Electric Vehicles News & Discussions

[wjfox]

The Electric Revolution: EV Sales Doubled in 2021 and Are Surging This Year Too

Mar 15, 2022

Electric vehicles (EVs) will play a crucial role in decarbonizing our transport systems and helping us avoid the worst effects of climate change. The latest figures suggest they are making major inroads into the automotive industry after sales of plug-in electric vehicles nearly doubled in 2021.

While battery-powered cars broke into the mainstream almost a decade ago, they’ve taken some time to catch the imagination of the average driver. Concerns over range and charging time, coupled with generally higher prices, have meant their adoption has been slower than some might hope.

But that seems to be changing rapidly. According to the Department of Energy, sales of new EVs in the US hit 608,000 last year, nearly double the total for 2020. Of that, more than 73 percent were all-electric vehicles, with the remainder coming from hybrid vehicles that combine batteries with conventional gas-powered engines. Those figures are particularly impressive considering that overall sales of passenger vehicles only increased by three percent over the same period.

The trend is mirrored globally, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), with sales of electric cars more than doubling to 6.6 million to reach a market share of 9 percent—more than triple what it was just two years ago. This is despite major chip shortages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which caused production to slump by 7.7 million vehicles in 2021.

While the uptick in sales in the US is impressive, China is leading this surge in adoption. According to market research firm Canalys, mainland China saw 3.2 million sales of EVs in 2021, which is roughly half of worldwide sales and a jump of more than two million compared to 2020. EVs accounted for roughly 15 percent of all Chinese vehicle sales.

Read more: https://singularityhub.com/2022/03/15/e ... -going-up/



Image Credit: LeeRosario / 716 images

[caltrek]

The U.S. Just Announced that Cars will Have to be More Fuel Efficient by 2026
by Jaclyn Trop
April 1, 2022

https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/01/the-u ... t-by-2026/

Introduction:

(TechCrunch) The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a dramatic change to domestic fuel economy standards, a crucial step toward putting more electric vehicles on the road while reducing dependence on other countries.

The standards, which go into effect in 2024, aim to deliver on President Joe Biden’s ambitious goal for half of the vehicles sold in the U.S. to be battery-electric by 2030. They could also accelerate domestic development of battery packs and electric vehicles.

The federal mandate to cut emissions supports “the freedom of our country to chart its future without being subject to other countries and to the decisions that are being made in the boardrooms of energy companies,” U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said on Friday at a press conference livestreamed from U.S. DOT headquarters.

The new standards mean that automakers in the U.S. will be required to raise the corporate average fuel economy (known as CAFE) of their fleets to 49 mpg by the 2026 model year. The current standard is 37 mpg, compared with roughly 13 mpg when the first regulations went into effect in 1975.

[raklian]

[weatheriscool]

Tesla's Sales Jumped in the First Quarter, Bucking Industry Trend Again
Source: New York Times

The electric carmaker maintained its momentum from last year even as larger automakers continue to struggle with parts shortages.

Tesla, the world’s leading electric car company, on Saturday reported a steep increase in worldwide sales in the first three months of the year as it overcame supply chain problems and moved closer to production levels on a par with established luxury carmakers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Tesla said it delivered 310,000 vehicles from January through March, up from 185,000 cars during the same period in 2021, roughly in line with Wall Street’s expectations. The nearly 70 percent increase was in contrast with major carmakers like General Motors and Toyota, which reported big sales declines on Friday because of shortages of key components.

The increase in the first quarter builds on Tesla’s momentum from last year, when it nearly doubled sales, to just short of 1 million cars, and overtook Volvo and Subaru. Tesla has coped better with an industrywide shortage of computer chips because its mastery of software allowed it to substitute chips that were available for ones that are scarce.

The first-quarter sales were “a positive step in the right direction for the next step of the Tesla growth,” Daniel Ives and John Katsingris of Wedbush Securities said in a note on Saturday, though they acknowledged that some analysts had expected more.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/02/busi ... icles.html

[raklian]

[Yuli Ban]

The world is about to pass another important milestone in electric vehicle adoption: 20 million plug-in vehicles on the road globally, come June, according to BNEF estimates. That’s remarkable growth from only 1 million EVs on roads in 2016.

[caltrek]

Tesla Extends Peak Charging Hours at California Superchargers Amid EV Sales Boom
by Jaclyn Trop
April 13, 2022

https://techcrunch.com/2022/04/13/tesla ... -ev-sales/

Introduction:

(TechCrunch) Tesla owners in California who want to save money at the company’s branded Superchargers will have to wait until 9 p.m. to power up their battery. The company pushed its off-peak charging hours from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in California, according to an email from Tesla that was shared on Reddit.

Tesla peak hours, which are now from 11 am to 9 p.m., is about twice the cost, on a per kilowatt-hour basis, than off peak hours.

The later start time for the automaker’s largest market is expected to help Tesla manage costs of maintaining the network as it continues to ramp up sales on a large scale. Encouraging owners to charge their cars later in the day could help manage the long lines and wait times for California’s Superchargers.

[wjfox]

Electric car cost advantage over petrol grows amid energy market turmoil

Sun 24 Apr 2022 11.27 BST

Driving an electric car for a year costs almost £600 less than its petrol equivalent after fuel prices surged more than electricity costs, research by the comparison website Compare the Market has found.

Electric vehicles were already cheaper to run, according to figures shared with the Guardian, but the gap has widened significantly amid turmoil in global energy markets caused by the war in Ukraine.

The average annual cost of driving an electric vehicle is £1,264, Compare the Market found, compared with £1,834 for a petrol car.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... il-ukraine

[caltrek]

Rivian Announces Another Shipping Delay but also Some Cool New Software Features
by Umar Shakir
April 27, 2022

https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/27/2304 ... et-dashcam

Introduction:

(The Verge) Rivian is experiencing a production issue with an interior trim option for its electric vehicles. Some reservation holders of the company’s R1T electric truck and R1S SUV received emails this week saying that the Ocean Coast trim is “more challenging to produce” and will be delayed to later this fall (via Electrek - https://electrek.co/2022/04/26/rivian-d ... ean-coast/ ).

It’s not the best look given the email came the same day as rival Ford’s launch event of its electric Lightning truck, but Rivian does have some cool new software updates to share as well. The company announced that it’s working on OTA updates that will enable a dashcam feature, which will go nicely with its Gear Guard video security feature. There’s also an upcoming “pet mode” that keeps HVAC running for your dog while you grocery shop and a new sand mode that should let you drive on dunes and will be pushed as a standard feature.

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe highlighted the new sand mode feature on Twitter, posting a new video of the R1S electric SUV riding around the desert. It showcases a slow-motion clip that lets you see the quad motors in action, spinning faster in the rear to keep the truck in motion.

The delay of the Ocean Coast trim, however, highlights early production realities where streamlining production must be prioritized. In this case, Rivian is focusing on building Launch Edition and Adventure Package trucks with Black Mountain and Forest Edge interior trims. Reservation holders who chose Ocean Coast trim will be contacted in late May if their delivery was estimated for 2022, giving them a chance to make changes that could prioritize delivery time.

[caltrek]

The F-150 Lightning is Finally Shipping - Is Ford Ready?
by Nilay Patel
April 26, 2022

https://www.theverge.com/2022/4/26/2304 ... jim-farley

Introduction:

(The Verge) The first Ford F-150 Lightnings are rolling off assembly lines and heading to customers today after almost a year of anticipation. The company’s second EV after the successful Mustang Mach-E is in a category of one for the moment: the only full-size electric pickup truck available right now. (Rivian has sold around 2,000 of the well-reviewed R1T, but it slots somewhere between the compact Toyota Tacoma and full-size trucks like the F-150.) Full-size competitors from GM, Ram, and Tesla are all forthcoming, but the Lightning will have the market to itself for at least a year, and Ford CEO Jim Farley intends to take full advantage of that lead to steal customers away from his competitors.

“We should send every one to a customer who’s never bought a Ford before,” Farley tells me in a short interview last week. “My opinion is we should go for it.”

After he ships out all 200,000 preorders, of course. Demand for the Lightning has been so strong that Ford’s invested $950 million into factory expansion, added 750 jobs, and doubled production, but some preorder customers will still be waiting until 2023 to get their trucks, and Ford’s website says no more 2022 Lightnings are available.

The plant had built about 1,800 Lightnings when we spoke, and Farley says that while Ford will be “on plan” with its capacity goals, he simply laughed and said “no” when asked if production would meet demand anytime soon. There simply aren’t enough batteries to build Ford’s goal of 150,000 Lightnings a year. But even then, Farley says he’s confident that the battery plant in Georgia Ford operates in partnership with SK Battery will be able to scale up. “I think we’re in good shape for batteries, and that seems to be the biggest gating issue to get to 150,000 units,” he says.

As for the rest, well, the Lightning is heavily based on the existing F-150, so there’s a lot of existing manufacturing capacity.

[caltrek]

[peekpok]

Ford Just Announced a Second Electric Pickup Truck

https://jalopnik.com/ford-just-announce ... 1848844166

Ford CEO Jim Farley:

We’re already pushing dirt down in Blue Oval City in Tennessee for another electric pickup truck that’s different than this one

From the article

According to a Ford spokesperson, the new EV “will be a next-gen electric truck, different from F-150 Lightning.” While we cannot confirm if the new EV will be based on the Ranger or Maverick, the smart money is on Ranger.

[caltrek]

Fifteen European Countries Have 15%+ Plugin New Vehicle Sales
by Zachary Sahan
April 26, 2022

https://cleantechnica.com/2022/04/25/15 ... car-sales/

Introduction:

(Clean Technica) There are now 15 European countries that have 15% or more of new-car buyers buying plugin electric cars (full electric cars or plugin hybrids). There are 12 European countries that have 10% or more of new-car buyers buying full electric vehicles (BEVs). China also passed those milestones in 2021 (15% plugin vehicle share and 12% BEV share). Let’s look a little closer at these trends in electric car sales in each of these markets. But first …

• Note that the centerpieces of this article are interactive charts that are only available on CleanTechnica Pro. (Direct link to article here: https://future.cleantechnica.com/2022/0 ... car-sales/) Also, note that those charts are much easier to view and interact with on a normal computer rather than a mobile phone. (The screen of a phone is just too small.)

The first takeaway from these charts and graphs is that EV adoption has skyrocketed in more than a dozen European markets in the past few years, demonstrating exponential growth and true auto industry disruption.

The leader, years ahead of others, is clearly Norway — I’ve been writing about its leadership for nearly a decade, since EVs hit 13% of auto sales in the country — but what’s especially exciting now is that EV adoption curves in countries more recently passing 10%, 15%, or 20% market share have seen more rapid growth from 2% market share to 10%+ market share than Norway saw when it was making that climb a decade ago. That’s logical when you look at how much broader the EV market is today, with electric cars in basically every category and class. Still, it’s an exciting trend to highlight when we consider how quickly the world needs to decarbonize transportation.

[caltrek]

Electric Vehicles Drive Up Demand for ‘Green Metals’

Here is a follow up on that:

How a Salt Lake in California's Desert Could Make the U.S. an Electric Car Powerhouse
Thor Benson
April 29, 2022

Introduction:

(Inverse) Nestled in the Southern California desert, this brackish, shallow lake (the Salton Sea) is evidence of the volcanic activity that has roiled the region for hundreds of thousands of years. It is also a prime location for generating geothermal energy — a renewable form of energy driven by hot water and steam carrying the Earth’s internal heat up to the surface.

There are currently ten geothermal plants in the area with more planned for the future. First discovered in 1961, the lake’s hot brine beneath the lake is a source of (relatively) clean energy, but it could also prove crucial for how we store that energy using batteries. The reason why is to do with the lake’s brine’s particular chemical make-up: The lake brine water is full of lithium.

A major component in batteries, lithium is a vital element for powering the transition to transportation, energy, and cities that don’t depend on fossil fuels. Lithium-ion batteries power electric cars and help store electricity generated by renewable energy sources like wind and solar. But in the United States, most of the lithium energy companies and EV makers depend on comes from mines abroad, some as far away as Australia. It is also in short supply.

The rising demand and the scarcity means, according to statistics site Statista, the average price for a ton of lithium carbonate (a common form of lithium) was $17,000 in 2021 and has been steadily climbing since the start of the decade (in 2010, according to the site, lithium carbonate cost $5,180 a ton).

Thanks to new technology that siphons lithium out of the wastewater generated by its many geothermal plants, the Salton Sea could gift the U.S. a domestic source of lithium — and a booming new industry to profit from.

[caltrek]

Two Behemouths Dominate the Wheelchair Industry. Disabled Customers Pay the Price.
By Paul Roberts
May-June Issue

(Mother Jones) Paralyzed from the waist down after being struck by a truck in 2012, Douglas Howey is one of hundreds of thousands of Americans who rely on what is known as “complex rehabilitation technology.” In Howey’s case: a Permobil F5 Corpus motorized wheelchair outfitted with an elevator lift motor, two batteries, headlights, and a joystick. Brand-new, it retails for almost $35,000.

In just two years, Howey logged 4,000 miles in his chair. Then, in early August, a bearing seized, stranding him in bed until he could get a technician to service the chair. Howey called Numotion, the manufacturer responsible for repairs, right away. But Numotion didn’t replace the part until October 26, more than 80 days after Howey first called.

A sudden loss of mobility can affect everything from wheelchair users’ nutrition to their finances. Pressure sores from long stays in bed can lead to infections, hospitalization, even death. But Howey is one of thousands of disabled Americans increasingly experiencing long waits in a fast-consolidating market dominated by a handful of large national suppliers backed by private equity firms.

To understand this sudden trans¬formation in the $56 billion durable medical equipment market, of which complex rehabilitation technology (CRT) is one part, experts and advocates point to a decade-old decision by Medicare to abandon set prices in favor of ones set by competitive bidding. By one estimate, the move reduced the federal government’s costs by 35 percent. But at the same time, locally owned wheelchair shops quickly began to disappear as large corporations offered rock-bottom bids to Medicare and private insurers.

Read more here: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/20 ... -mobility/

[wjfox]

Volkswagen chief says German car giant will overtake Tesla on electric vehicle sales by 2025

May 24 2022

The chief executive of Volkswagen believes Europe’s biggest carmaker can overtake Tesla to become the world’s largest seller of electric vehicles by 2025.

Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Herbert Diess said alleviating supply chain issues would likely help create some momentum for the German auto giant over the coming months.

“Markets are always about the future,” Diess said when asked why investors valued Tesla at such a premium to other traditional carmakers, such as Volkswagen.

“Tesla currently is in the lead when it comes to EVs, probably also it is the most digital car company already and they have some advantages,” he continued. “We are still aiming at keeping up and probably overtaking by 2025 when it comes to sales.”

Diess said Tesla has been able to demonstrate good results and high returns with a credible business model. However, he reaffirmed his belief that Volkswagen could soon close the gap when it comes to EV sales.

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/24/volkswa ... -2025.html

[wjfox]

This is hugely significant.

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Oil’s Displacement as a Road Fuel Is About to Ramp Up, BNEF Says

1 June 2022 at 07:00 BST

The displacement of oil as a road fuel will accelerate through 2025 as the uptake of electric vehicles ramps up, according to a new report.

Electric passenger car numbers are seen surging to 77 million over the next four years, according to BloombergNEF’s latest outlook on the sector, up from about 20 million now. That almost four-fold increase will push the amount of oil that EVs curb from transport use as high as 2.5 million barrels a day by 2025, up from about 1.5 million barrels a day now.

“Oil demand from passenger cars, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and buses has already peaked,” the report said. “Commercial vehicles are now the only segment contributing to growth.”

Passenger EVs represent only 15% of oil-demand displacement today, but as this figure grows sharply, gasoline consumption is seen peaking in 2026, followed by total demand for road usage topping out the following year, the report says.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... -bnef-says

[funkervogt]

This is hugely significant.

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Oil’s Displacement as a Road Fuel Is About to Ramp Up, BNEF Says

1 June 2022 at 07:00 BST

The displacement of oil as a road fuel will accelerate through 2025 as the uptake of electric vehicles ramps up, according to a new report.

Electric passenger car numbers are seen surging to 77 million over the next four years, according to BloombergNEF’s latest outlook on the sector, up from about 20 million now. That almost four-fold increase will push the amount of oil that EVs curb from transport use as high as 2.5 million barrels a day by 2025, up from about 1.5 million barrels a day now.

“Oil demand from passenger cars, two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and buses has already peaked,” the report said. “Commercial vehicles are now the only segment contributing to growth.”

Passenger EVs represent only 15% of oil-demand displacement today, but as this figure grows sharply, gasoline consumption is seen peaking in 2026, followed by total demand for road usage topping out the following year, the report says.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... -bnef-says

A sad quote:

Despite the bullish outlook for EVs, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will continue to impact the availability of raw materials used in producing their batteries, something that may ultimately reduce cost-competitiveness with oil-fueled vehicles. Prices for metals like nickel jumped in the first quarter which will “likely push EV price parity with combustion vehicles back by a couple years,” BNEF said.

[caltrek]

DeLorean Reveals Alpha 5, a Performance EV With Back to the Future Vibes
by Jaclyn Trop
May 31, 2022

Introduction:

(TechCrunch) DeLorean released fresh details and images of its Alpha 5 EV, a gull-winged electric vehicle that the company’s owners hope will resurrect the long defunct brand and possibly set the direction for more electric models.

The company’s — and the EV’s — big public moment won’t come until later this summer at Monterey Car Week. But the brand’s owners, anxious to capitalize on interest in EVs and perhaps spur a little momentum ahead of the event, released images and specs that reveal the Alpha 5 retains the gull-winged, two-door frame featured in the “Back to the Future” trilogy, but upgrades to a curvier, sleeker silhouette and room for four passengers.

So far, the company’s intentions for reviving the DeLorean brand after a long hiatus — as well as how and where it will fund and build the Alpha 5 — are not clear. DeLorean CEO and former Karma Automotive executive Joost de Vries, who joined the company in December, is scheduled to speak Friday at the Electrify Expo EV festival in Long Beach, California. The expectation is that de Vries will share more information about the company’s wider ambitions for electrification.

DeLorean said Tuesday that the Alpha 5 sports car will post figures typical for a performance EV, zipping from 0 to 60 mph in just under three seconds on its way to a top speed of 155 mph. The company estimates that the car’s 100kWh battery will be able to travel more than 300 miles on a full charge.
The original DeLorean Motor Company, maker of the time-traveling DMC-12 that starred in the 1980s “Back to the Future” franchise, was founded in Detroit in 1975 by John DeLorean, the Pontiac designer behind the GTO and Firebird. It went defunct seven years later.

Read more here: https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/31/delo ... re-vibes/

[caltrek]

New Model Finds Best Sites for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
June 6, 2022

Introduction:

(EurekAlert) Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a computational model that can be used to determine the optimal places for locating electric vehicle (EV) charging facilities, as well as how powerful the charging stations can be without placing an undue burden on the local power grid.

“Ultimately, we feel the model can be used to inform the development of EV charging infrastructure at multiple levels, from projects aimed at supporting local commuters to charging facilities that serve interstate highway travel,” says Leila Hajibabai, corresponding author of a paper on the work and an assistant professor in NC State’s Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering.

Identifying the best sites for charging facilities is a complicated process, since it has to account for travel flow and user demand, as well as the needs of the regional power infrastructure. In other words, where will people use it? And can it be supported by the power grid?

“We have developed a model that allows planners to optimize these decisions, serving the greatest number of people without taxing the power system,” Hajibabai says.

While a lot of work has been done on how to deploy EV charging facilities, the researchers found that most previous efforts focused on siting these facilities based on what would work best for the power system, or what would work best from a transportation standpoint.

Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/954979