Putin’s war on energy is testing solidarity between EU nations
Putin’s war on energy is testing solidarity between EU nations
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Russia’s continuing war in Ukraine is causing a “very, very challenging” situation in Europe, which is testing its countries’ solidarity not only in how they react to Putin’s aggression, but also in how they deal with the aftereffects.
The conflict’s impacts on energy have rippled across Europe: Germany has scrambled to bolster its natural gas storage, French President Emmanuel Macron has encouraged people to cut their gas usage by 10% ahead of winter, and Italy is looking to scale back gas consumption by 7%.
“We have never experienced such a challenging experience,” Paolo Gentiloni, the EU’s economics commissioner, told CNBC on Oct. 12.
“I’m calling [for] European action, European solidarity, because the experience we had in the previous crisis … was that acting together, responding together, you are not only able to avoid divisions among European countries but you have a strong, strong reaction,” Gentiloni said, referring to the unanimous, albeit “slow” procurement and rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in 2021.
Gentiloni also referred to a “common tool” that could be used across the EU to help member states combat the energy crisis.
“I’m not calling for further common debt,” Gentiloni highlights, “because we have a big common debt for what we call next generation EU. I’m calling for a common tool based on loans to face the emergency that we have,” he said.
Divisions in the ranks?
But divisions are starting to show in how countries are approaching the energy crisis.
Poland, Belgium, Italy and Greece are among the countries proposing a gas “price corridor” across Europe in an attempt to tackle soaring prices.
The gas price corridor, “should act as a circuit breaker and disincentive to speculation. It is not meant to suppress prices at an artificially low level,” according to a draft proposal, as reported by Reuters.
But other countries, including Germany, are thought to oppose the plan over fears that capping prices could have negative impacts on energy security.
The corridor is thought to have been discussed on Oct. 7, but no further details have been released.
Meanwhile, Germany has already put provisions in place as winter approaches.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a 200 billion euro ($193 billion) package to subsidize basic consumption for households and small and medium-sized companies on Sept. 30.
But Germany working independently of the wider European community has prompted questions over the country’s commitment to a unified response to the energy crisis, with fears that the package could have a negative impact on the country’s neighbors.
When asked whether Germany should commit to not buying energy ahead of other European countries, Gentiloni said that would be “a very good move.”
“I would say not only for Germany, [but also] for Italy, for other countries that are understandably on their own in looking for energy sources, alternative[s] to Russian fossil fuels,” Gentolini said.
“I’m not criticizing Germany,” Gentiloni emphasized, “but asking for something more from the EU.”
Others have been more direct in their disapproval of Germany’s role in Europe’s energy crisis, including Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
“This is our collective problem,” Morawiecki said, “it cannot be so, that one country, which is the richest and the most developed in Europe like Germany … can block everything which is now happening,” he said, referring to the proposed gas corridor.
“We don’t want to be patronized by some countries which then behave in a completely different way than they were expected to do just before,” he told CNBC’s Charlotte Reed in an exclusive interview on Oct. 6.
Poland’s Finance Minister, Magdalena Rzeczkowska, took a more balanced approach, saying that while Europe should try to “find common solutions for all” that won’t “disturb the equal playing field in Europe,” she could understand why countries may put forward their own proposals.
“The energy discussions are taking too long,” Rzeczkowska told CNBC’s Geoff Cutmore at the 2022 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Washington, D.C.
“Poland is [also] doing our own programs, our own solutions, because we cannot wait. But still, we need to be strong, we need to have a coordinated approach,” she said.
Eurogroup President Pascal Donohoe said he too could understand why countries are bringing forward their own policies rather than waiting for an approach with EU-wide approval.
“Every single government is looking at the right measures for their own governments,” he said, also speaking from Washington.
IMF chief economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas said he was unable to comment on whether Germany’s plan would work as “we don’t have details yet.”
While specifics have yet to be released, the plans are set to run until 2024, and include electricity and gas price brakes, reactivation of the Economic Stabilisation Fund, which was used to bail out Lufthansa during the pandemic, and a reduction of gas VAT.
