Forvia, a major supplier for Stellantis, Volkswagen, Tesla, and Ford, plans to cut as many as 10,000 jobs in Europe over the next five years. The news falls days after major auto supplier Continental announced that it too was cutting its workforce by 7,150 jobs.

Jeep and Chrysler owner Stellantis – hardly a hero in our EV adoption story – says that it is finally turning a profit on EVs. But that’s in no part due to US sales, since the company doesn’t sell any EVs in the country – but that is changing with a lineup on its way this year.

In a huge push to give European automakers a fighting chance over China in the EV sector, Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz have raised nearly €4.4 billion to build four new EV gigafactories across the European Union in the coming years.

The new year rolled out a new plan where EV shoppers could get on-the-spot tax rebates when purchasing a new electric vehicle, with auto dealers then handling the paperwork and waiting to get reimbursed by the government. The US government says it has already paid out $135 million to auto dealers that signed up for the program so far this year.

Sacramento, capital city of the EV-loving Golden State, is the latest city proposing to ban new gas stations or upgrading existing stations, unless of course you’re adding electric vehicle charging.

Europe is installing more solar panels than ever before, thanks to a flood of cheap Chinese solar panels, driving installations by 40% last year. But it comes at a hefty cost: Local solar manufacturers are on the brink of a total collapse that could happen within weeks.

Canada Nickel Co. is looking to spend US $1 billion to build a nickel processing plant in Ontario, which would be North America’s largest once it is completed.

Ford is laying off some 3,500 workers in Germany as the automaker ends the production of the Focus – the once crazily popular car that never managed to get off the ground with its electric version – in 2025.

An autonomous Waymo car hit a cyclist in San Francisco yesterday – but luckily the cyclist had only minor injuries. Still, it’s bad news for urban cyclists, and for Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle division, which is already having a tough time shaking off all the bad buzz from the Cruise disaster.

Major German car parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen is investing a hefty $500 million into its transmission plant in South Carolina – all to transform it into a “flexible manufacturer of parts” for both ICE and plug-in hybrids, and for both passenger cars and large commercial vehicles by launching production of its PowerLine transmission in the US.

The US-China trade war heats up as the Biden administration has signaled a warning that electric vehicles from China could pose a “significant national security risk” in that the huge amount of data they collect could be sent to China.

Regulators hate them, saying all the popularity of massive, heavy SUVs runs counter to environmental targets. Paris even slapped some hefty fines on SUVs parking in the city. But European consumers are showing nothing but love for the SUV, in all shapes and sizes. In a new milestone, SUV sales took the market lead at 51%.

After some dreary news coming from EV players Polestar and Renault’s Ampere, Lotus is feeling confident and ready to roll with listing its shares on Nasdaq by the end of March. The EV arm of the company is valued at $5.5 billion on a pre-money equity value basis, according to the company via an email to Electrek.

Hyundai is prepping an entry-level electric mini-SUV called Casper to take on rivals Dacia Spring and Citroën’s ë-C3 in Europe. The best part, the price is aimed at that elusive yet coveted €20,000 range (about $21.5K).

Parisians have voted to triple the parking costs for SUVs – including heavier electric ones and hybrids. This Sunday, the city held a referendum, with Parisians voting 56.6% in favor of increased parking fees for SUVs and heavy sedans, of all varieties.

Stellantis has been at odds with the Italian government for its lack of support in EV adoption and not backing home-grown brands Fiat and Alfa Romeo. But now Italy says it is open to buying a stake in Stellantis, Reuters reports, using the same model France uses for its beloved Renault.

 
China’s BYD is selling millions of EVs, famously outselling Tesla in the last quarter of 2023, and riding an enormous wave of success. But not many Europeans (and practically no Americans) have ever heard of it, much less trust it as a reliable brand. But as the EV giant makes inroads outside of China, it is looking to change that, the old-school way, dealer by dealer.

More bad news for Polestar. The struggling luxury EV maker just lost its funding from Volvo, which is handing full responsibility for the brand over to China’s Geely. However, Volvo is letting them down easy, saying it’s a “natural evolution” for the two brands.

Once an EV darling thought to revolutionize EV production with its concept of micro-factories that crank out delivery vans for the likes of Uber and UPS, UK startup Arrival is in a desperate search for funding after being delisted from Nasdaq this week.

Germany is Europe’s biggest auto market, and it’s been one of the main drivers of EV growth. But now that is expected to change course, as EV sales are projected to drop – by 14% – for the first time in eight years.

Ford has been looking to build the first LFP battery facility in the US, boosting domestic production. But it has been leaning on Chinese tech from CATL to make that happen, and Republican lawmakers have criticized the project. Now they’ve asked the Biden administration to investigate four Chinese companies involved in the plant.

Despite a truly terrible year for GM that involved plants being shut down for weeks due to a union strike, Bolt battery recalls, EV production problems, and the nightmare that keeps on giving that is Cruise, General Motors says it should tally up nearly $10 billion for 2023 – but we certainly don’t owe that to stellar EV sales.

EV drivers looking to get behind the wheel of their new Volvo all-electric SUV EX30 may have to wait a bit longer as Volvo works to resolve some software glitches before delivery – the second time a Volvo EV launch has been delayed due to software.

French automaker Renault just canceled its planned IPO for its EV spinoff Ampere. While the IPO was scheduled for the first part of this year with an expected valuation of up to €10 billion ($10.47 billion), Renault says that market conditions aren’t optimal to make the move.