Do Petrol & Diesel Cars Have a Future? (10 Good Arguments)

With the market for electric cars exploding more each day, you might ask, “Do petrol and diesel cars have a future?”

We’ll play devil’s advocate here and give you some excellent answers that support and refute the idea.

FIRST: 5 reasons gas-driven cars may still have a future

Let’s start with a good one.

The high price of electric cars.

1. Manufacturers spend more money on electric car creation.

Profit is the name of the game in the automotive industry. The less money it costs to build vehicles, the more profits the manufacturers can make. It is still much more expensive to manufacture an electric car than it is to manufacture a gas-powered vehicle.

The average production cost for a traditional internal combustion vehicle is 45 percent less costly than that of an electric vehicle.

The primary reason for this price difference is the battery pack, and until that problem subsides, the cost of EV production will remain higher.

Manufacturers are still profit-focused.

Therefore, some will hold onto the idea of continuing to manufacture gas-powered vehicles in the future.

2. Not all countries or consumers are fond of eliminating gas cars.

The transition to electric vehicles from gas-powered vehicles is a huge change for consumers, and they are the ones who keep vehicle sales alive. Many consumers are against the idea of being forced to purchase electric vehicles, for good reasons.

  1. For one, they prefer to have a choice instead of having gas-powered cars taken away from them.
  2. Secondly, electronic vehicles don’t have many of the same features, parts, or personalities that gas-powered cars have.
  3. Thirdly, consumers in the lowest income brackets will have difficulty affording a new electric vehicle, even if they want one.

survey of tens of thousands of car drivers and consumers revealed that 69 percent of survey respondents do not want electric vehicles.

They still answered the survey with an opposing view, despite the environmental scare tactics, loss of beloved muscle cars, and sudden change in vehicle manufacturers’ objectives.

Those consumers might choose to find alternative methods to travel if forced to go electric.

In other words, the abrupt bans and sudden manufacturing cessations may cause disgruntled consumers to boycott rather than buy-in. If customers stop buying electric cars in response to their lack of a choice, the gas vehicles might not disappear so quickly.

3. Electric charging still poses problems.

There still aren’t enough charging stations for everyone to own electric vehicles, and states like California suffer from power shortages to boot.

While some organizations are currently putting more money into developing charging infrastructures and perfecting EV technology, we aren’t quite there yet.

Thus, the rushed transition might backfire when consumers recognize the inconveniences of owning an EV.

As it stands, one out of five Californians switched back to gas-powered vehicles after they realized how inconvenient having access to charging stations was.

The sparse access to charging stations limits drivers in how far they can travel, and that’s a massive issue for many consumers.

4. Consumers will still buy and own gas cars.

Consumers will hold onto their gas-powered vehicles despite the cessation of new car production. They will make efforts to extend the lives of their diesel and petrol cars for as long as possible, which could be a few decades in some cases.

A gas-powered vehicle can last for 20-30 years with the proper care, maintenance, and repairs.

Additionally, gas-car enthusiasts may storm the dealerships to purchase the final releases of some of their favorite models.

The massive buying trend could put a dent in EV sales and halt them altogether for many years.

5. Some manufacturers will continue to make gas cars.

Many manufacturers may have pledged to cease their production of gas-powered cars, but companies such as Toyota aren’t convinced it’s the best move.

The company’s president claimed that EV vehicles still produce CO2 emissions due to the electricity produced by non-renewable sources.

Furthermore, the company’s president went on to say that the hype around EVs was too much, and gas and hybrid vehicles are still more convenient for customers.

Other manufacturers may take this stance in the future.

Not all consumers, manufacturers, and enthusiasts are sole on the idea of switching the EV. As long as there are still some people who aren’t completely on the EV train, there is still hope for diesel and petrol cars.

Reasons petrol and diesel vehicles may NOT have a future.

Let’s start with the obvious reason.

Gas prices.

1. Gas prices have skyrocketed.

Petrol and gas prices have skyrocketed to unimaginable levels over the past few years.

The gas price was a little under $2 per gallon in 2020. Since then, the nation has seen a 300 percent rise in those costs.

The experience put electric vehicles at the forefront of consumers’ minds as they struggled with the idea of such enormous fuel expenses.

Even if the price of gas declines, the idea of experiencing another fuel crisis will stay in the minds of many citizens.

Hence, the sales of electric vehicles will continue to increase in some areas.

2. EV sales have shown tremendous growth.

EV sales have surged over the past two years, which caused manufacturers to salivate and consider investing more money into producing such vehicles.

Sales of pure electric vehicles went from a mere 359,000 in 2020 to over a million units in 2021.

These vehicles continue to sell as drivers hear news about the discontinuance of their favorite gas-powered cars in the near future.

Therefore, manufacturers may continue to mass-produce EV units despite their hefty production costs. If enough people join the EV revolution, manufacturers can make more than double their profits.

We expect this trend to accelerate over the next 5-10 years across all electric car manufacturers.

3. Plans to nix gas-powered vehicles are already in place.

Another reason to suspect that petrol and diesel cars might be reaching the end of their lives is all the current bans and cessation plans.

California has already agreed to ban the sales of gas-powered vehicles by 2035, which is only 13 years from now. Many other states will likely follow suit.

Additionally, numerous automotive manufacturers pledged to terminate their sales of gas-powered vehicles by the year 2035, but some have already set plans to cease production of their gas-powered cars within the next year.

Almost all the major players have already jumped big time on the EV bandwagon.

Such as:

  • Mercedes-Benz,
  • Ford,
  • GM,
  • Dodge,
  • Kia,
  • Chevy
  • and others

Companies like Ford and GM pledged to eliminate their “emissions-producing” muscle cars and replace them with all-electric vehicles.

Without the choice to buy an attractive sportscar or a super-fast V8, consumers may be inclined to go for dull clean and efficient electric vehicles.

4. Stricter regulations may follow.

The current bans don’t include consumers who already own gas-powered vehicles.

However, the government has a habit of testing processes and following them up with more restrictive processes.

It might not be long before another ban comes out that commands all gas-powered vehicle owners to junk their cars or pay steep fines.

We can look at how post-pandemic rules and regulations advanced and compare those scenarios to what could happen with gas cars.

First, there was a strong warning about an alleged threat to our safety or, in this case, the environment.

Then the restrictive processes started, and some options and privileges disappeared.

Shortly after that, the mandatory rules emerged. If the government uses the same strategy as the one used in the pandemic, it’s smart to think that gas-powered vehicles will be a thing of the past very soon.

5. Consumers don’t seem to mind the change.

Some consumers don’t seem to mind that their option to purchase gas-powered vehicles will soon be non-existent.

This reaction is partly due to the recent focus on climate change and fossil fuel usage, along with massive marketing campaigns that stress the benefits electric vehicles offer.

The mixture of environmentally-friendly warnings and upcoming bans will continue to “convince” citizens to buy electric cars.

It’s still too early to tell whether gas-powered and diesel vehicles have a future or not. It looks like EVs are winning, but things could change as abruptly as the recent changes appeared.

Alternatively, it could all be a huge marketing effort to boost EV sales for reasons only the powers that be know.

Sources

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/gas-prices-look-rest-2022-110031776.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/25/california-bans-the-sale-of-new-gas-powered-cars-by-2035.html

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