After much foot-dragging, Honda is preparing to launch three zero-emission vehicles and one hybrid. Throughout 2024, the automaker will release the long-awaited Prologue EV, the Acura ZDX EV, a fuel cell (FCEV) version of the CR-V, and a hybrid variation on the ever-popular Civic.
Honda first teased the electric Prologue SUV in late 2022. (That’s when it introduced its updated, EV-exclusive H mark, too.) A few testers have gotten their hands on the vehicle since then, but aside from a fact sheet published in September 2023, Honda itself has been relatively quiet. This week, Honda finally confirmed that the Prologue will go on sale in the “coming months,” with California, Texas, Florida, and other warm-weather states at the top of the priority list. (Honda’s rough experience with the Clarity seems to have shown it the value of a slow release.) The five-seater SUV is said to offer a 300-mile range and start in the “upper $40,000s,” though Honda hasn’t nailed down an exact price yet. Each unit will reportedly come with free home charger installation and free charging credits to sweeten the deal.
Ford cuts F-150 Lightning production as EV demand softens
Source: Reuters
Jan 19 (Reuters) - Ford Motor (F.N), said on Friday it would reduce production of its F-150 Lightning pickup truck, as demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has been lower than expected.
The No. 2 U.S. automaker said it would cut production at its Michigan Rouge Electric Vehicle Center to one shift starting April 1. In October, the automaker said it would temporarily cut one of three shifts at the Michigan plant that builds the electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck.
Biden Vetoes Republican Measure Blocking EV Chargers Plan
Source: Bloomberg
January 24, 2024 at 4:00 PM EST
Updated on January 24, 2024 at 6:13 PM EST
President Joe Biden vetoed a congressional resolution that sought to block a partial waiver to Buy-American requirements on his plan to spend $7.5 billion on electric vehicle chargers, saying lawmakers would inadvertently make it easier to outsource production to countries like China.
The measure, drafted by Senator Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, was intended to ensure taxpayer money used to build electric charging stations would go toward American products and materials. But Biden said he had to veto the legislation because it would actually undercut the goal of increasing domestic production.
“It would not only thwart the collective goal of the Congress and the administration to establish a domestic EV charger manufacturing industry, but it would also delay the significant progress being made by my administration and the states in establishing the EV charging network,” Biden said in his veto message.
Administration officials, who discussed the veto on the condition of anonymity, said that if lawmakers succeeded in striking down their rule, production of electric chargers would instead be governed by decades-old regulations that would impose fewer domestic manufacturing requirements.
Back in November last year, Renault announced that its Master commercial van family had moved into its fourth generation – which included an electric variant called the E-Tech. Now the company has confirmed per-charge range figures.
The Master multi-energy-platform commercial van has undergone a complete redesign, according to Renault, for improved efficiency – including a shorter hood, a windshield in a more forward position and tilted, streamlined air intake ducts on the bumper and roofline slope, redesigned exterior mirrors and a narrower rear area.
The E-tech model is being made available in two variants – one with a 96-kW motor and 30-kWh battery and the other with a 105-kW motor and 87-kWh battery. Either way, drivers can look forward to 300 Nm (221 lb.ft) of torque. Renault initially promised the higher-spec flavor would offer a range of more than 410 km per charge, but that figure has now been confirmed as 460 km (285.8 miles) on the WLTP cycle.
Ford Is Building a New Budget EV With Tesla's Former Engineering Chief as Project Lead
While most EVs available in the US are above the $35,000 mark, Ford’s new model will ideally suit drivers with less to spend.
By Adrianna Nine February 7, 2024 https://www.extremetech.com/cars/ford-i ... g-chief-as
Alan Clarke, Tesla’s former engineering head, is reportedly leading a Ford project to introduce a cost-effective electric vehicle to the US market. During Tuesday’s Q4 2023 earnings call, Ford executives mentioned that the “skunkworks” project has evolved into something worthy of incorporating into the automaker’s larger electrification plans.
“We made a bet in silence two years ago,” CEO Jim Farley said. “We developed a super-talented skunkworks team to create a low-cost EV platform. It was a small group, small team, some of the best EV engineers in the world, and it was separate from the Ford mothership. It was a startup.”
Post-Brexit watchdog ‘ready’ to investigate flood of cheaper Chinese electric cars
Tue 13 Feb 2024 15.05 GMT
The head of Britain’s post-Brexit trade watchdog has said it is ready to follow Brussels in launching an investigation into Chinese companies flooding the market for electric cars, but the government has not asked it to do so.
Oliver Griffiths, the chief executive of the UK’s Trade Remedies Authority (TRA), which advises the government on trade defence, said it was keeping lines of communication open with ministers and had been in close contact with the car industry. “We’ll be ready to go if anyone does come to us,” he told the Guardian in an interview.
The European Commission launched an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) late last year after warning that global markets were being “flooded” with cheap imports from the world’s second largest economy.
Britain would have been covered by the inquiry as a member state but has led an independent trade policy since leaving the EU four years ago. Under the UK’s post-Brexit system, the TRA can be called on by ministers or industry to investigate whether import controls are needed to protect Britain’s economic interests.
However, Griffiths said no request by the government or carmakers had been made since Brussels launched its investigation in October. “We haven’t had either of those two things happen on electric vehicles. But I know people are watching it really closely,” he said.
