Book Review of ‘Inevitable: Inside the Messy, Unstoppable Transition to Electric Vehicles’

The transformation to electric vehicles (EVs) is no longer a distant possibility or an industry buzzword, it’s happening right before our eyes. The question today isn’t about if EVs will reshape the automotive landscape, nor is it about when they will take over, but how quickly the massive shift will unfold.

Veteran automotive reporter Mike Colias dives into this monumental change in his 2025 book Inevitable, a thoroughly reported exploration of the electric vehicle revolution that’s shaking up a $2 trillion industry. This seismic change in the car business, the biggest overhaul in its 120-year history, is already reverberating across global economies, reshaping how we think about everything from car manufacturing to energy consumption.

In Inevitable, Colias provides an in-depth look at the monumental pivot from gas-guzzling pistons to the clean, efficient electrons that power tomorrow’s vehicles. He takes us inside boardrooms where top executives are crafting strategies to challenge gas vehicles and, more recently, fend off rising Chinese manufacturers like BYD. These corporate battles for EV market share represent far more than just a car sales race; they reflect the broader global struggle for control over the future of mobility.

But Colias doesn’t stop in the boardrooms. He takes readers on a journey to the frontlines of the industry. He visits family-run dealerships where owners face the tough decision of whether to embrace the electric future or exit the business entirely. He follows the entrepreneurs working to fill the vast charging infrastructure gaps, which remain a critical issue on the road to mass EV adoption. He also speaks to powertrain engineers who, once the cornerstone of automotive engineering, now find their expertise supplanted by software developers as the industry shifts toward electric powertrains and autonomous technologies.

What makes Inevitable a captivating read is the way Colias expands his exploration beyond corporate strategies and engineering challenges to focus on the wider global implications of this transformation. From Detroit’s historic auto factories to the cutting-edge production lines in Japan and Germany, and from California’s lithium-rich Salton Sea to the growing mining operations that will supply the batteries driving this change, Colias captures the scope of the shift in a way that’s both insightful and engaging.

EVinfo.net’s Review of the Book

The book’s introduction starts out with Ford CEO Jim Farley’s realization in 2022 that Ford was far behind on EVs, and needed to work much harder to compete. In chapter two, “GM’s Last Stand,” it delved into the story of GM’s ill-fated, first production EV, the EV1 in the 1990’s.

One of EVinfo.net’s first articles, “When the EV1 Was Killed, Plug In America was Born,” published in January 2022, the birth-month and year of EVinfo.net, tells the story. If you’re not familiar with the EV1, we recommend watching Chris Paine’s documentary “Who Killed the Electric Car?” which showed how GM took its innovative, first mass-produced EV, the EV1 back from heartbroken lease-holders and crushed them.

The film played an important part in why I founded EVinfo.net. After a short time doing solar energy marketing beginning in 2020, I realized that I had to get into the EV industry, one way or another. So I bought the domain, designed the website, and began posting stories, not knowing at the time where it would go from there. Now In 2025, EVinfo.net is a thriving EV marketing business.

The Birth of Plug in America

In 2005, Dave Raboy, Heather Bernikoff, Marc Geller, Linda Nicholes, Chelsea Sexton, Paul Scott, Sherry Boschert, and other passionate EV drivers rallied to galvanize citizen grassroots action to form and save the EV1 and other EVs by founding DontCrush.com, which evolved into Plug In America. They succeeded in saving at least 1,000 Ford and Toyota EVs from the crusher, however, GM still destroyed all but a few of its innovative EV1 electric cars – despite the group’s offer to purchase 80 EV1 vehicles for $1.9 million.

The Growing Popularity of Hybrids

The first hybrid car, the Lohner-Porsche Mixte, was designed and built by Ferdinand Porsche in 1899. It used a gasoline engine to power an electric motor that drove the front wheels. The book gives coverage of the innovative Chevrolet Volt. In 2008, GM released its Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid and extended-range electric vehicle car. It was an important precursor to today’s hybrid boom, and a small number of current owners still cherish their Volts. Hybrids are growing in popularity currently, as a bridge to full electrification. Various problems with EV charging, most significantly the lack of public EV charging stations, are holding back adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), so many drivers are turning to hybrids.

