Scooter Doll

American EV automaker Rivian has shared production totals for Q1 of 2022 less than a month after sharing revised production goals for the year. Despite a slow ramp-up of EV production, Rivian stated that it remains on track to achieve its 2022 output numbers.

Sono Motors announced it has signed a term sheet with contract manufacturer, Valmet Automotive, to produce the latter’s Sion solar electric vehicle (SEV) in Finland beginning in 2023. Due to increased manufacturing costs and a need for additional funding, the Sion SEV will soon see a second price increase in less than six months.

According to research teams and engineers at multiple US energy laboratories, the acceleration of EV adoption will not reach any sort of “tipping” point in which charging EVs will overwhelm the electrical grid. In fact, experts state that the entire industry is well aware of this imminent electrical load coming to the US grid and is adapting daily to support a future dominated by EVs.

As new, larger, and more powerful EVs make their way into consumer driveways, their deliveries still remain quite small in number compared to the other electric vehicle types. That being said, the demand for electric trucks has exploded with many manufacturer models reserved into the next couple years. As a result, some early customers of these EV trucks are taking advantage of this demand and reselling them for a profit, some more than double what they paid.

General Motors’ commercial EV brand, BrightDrop, announced a rebranding of its entire ecosystem of electrified products, including delivery vehicles, storage carts, and software. The new nomenclature system falls more in line with parent company GM’s focus on “zero” branding.

Mercedes-AMG will soon deliver the first performance versions of the all-electric Mercedes-Benz EQS and has now shared pricing. With two new curated trims for the US market, the Mercedes-AMG EQS will be the first AMG electric vehicle to arrive on the Mercedes-EQ architecture.

A recent 2022 report by Zutobi has ranked the top 20 most affordable EVs to operate around the world based on a number of factors. This includes considerations such as battery size, cost to charge, and miles driven per given dollar amounts. Tesla takes the top spot this year, but there are plenty of other viable options currently available to consumers.

Although NIO CEO William Li recently admitted the company is only in the research phase, he has confirmed the Chinese automaker is exploring the production of its own phones. By combining technology with humanity, NIO hopes to provide one holistic system for consumers’ daily lives – much like Apple, who NIO’s CEO sees as a potential rival in the future.

In what is being dubbed the “world’s largest electric cruise ship,” the Yangtze River Three Gorges 1 recently completed its maiden voyage out of its home port in Yichang, central China’s Hubei Province. The 100 meter long, zero-emissions ship can haul up to 1,300 passengers at a time and is powered by batteries totaling 7,500 kWh, equivalent to over 100 EVs.

British luxury automaker Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has shared the latest update regarding its upcoming all-electric Spectre, as it has endured winter testing in Sweden in temperatures as low as -40℃ (-40℉). With the completion of winter testing, Rolls-Royce has shared that the Spectre has now covered 25% of the 2.5 million planned test kilometers (~1.55 million miles), simulating 400 years of use on the new EV.

Following entry into the North American market and plans for an HQ on American soil, Vietnamese EV automaker Vinfast, announced that North Carolina will be its new home for US manufacturing. The site in Chatham County, North Carolina, will soon house both an automotive assembly and battery manufacturing plant for Vinfast to build North American EVs like its VF 9 and VF 8.

UK-based sports car manufacturer, Lotus Cars, has officially unveiled details of its long-teased “Type 132” electric SUV. Today, the brand announced the EV will be dubbed the Eletre (pronounced “El-etra”) – calling it the “world’s first hyper-SUV.” We now have a slew of new specs and features to ponder.

General Motors marque GMC recently shared that it has received over 65,000 reservations for its electrified Hummer pickup and SUV, much higher than the American automaker’s initial expectations. As a result, GMC is expediting Hummer EV production to keep up with the growing consumer demand. That being said, the SUV version of the Hummer is not scheduled to deliver until 2023, and new pickup orders won’t be fulfilled until 2024 under current production timelines.

After sharing long-term electrification goals during a recent financial report, new details of future Porsche EVs have emerged including plans for an electric 911. What might be even more mouth-watering (if true) is that the German automaker has been working with Quantumscape to integrate solid-state batteries into future Porsche EVs like the electric 911.

NIO moves ever-closer to delivering its ET7 luxury sedan. The company announced the first batch of EVs has officially rolled off its assembly line in Hefei, China. ET7 deliveries remain on schedule to arrive to NIO reservation holders in China beginning March 28.

EV freight technology company Einride has announced a new partnership with Maersk to provide its Freight Mobility platform to the latter’s fleet. The transition will include 300 Einride electric trucks in what the companies are calling the largest operational contract for electric heavy-duty road freight to date.

Chinese EV automaker BYD announced it has found an unlikely partner in Shell to expand and promote a good deal of energy and charging technologies together throughout Europe and China. This includes EV charging network services, integrated home energy solutions, electric vehicle service centers, and more.

The world’s largest battery manufacturer, is going green… or at least starting to. Earlier today, CATL announced it has built a zero-carbon battery plant in Yibin, Sichuan province of China. While the current details are scarce, we can expect to learn more following a presentation on Friday local time overseas.

Polestar announced it has officially begun delivering its 2022 Long Range Single Motor Polestar 2 to US consumers today. This trim delivers a 270-mile EPA range, which was announced last December and joins the 2022 Dual Motor version. I got a chance to drive it for a few days and truly believe drivers will enjoy it, especially those who are newer to EVs.

EV-dedicated automaker XPeng Motors is celebrating the production of its 100,000th P7 sedan, claiming to be the first Chinese EV brand to do so. To mark this production milestone, XPeng will release a special “Black Label Edition” P7 featuring an entirely dark exterior.

The Antelope Valley Transit Authority (ATVA) board of directors and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently celebrated a journey to electrification that began a decade ago. Now, the ATVA has become the first all-electric, zero emissions transit agency in North America.

Following the Chevy Equinox EV’s debut during CES in January, General Motors has shared a new video of the upcoming vehicle, showcasing a new blue exterior color, two-toned, with a pearl roof. This appears to be our latest “preview” of the upcoming electric SUV before it enters production in late 2023.

Infant electric boat manufacturer, ZEN Yachts, has announced its first US order for its flagship ZEN50 solar electric catamaran. The zero-emission sailing yacht is currently under construction in Europe and will arrive with some pretty luxurious features including two kitchens, a high-tech fully-automated wingsail, and Starlink internet from SpaceX.

Following news of its “Folgore” electrification strategy last week, Maserati has unveiled its new Grecale SUV to the public, including a first look at the all-electric version scheduled to arrive next year. Below are some of the first public images of the electrified SUV.