Retreating from EVs could be hazardous for Western carmakers

Safe motoring requires adjusting your speed to suit road conditions. Western carmakers know this well. Their customers are not embracing electric vehicles (EVs) as fast as once anticipated, and governments in America and Europe are pulling back on efforts to speed up the transition. On December 16th the EU dropped an earlier ban on the sale of petrol cars from 2035. The day before, Ford announced it would write down the value of its assets by $19.5bn, as it rethinks its EV strategy. But hitting the brakes on the transition away from petrol engines could also be dangerous for Western carmakers.