thing. The same kind of predictive modeling used in science can predict what has and what will happen is the same kind of predictive modeling used in murder investigations. You don’t have to witness a murder to know that one has happened, you just have to look at the evidence and make predictive models of what you think happened.
How about “SUV enthusiasts call for a ban on climate change activists”? I think that’s a better story.
Really,
I own 2 Tahoes, 1 OLD Suburban and 1 old K5 Blazer. The Tahoes get about 15 mpg in and around town and the newer one gets 18-19 mpg on the highway! These are all 4wd. Fact is that’s pretty dang good mileage for a truck like that. Stinks if it’s a Honda CRV but I’m calling for a ban on crossovers so who cares!
Shouldn’t pickup trucks also be blamed for the climate change since they’re the most popular vehicle class in the US?
Nearly all of Europe have signed the Paris Climate Accord for ZEV by 2035; thus, all new vehicles sold in Europe will need to be electric or a fuel cell powered as nothing else would be considered legal as this is why all European car companies are developing EV and why General Motors have been developing electric powered concept vehicles; although the interesting part will be whether Europe can generate enough electricity without the usage of fossil fuels for all of the electric vehicles as this is something Democrats in the United States have yet to think about.
how about getting the government and big corporations out of the way and let consumers decide.
what goes on is none of their business and please leave the paris climate accord, it’s UN Agenda 2030/35 period.
If you look at USA automobile emissions as a percentage of total global carbon emissions, it’s barely a blip on a graph. Take that as a percentage of the supposed 10-20% human contribution to total carbon in the atmosphere and our fantastic SUVs are hardly a statistical error.
This movement is predominantly emotional and ideological, not scientific.
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