Bojangles, the North Carolina-based chain known for its fried chicken and biscuits, is joining the growing list of fast food chains installing EV chargers in their parking lots.
The restaurant chain is working with Smart Big Box, Alyath EV, and Energy and Environmental Design Services to install turnkey EV charging stations at a “wide range” of its 800 restaurants, which are concentrated heavily in the southeast US. The rollout starts in late 2025, with most chargers expected to be available by sometime in 2026.
Each Bojangles location getting EV chargers will offer at least four ports. The stations will vary between Level 2 and DC fast chargers.
Bojangles CIO Richard Del Valle said, “Working with Alyath and Smart Big Box allows us to introduce a new convenience that aligns with evolving customer needs.”
It’s a smart move. The charging stations will let people plug in and power up, and they’re more likely to dine at Bojangles while they’re doing so. Plus, Bojangles will get a reputation for having charging stations, so EV drivers will be more inclined to head toward the restaurants as a reliable power source.
Cristiane Rosul, CEO of Alyath, said the partnership “not only benefits EV drivers but also positions Bojangles as a leader in the future of quick-service dining.”
Smart Big Box has contracted with Energy and Environmental Design Services as the exclusive installer and maintenance partner for all EV chargers.
Read more: Waffle House is getting DC fast chargers – and it’s a genius move
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Toyota’s electric SUV is now its cheapest vehicle to lease. After slashing lease prices again, the Toyota bZ4X is listed for lease at just $199 per month in some states. That’s even cheaper than a Corolla right now, even though it’s nearly double the price.
Toyota bZ4X is now cheaper to lease than a Corolla
The 2025 Toyota bZ4X already starts at $6,000 cheaper than the previous model year, but with a new promotion this month, it’s even more affordable.
Toyota is at it again, having cut lease prices once more this month following the Fourth of July holiday. The 2025 Toyota bZ4X XLE is now listed at just $199 per month for 36 months. With $3,999 due at signing, you’ll end up paying an effective cost of $310 per month.
The offer is $42 less than before the new promo, or about a 12% price cut. It’s hard enough to find any lease nowadays around $300, but for an electric SUV, it’s a pretty good deal.
According to online auto research firm CarsDirect, it’s even cheaper to lease a bZ4X now in some states than a Toyota Corolla. The 2025 Corolla LE Sedan is available for $229 for 36 months. With $2,999 due at signing, the effective monthly rate is $312, or $2 more than the bZ4X.
Although $2 might not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, it’s pretty significant, given that the bZ4X is $16,000 more expensive.
The 2025 Toyota bZ4X XLE has an MSRP of $38,465, compared to the Corolla LE Sedan, which starts at $22,325. That’s a $16,140 cost difference alone.
Toyota’s electric SUV is slightly longer than a RAV4 at 184.6″ in length, but it has a longer wheelbase, which opens up more interior space.
Toyota is also throwing in a free year of unlimited charging (at EV-go-operated public charging stations) for those who buy or lease a new 2025 bZ4X. You can also add a ChargePoint home charger to the cost.
Although the bZ4X is available for just $199 per month, the 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 is listed at $179 nationwide this month. With more range, style, and an NACS port for charging at Tesla Superchargers, the 2025 IONIQ 5 offer is hard to pass up right now.
| 2025 Toyota bZ4X trim | Starting Price (excluding $1,395 DPH fee) |
Price reduction (vs 2024MY) |
Range (mi) |
| XLE FWD | $37,070 | -$6,000 | 252 |
| XLE AWD | $39,150 | -$6,000 | 228 |
| Limited FWD | $41,800 | -$5,380 | 236 |
| Limited AWD | $43,880 | -$5,380 | 222 |
| Nightshade | $40,420 | N/A | 222 |
Like many carmakers, Toyota is currently offering significant incentives on electric vehicles, with the federal tax credit set to expire at the end of September. Accordingly, Toyota’s promotion ends on September 30. Although the bZ4X doesn’t qualify for the credit through purchase, Toyota is passing it on through leasing.
In some areas, like LA, Toyota is currently offering $12,000 off bZ4X leases. With the loss of the tax credit, the savings would drop to just $4,500, which would add over $100 a month to the lease price.