How China Dominated the Global EV and Automotive Industries

In chapter two, “In China’s Rearview,” Colias details how China came to be the world’s leading EV and automotive powerhouse, and how America is still very, very, very far behind. This situation won’t improve for at least the next four years, as every move the administration takes weakens the US auto and EV industries, while strengthening China. One example is Chinese EV company Geely’s expansion into Australia and New Zealand.

China’s substantial and long-term investment in electric vehicles (EVs) positioned it as a global leader in the EV market. Starting in the early 2000s, the country saw electric vehicles as a critical path to reduce its reliance on imported oil and strengthen its energy security. Premier Wen Jiabao’s commitment to EVs in the 2000s, along with the appointment of Wan Gang—an experienced engineer with international credentials—set the stage for a policy-driven push toward EV dominance. This effort was reinforced by substantial financial support from the government in the form of subsidies, loans, and tax incentives, creating an environment conducive to the rapid development of both electric cars and the necessary battery technology.

The scale of China’s investment is staggering, with over $230 billion channeled into the EV and battery sectors since 2009. This has resulted in not only a thriving domestic market but also the emergence of Chinese EV manufacturers like BYD, NIO, and Xpeng, which have gained significant market share. As a result, approximately half of China’s car buyers now opt for battery electric or plug-in hybrid cars, highlighting the country’s growing embrace of electric mobility.

China’s dominance is further bolstered by its expansive manufacturing capacity, with dozens of EV production facilities powered by state-supported infrastructure, including low-interest loans, tax incentives, and cheap land. These efforts have also been instrumental in helping China become a key global supplier of EV batteries, a critical component of the electric vehicle ecosystem. The combination of aggressive domestic policies and international expansion has made China a formidable force in the global EV market.

Third Time’s a Charm

In chapter three of the book, “Internal Combustion Busts,” Colias details how our current huge, unstoppable EV revolution proves how the third time’s the charm. EVs competed with gas cars and steam-powered vehicles in the 1800’s, and it was Henry Ford’s cheap Model T that most experts believe killed the electric car at the time. The second time EVs were killed is in the 1990’s when the GM EV1 and other early EVs were killed in California. Now in 2025, for the third time, EVs are everywhere and unstoppable, and have too much momentum for anyone or anything to stop them, even an anti-EV President supported by the oil industry.

EVs Bring Cleaner Air

The catalytic converter, which reduces emissions, was also covered in Chapter 3, and the Federal Clean Air Act of 1970, which brought more strict air quality regulations from the EPA.

One important reason EVinfo.net promotes EVs is cleaner air. The American Lung Association is working to make transportation pollution-free across the country. The American Lung Association’s “Driving to Clean Air” report found that a widespread transition to 100% zero-emission passenger vehicles, powered by clean electricity, would result in up to 89,300 avoided premature deaths, 2.2 million avoided asthma attacks and 10.7 million fewer lost workdays by 2050.

In chapter four, “Hippie Power,” the VW emissions scandal was discussed, also known as “Dieselgate.” The story begins with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issuing a notice of violation to Volkswagen in September 2015. The agency discovered that VW had equipped its diesel vehicles with software designed to cheat emissions tests. The software, known as a “defeat device,” was programmed to detect when a car was undergoing testing and adjust the engine’s performance to meet regulatory standards. However, in real-world driving conditions, the cars emitted nitrogen oxide (NOx) pollutants up to 40 times above the legal limit.

Initially, VW denied the allegations, but as investigations deepened, it became clear that the company had deliberately installed this software in millions of cars. In total, approximately 11 million vehicles worldwide were found to be affected by the defeat device, including models from VW’s subsidiary brands Audi, Porsche, and others.

The Dieselgate scandal unleashed a wave of legal, financial, and reputational consequences for Volkswagen. The company faced lawsuits, fines, and compensation claims from governments, consumers, and environmental groups. In the U.S., VW was hit with a staggering $14.7 billion settlement to compensate affected car owners, fund environmental projects, and buy back the affected vehicles.

Electrify America, one of the nation’s largest charging networks, was created as a direct result of this settlement. The goal was clear: to help promote electric vehicles (EVs) and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, providing consumers with the necessary infrastructure to support their transition to cleaner, greener transportation. The company’s mission was to build a nationwide network of EV charging stations and raise awareness about the benefits of electric mobility. As of this writing, Electrify America claims over 4,400 Fast chargers and over 1,000 stations in North America.

