I think the real reason so many of the legacy car makers have got cold feet is that it is simply unprofitable at this stage to make an EV that is competitive in price, and can sell on mass. The only profitable players at this stage are Tesla and BYD, the rest bleed red ink.

And what makes these two players different is that they are largely vertically integrated. BYD especially so. All the legacy players embraced the Toyota JIT model long ago for managing parts / supplies, and are ill-equipped to change tack so easily.

It looks like they will join the FUD game that Toyota plays. But will they hold out China?

It will only get worse. One of the world’s biggest industries, oil and gas, is being squeezed out of existance. And a number of countries have nothing to fall back on. The bot attacks from Russia will get fiercer in the coming years.