Industry experts predict challenges for the internal combustion engine (ICE) driven second hand car market due to the growing focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. This could lead to higher costs and taxes for ICE vehicles, raising doubts about the sustainability of the second hand car industry.
The delay in adopting ESG principles is a concern, notably seen in the environmentally harmful reputation of the used car market. This is due to reliance on old, polluting vehicles using fossil fuels.
The Ford Mustang’s V8 engine is a crucial component of its character, and the business has no plans to replace it with batteries and an electric motor anytime soon.
Ford has vowed to continue selling the Mustang with an internal combustion engine and has no intention of discontinuing the model’s drivetrain. Unlike competitors Chevrolet and Dodge, whose current Mustang rivals are being killed off, with the former’s Camaro coupe and the latter’s Challenger coupe and Charger sedan due to cease production in 2024.
Speciality automobiles running on any blend of petrol and ethanol were Brazil’s novel approach to reducing tailpipe emissions for two decades, helping the country boast just a quarter of the road pollution of other nations its size.
While other countries are pushing the EV agenda, Brazil is standing its ground while several of the other leading economies in the world set out specific plans to ultimately stop selling automobiles with combustion engines. The most widely used models in the nation are so-called flexible-fuel cars that can operate entirely on biofuel made from sugar cane, making them generally more environmentally friendly than pure petrol engines.
Netizens are expressing their frustration over the fact that luxury electric car brands like Tesla are exempt from taxes and duties, supposedly ‘making wealthy Malaysians even wealthier’, while fuel-powered, more affordable cars like the Perodua Axia are subject to high-er taxes, inadvertently burdening the less fortunate segments of the Malaysian population.
Questions about the environment are allegedly fairly important with electric cars (EVs). When their batteries reach the end of their useful lives, they will compound the already existing environmental concerns.
The all-new, fully electric Porsche Macan is scheduled to be introduced in the first half of 2024, although it is possible that the ICE-powered version may continue to be produced for a longer period of time than previously anticipated.
According to reports, Porsche stated that, depending on sales volume over the following two years, it will evaluate its decision to discontinue the combustion-engined Macan in 2025 or 2026.
The production version of the Macan was unveiled at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show and 2013 Tokyo Motor Show. Early models included the Macan S and Macan Turbo. The recent model that is available in the Malaysian market is the 2022 Porsche Macan facelift. The standard Macan costs RM433,154, the Macan S starts at RM623,593, and the Macan GTS is the most expensive model, starting at RM786,232.
After Germany questioned the EU’s support for the regulations, the bloc’s member states postponed a vote scheduled for next week on the law that will ban the sale of new CO2-emitting vehicles by 2035.
However, Audi, they have planned to totally cease production of ICE cars by the end of 2026 but this might see some delays due to the ongoing discussion.
Jaguar has had a long history of making sportscars – many of which have been famous. And where the F-TYPE is concerned, it has a rich bloodline spanning 75 years that includes some of the most iconic models ever built.
To mark its final model year and also 75 years of Jaguar sportscars, the carmaker is offering special editions in the form of the F-TYPE 75 and F-TYPE R 75. These will be distinguished by unique interior and exterior design elements, carefully curated specifications, and, of course, the supercharged 5-litre Jaguar V8 engine that is synonymous with F-TYPE.
These exclusive models will be a fitting celebration of internal combustion engine performance before Jaguar becomes a pure electric modern luxury brand from 2025.
Over the next 10 years, Honda will allocate approximately 5 trillion yen in the area of electrification and software technologies to further accelerate its electrification, which is approximately 62% of the company’s overall R&D expenses budgeted for the same. This expenditure will enable it to have up to 30 EV models globally by 2030 with production volumes of more than 2 million units annually. This huge investment will help Honda achieve carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities by 2050.
The strong focus on EVs – and presumably, Honda is referring to battery electric vehicles (BEVs) – may suggest that the carmaker will be decreasing development of internal combustion engines (ICE) and hybrid vehicles (HEVs). In fact, last year, it announced the intention to stop producing and selling new ICE vehicles, including hybrids, worldwide by 2040.
However, like what a number of major carmakers are saying, hurried adoption of BEVs is not a practical approach. Due to regional differences such as the level of customer acceptance, affordability, readiness of infrastructure and economic conditions, a singular approach to switching to BEVs globally is not going to work.