Charging Problems

In Chapter five, “Charging up the Heartland,” the book follows David Jankowsky, founder of Francis Energy, as he scouted Oklahoma for locations to install EV charging in 2019. Deep red state Oklahoma was an unlikely place for EVs at the time, a bastion of dusty, gas-guzzling pickup trucks. Francis Energy had a trick up its sleeve when pitching the stations to customers, an Oklahoma state tax credit covering up to 75% of the installation cost.

The chapter covered the EV charging reliability problem, which is one of the most significant barriers to EV adoption in 2025. The EV charging reliability problem continues to plague EV adoption. Innovative companies such as Paren, EVSTAR and WattsUp are doing their parts to make EV adoption smoother and easier for drivers by addressing this problem.

The battle for EV charging plug types, NACS and CCS, was also mentioned in the chapter. Last year, Loren McDonald, a charging-network analyst at Paren, said: “The next few years may be ‘adapter hell’ as everyone — drivers, automakers, charging equipment providers, the federal government and states — navigate a confusing straddle between other systems and the NACS standard and connectors.”

The difficulty with EV charging payments was discussed as a part of problems facing EV charging. The book mentioned some drivers needing to download up to twelve different EV charging apps on their smartphones, causing confusion with charging and payments. Payroc is a bold company currently solving EV charging payment problems.

The “Chicken or the Egg” problem refers to the fueling issue EVs face with EV charging, which the book talks about in this chapter. EV adoption has been held back by a lack of EV charging stations, and the debate goes into who is responsible for setting up this EV charging. Zerova Technologies is a leader in this regard. The company is a global provider of EV charging solutions, operating as a true white-label manufacturer, powering brands in over 50 countries. XLR8 America is a national leader in the installation of EV chargers, with a goal to install 30,000 EV charging ports across the US by 2027.

Residents of apartments, condos, and townhomes—who make up 31.4% of all U.S. housing—often cannot currently access home charging solutions, and these multifamily dwellers are also covered in the chapter. The lack of EV charging infrastructure in these types of multifamily housing creates friction for EV owners, impacting their overall charging experience and hindering further adoption. Pando Electric, the leader in affordable, high-power EV charging solutions for multifamily housing, is solving this important problem.

Rivian Is Rapidly Gaining EV Market Share in the United States

Chapter seven, “The Race for Rivian,” talks about Rivian, one of EVinfo.net’s favorite EV companies. Rivan faced several ups and downs in its history, however the company is currently in a very strong position, due to a significant partnership with VW.

Along with GM, Ford, Hyundai and others, Rivian is rapidly gaining EV market share in the United States. It will be interesting to see which company will be the new number one seller in America, as new sales leaders are emerging far sooner than anyone in the industry expected prior to 2025.

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe is a heroic figure, strongly supporting efforts for protecting the environment, for which EVs play an important part, as the most eco-friendly transportation. Scaringe released this informative video about the very harmful effects of global climate change:

A Dismal Step Backward for the Fight Against Climate Change

A climate denier US president taking office in 2025 was a disastrous choice for the global fight against climate change. The E.P.A.’s current administrator, Lee Zeldin, has announced his intention to roll back dozens of environmental rules and to shrink his agency’s spending by two-thirds. Reportedly, he wants to eliminate the E.P.A.’s scientific-research arm. Earlier this month, Zeldin seemed to go so far as to renounce the agency’s foundational purpose.

The E.P.A., he said, would work to “lower the cost of living,” by making it cheaper to buy a car, heat a home, and run a business. Nowhere “did he refer to protecting the environment or public health,” according to the New York Times. Zeldin published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal in which he boasted of “driving a dagger through the heart” of climate regulation.

Toyota Making Big EV Moves (Finally!)

Chapter 8, “Toyota’s Turn,” discusses Toyota’s moves into electrification. Toyota has made great strides this year globally in regards to EVs, although its EV offerings in the US remain bleak, with only one battery electric vehicle (BEV) model.

