In the past, I have complained about mainstream media consistently putting all electric vehicles in the same melting-pot with no or very little regard for vehicle segments, or anything else than the powertrain really. I think EV enthusiasts are already very aware of this problem, but I still want to highlight this latest example because it’s simply a great one.
A Chinese startup backed by Beijing CH-Auto, Qiantu Motor, announced a new factory to build its first vehicle, the Qiantu K50 (pictured above), an all-electric roadster, which the media are presenting as a direct competitor to the Tesla Model S, a sedan. Expand Expanding Close
German newspaper Handelsblatt, which has often produced reliable insider reports on the German auto industry, now cites insider sources saying that Volkswagen is about to present to its board of directors a plan to build a ‘multi-billion euro battery factory’.
The publication suggests that the plan is likely to be approved.
The battery cell supply chain is close to the number one priority of any automaker looking to manufacture electric vehicles in high volume. Ever since the ‘Dieselgate’ scandal, VW has been under pressure to introduce more electric vehicles to its lineup and earlier this year, it announced plans to introduce 20 new electric vehicles through the group’s brands by the end of the decade. Expand Expanding Close
Not much is known about Faraday’s first production car, but it is expected to be an all-electric luxury crossover with a shape similar to the outline in the picture above. The company is not sharing a lot of information, but this week gave us a glimpse of its engineering mule tests. Expand Expanding Close
Washington state currently offers a sales tax break on electric vehicles with a price tag of up to $35,000. It’s a well-intended and interesting offer, but in reality, it doesn’t apply to a lot of vehicles. Even for something like a Nissan Leaf, it only applies to the base model with a 24 kWh battery pack and no options.
Today we learn (via NW News) that Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation introducing a compromise that will allow more people to benefit from the tax break on a slightly more interesting lineup of electric vehicles.. Expand Expanding Close
Reuters last month reported that Google has been bolstering its self-driving car team as of late, and now as April rolls in, we’ve uncovered some more information on new hires as the team continues to expand. In one case, Google has added an ex-Apple global supply manager for the iPhone and the Apple Watch to the self-driving car supply management team…
Fortune is running a Koch Industry advertisement-as-commentary piece today ‘authored’ by Jim Mahoney, the employee signaled out in a Huffington Post article last month as leading a $10M campaign against EVs.
The piece doesn’t directly reference Tesla by name, but it does feature pictures of the Model S both in Fortune’s article and subsequent social media push by the publication (see above).
It looks like electric vehicles are still in the “fighting phase” as we learn today that billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch are planning to back a new group of lobbyists with a focus on “boosting petroleum-based transportation fuels and attacking government subsidies for electric vehicles”, according to refining industry sources talking to the Huffington Post….
According to the Huffington Post, the Kochs are teaming up with James Mahoney, a member of their company’s board, and lobbyist Charlie Drevna, who until recently was the head of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers. Their mission will be to “make the public aware of all the benefits of petroleum-based transportation fuels”.
Mahoney is a petroleum industry veteran who uses a few tired gems like: Expand Expanding Close
GULF OF MEXICO – APRIL 21: U.S. Coast Guard fire boat response crews battle the blazing remnants of offshore oil rig
The Bloomberg New Energy Finance report that came out last week (press release at bottom) says that in 25 years, electric vehicles will make up just 35% of new car sales. That means that in a generation from now, 65% of people will still be buying petroleum-based cars. It is hard to imagine a world where this few EVs makes any sense, even given BNEF’s own data.
The report and the numbers it presents are much too conservative for any reasonable circumstance. Take its own lede for instance:
“Continuing reductions in battery prices will bring the total cost of ownership of EVs below that for conventional-fuel vehicles by 2025, even with low oil prices.”.
Why would anyone buy a gasoline car when an electric or even a plug-in hybrid costs less than a gas car? Electric cars are cleaner, quieter, faster and safer than equivalent oil cars. Keep in mind that 2040 is 15 years after the cost of an electric car passes parity with oil in their scenario. Furthermore, by Bloomberg’s own estimates, batteries will reach less than one-third of today’s break-even prices.
At the core of this forecast is the work we have done on EV battery prices. Lithium-ion battery costs have already dropped by 65% since 2010, reaching $350 per kWh last year. We expect EV battery costs to be well below $120 per kWh by 2030, and to fall further after that as new chemistries come in.”
The US department of energy has a handy calculator (above, current prices) which shows that in every state in the union, even with insanely cheap gas prices, it is still on average 50% cheaper to run on electricity than on gasoline. That means once battery/electric engine powertrains reach parity with combustion, it is really game over for oil.
So somehow 65% of people in the year 2040 will want to pay a huge premium for a fossil fuel engine car? Even if the world weren’t heating up this makes no sense at all… Expand Expanding Close
On a recent electric road trip to upstate New York, I realized that, with the cold weather, my snow tires and a car full of kids who like to be warm, I would need over 30 more miles of electricity than my batteries could hold to make it home. Hitting one of Tesla’s speedy Superchargers would require me to veer across the Hudson River twice and add over a half hour to my trip.
