In recent times, the Chevrolet Bolt EVs fires caught the attention of many, leading to a gravitated situation about Electric vehicles’ role in the auto industry. Jay Leno is an avid lover of automobiles who not only has a massive collection but also supports EVs. Recently while talking to Shepard Smith, Leno advocated for EVs amid the gravitated situation.
Leno said on CNBC’s The News with Shepard Smith, “The last days of old technology are always better than the first days of new technology, but we’re beyond the first days of new technology,”
The former Late Night Show TV legend said, Of course, EVs have become more popular over the past several years. However, they still make up around 3% of the U.S. market share, which is not a massive number, obviously. It is important to remember the transition to electrification is still young. “I mean, the electric car is here to stay. I predict a child born today will probably drive in a gasoline-powered car about as often as you would drive in a car with a stick shift now,”
The chaos
In the Chevrolet Bolt fire cases, the incidents led to mainstream media mishaps. The idea of using EVs as regular cars is not yet fully accepted. In Europe, despite having battery cars, most people prefer plug-in. It is mostly because there are many chances that more than half of the times before using your car, you would forget to charge it. But the fire cases have created a whole another mishap, though the reason behind the fires is a rare problem with the batteries as said by LG Chem.
For the safety of its customers, General Motors had to announce publicly that the owners do take precautions like not keeping the vehicle in charge throughout the night. Additionally, GM also announced the replacement facilities for owners.
Keeping aside the technicalities of the fire incidents, Leno points out that EV fires are much safer than gas-powered car fires. Saying, “I mean the advantage, if there is one, to an EV fire is, it doesn’t blow up. You’re in it, you smell something, there’s some, and then it doesn’t go up in a ball the way a gasoline car would. That’s not to say it’s not dangerous and hopefully, they’ll fix the problem.”
The issue already is costing General Motors around $1.8 billion for the replacements and fixing the problem. Also, the company halted its electric Bolt production. All reasonable precautions and steps were taken, and this is the only electric vehicle model so far which has faced such drastic issues with its battery. Tesla has been selling vehicles for years and is known to be one of the safest cars to ride in.