Auto emissions *could* have dropped by 30%, but SUVs ruined it for everyone: report
A new report gives us a glimpse of what our world could look like if there weren’t so many big, hulking SUVs cruising around. Due to the rise in electric vehicles, carbon emissions from automobiles could have dropped by more than 30% over the past 10 years, except they haven’t – and that’s because of our global appetite for jumbo cars, the report authors say.
From 2010 and 2022, if vehicles had stayed the same size and the bloated SUV trend had never happened, carbon emissions could have been reduced by more than 30%, according to a report from the Global Fuel Economy Initiative (GFEI). Instead, automotive emissions only dropped 4.2%, essentially undoing all the good benefits of electric vehicles.
SUVs represent 51% of the new car market, and the average light-duty vehicle weight has bulked up to an all-time high of more than 1.5 tonnes. The size of SUVs is growing, with a footprint averaging around 4.2 square meters (about 45 square feet). Plus automakers make a huge profit from SUVs, which are sold at premium prices but have a proportionally lower manufacturing cost, so they are eager to market them to consumers.
Electric vehicles, which represent 15% of global new car sales in 2022, use three to six times less energy than ICE vehicles to travel the same distance. Markets with strong growth in the EV sector, including China and Europe, saw the largest annual energy efficiency improvements of close to 6%. North America, which has a lower market uptake of EVs, recorded a yearly improvement rate of 1.6%.
“Growing vehicle size is a huge problem, which is threatening many aspects of sustainable mobility, from climate to road safety,” said Sheila Watson, deputy director of the FIA Foundation, an environmental nonprofit. “This report shows that we must move away from these mega-vehicles if we are to achieve the GFEI goal of doubling the fuel efficiency of cars by 2030. Vehicle size matters – and in this case bigger is definitely not better.”
This includes large, heavy electric SUVs – while they have zero tailpipe emissions, they also have with enormous battery and energy demands, not to mention the fact they kill more pedestrians than any other vehicle. “Reversing the trend toward bigger and heavier vehicles is key to achieving more sustainable mobility,” said Dan Sperling, founding director of the Institute of Transportation Studies of the University of California, Davis. “This applies also for electric mobility, to make the market for EVs more equitable and inclusive – and to reduce the need for critical minerals and more electricity.”
To turn this around, the report calls for governments to set caps on vehicle size (on hybrid and electric as well as ICE) to reverse the SUV trend and help accelerate the shift to smaller EVs – Paris is proposing one such restriction right now. Plus the report authors recommend more stringent environmental and safety regulations on highly utilized vehicles such as company cars, taxis, government fleets, and ride- and car-sharing services.
They also are calling for more investment in renewables, a reversal of fossil fuel subsidies, with the application of carbon pricing, regulations on minimum EV charging deployment, and financial instruments designed to facilitate affordable access to EVs.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Jack Dorsey, co-founder and chief executive officer of Twitter Inc. and Square Inc., listens during the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami, Florida, on Friday, June 4, 2021.
Eva Marie Uzcategui | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Block shares jumped in extended trading on Thursday after the fintech company increased its forecast for the year.
Here is how the company did, compared to analysts’ consensus estimates from LSEG.
- Earnings per share: 62 cents adjusted vs. 69 cents expected
Block doesn’t report a revenue figure, but said gross profit rose 14% from a year earlier to $2.54 billion, beating analysts’ estimates of $2.46 billion for the quarter. Gross payment volume increased 10% to $64.25 billion.
Block raised its guidance for full-year gross profit to $10.17 billion, representing 14% growth from a year earlier. In its prior earnings report, Block said gross profit for the year would come in at $9.96 billion.
The company expects full-year adjusted operating income of $2.03 billion, or a 20% margin. For the third quarter, the company expects gross profit to grow 16% from a year ago to $2.6 billion, with an operating margin of 18%.
Square payment volume in the quarter grew 10% from a year earlier.
Block faces growing competition from rivals such as Toast and Fiserv‘s Clover, though its Square business still gained share during the quarter in areas such as retail and food and beverage.
Block shares were down 10% this year as of Thursday’s close, while the Nasdaq is up 10%. Last month, Block was added to the S&P 500.
— CNBC’s Robert Hum contributed to this report.
Environment
The new Chevy Bolt EV will get cheaper LFP batteries from China’s CATL, at least for now
Until GM builds its own, the new Chevy Bolt EV will use lower-cost LFP batteries from China’s CATL. GM will temporarily lean on CATL to power its most affordable electric vehicle.