Along the fastest route, according to the helpful Plugshare App, there were a few Level 2 charging stations. I can get 30 miles per hour of charge from my default Tesla cable so I figured that I could get most of the extra miles I needed while we stopped for lunch. There was also a highly rated Level 2 charger within a mile of our destination we could use as a backup (it is good to have backups!). I figured we were all set…
Chrysler unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show today the new 2017 Pacifica minivan with an option for a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. The “Pacifica Hybrid” is equipped with a 16 kWh battery pack which allows for an all-electric range of 30 miles, according to the automaker. Expand Expanding Close
Mercedes is not just watching on the sidelines while Tesla steals market shares from its segment, and while Porsche and Audi announces upcoming electric vehicles. According to a new report from Car Magazine, the legendary German automaker recently greenlighted 4 new electric cars. Expand Expanding Close
Germany is the thirteenth government to join the International Zero-Emission Vehicle Alliance, which aims at making all passenger vehicles emission-free by 2050. The group made the announcement Thursday at the UN global climate talks in Paris.
The governments now participating in the ZEV Alliance include the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway in Europe; California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont in the United States; and Québec in Canada. Expand Expanding Close
We learn through GreenCarCongress that the US Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) published a list of 10 states which are now adopting electric vehicle fees ranging from $43 to $300 to replace lost revenue from fuel taxes.
Fuel taxes at the pump have theoretically been used to finance highway maintenance, but electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids using less or no gas at all are not contributing to this fund. Expand Expanding Close
Fisker Automotive, which recently rebranded as Karma Automotive, announced today the signing of a supply agreement with BMW for electric and hybrid powertrains.
Based on registration data, Tesla delivered 121 Model S’s in Germany last month, which brings the year-to-date total to 1,212 cars versus 593 during the same period in 2014. Expand Expanding Close
Last year Tesla gave the Model S a nice camouflage wrap (see above) for Veterans Day. This year its the Model X’s turn to get new look (below) in honor of the people who served in the United States Armed Forces. Expand Expanding Close
After its first full month of service, BlueIndy announced that over 500 people have signed up for the all-electric car sharing program. The company is operating over 25 stations in Indianapolis hosting up to 5 cars each.
The price structure of the program is fairly simple. Drivers need to pay a 10$ per month membership fee if you sign-up for 1 year and then $4 for the first 20 minutes of use of a Bluecar and $0.20 per additional minute. Expand Expanding Close
Over a year after Elon Musk first announced in his now famous “All Our Patent Are Belong To You” blog post that Tesla will be open-sourcing all its patents. We now have the first confirmation that some automakers have actually taken Tesla on the offer.
During an interview with Ron Baron last Friday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk very briefly mentioned for the first time that he believes companies are now using Tesla’s patents:
“I think actually there are a number of companies using our patents.”
Musk’s comment was in response to Baron asking why companies are not taking advantage of Tesla’s technology considering it is “free” and that the company is achieving higher safety and emission standard than the competition. Expand Expanding Close
Tesla recently reported its third quarter financial results and the company disclosed delivery guidance for 2016. Tesla expects to produce and deliver between 1,600 and 1,800 vehicles per week on average next year – meaning a yearly total of 83,200 to 93,600 units. If the company can achieve the higher end of its guidance, it would deliver more cars in a year than it did since the company was founded in 2003.
The automaker delivered 11,603 cars from July through September, which made the last quarter its best to date, but the company is aiming to significantly increase production this quarter in order to deliver between 17,000 to 19,000 units during the last three months of year. Expand Expanding Close
Adam Jonas, a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley covering Tesla Motors and the automotive industry, is nothing if not persistent. During Tesla’s recent conference call to discuss third quarter financial results, the analyst again asked Tesla CEO Elon Musk about the possibility for the company to join the likes of Uber and Lyft in the ride-sharing industry.
Jonas first brought up the idea at Tesla’s last quarterly conference call after comments made by Tesla board member Steve Juvertson about Uber CEO Travis Kalanick potentially wanting to buy 500,000 autonomous Teslas by the end of the decade. First time around earlier this year, Jonas got a firm “no comment” from Musk, but nonetheless the CEO called his question “insightful” at the time. The second time around during this week’s call, Jonas pushed the question again and although Musk’s first reaction was not to comment, which is rare for the CEO, he implied that an announcement could be coming. Expand Expanding Close
Since the unveiling of the Chevy Bolt at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, there’s been some scepticism about the planned nationwide availability of the all-electric vehicle, presumably due to GM’s track record of producing compliance cars when it comes to electric vehicles. The Chevrolet Spark EV is primarily available in CARB states in order to comply to regulations and the company recently confirmed that the 2016 version of the Volt will also only be offered in CARB states.
But GM says it will not be the case for the Bolt and the company recently reaffirmed its intention to launch the all-electric vehicle in all 50 states. Expand Expanding Close
Tesla Motors announced the renewal of its $1,000 referral program for the Model S for 2 more months after the end of the first trial period on October 31. It’s fair to say that the program was a success with a single Model S owner selling 100 cars in only 3 months and hundreds of top referrers selling several thousand vehicles.
