A couple of weeks ago I went to an American car dealership in Mobile that was blowing the horn for an all electric car it was announcing. It’s apply called the ‘Volt’. The owner of the dealership made the intro to the meeting which consisted of a movie and Q & A.
He stated that it was the first all American, all electric car. I asked if all the parts were made in the US and if the rare earth elements used in the batteries were also mined in the US? He didn’t really answer either question. It turns out that some of the ‘Volts’ parts are made overseas and the car is assembled in the US. The rare earth elements used in the batteries are ‘the’ key component in getting the batteries to hold a charge big enough and long enough. Rare earth elements’ economically concentrated global distribution is 95% in China and Inner Mongolia. The other 5% mostly in Peru and Australia. Without these rare earth elements using lead acid batteries would be better idea. China has already announced that it is cutting back on it’s shipments of rare earth elements in order to divert more for it’s domestic production. We seemed to have trained them well in the art of the ‘squeeze play’. If the electric car, ‘Volt’ or any other, wants to become the new Model-T, their makers need to find a new source of rare earth elements or their price will stay high. The ‘Volt’ is listed for $31,000+ MSRP. If you’d like more information on rare earth elements follow this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rare_earth_element#Global_rare_earth_productionThink Global – Act Local
Drskiponline 