By Steven Cohen, Ph.D., Director of the M.S. in Sustainability Management program, School of Professional Studies
The Ford Motor Company is slowing its production of electric vehicles (EVs), and the federal government is about to end its consumer tax subsidies for EVs. Ford will convert some of its new battery factories from producing auto batteries to producing energy storage for data farms being built for Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI technology is being promoted by the Trump Administration and his collection of Silicon Valley tech bro donors. This effort at accelerating the development and adoption of AI technology is moving ahead, while the effort to convert American auto manufacturers to electric vehicles is not going well. Other nations have been more successful than we have in converting to EVs.
There are many reasons for this, but in the American context, I believe the political opposition and market resistance to electric vehicles was not caused by the subsidy for EVs, but by using regulation in a misguided effort to gradually ban the internal combustion engine. That was an example of progressive hubris and overreach and was built on a misunderstanding of American political and consumer culture. The heart of the issue is that Americans do not like being told what technologies they can and cannot use. Remove that choice and attack current consumption behavior, and you are inviting opposition that could easily be avoided. We never banned the horse and buggy, but it only took a decade during the early 20th century for horses to be displaced by the motor vehicle. Cars were less expensive, more durable, faster, and more convenient than horses. That became obvious after a while, and horses came to be used for recreation rather than transportation. Attacking Ford for retreating from EVs is equally misguided. Ford is in the business of selling motor vehicles, not reducing greenhouse gases. They are happy to do both if it makes them money, but if the market is not there, they won’t be there either.
The electric vehicle and renewable energy are the technologies of the future, and Trump, the fossil fuel industry, and the ideological right are supporting fossil fuels, a slowly dying technology. They are correct to say they are not dead yet, but it’s only a matter of time. Some people prefer the sound of vinyl records over streaming music, but my bet is on streaming, with vinyl remaining a cute niche market for my hero, Neil Young, and other purists. Despite America’s retreat from policies promoting electric vehicles, their sales continue to grow. Globally, the data details a growing industry. According to the International Energy Agency:
“Electric car sales exceeded 17 million globally in 2024, reaching a sales share of more than 20%. Just the additional 3.5 million electric cars sold in 2024 compared with the previous year is more than the total number of electric cars sold worldwide in 2020. China maintained its lead, with electric cars accounting for almost half of all car sales in 2024; the over 11 million electric cars sold in China last year were more than global sales just 2 years earlier. As a result of continued strong growth, 1 in 10 cars on Chinese roads is now electric. Europe saw sales stagnate in 2024 as subsidy schemes and other supportive policies waned, but the sales share of electric cars remained around 20% as stronger sales in some countries compensated for lower sales in others. In the United States, electric car sales grew by about 10% year-on-year, reaching more than 1 in 10 cars sold.”
While America’s EV adoption remains slow, China’s is accelerating. According to S&P Global:
“Global EV adoption rates vary widely. Norway remains the clear leader, with more than 80% of new car sales being BEVs [Battery Electric Vehicles], driven by long-standing incentives and strong consumer commitment. Hong Kong, Denmark and Myanmar also record BEV shares above 55%, supported by a mix of policy frameworks and infrastructure readiness.”
In 2025, well over 50% of new car sales in China were EVS, while in the United States, it was about 10%, with a growing number of American EVs being hybrids that also use fossil fuels. The American auto industry is falling behind China in a repeat of its losing battle with Japan in the late 1970s, when better-made Japanese cars gained favor with American consumers. The only thing preventing a Chinese takeover of the American auto market is the anti-capitalist protectionist policies of the American government. However, American automakers correctly point out that Chinese electric vehicle development and sales were heavily subsidized by China’s government, and therefore, some protectionism is warranted. The European Union (EU) is also keeping China away, but Britain is not, and the results have been dramatic. According to Eshe Nelson in a recent New York Times article:
“Chinese cars are rapidly gaining ground in Britain, driven by a combination of factors. The lack of steep tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles — unlike in the European Union or the United States, where officials see the levies as a way to protect domestic production — means the cars can be sold in Britain at better prices. And British car buyers are not particularly loyal to brands, with no major mass-market British carmaker to support. Last month, roughly a dozen Chinese automakers, like BYD, Chery and Geely, accounted for 13 percent of new car registrations in Britain, roughly double their market share a year ago, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.”
In the United States, most EV owners charge their vehicles at home since many Americans live in single-family homes with driveways and/or garages. Construction of public charging infrastructure, needed for distance EV driving and for drivers without driveways, was incompetently managed by the U.S. federal government under Biden and was then sabotaged and abandoned by Trump. The only successful national charging system in the United States was built by Tesla with the benefit of pre-DOGE government subsidies.
Overall, the United States federal government’s effort to accelerate EV adoption has stalled. EVs will eventually come to America, but the process will be done with less technology-forcing policy and more innovation, and the market’s ability to sell technologies that are better, cheaper, more convenient, and more reliable than existing technology. The basics of the EV technology will remain and will continue to be superior to the internal combustion engine. EVs have fewer moving parts, less need for maintenance, and make better use of computing technology to control the vehicle, propel it, and keep it safe. But improvements are needed. Batteries need to be less expensive, less dependent on rare earths, less toxic, quicker to charge, with longer ranges, and less loss of charge over time. Prices must come down, and/or Chinese cars should be allowed. The batteries need to retain charges during cold weather and when vehicles are kept off the road for a few weeks.
There will come a time in the near future when a less expensive, higher-quality electric vehicle will simply drive the internal combustion engine from the market. Many people will continue to buy the old-fashioned cars out of habit or comfort, some hobbyists and old-time car buffs will continue to buy and preserve them, but otherwise they will go the way of VCRs and antennas on TV sets. The process will take longer here than in other places because the use of EVs has been made political, but market forces tend to dominate political forces in the consumer marketplace.
It's true that President Trump’s emotional resistance to electric vehicles and renewable energy is delaying motor vehicle decarbonization. But I believe that the heavy-handed effort to promote these new technologies was also part of the problem. Government is at its best when it provides funding for technological research and development or subsidizes the adoption of new technology. It’s at its worst when it tries to tax, regulate, and raise the price of the old technology and tries to make it difficult for people to exercise freedom of choice in the marketplace. Autos are a major investment that utilize a great deal of household income and, for many Americans, represent a second home. EVs are coming to America, but the transition will not be rapid.
Views and opinions expressed here are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Columbia School of Professional Studies or Columbia University.
About the Program
The Columbia University M.S. in Sustainability Management program offered by the School of Professional Studies in partnership with the Climate School provides students cutting-edge policy and management tools they can use to help public and private organizations and governments address environmental impacts and risks, pollution control, and remediation to achieve sustainability. The program is customized for working professionals and is offered as both a full- and part-time course of study.
