Automakers such as Stellantis, Ford, Honda and General Motors have announced a spate of new or updated internal-combustion engines in the past year. It’s a sign they’re betting that the transition to zero-emission vehicles will be a lengthy one in developed markets — North America and Europe — and not even on the radar in others.
“We are targeting 50 per cent of our Canada and U.S. sales to be battery-electric vehicles by 2030, but that still leaves 50 per cent of our sales with internal-combustion and PHEV [plug-in hybrid vehicle] technologies, and they need to be as efficient and planet-friendly as we can make them.”Some observers are skeptical that the 2035 sales targets are achievable. EV production capacity, unsettled supply chains and access to raw materials for batteries generate uncertainty.
“There are markets that frankly don’t care much about electric vehicles at the moment, and this is a global industry,” Schnurrer told Automotive News Canada. “So they try to serve the markets; they try to be as flexible as possible.” For example, the supplier has three plants in southern Ontario producing parts used in ICE and electric vehicles, such as gears, shafts and stamped components for transmissions assembled in Europe and China.