The EV revolution is creating geopolitical, environmental and societal tensions across the globe, as car industries built for a bygone era retool their supply chains.
Photographers: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg; Luke Duggleby/Bloomberg; Akos Stiller/Bloomberg; Jeoffrey Guillemard/Bloomberg
EV Market’s Surge Toward $57 Trillion Sparks Global Flashpoints
The electric-vehicle land grab is reshaping economies and challenging political allegiances around the world.
The historic transition from the century-long era of the internal combustion engine to the electric-vehicle age is creating flashpoints in surprising corners of the world economy. And it’s only just beginning.
In Canada’s resource-rich “Ring of Fire,” green goals are colliding as permits to dig up EV minerals are slowed by concerns over environmental degradation. In Thailand—dubbed Asia’s Detroit—Japanese automakers are losing ground to Chinese companies. In Mexico, Western automakers are expanding fast to sell EVs across the northern border, but in the meantime Chinese firms are ramping up sales to local consumers.