Jennifer Mossalgue

Kia’s new modular electric vehicle concept – that goes from micro-car to minivan to small truck to full-sized van – introduced at CES has its first customer: Uber. Kia and Uber have signed a memorandum of understanding to use Kia’s new vehicles for ride-hailing.

As part of President Biden’s massive $7.5 billion plan to extensively build out EV infrastructure in the US – much to the chagrin of some Republican lawmakers –  the government has announced that it is investing $623 million in grants to put 7,500 more EV charging stations on the roads.

Well, it’s like 2015 all over again, but this time it involves Ram pickup trucks. And a lot of them. Engine maker Cummins is recalling 600,000 Ram trucks as part of a huge $2 billion settlement with both federal and California authorities for using illegal software to cheat results of diesel emissions tests.

On the heels of announcing its record year in sales of all-electric vehicles last year, BMW says it is now investing $711 million (€650 million) to convert its main factory in Munich to exclusively produce electric vehicles by the end of 2027. It’s all part of a multibillion-dollar effort to give its next-gen Neue Klasse EVs a competitive edge against the likes of Tesla.

BMW Group just released its sales numbers from 2023, and it was a very good year indeed. The automaker says it hit its target of 15% share of battery-electric vehicles – and expects to sell half a million BEVs in 2024.

To be frank, Americans don’t buy Fiats. The brand sold only a few hundred cars in the US last year. But Fiat hopes to – finally – charm the US with the “immersive Italian experience” of its upcoming Fiat 500e – Stellantis’s first all-electric car in the US. Unlike many of those hulking SUVs we’re seeing, this sweet retro-styled city car is one of the lightest and cheapest EVs on the market. To set the dolce vita vibes, the car even comes with its own theme music.

The new year has brought some new, tighter restrictions for drivers in France, particularly for those driving heavy, polluting cars. As of January 1, the government has revised its malus écologique, a one-time penalty tax for registering bulky, CO2-emitting cars, to include a lot more ICE vehicles, even some of the most popular budget models. 

Swedish lithium-ion battery maker Northvolt locked in European approval for a €902 million ($986 million) subsidy from the German government to build its gigafactory there.

Kia-owner Hyundai certainly isn’t in a big rush to go carbon neutral. It has set its target as the far-away date of 2050. But now it says it will rely heavily on hydrogen fuel cells generated from plastic, food, and organic waste to power a whole new generation of EVs, from passenger cars to heavy-duty trucks. Problem is, there is nowhere to charge them.

Volkswagen said it wouldn’t get involved in a price war with Tesla. But now it too is dramatically slashing prices on its ID line of electric vehicles in Europe, following Tesla’s price cuts for the top-selling Model 3 and Model Y.

Japanese automaker Honda has been, shall we say, laying very low when it comes to developing a decent electric vehicle, although we can expect its second EV attempt in the US, the Prologue, soon. After calling off beats with GM to “beat out Tesla” with a cheap SUV, it has now emerged with news that it is mulling over a $14 billion EV and battery plant in Canada.

Vietnamese EV maker VinFast has announced a new CEO at the helm, and an aggressive new strategy to expand globally while gaining a foothold in the US. In addition to announcing plans for a $2 billion in factory in India, it just announced a fresh crop of dealership openings in the US, with plans to expand the network to 125 points of sale across the country.

Anyone living in San Francisco knows that the city has been a testing ground for hundreds of self-driving cars – and there is probably a good reason why. In light of a series of incidents, including a pedestrian who was seriously injured by a Cruise robotaxi last year, California law enforcement has its hands tied when it comes to issuing moving violations when no human is behind the wheel.

Italy has some of the oldest, most polluting cars in Europe clogging up its roads, and the country is lagging behind other European countries in EV adoption. But the government aims to change that, to the tune of a $1 billion investment to encourage people to ditch their gas- or diesel-burning cars for electric ones.

California EV startup Faraday Future, which has just relaunched delivery of its luxury $309,000 electric car, is at risk of being delisted from NASDAQ due to plummeting share price.

The much-anticipated 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV has been off to a rough start. After customer complaints over its software issues, which sparked a halt on sales right before Christmas, General Motors has now issued a small safety recall, which includes the Chevrolet Blazer EV, for vehicles that may have defective doors that could fly open while driving.

It was a very good year in France for electric cars, for all kinds of reasons – among them, new cheaper cars entering the market supported by generous government subsidies. In 2023, 26% of new cars sold in France were battery electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, a huge 47% jump from 2022. 

It’s no surprise that Norway is leading the world in EV adoption, but 2023 saw the country reach new heights with electric vehicles taking a record 82% market share, and Tesla with a whopping 20% market share. And despite Tesla’s ongoing labor disputes in the region and blocks on imports, new car registrations for Tesla vehicles in Sweden grew by 9% in December.

It was a huge year for profits at Chinese auto behemoth BYD. In 2023, the company sold 1.6 million fully battery-electric vehicles, coming close to Tesla’s projected goal of 1.8 million vehicles. Adding up sales for all so-called new energy vehicles, including battery-only vehicles and plug-in hybrids, BYD sold a whooping 3 million vehicles in 2023.

China’s ever-growing electric vehicle industry is setting up shop in Hong Kong, but not to expand business in the minuscule Hong Kong market. Rather, they are looking to leverage the city’s financial system for global expansion, Bloomberg reports.

The fallout from robotaxi company Cruise continues, as now General Motors has just filed a lawsuit against San Francisco for $121 million in what it calls unfair taxes and penalties since it acquired Cruise. GM argues that San Francisco charged the company an inflated tax rate because it factored in its Cruise self-driving car division, which GM says is a separate entity.

Vietnamese EV maker VinFast has announced that it will open doors to its first dealership in the US in the same state where it is building its $4 billion EV factory. The automaker is partnering with North Carolina’s Leith Automotive Group to start selling its fully electric cars in the state.

Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi officially unveiled its first electric car yesterday at a launch event in Beijing while declaring its big ambitions to rival Tesla and Porsche and become a top automaker within the next two decades.

Competition to advance L3 autonomous driving technology is revving up in China, as a fresh batch of automakers is now being allowed to test their self-driving systems on highways and expressways. Among the latest is Chinese vehicle giant BYD, which has joined Mercedes and BMW in receiving permits to test their L3 technology on high-speed roads.