Looking to take advantage of the savings while they are still here? You can use our link to find deals on the 2025 Toyota bZ4X in your area today.
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Transport Canada has finished its investigation into Tesla’s questionable filing of $43 million worth of EV incentives in a single day, finding that the claims did indeed represent cars sold before the deadline to file for incentives – still raising questions about disorganization within Tesla.
To recap, Canada suddenly sunsetted its electric vehicle incentives back in January, as the program ran out of money. It caught a lot of EV dealers by surprise, and there was a sudden rush to sell cars and to file for incentives, given that the end of the program was announced with just three days notice.
One of these dealerships that showed a rush was a single Tesla dealership in Quebec, which recorded 4,000 rebate requests in a single weekend, an impossible number at the relatively small location. Other Tesla locations also filed for suspiciously high numbers of incentive claims on the same weekend.
This raised alarm bells, and other Canadian auto dealers pointed it out to Transport Canada, with Huw WIlliams, head of the Canadian Auto Dealers Association (CADA) claiming that Tesla “gamed the system” to hog an illegitimate number of incentive claims out of the limited money left. The total amount was $43 million, which was more than half of the amount left in the Canadian government’s coffers.
Even accounting for Tesla delivery pushes, and for increased sales as the credit rapidly sunset, these numbers did not seem possible.
This – perhaps combined with Tesla’s unpopular position in Canada at the time given CEO Elon Musk’s participation in a US government which was attacking Canada’s sovereignty at the time – led to Transport Canada announcing an investigation into Tesla’s incentive claims (Canadian Transport Minister Chrystia Freeland even said at the time that future Canadian ZEV incentives should exclude Tesla until the US’ “illegitimate and illegal” tariffs were lifted).
Tesla responded to the investigation in a typically standoffish manner, claiming in a letter that it was “shocked” to hear about the investigation, threatening legal action if payments weren’t resumed, and blaming Transport Canada for causing Tesla’s negative public perception and exposing Tesla’s Canadian employees to harassment (the letter did not, however, mention anything about CEO Musk’s government activities, or his recent actions attempting to spread white supremacy around the globe, and how those are much more responsible for negative public perception of the company).
Well now, the result of that investigation is back, and Freeland said on Friday that Tesla’s claims “were determined to legitimately represent cars sold before January 12.”
Transport Canada also pledged to CADA that all cars delivered before January 12 will have their incentive claims fulfilled, regardless of the program’s budget. CADA estimates it’s owed around $11 million in past-due claims, and Williams still wonders how Tesla knew to file those claims so suddenly.
Electrek’s Take
Questions still remain about this incentive. As pointed out by the Canadian Press, it’s still not clear whether Tesla’s incentive claims were for cars sold on that weekend, or for cars sold prior to that weekend and delivered all in a lump.
Given the physical limitations of the locations involved, it’s likely the latter. Which raises a different kind of alarm bell: that of disorganization within Tesla, as I pointed out as my main concern over this situation in a previous article.
I just don’t see how Tesla Canada can justify leaving tens of millions of dollars on the table for potentially several months, when all it took was the filing of some pieces of paper for them to get it. That’s capital that Tesla could have used to do business, and letting it sit in someone else’s bank account doesn’t benefit Tesla at all.
Now, disorganization is nothing new for Tesla, but businesses usually don’t like leaving money laying around for no reason. And Tesla, with its focus on quarterly results and end-of-quarter pushes, surely would have enjoyed having that extra cash in December, the end of a fiscal quarter/year, rather than the beginning of January when they filed for these incentives.
So regardless of the now proven legitimacy of these claims, this aspect should be cause for some amount of concern. It’s a reflection of a longtime problem in Tesla, where things tend to fall through the cracks until there’s some sort of emergency, and then it’s all-hands-on-deck from whoever happens to be closest to the problem at the time. But this has been an issue within Tesla for so long that it’s hard to see it being fixed at this point – and certainly not under its longtime CEO who seems far more interested in using Tesla to bail out his private companies or turning Twitter into “MechaHitler” than on making actual good decisions for Tesla.
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