> the Golf states

Scotland?

I'm reminded of the cartoon that circulated some years back where a climate denier asks the speaker "what if we built a better world for nothing?", or something along those lines.

The way these past few years have shown the absolute precarity of fossil fuel systems just proves that, preserving a comfortably liveable climate aside, renewables just make more sense across pretty much every axis.

You still get people fear mongering about Chinese solar, as if we shouldn't make the most of the oversupply subsidised by a supposed geopolitical foe. Like, no, they're not going to turn it off, once you have the panel, the light hits it and the electrons jump the gap. Oil/gas can be turned off yet the speaker is somehow glossing over that.

To be honest, in my experience, you don't need the incentives. Like what more do you actually need? Cheaper, faster, better driving, wake up every day to a full "tank", less things to go wrong. They're just better now - no one can deny that apart from absolute die-hard "petrol heads".

It's not like driving an EV has any actual downsides Vs a gasoline car any more? Yes yes I am sure people will reply saying how they need to drive 900 miles every day without stopping once while towing a trailer at 100mph etc.

Tailpipe emissions are only half of it. The brake and tyre dust is the second half, and not solved by EVs.

The EV incentives are not gone, they just changed from being a non refundable federal income tax credit to higher fossil fuel prices.

Oil has produced the political system, as well as the complexity it sits atop. [0] [1]

[0]https://www.apocalypse-confidential.com/the-autonomous-chemi...

[1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCSsKV5F4xc

It's interesting to see the way politics influences public opinion which in turn influences manufacturers, which in turn influence politics.

In Europe EV's have a positive political support, which means lots of sales, which means "all" European manufacturers have solid (and improving) offerings.

By contrast the biggest EV manufacturer is politically toxic to the very people likely to buy it. And oil companies lobby hard to keep anti-EV talking points alive. Which drives sales down, and manufacturers drop EVs from the range. Banning competition doesn't seem to help with making progress.

And yes, I get the "Europe short distances" argument, but how many Americans are really driving 300+ miles every day?

So, 20 years from now, will US manufacturers exist? Or will products from Asia and Europe be too far ahead?

Maybe reasons like this make people not desire EVs:

But with winter right around the corner, owners are worried that the cold weather. The ID.4 Pro S AWD is rated for 263 miles of EPA range in ideal conditions. The 20% hit to the battery likely brings real-world range below 200 miles, and actual winter condition tests show that the ID.4 loses up 37% of its range in the cold—ouch. https://insideevs.com/news/812129/vw-id4-charge-limit-80/

We don't have a lot of superchargers etc. so you mostly rely on what you collect yourself.

EVs here make the most sense if you have solar panels on the roof, something to store the energy in and obviously a house.

Most of the Poles don't have a house.

Edit: superchargers map https://www.tesla.com/pl_pl/findus?bounds=60.47900349927211%...

I know it's not about Tesla only, but it says something.

The median monthly gross income in Poland as of 2026 is 7.6k PLN ($1.9k USD) and like 80-90% of it will go towards your living costs, EVs will probably be a thing here in a decade or so when there's second hand market for cheap used ones coming imported from richer countries.

Probably lower buying power, poor on-the-go charging network and people not “trusting” the Evs as much yet

They weren’t until recently rich enough to fund the required charger infrastructure. Most people don’t want an EV until it flips from “not too big of a deal if you plan ahead” to “of course I can always find a charger”.

EVs are still pretty expensive, besides I'm sure that PIS decided that EVs are somehow a communist plot and will let Tusk turn your kids atheist. EVs are only just around the tipping point where they are cheaper without political incentives. And you need some political good will for charging infrastructure etc.

It's distribution rather than generation which is the problem. Offshore wind farms generate copious electricity and then because of lack of interconnects they end up being paid to switch off on the windiest days. This will all be solved as more infrastructure is built.

Or charge the EVS when the sun shines and the wind blows. Today you don't really need to charge your EV that often.

3. A massive sustained oil crisis that can no longer be ignored

One more reason to demand the Nobel peace prize next year

Its effective but death and suffering on a mass scale aren't the best ways to drive EV adoption overall.

No one would care about ban or no ban if this were true. The European auto industry cares because they are less competitive in the EV sector.

No, it is not obvious, especially to anyone who lives in a rural area. There is a type of smooth-brained reactionary person who will buy the biggest gas-guzzling truck he can find just because you told him not to.

e-bikes in particular have reduced fossil fuel use by huge amounts compared to EVs. When you consider that most of a car’s energy is used simply to move the car itself, the aggregate inefficiencies are staggering.