In November 2024, Jack Hollis, Chief Operating Officer of Toyota Motor North America, released an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, urging the incoming administration to show more support for hybrid vehicles in its plans to change EV subsidies and credits implemented by the Biden/Harris administration. EVinfo.net tore apart his arguments point by point.

Toyota’s biggest problem is Akio Toyoda, a relative of Toyota’s founder. Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda made the bold and shocking statement that he does not see battery electric vehicles ever reaching more than 30% market share, causing great controversy. The remaining 70%, Toyoda said, would be hybrids and hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, with internal-combustion engine (ICE) vehicles remaining part of the remaining 70% indefinitely. Obviously, his prediction on hydrogen was way off, though his prediction on hybrids is partly true.

Dealers Continue to Struggle with the Difficult EV Transition

Chapter nine, “The Dealer Turns Down a Deal,” refers to GM’s buyout offers for its dealers, as the conversion to electric has proven to be very costly for dealers. The book covers the story of Claude Burns’ Chevrolet-Cadillac dealership in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Two incredible companies are helping automotive dealers in a variety of ways during the difficult and expensive EV transition, Future Energy and Sprocket Power. Sprocket Power, a leader in clean energy solutions, recently installed their state-of-the-art microgrids at three Westchester County, New York auto dealerships: Vail GMC Hummer, Croton Auto Park, and Yonkers Honda. The company cut upgrade costs by up to 60%, significantly reducing net utility bills by as much as 90%.

Most dealerships need help with selling EVs, despite the fast-growing EV sales statistics. Despite the challenges, dealers can succeed at selling EVs. Innovative company Future Energy, based in Troy, Michigan, offers valuable solutions for dealerships wanting to optimize their EV sales. In 2024, Future Energy’s CEO Sam DiNello met with the highly respected former U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.

Lithium Powers the EV Revolution

Chapter eleven, “From Pistons to Pickaxes,” examines mining, the essential process to create batteries for EVs, and known for not being very eco-friendly. EV critics frequently mention this, believing misinformation that says EVs are less eco-friendly than gas vehicles, due to mining. MIT’s Climate Portal disproves this misinformation, saying “although electric cars’ batteries make them more carbon-intensive to manufacture than gas cars, they more than make up for it by driving much cleaner under nearly any conditions.”

The chapter discussed how lithium, the main ingredient in today’s EV batteries, has become very valuable and sought-after. In the EV revolution’s early days, a common misconception was that the United States does not have much lithium. This has been widely disproved, as EVinfo.net reported in 2023, with our piece on the vast lithium reserves available at the Salton Sea in California. DOE estimates that Salton Sea lithium could furnish batteries for over 375 million electric vehicles (EVs). In October 2024, we reported on a vast deposit worth up to $150B in Arkansas.

With EVinfo.net’s strong environmental focus, we are concerned about climate-harming aspects of mining lithium. However, lithium mining is becoming cleaner all the time. Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) is a proven new technology making lithium mining cleaner. Lithium brine is extracted from the basin aquifer and pumped to a processing unit where a material is used to extract only lithium, while spent brine is reinjected into the basin aquifers with no aquifer depletion or harm to the environment.

Red States Received a Lot of Biden Administration EV and Clean Energy Funding

Chapter 12, “Southern Hospitality,” talks about how over half of the $110 billion EV-related investments from 2018 to 2023 went to Southern states. The area from Michigan down through Kentucky, Tennessee, and into Georgia took on the name the Battery Belt.”

In March 2025, EVinfo.net reported that Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) announced a groundbreaking investment of $21 billion in the United States, set to span from 2025 to 2028, including core components for electric vehicles (EVs) like battery packs. The Group’s new facilities and investments, including the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America in Georgia, represent a significant milestone.

Chapter 13, “Battery USA,” discussed the groundbreaking investments of the Biden administration, the greatest accomplishments for the environment and clean energy in United States history. Today, Democrats are fighting for the environment, a stronger economy, as well as EV adoption, clean energy, and a host of other good causes.

The book discusses how significant battery production was created for EVs and other uses by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA was passed in July 2022, with a price tag of around $370 billion for all the EV and energy portions, including non-automotive funding.

The $7,500 federal EV tax credit was a part of the law, with requirements including price caps and domestic production components. See EVinfo.net’s article explaining why cutting the EV tax credit and EV federal funding is a big mistake. These cuts only help China dominate the global automotive industry more, while hurting America’s economy and its automakers.

