Kickstart: California, EVs, suppliers and a 2035 deadline

With California going all-in for electric vehicles, does this mean that the North American auto industry is nearing a tipping point?

You may be tired of all the speculation about how quickly the auto industry will more fully embrace EVs and phase out traditional internal combustion engines, but every new bit of news seems to be pushing that date more firmly in the near future. The latest news, of course, being California regulators on Aug. 25 said the state would ban the sale of traditional ICE-powered cars by 2035. That matches the date set to halt ICE and diesel cars in Europe approved earlier this year by the European Parliament.

The big questions, of course, are whether automakers, suppliers — and, crucially, car buyers — are all on the same timeline as legislation.

As PN's Sarah Kominek reported earlier this month, consultants at Plante Moran say that to get to that future envisioned for 2035, every part of the auto industry must work together. Demands related to everything from connectors to lighter body parts will drive requirements "down through tiers of suppliers," Ted Morgan, principal at Plante Moran, said during a recent webinar. But those changes also must recognize that suppliers need to be fiscally healthy through the process.

"This is still going to be your supply base going forward," he said. "You want them to ramp up on time and on budget for your new electric vehicles that you're betting the company on."

Following up on a story from earlier this summer, Michigan-based retail chain Meijer Inc. is adding its support to a program to clean up Great Lakes beaches by providing $1 million for robots that can clean up the land or water.

The BeBot is a solar- and battery-powered drone that can clean up to 32,000 square feet of beaches per hour. The Pixie Drone covers the water and is able to collect up to 200 pounds of material per use in marinas and other waterways.

The drones are being deployed along beaches in Wisconsin and at sites in Western and Northern Michigan and Cleveland.

PN's Bridget Janis wrote about the Circular Great Lakes Initiative in July.

At the 2021 U.S. Open tennis tournament in New York, bottled water brand Evian and sportswear company Rothy's joined forces to collect thousands of used water bottles.

This year, some 72,000 of those bottles are making a second appearance at the tournament in the form of shoes, hats, visors and bags made from recycled PET.

The "Rothy's x Evian Collection" items, introduced Aug. 26 in advance of the tournament, aren't cheap, ranging in price from $75 for the visor to $495 for a duffel bag.

"This partnership has allowed us further our circular commitment and truly give our product a second life together with the sustainability fashion leaders at Rothy's," Leeni Hämäläinen, marketing director at Evian North America, said in a news release.