Final Word from Tuesday, October 1, 2019

As the French debate the "great replacement" theory about how one population is being replaced by another, the Czechs can start trying to get their heads around the "great electric replacement." Škoda Auto and its parent company, Volkswagen, are under pressure from Brussels and are trying to cram electric cars down the throats of Czechs. No infrastructure for the cars exists, which means that Škoda must step up its activism. It boasts in its promotional material about the "excellent ecological footprint" of the new electric Citigo iV, but adds in the Czech and German versions that the car is emissions-free "locally." The emissions are being shifted to where the electricity and battery are made. The batteries account for most of the value of the car and are mostly coming from Asia. Does it sound like a fair deal? Czechs get a high-priced, short-life, short-reach, "locally" emissions-free car, and the Chinese and other Asians get the jobs, the money and the carbon footprint. [ Czech Republic VW European Union China ]