Making Cars is Indeed Hard, Making EVs is Harder

Chapter 14, “Making Cars is Hard,” returns to Rivian and talks again about its ups and downs. The chapter also discusses Lucid Motors, which has also had difficulty, although the company is now poised for great success with its new “Gravity” EV. Lucid is capturing Tesla buyers at a higher rate as its new Gravity SUV hits showrooms.

Great detail about the most famous EV industry bankruptcies is provided, including Fisker, Lordstown Motors, Nikola, and more. EV critics frequently bring these up as a way to say the EV industry is unreliable, however these are just evidence that making cars is indeed hard. It’s a highly complex, constantly changing, vastly difficult and expensive industry to be in. The switch to electric is far harder for gas-powered incumbent companies like GM and Ford, than it is for all-electric companies such as Rivian.

Political Backlash

In Chapter 15, “An EV for Everyone?” The EV sales growth slowdown of 2023 is discussed. Automotive dealers’ initially positive attitudes about EVs went sour as the initial euphoria of the EV boom from roughly 2020 through early 2023 ended, bringing great financial difficulties to the dealers as EVs piled up on their lots.

Political backlash to the sales growth slowdown picked up steam as nearly 4,000 auto dealerships across the U.S. asked President Biden to “tap the brakes” on an EPA proposal in November 2023. The letter referred to the EPA tailpipe emissions rule as an “electric vehicle mandate.”

In January 2024, a second letter was sent to President Biden from over 4,700 U.S. automotive dealerships across the U.S., urging the halt of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) efforts to enforce stricter vehicle pollution standards. The EPA’s ruling addressed climate change by reducing tailpipe emissions.

Conclusion: “Crosscurrents”

The book’s conclusion starts with: “As we hit the mid-2020s, the electric car story is as messy as ever.” EVinfo.net agrees for many reasons. The EV revolution in the US began as messy because it did not receive much needed government financial support or regulation from the beginning, causing a “Wild West” sort of atmosphere.

This “Wild West” caused massive problems for early EV adopters. Drivers complained about needing to use dozens of EV charging apps. EVs from different manufacturers could not charge on all EV chargers due to competing connector types CCS and NACS, and proprietary networks. Payments were cumbersome in many cases. EV chargers were famously unreliable, frequently out of service. Far more EV chargers were needed, especially for multifamily dwellers who could not charge at home. New EV prices were high, and remain high, although these prices have lowered a bit at present.

EVinfo.net discusses these problems at length, giving solutions in our article, “Four Things Will Drive Mass EV Adoption in America.” Lack of charging availability, reliability issues, lack of multifamily charging, and high vehicle prices are the main barriers to American EV adoption.

In our article, we mention Four things that will drive mass EV adoption in America, solving the problems.

These are:

Lower vehicle prices, more incentives, saving federal EV tax credit and EV subsidies.
A larger selection of available EV models.
Removing the EV charging barriers.
Releasing massive education for buyers and dealers.

Inevitable is an Excellent Book, Highly Recommended

‘Inevitable: Inside the Messy, Unstoppable Transition to Electric Vehicles’ is highly recommended by EVinfo.net.

This book is more than just an examination of the automotive industry’s shift to electric; it’s a profound look at how this transition is affecting every corner of society. The global economy is being reshaped as the car industry moves from traditional gasoline engines to cutting-edge electric motors. From jobs and skill sets to geopolitical power dynamics and environmental impacts, the transition to electric vehicles is a powerful and exciting force of transformation that touches all of us.

Inevitable is a smart and thoroughly enjoyable book that brings to life the far-reaching effects of the electric vehicle revolution with masterful storytelling. Colias doesn’t just track the facts—he immerses readers in the human side of this massive, expensive and messy transformation. It’s a book that helps you understand how the shift to EVs is changing not only the car industry but the world at large, making it a must-read for anyone interested in the future of transportation, technology, and the global economy. Get your copy today!

Follow EVinfo.net

EVs bring cleaner air, a lower cost of ownership, and a better transportation solution for fighting climate change. Find out more at EVinfo.net and follow us on LinkedIn.