Bradley writes about electric cars, autonomous vehicles, smart homes, and other tech that’s transforming society. He contributes to The New York Times, SAE International, Via Magazine, Popular Mechanics, MIT Technology Review, and others. https://twitter.com/bradberman
Polestar’s parent company is Volvo, which is a pioneer in auto safety. The company is using the Polestar 2 EV to showcase the group’s latest safety tech. That includes the first use of new front-inner-side airbags and a new Acoustic Vehicle Alert System that warns pedestrians with a soundtrack similar to a heartbeat.
SK Innovation, a South Korean battery supplier for Volkswagen and Ford, said on Tuesday it will spend $727 million to build a second EV battery plant in the United States. Construction is expected to begin in July, with battery production slated to start in 2023.
The effects of the global pandemic are expected to force automakers into alliances to cover development costs for expensive technology. But Ford confirmed today that it canceled plans to use Rivian’s electric skateboard platform for a Lincoln-badged electric vehicle. Ford still plans to produce a Lincoln EV but is using its own technology.
The UK’s RAC Foundation, a transport policy group, studied the mileage covered by motorists in Great Britain. RAC discovered that Tesla drivers cover more miles per year, on average, that owners of any other car.
On April 24, the CHAdeMO Association released the 3.0 version of its charging protocol. It was co-developed by the China Electricity Council, setting up a global battle of EV quick-charging protocols between a Japan-China alliance – and automakers in Europe and the US that use the CCS standard.
The Korea Herald reports that pre-pandemic shortages of battery supply, which caused delays for European automakers, have been made worse by the global crisis. The situation became urgent enough for the Polish government to waive travel restrictions, allowing 200 LG Chem technicians to resume expansion of its battery gigafactory in Wroclaw.
The LA-based public-private Transportation Electrification Partnership is proposing a nationwide $150 billion plan to support zero-emissions vehicles. The proposal was sent last week to House and Senate leadership, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Ford will soon convert reservations for the all-electric Mustang Mach-E into official orders. Mark Kaufman, the vehicle’s global director of marketing distribution, told Electrek that test drives will be critical for a successful launch of Ford’s electric crossover. Therefore, the company is beginning to plan how to get prospective buyers behind the wheel, even if pandemic-related physical distancing orders are still in place.
The Lexus UX 300e crossover went on sale to Chinese consumers on Sunday, April 26. The Toyota-branded version of the same model, the C-HR, will go on sale this week – with the Izoa variant to soon follow.
Bloomberg reports this afternoon that Tesla is calling some workers back to its US assembly plant in Fremont starting next week. The move to get workers back to work would be before Bay Area stay-at-home orders are lifted. The region’s health orders are in effect until at least May 3, but Tesla staff working in paint and stamping operations was called back for April 29.
BC Hydro, a utility actively supporting EV infrastructure, is thinking about how its charging station can accommodate trailer-towing electric SUVs and trucks, as well as disabled drivers.
On Earth Day, a documentary entitled “Planet of the Humans” appeared on Michael Moore’s YouTube channel. You might expect a film from the acclaimed rabble-rousing film director, who served as executive producer, to champion the cause of clean-energy technology and electric vehicles. Instead, the movie characterizes solar and wind energy as a sell-out to corporate America. And EVs are just a means for utility companies to burn more coal.
The release of the Porsche Taycan’s range numbers in January landed with a thud. It was taken as a sign of inferiority that Porsche’s 93.4kWh battery yielded only 201 and 192 miles for the Turbo and Turbo S version, respectively. But EPA data now reveals that the company voluntarily lowered the range numbers.
Lt. General Eric Wesley, head of the US Army’s Futures and Concepts Center, is working on a detailed white paper for the military use of EVs. That will serve as a recommendation for how the Army transitions from internal combustion to electric vehicles. Wesley is inspired by the development of large battery-powered trucks by Tesla and others.
John Goodenough, the co-inventor of the lithium-ion battery, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2019. But two years earlier, he announced that he made a breakthrough on a solid-state battery that could mean the end of internal-combustion cars. Goodenough, now 97, is self-isolating from the coronavirus and working on Nobel-related commitments. But the job of commercializing the potential breakthrough is being carried forward by the public utility Hydro-Québec.
Polestar today announced the formal pricing of its first pure electric car, the 2021 Polestar 2. The performance-oriented fastback has an MSRP of $59,900 in the United States. Destination charges will send the entry price of the Polestar 2 above $60,000.
China announced today that it cut subsidies for electric cars by 10% this year, followed by further reductions in the next two years. The reduced subsidies are now only available to passenger cars costing less than 300,000 yuan ($42,400). Tesla’s China-made Model 3 sedan is currently priced at 323,800 ($45,800).
The economic downturn due to the pandemic is causing automakers to delay launches and slash R&D projects. Volvo’s CEO Hakan Samuelsson said that his company, like others, is searching for where to cut budgets. But expenses related to the company’s efforts on EVs, as well as self-driving tech, will not be touched.
The Tesla Model 3 didn’t go on sale until halfway through 2017. But in less than three years, the Model 3 has radically shifted how and when EV drivers charge their cars. That comes through loud and clear when comparing the charging patterns of EVs in 2014 and 2019. FleetCarma, which helps utilities understand and manage EV charging, today published data based on a new study of 3,900 electric vehicles.
Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz is killing its program to develop passenger cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells. The company has been working on fuel-cell vehicles for more than 30 years — chasing the dream of a zero-emissions car that has a long driving range, three-minute fill-ups, and emits only water vapor. In the end, the company conceded that building hydrogen cars was too costly, about double the expense of an equivalent battery-electric vehicle.
The downturn in the economy due to the pandemic is wreaking havoc with the auto industry. The impacts are particularly hard on start-ups trying to launch their first vehicles. Byton, the Chinese EV-maker, this week put hundreds of employees from its Santa Clara facility on furlough, following earlier reductions in China.
For weeks, we’ve been hearing that plummeting oil prices and dirt-cheap gasoline will kill electric vehicles. Now it appears the oil industry is the one whose future is in question. So, of course, President Trump is plotting a big bailout for Big Oil.
Germany reopened car dealerships today, but it could be a struggle to convince consumers to buy a new car. So the country’s top auto executives and politicians are calling for an eco-scrappage plan to spur sales of EVs and other efficient vehicles. Auto executives, government officials, labor, and environmentalists all agree on the need for the program.
Xpeng Motors announced that its P7 “smart electric sports sedan” officially rolls out in China on April 27. The Tesla-looking sedan already made big promises for range: 435 miles of range on the NEDC cycle. Now the company says the P7 will use Nvidia technology to enable Level 3 autonomy for highways, city streets, and valet parking.