Honda will therefore be working on rapid transitioning to BEVs in markets and regions such as the USA, Europe, China and Japan while continuing with a more realistic solution for other areas. In those major markets for electrification, the ratio of BEVs and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) will be increased at a faster rate. In relation to overall unit sales, these zero emission vehicles will account for 40% of volume by 2030, 80% by 2035, and 100% by 2040.
In some markets like Malaysia, Honda also refers to its hybrid technology as e:HEV technology.
And even though North America is one of the regions that is part of the main electrification plan, Honda has still allocated R&D resources to develop new hybrid models for the near-term. This is to increase HEV volume of core models such as the CR-V, Accord and Civic which are produced there. Honda currently sells 4 HEV models in North America. However, Insight production will end in June to start production of the new CR-V Hybrid this year, followed by the Accord Hybrid, which will eventually make up 50% of the sales mix of each model.
2021 Honda CR-V Hybrid
“We need to take into account multiple factors, such as the living environment and the penetration rate of renewable energy, rather than simply switching to electric vehicles,” said Toshihiro Mibe, Honda’s CEO. “We are ending conventional engines but we will still focus on hybrids, and it will be our strength in 2030 or even in 2035.”
Honda, along with Toyota, were the first brands to introduce HEVs and while the Prius was the first into the market, Honda’s first generation of Insight arrived in the USA 7 months before the Toyota HEV. Following the futuristic looking Insight was the Civic Hybrid in 2002 and then the Accord Hybrid.
Honda’s first model with hybrid electric technology was the Insight, which made its debut in Japan in 1999. The CR-Z hybrid sportscar was sold between 2010 and 2016 but due to diminishing sales of coupes, Honda didn’t follow up with a second generation.
Honda continued to improve its hybrid technology (which it also refers to as e:HEV technology in some markets) as well as try to bring costs down and developed better hybrid powertrains for the next generations of the models. It also came out with a HEV sportscar, the CR-Z, in 2010 but as sales of coupes slowed down, the model line did not continue into a second generation.
So HEVs still have a future, more so now that they have moved from being of interest to early adopters to become more mainstream in the marketplace. While most HEV buyers would be aware that their car is powered by a petrol engine as well as an electric motor, the fact that a HEV needs no recharging (a plug-in hybrid or PHEV does) makes the technology ‘invisible’. It’s like turbochargers; in the 1970s, they were distinct features in high-performance engines but today, their presence is taken for granted in the new generation of downsized engines.
In Malaysia, Honda has been selling hybrid models since 2004 and assembling some models locally since 2012, starting with the Jazz Hybrid.
Honda’s continued attention to HEVs will also be beneficial in other markets where BEV adoption may be slow. HEVs can still help in a small way on the climate change issue as they generate lower carbon dioxide gases which have been identified as a major cause of global warming.
With electric vehicles (EVs) constantly in the news these days, you will by now be familiar with the main selling points: zero emissions and lower maintenance costs. Apart from governmental pressures, the industry is doing its best to persuade motorists to switch from vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE) to EVs as quickly as possible to build up the numbers and reach economies of scale that can bring production costs down.
Understanding that driving range and price are key factors in consumers’ minds when considering an EV, they are working hard on those factors which will require greater manufacturing innovation and efficiencies across the sector. But the angle of zero emissions from EVs being able to address climate change and preserve the environment is not applicable everywhere. In the more economically advanced countries, ‘saving the planet’ may be something people can also think about (and do something about) but for much of the world, saving themselves first is a higher priority than changing to a more expensive EV in place of their still-functioning ICE vehicle.
“The reality is that, despite EVs eliminating tailpipe emissions, they also produce a ‘long tailpipe’ of increased demand for electricity and energy-intensive materials,” notes a report by global technology company Hexagon. The report, based on original research conducted by Wards Intelligence, says that many of today’s EVs have been designed for short-term well-to-wheel benefits without considering their ‘whole-lifecycle’ environmental footprint.
For motorists, the perspective is only from tank (the fuel tank or battery pack) to wheel whereas a true examination of the benefits of EVs must consider the much bigger picture. While EVs can certainly give the benefits which we are being told about, the cost of making them and running them is a side of the story which consumers don’t ask or know about. But it is one which is generating debate and which suggests that EVs are not necessarily the best solution to addressing climate change.
