The two electric manufacturers have adopted a questionable posture vis-à-vis their competitors. Faced with the climate emergency, the two young brands seem to want to teach historical manufacturers a lesson.
To limit its impact on global warming, the automotive industry must initiate major changes. The most visible part for the general public concerns the electrification of cars, but the whole production process must also be completely redesigned. While many major automotive groups have already initiated this new strategy to achieve carbon neutrality, other manufacturers are pushing back the deadline. In this contextRivian and Polestar have teamed up to the management consulting firm Keaney, to encourage manufacturers to act through a roadmap to be applied.
That Tesla is positioning itself as a wrongdoer on ecological issues is legitimate, but that two new entrants to the automobile market are doing so is quite cheeky, and that risk of grinding your teeth. Polestar’s Director of Sustainability, Fredrika Klarén, commented on the move as follows: Automakers may follow different paths when it comes to branding, design and marketing. Moreover, some still do not admit that the future is electric. In my view, this is a shared responsibility, just as much as the climate crisis. And we gotta look past the exhaust pipes. »
“Not a year to waste”
THE report edited by Keaney specifies that ” the path to limiting global warming by 1.5 degrees for the automotive industry is tight » and that there is « not a year to lose “. The report also lists a series of measures to be taken immediately, to apply it during the next decade.
Ideally, the 3 axes should be combined at the same time:
- Switch the entire global car fleet to electric;
- Supply the entire fleet with non-fossil fuels;
- Make progress on the issue of sustainable manufacturing and its integration into the production chain.
The report is not wrong in its analysis, although naive, but it mostly pushes open doors. The majority of automotive groups have long since taken into account the information presented and are acting in this direction at a forced march. This is the case of the BMW group, which presented us with all the milestones of their upcoming transformation. The Volkswagen, Renault, Stellantis, Tesla, BYD groups and many others have already begun to act to transform the historic automotive industry, to take this sharp and fast turn. The future battery passport is, for example, an element of cooperation already making concrete progress on these issues.
Moreover, the manufacturers are not the only ones to organize the transformation of the automotive industry, all the suppliers of parts and service providers are closely monitored to achieve the carbon neutrality expected for the sector.
A strange position, coming from low-volume premium electric car makers
Rivian managed to produce just under 25,000 vehicles in 2022, Polestar would have reached its target of 50,000 units. This gives a cumulative production of 75,000 electric cars, a figure barely higher than the volume of sales of the Volkswagen ID.4 in Europe alone. Suffice to say that these two manufacturers have neither the weight nor the stature necessary to really impose their vision on groups that manage production of several million vehicles per year.
Especially since the two brands only focus on fairly premium vehicles at the moment and on very limited markets. It is also easier to act when you have a limited number of production sites and suppliers. It would even be rather scandalous if young manufacturers had not already integrated all these carbon neutrality approaches.
If Polestar is strong enough, Rivian will likely be asked to sweep outside its door and start securing its financial future, before wanting to lecture other automakers.
The initial move is certainly commendable, but it seems particularly clumsy. It suggests that the automotive industry has made no progress on the issue, even though Chinese brands like BYD have made much more extensive commitments than Rivian and Polestar announce through the established roadmap.
We can however see in the approach a form of attempt to invite manufacturers to unite rather than to divide. A helping hand to act together, initiated by Rivian and Polestar: “ This report clearly underlines the importance of acting together and now. The cost of inaction is undeniable. But there are also financial opportunities for innovators who will find an answer to the challenges we face. », as explained by the Director of Sustainable Development at Polestar. Except that once again, the approach seems particularly clumsy to proceed in this way.
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