Making sense of slowing EV momentum in the US, weakening CEO confidence in China, and more | C-Suite Insights 12.19.24
America’s EV Future Is Increasingly in Question
The outlook for electric vehicles darkened considerably in 2024, writes our Senior Economist Alexander Heil, PhD in Barron's .
With sales growth slowing and consumers already concerned about high prices and limited charging infrastructure, potential federal policy changes in 2025 could exacerbate those trends.
Policy changes loom: The incoming administration may eliminate federal tax credits for buying new EVs, reduce investment in charging infrastructure, and roll back environmental standards. That’s on top of industrial policy restricting EV battery materials from countries such as China.
Market forces remain positive: One study expects EV prices to decline through 2027 due to more efficient manufacturing and falling battery costs. That could make EVs cost-competitive with gasoline-powered vehicles.
The TCB take: Despite the headwinds, business leaders should still consider fleet electrification in their decarbonization plans, as the lower operating costs of EVs can deliver ROI even without federal tax credits.
Number of the Week: $933 Billion
Federal spending on Medicaid was $607 billion in 2024. What’s more, the Congressional Budget Office projects Medicaid spending to rise to $933 billion by 2034. And that’s even with a projected decrease in the number of Medicaid beneficiaries.
Driving the increase in expenditures: Rising health care costs and policy changes that have increased coverage and access to the program.
The TCB take: Given rising costs and unsustainable Federal budget deficits, it’s vital that Congress address Medicaid’s fiscal trends quickly. Policymakers should consider opportunities for reform, including caps on Federal Medicaid spending, limits on the use of state taxes on health care providers, and adjustments to Federal Medicaid matching rates.
Innovative strategies such as value-based care and an emphasis on primary care, preventive care, and coordination of benefits can also assist in improving Medicaid’s fiscal outlook.
QUOTABLE: Is Your Total Rewards Strategy Up to Par?
“Total rewards is the most important way of bringing employees in and retaining them. It needs to be focused. And rewards are levers to support your business strategy, to enable and drive it, to evolve your culture, and to reinforce the behaviors that you want to see from leaders and employees.”
— Rita Meyerson, Ed.D. , principal researcher for human capital at The Conference Board. She joined C-Suite Perspectives to discuss how total rewards shapes employee engagement and retention.
Marketing Leaders Are Adapting Messaging to a New Order
Last week, The Conference Board Marketing & Communications Center held a roundtable with marketing leaders.
A poll of attendees found that 47% of respondents think next year will be a positive environment for marketing to drive business impact, while 35% were still undecided.
Recommended by LinkedIn
Optimism shines in key themes for 2025: The top three themes most likely to be dialed-up are brand promise, purpose, and value. These themes rest on a paradigm of persistent brand narrative, one that consistently communicates your value proposition and is underpinned by your enduring purpose.
This marks something of a return to conventional thinking and a dilution of the focus on topical, political, or potentially polarizing issues.
The TCB take: Brands, creativity, value, and uniqueness will be powerful tools in 2025. Notably, not a single marketer said they plan on dialing up DEI messaging. Likewise, zero respondents plan to lean harder into influencers or humor. Telling times.
ESG Metrics in Executive Pay: Growth Plateaus in Large Firms But Continues in Midsize Companies
Key insights from our latest analysis on ESG performance metrics in executive pay:
Adoption of ESG metrics plateaus at large firms but sees growth in midsize companies:
Environmental metrics, once the fastest-growing ESG category in executive pay, stall:
Governance metrics make the biggest gains out of all ESG categories:
Produced with ESGAUGE - ESG Intelligence & Analytics and FW Cook
Despite China's Stimulus, Confidence Falls Among MNC CEOs
Confidence among locally based CEOs of multinational companies operating in China has deteriorated in the past six months, falling into negative territory.
Below 50: The Conference Board Measure of CEO Confidence™ for China declined to 49 in H2 2024, down from 56 six months prior. A reading of less than 50 indicates more negative responses than positive.
Declines across the board: The downturn is evident across all three sub-indexes (current business conditions, future business conditions, and future industry conditions), with pessimism most marked among CEOs regarding current business conditions.
The TCB take: Conditions facing multinationals operating in China are extremely challenging, says Alfredo Montufar-Helu , who leads our China Center. CEOs are having to contend with highly price-sensitive customers and agile local competitors. Longer term, CEOs are more optimistic, but they are currently having to make very tough choices to compete at the moment.