I had tickets to a Trump Rally and it didn't matter.
More than 20,000 Trump supporters could not get into the Coliseum.
My experience from the back of the line plus how it contrasts to Vivek's event in the same city just months prior.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwTPOgJEK2M
Shitty, misleading tweet.
Mercedes Puts Brakes On Electric Car Targets
Mercedes-Benz has performed a sharp U-turn on its electric vehicle (EV) ambitions, delaying its target for electric cars to make up half of sales by five years to 2030. The German luxury carmaker also pledged to keep improving its petrol and diesel engines well into the next decade – a screeching handbrake turn from its previous wholehearted embrace of an all-electric future.
This reverse ferret reveals the wider automotive industry has raced ahead of itself in the switch to battery power. Mercedes simply can’t keep pace with its own lofty ambitions as demand lags behind investments in new EV production capacity and technology.
Mercedes now expects electrified vehicles – including hybrids – to account for just 50% of sales by the end of this decade rather than 2025 as originally proclaimed. CEO Ola Källenius warned last year that even by 2030, EVs would likely represent less than half of European car sales. With battery vehicles currently comprising around one in ten Mercedes sold in Europe, there’s still a mountain to climb.
Källenius sought to reassure investors that Mercedes will keep its foot firmly on the combustion engine pedal for many years yet. Upgrading conventional petrol and diesel engines well into the 2030s will provide “a new lineup” to see us through this transitional period to electrification, he said.
Shares in Mercedes climbed nearly 6% as the company also announced a €3 billion share buyback programme. But despite a 2% uplift in annual revenues, profits fell last year due to supply chain problems, inflationary pressures and trade disputes involving China.
Mercedes anticipates slower growth and weaker returns over the next two years as economic headwinds continue to buffet the industry. Sales in early 2024 are expected to slide below last year’s levels as shortages – particularly of vital 48-volt systems – hamper production.
The ongoing supply constraints mean Mercedes’ target for electrified vehicles to comprise 19-21% of total sales this year remains unchanged.
“We underestimated the scale of the challenges facing the switch to EVs,” admitted Mercedes’ UK managing director Marcus Breitschwerdt. “Customer demand, charging infrastructure and battery supplies are all falling behind the curve we predicted.”
moar…
https://www.carsupermarket.com/blog/mercedes-puts-brakes-on-electric-car-targets