Bigger picture than just well-to-wheel
An EV can certainly beat an ICE vehicle on emissions while in use but what about over its entire life-cycle – starting with making it and also the resources to give it power? While the ‘well-to-wheel’ analysis typically looks at all emissions related to fuel production, processing, distribution, and use when comparing EVs to ICE vehicles, it is also necessary to cover an even wider scope which includes manufacturing of EVs and end of life.
This is where things start to look different and while studies have found that the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the production and distribution of ICE vehicles and EVs is not significantly different, the battery packs needed in EVs tip the scales.
EVs may have less parts than ICE vehicles but the numerous electronic systems are made from rare earth elements. Making each battery pack (below) also generates a lot of carbon dioxide.
Apart from requiring depletable rare metals, it is estimated that up to 150 kgs of CO2 are released for every 1 kiloWatt hour (kWh) of battery capacity. To provide an EV with 500 kms of range would require a battery that currently has at least 60 kWh of storage capacity. To make such a battery pack would mean that another 9 tonnes of CO2 would be added to manufacturing the vehicle and this is a negative impact from the perspective of environment-friendliness (compared to making an ICE vehicle).
‘Sustainability’ is also touted as another selling point of EVs but if so many of the electricity-generating plants are coal-powered, would it not then be a case of shifting demand of one depleting fossil fuel (oil) to another (coal)? After all, both fuels are the product of dead plants and dinosaurs and other organic stuff that was buried up to a billion years ago. According to a group at Stanford University, the world’s coal reserves will last only till 2090, oil reserves will run out by 2052, and natural gas by 2060. And this is based on current consumption; if demand for electricity starts to rise rapidly with more EVS in use, then the depletion will naturally accelerate.
Half of the planet’s coal-powered electricity plants are in China but in other countries, there are also other types of environment-friendly power generators like wind turbines (below).
Of course, not all sources of electricity use coal or oil. Studies show that 36.7% of global electricity production comes from nuclear or renewable energy (solar, wind, hydropower, wind and tidal and some biomass), with the remaining two-thirds from fossil fuels. But of these two-thirds, 54% of the electricity generators are in China alone where the world’s biggest car market is.
Less parts, less complexity but…
EVs are also described as being ‘less complex’ as they have less parts than ICE vehicles. They are essentially computers with electric motors and wheels. But a closer examination will show that all those electronic parts – which are in greater numbers than in ICE vehicles – are composed of more ‘high-end’ materials – lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements which need to be mined. The rare earth elements have to be extracted and waste from the processing methods can be radioactive water, toxic fluorine, and acids.
Estimates of lifetime emissions from EVs depend not just on mileage travelled in the vehicle’s lifetime but must also take into account whether the battery pack will last equally long. Current lithium-ion technology for battery packs has degradation over time, and after hundreds of charge/use cycles, become less effective. Like the battery in mobilephones, the lifespan will vary but studies have found that it takes at least 1,000 full cycles before the battery pack starts to show any degradation.
Nissan is one of the carmakers that has started a project to recycle end-of-life battery packs which can still serve as energy storage units in other applications.
Eventually, it will probably be that entire EVs – including their battery packs – will have a specific lifecycle so a new battery pack is unnecessary. Everything can be recycled and the batteries might even serve a further purpose for other equipment. The latter process already exists in some places through projects initiated by manufacturers.
The true test of success for electric vehicles is therefore to deliver on their broader promise and create a commercially successful automotive industry that can also be environmentally sustainable. The Hexagon survey demonstrates that manufacturers are aware of the need to go beyond eliminating end-user emissions and improve the ‘whole-lifecycle’ sustainability of EVs. Carmakers and suppliers also increasingly recognize the need to think beyond the vehicles and instead build car parts for a second life and a circular economy.
This will require the industry to compress and connect manufacturing processes together so that sustainability is ‘baked in’ to a vehicle’s DNA at design stage and every part is conceived and created to support both a sustainable car and economy.
EV assembly at the Polestar factory in China.
