Jennifer Mossalgue

Rumors have been brewing for weeks now that Europe’s automakers were challenging the EU’s decision to ban ICE vehicles as of 2035. But the ACEA, Europe’s automakers association, said that it is not pushing back and is all in with the EV future. Is this PR spin or the real thing?

What’s the perfect antidote to truck and SUV bloat? Why, the Microlino Lite, of course. Swiss company Micro has just unveiled a production version of its Microlino Lite – an even smaller version of its Microlino microcar – this week at the Geneva Motor Show. It won’t go faster than 28 mph (45 km/h), but it’s the next best thing to ditching cars altogether and getting an e-bike. And it could be coming to the US.

General Motors is banking that Europeans will want an American-made $93,000 SUV that has zero emissions – but the US brand has had plenty of trouble getting production off the ground on its home turf.

Fiat just unveiled a new set of Panda-inspired concept cars at the Geneva Motor Show, including a new city car and a pickup truck. As Fiat has just launched its 500e in the US, some EV versions of these vehicles could be on their way stateside.

While Paris is expanding bike paths and shunning SUVs, it’s different in Berlin. Here, the car is king, at least for the city’s conservative government, which is unleashing a culture war against cyclists and drivers – but cyclists are on the losing end this time.

Plan A isn’t working, so it’s time for Plan B. Three major legacy automakers are considering a creative approach to staying in the game amid fierce competition from Tesla and Chinese rivals – all in an effort to make cheap EVs, and a whole lot of them.

More bad news for Californian EV startup Fisker, as it now faces a possible delisting from the New York Stock Exchange due to low stock prices for 30 consecutive days.

US President Joe Biden, whose administration has put electric vehicles front and center of an ambitious policy to dramatically curb emissions, may walk back his proposal on yearly EV requirements through 2030 due to political pressures and pushback from automakers and the UAW.

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.