Rich Countries Dumping Used ICE Vehicles in Developing Countries
As the world strives to rid itself of its reliance on fossil fuels, experts have noticed an alarming trend: developed countries are dumping scores of used fossil-fuel-powered cars in developing nations. These rich countries attract the lion’s share of green-energy-related investment and have made significant progress in their efforts to electrify transportation.
Unfortunately, the developed world is also exporting a growing number of gas guzzlers it is replacing with electric cars to the underdeveloped world, flooding emerging economies with so many internal combustion engine (ICE) cars that those countries will have trouble cutting their emissions.
MIT Mobility Initiative senior fellow David Zipper notes that despite the recent slump in electric vehicle sales, countries in Asia, Europe and North America are offering electric vehicle subsidies and increasing their public EV-charging infrastructure. Furthermore, he says, global electric vehicle sales are predicted to jump by nearly three times to reach 40 million units per year by 2030.
Zipper predicts that rather than scrapping their unwanted ICE cars, rich countries will mass export them to developing markets, where low car ownership levels coupled with limited income have left legions of buyers eager to buy vehicles even if they are older, outdated and substandard. While this would undoubtedly be a boon for people living in countries where car ownership is a luxury limited to high-earning individuals, it would ultimately harm global efforts to cut greenhouse-gas emissions.
Additionally, the influx of fossil-fuel cars in emerging economies could lead to calls for the development of vehicle-reliant infrastructure and hinder the development of dense transit networks and neighborhoods, which encourage sustainable growth. These secondhand ICE vehicles would also contribute to declining air quality in the developing world and could worsen smog levels in cities that are already drowning with the blight.
Since vehicular travel accounts for around 30% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, electrification of the transportation industry will be essential to achieving carbon neutrality on a global scale. As such, the correct solution will likely require both the developed and developing worlds to make some concessions.
The rich world’s millions of gasoline-powered cars could fetch an extremely tidy sum if developed nations decided to export them rather than scrap them. Plenty of buyers in the developing world would be happy to purchase older gas guzzlers if it allowed them to finally achieve vehicle ownership. If proper precautions aren’t taken, developing nations could spend the next several decades absorbing used fossil-fuel cars as the developed world accelerates its electrification efforts.
EV makers such as Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) have an opportunity to come up with products that will suit the needs of buyers in the developing world as efforts to move away from fossil fuels gather steam. The company that gets in first in these markets will have a major competitive advantage over the laggards that are late to the party.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/MULN
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the Green Car Stocks website applicable to all content provided by GCS, wherever published or re-published: https://www.GreenCarStocks.com/Disclaimer
As the world strives to rid itself of its reliance on fossil fuels, experts have noticed an alarming trend: developed countries are dumping scores of used fossil-fuel-powered cars in developing nations. These rich countries attract the lion’s share of green-energy-related investment and have made significant progress in their efforts to electrify transportation.
Unfortunately, the developed world is also exporting a growing number of gas guzzlers it is replacing with electric cars to the underdeveloped world, flooding emerging economies with so many internal combustion engine (ICE) cars that those countries will have trouble cutting their emissions.
MIT Mobility Initiative senior fellow David Zipper notes that despite the recent slump in electric vehicle sales, countries in Asia, Europe and North America are offering electric vehicle subsidies and increasing their public EV-charging infrastructure. Furthermore, he says, global electric vehicle sales are predicted to jump by nearly three times to reach 40 million units per year by 2030.
Zipper predicts that rather than scrapping their unwanted ICE cars, rich countries will mass export them to developing markets, where low car ownership levels coupled with limited income have left legions of buyers eager to buy vehicles even if they are older, outdated and substandard. While this would undoubtedly be a boon for people living in countries where car ownership is a luxury limited to high-earning individuals, it would ultimately harm global efforts to cut greenhouse-gas emissions.
Additionally, the influx of fossil-fuel cars in emerging economies could lead to calls for the development of vehicle-reliant infrastructure and hinder the development of dense transit networks and neighborhoods, which encourage sustainable growth. These secondhand ICE vehicles would also contribute to declining air quality in the developing world and could worsen smog levels in cities that are already drowning with the blight.
Since vehicular travel accounts for around 30% of global greenhouse-gas emissions, electrification of the transportation industry will be essential to achieving carbon neutrality on a global scale. As such, the correct solution will likely require both the developed and developing worlds to make some concessions.
The rich world’s millions of gasoline-powered cars could fetch an extremely tidy sum if developed nations decided to export them rather than scrap them. Plenty of buyers in the developing world would be happy to purchase older gas guzzlers if it allowed them to finally achieve vehicle ownership. If proper precautions aren’t taken, developing nations could spend the next several decades absorbing used fossil-fuel cars as the developed world accelerates its electrification efforts.
EV makers such as Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) have an opportunity to come up with products that will suit the needs of buyers in the developing world as efforts to move away from fossil fuels gather steam. The company that gets in first in these markets will have a major competitive advantage over the laggards that are late to the party.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Mullen Automotive Inc. (NASDAQ: MULN) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/MULN
Please see full terms of use and disclaimers on the Green Car Stocks website applicable to all content provided by GCS, wherever published or re-published: https://www.GreenCarStocks.com/Disclaimer