The automotive industry is therefore caught between bottom-up consumer expectations and top-down political pressure for more sustainable EVs. “Living up to the lofty vision of an ethical and environmentally-friendly automotive industry means moving beyond simply eliminating tailpipe emissions to creating lighter, more sustainable materials and manufacturing methods. Emerging smart manufacturing approaches are vital to bring these innovations to market within demanding deadlines, while remaining profitable,” said Paolo Guglielmini, President of Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division.
So should you buy an EV?
The ‘dark side’ of EVs aside, the change will come about and even if you presently have the choice of staying with an ICE vehicle, your children probably won’t. EVs are the future and ICE vehicles will either be banned from use in some countries or their sale will be stopped so that they eventually diminish in numbers (which could take decades in places like Malaysia). Right now, for Malaysians, it would be a good time to buy an EV if you can afford one because of the duty-exemption. This exemption won’t be around forever although there may be other incentives in future though not as great as this one.
There are definitely advantages to owning and using an EV compared to an ICE vehicle. Running and maintenance costs are less but you will incur an extra initial expenditure setting up a charging point at home (if you can do so). The earlier disincentives like limited range are steadily being erased as battery technology improves and the same goes for recharging facilities. The network is steadily growing and with increasing numbers of EVs on the roads, there will be more justification to invest in expanding the network.
Like computers and mobilephones, the technology keeps advancing each year. As we said earlier, there is a race on by the industry to improve range and reduce costs and so performance will get better and as volumes rise, production costs can go down so EVs will become cheaper. In this case then, perhaps it may be a better idea to consider the subscription approach instead of the outright purchase and ownership model that has been the norm for decades. This will help you to remain current with the latest technologies by changing cars regularly without concerns about depreciation and disposal.
Since the introduction of a radio in the car about 100 years ago, in-car entertainment or ICE has been evolving as new technologies were developed and then miniaturised and ruggedised for use in cars. Tape-players and CD-players allowed motorists to bring their own favourite music with them, and then with connectivity to portable devices, the capability expanded.
And then came digital displays that meant movies could also be viewed, and before long, being able to connect to the internet meant that a whole new world of entertainment became available inside the car. Whatever you can enjoy in your home can now also be enjoyed while travelling.
Moving into virtual reality
The next step in ICE is virtual-reality (VR) entertainment and Audi is the first carmaker in the world to enable passengers to immerse themselves in games, films and interactive content using holoride. They will enjoy this by using VR glasses which will make a car ride a multimodal gaming event.
The immersive experiences
The holoride technology adapts virtual content to the car’s driving movements in real-time. For example, if the car is taking a right turn, the spaceship in the imaginary world will also fly to the right. If the car accelerates, the spaceship speeds up too. Initiated by Audi, development of this innovative VR or XR (extended reality) technology is being advanced and commercialized for different manufacturers by the tech entertainment start-up.
With this approach, the 4-year old German start-up has established a completely new media category that they call ‘Elastic Content’ – content that adapts to driving movements, journey time and driving route. The result is immersive experiences with a previously unknown level of quality.
Holoride-capable Audi models
The models that will be holoride-capable with the third-generation modular infotainment toolkit (MIB 3) and the latest software cluster will be the A4, A5, A6, A7, A8, Audi Q5, Q7, Q8, e-tron and e-tron GT quattro. They will initially be available for the European and North American markets as well as Japan and China.
holoride was first presented at CES 2019 (the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas), in cooperation with Disney Games and Interactive Experiences. It implemented a VR game experience from the Marvel Universe for cars. In addition to other activities and showcases, during a roadshow through California from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 2021, holoride visited other production and game studios to demonstrate the technology’s possibilities to potential partners.
In the future, the progressive automation of travel by car will not only make new forms of entertainment possible while driving but will also open up increased opportunities to learn and work on the road. When drivers also no longer have to concentrate on driving in the future, they can turn their attention to other things – work, reading, watching films, or gaming. The motion-synchronized voyage through virtual worlds with holoride also reduces the common phenomenon of motion sickness often experienced by passengers reading a book or enjoying audio-visual media on electronic devices such as tablets.
For users, the interior will become their personal free space, and for designers, it will become the new design centre. After all, the design process begins with the question: who will be sitting in a new model and what will people want to do there? In the future, designers will no longer design cars from the outside in, but from the inside out – and therefore customers will literally become the centre of attention.
