FCA Wants to Use Ethical EVs

Fiat Chrysler recently announced it joined the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network, an automotive industry group dedicated to using materials ethically mined and refined for making electric vehicles.

As has been pointed out frequently, many raw materials used to make EVs are sourced from areas where mining and refining practices are fraught with ethical problems (yes, I’m talking about China for the most part). This means while electric car owners might go on about the low ecological impact of driving their obviously superior vehicle, how it was made could be infinitely more damaging.

In the interest of placating everyone’s conscious, FCA will use the IBM Blockchain Platform and RCS Global Group to guarantee it’s not getting EV parts made using distasteful practices. This is kind of like insisting on only drinking coffee brewed from fair trade beans.

Of course, one big question is if this will increase the cost of electric cars, which already aren’t exactly cheap. FCA, Volvo, Volkswagen Group, and Ford all are using RSBN and no doubt will assure the public it won’t increase prices. What it comes down to is we’ll have to wait and see what happens. But with cars costing so much these days and sales in a big slump, automakers must be thinking of how to bite down prices.