The new Chevy Bolt EV will use batteries from China
The new Chevy Bolt EV is set to begin rolling off the production line at GM’s assembly plant in Fairfax, Kansas, later this year.
GM’s CEO Mary Barra promises the new EV will arrive with “substantial improvements,” including longer range, faster charging, and a stylish new look. It will also be the company’s first EV based on the Ultium platform to launch with LFP batteries in North America.
Although the batteries were initially expected to be made in-house, it appears that GM will import them from China, at least for the next few years.
A new report from The Wall Street Journal claims GM will import LFP batteries from CATL to power the new Chevy Bolt EV over the next two years.
According to sources close to the matter, GM will rely on CATL for batteries until it begins producing more affordable EV batteries in collaboration with LG Energy Solutions in 2027.
“To stay competitive, GM will temporarily source these packs from similar suppliers to power our most affordable EV model,” a company spokesperson said. The statement added that “For several years, other US automakers have depended on foreign suppliers for LFP battery sourcing and licensing.”
Ford is licensing technology from CATL to produce LFP batteries in Michigan, which will power its next-generation electric vehicles.
Given Trump’s new tariff and trade policies, GM will face hefty import costs from China. According to Sam Abuelsamid from auto research firm Telemetry, combined with other cost-cutting measures, “the new Bolt with Chinese batteries may still be marginally profitable or “close enough.” He added that “It may be that the economics work for GM to do this on a temporary basis.”
Just over a week ago, Chevy offered a sneak peek at the new Bolt EV with the first teaser images. It’s scheduled to enter production later this year and will arrive at US dealerships in 2026.
Although GM has yet to announce prices and specs, the new Bolt EV is expected to start at around $30,000 with a range of around 300 miles. It will also be the second GM electric vehicle, following the Cadillac Optiq-V, with a built-in NACS port for charging at Tesla Superchargers.
Electrek’s Take
Chinese battery makers, including CATL and BYD, are dominating the global market with lower-cost and more advanced tech.
According to new data from SNE Research, CATL and BYD widened their lead in the first half of 2025. CATL held the top spot with a 37.9% market share while BYD was second at 17.8%.
The combined market share of South Korean battery makers, LG Energy Solution, SK On, and Samsung SDI, fell to 16.4%, a 5.4% decline from the first half of 2024.
Although the deal may work out in GM’s favor, it still highlights the significant gap between US auto and battery makers and their Chinese counterparts.
Meanwhile, GM’s current most affordable electric model, the Chevy Equinox EV, is expected to be among the top three best-selling EVs in the US this year, behind the Tesla Model Y and Model 3. GM calls it “America’s most affordable 315+ range EV” with starting prices under $35,000.
Will the new Bolt EV see the same demand? With prices expected to start at around $30,000, it will be one of the lowest-priced electric vehicles in the US.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Despite a full lineup of electric models rolling out, Cadillac now plans to keep offering at least one popular gas-powered SUV.
Cadillac XT5 SUV will keep a gas engine in the US
GM’s luxury brand was supposed to go all-electric by the end of the decade. Although it already walked back its commitment last year, Cadillac has now confirmed which popular gas SUV will stick around a while longer.
The Cadillac XT5, the brand’s best-selling vehicle outside of the Escalade, will continue to be sold in North America.
The news was first reported by The Detroit Free Press, which cited a recent memo from GM to UAW workers. Although Cadillac had planned to end XT5 production at the end of the year, GM informed workers that it will continue to be built until the end of 2026.
The current Cadillac XT5 will continue to be sold until the 2027 model year arrives in the US, which will still feature a gas engine.
It could arrive as a potential hybrid, similar to the XT5 sold in China, which features a 2.0L turbocharged engine combined with a 48V electric motor. No fully electric version was mentioned.
GM will continue Cadillac XT5 production in Spring Hill, Tennessee, alongside the Lyriq and Vistiq electric SUVs.
Cadillac claims to be the leading luxury EV brand in the US with a full lineup of electric SUVs. However, that doesn’t include Tesla. The luxury brand now offers the entry-level Optiq, mid-size Lyriq, three-row Vistiq, and even larger Escalade IQ and IQL electric models.
In the first half of the year, nearly 25% of Cadillac vehicles sold in the US were electric. The XT5 was Cadillac’s second-best-selling vehicle, with over 12,700 units sold. The Escalade was its top seller with over 24,300 models sold through June.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike