Electric Vehicles News & Discussions

[wjfox]

Tesla has increased prices for all models in the US, with some rising by up to $6,000

Beatrice Nolan
5 hours ago

Tesla has increased the price of its cars in the US amid ongoing supply chain issues.

The company's wesbite previously showed the price of the Model X as $114,990 and currently shows a price of $120,990, representing a rise of $6,000. The Model Y long-range increased from $62,990 to $65,990, according to Tesla's website.

The company raised the price of its cars several times in 2022, hiking the price of its cheapest car by $10,000 over the last year.

The most recent price hikes come amid wider concerns over how the company is being impacted by economic issues.

https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-p ... l-x-2022-6

[wjfox]

[wjfox]

Bumpy road ahead for Elon Musk as Tesla faces losing world's biggest electric car maker crown, study says

Ryan Hogg
Jun 19, 2022, 1:37 PM

• Tesla will lose its title of the world's biggest EV maker by 2024, Bloomberg Intelligence concludes.
• It expects Volkswagen to become world's biggest producer by increasing European and Chinese sales.
• Tesla accounted for 75% of US EV sales in the first three months of this year.

Tesla faces losing its crown as the world's biggest electric car maker to Volkswagen by 2024, according to new research.

A study by Bloomberg Intelligence expects the German giant to double production to more than 2 million battery-powered vehicles in 2024, overtaking Tesla.

https://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-w ... udy-2022-6

[wjfox]

[weatheriscool]

11% of New Car Sales in Europe Electric (19% Plugins)
https://cleantechnica.com/2022/06/27/11 ... 9-plugins/
By
José Pontes

With the overall European car market still suffering, down 13% last month year over year (YoY) and down 34% compared to May 2019, the European passenger plugin vehicle market has also started to be affected. It grew just 3% last month, with approximately 183,000 plugin vehicles registered in May. Looking closer, plugin hybrids (-12% YoY) were the ones to blame for sinking plugins into the red. Plugin hybrids (aka PHEVs) registered its third consecutive month of falling sales in May. Are we witnessing peak PHEV in Europe?

At the same time, BEVs grew 20% in May. That’s down on the yearly average (+42%), but a whole lot better than everything around it.

Last month’s plugin vehicle share of the overall European auto market was 19% (11% full electrics/BEVs), dropping the 2022 plugin vehicle (PEV) share by one point, to 20% (11% for BEVs alone).

The highlights last month were the Fiat 500e winning another best seller title, 1,800 units ahead of the surprise runner-up Ford Kuga PHEV, while the Volkswagen ID.4 got the third spot on the podium.

[caltrek]

This (see below) is not good news.

Electric Vehicles and Plug-in Hybrids Have More Problems than Combustion Engine Cars
by Jaclyn Trop
June 28, 2022

Introduction:

(TechCrunch) Battery-electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids have more problems than the average car, according to the annual J.D. Power U.S. Initial Quality Study (IQS) released Wednesday.

The 2022 survey found that EV owners cited 39% more problems with their new vehicles than did owners of new combustion-engine vehicles. Industry wide, problems per 100 vehicles rose 11% this year, for an average of 180 problems per 100 vehicles.

But EV and PHEV owners reported about 240 problems per 100 vehicles (PP100), compared with 173 PP 100 for gas-engine models. Tesla, making its J.D. Power survey debut, outpaced the electrified segment with 226 problems per 100 vehicles.

The reason behind this year’s plunge in vehicle quality is twofold, according to analysts.

Quality has declined industry wide, as the COVID-19 pandemic created supply chain issues, record-high vehicle prices, and personnel dislocations. The report marks a record high in vehicle problems since J.D. Power began tracking quality 36 years ago. And there are few signs of immediate improvement: Just nine of the 33 automotive brands surveyed improved in quality this year.

Read more here: https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/28/jd-p ... problems/

[caltrek]

I suppose ships are vehicles of a sort

Fleetzero Begins Its Search for the First Giant Ship to Convert to Battery Power
by Devin Coldewey
June 30, 2022

Introduction:

(TechCrunch) Fleetzero has an ambitious goal: to compete with global shipping companies with its own boats, powered entirely by electricity. The company just secured $15.5 million in new funding and is looking for the first ship to convert to run on its shipping container-shaped batteries.

The company’s plan, described in detail here, is to convert existing ships to electric propulsion, replacing the diesel engine or generator with enormous batteries of the company’s own design. These would be loaded and unloaded like any other cargo, swapped out at ports and charged between journeys. Done right (and it seems likely that’s the way they’re trying to do it) a ship doing this can handle some of the longest and most popular routes across the Pacific.

But though it all sounds good in theory, obviously at some point you need to put these theories on the water, and that’s the next step for the company. Fortunately, co-founders Steven Henderson and Mike Carter have backgrounds in shipping and shipbuilding and are excited to jump in.

While Fleetzero’s tech could eventually power ships in the 700-foot range, it makes sense to start with something a little smaller but that also benefits from battery power.

Read more here: https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/30/flee ... ry-power/

[caltrek]

Tesla Electric Vehicle Deliveries Fall Nearly 18% in Second Quarter Following China Factory Shutdown
by Kirsten Korosec
July 2, 2022

Introduction:

(TechCrunch) Tesla delivered 254,695 electric vehicles globally in the second quarter, a nearly 18% drop from the previous period as supply chain constraints, China’s extended COVID-19 lockdown and challenges around opening factories in Berlin and Austin took their toll on the company.

This is the first time in two years that Tesla deliveries, which were 310,048 in the first period this year, have fallen quarter over quarter. Tesla deliveries were up 26.5% from the second quarter last year.

The quarter-over-quarter reduction is in line with a broader supply chain problem in the industry. It also illustrates the importance of Tesla’s Shanghai factory to its business. Tesla shuttered its Shanghai factory multiple times in March due to rising COVID-19 cases that prompted a government shutdown.

The company said Saturday it produced 258,580 EVs, a 15% reduction from the previous quarter when it made 305,407 vehicles.

Like in other quarters over the past two years, most of the produced and delivered vehicles were Model 3 and Model Ys. Only 16,411 of the produced vehicles were the older Model S and Model X vehicles.

Read more here: https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/02/tesl ... shutdown/

[wjfox]

Scania intro­duces electric trucks for regional long-​haul

2022-06-10

True to its stated roadmap, Scania is now introducing solutions built upon the next level of battery-electric trucks (BEV). The new generation, available with R or S sleeper cabs, is part of a complete solution that will open the door to the electrified transport landscape wide for a vast number of customers and app-lications. With 624 kWh of batteries installed, Scania provides the means for a major shift regarding electric trucks and their operability in regional long-haul operations.

https://www.scania.com/group/en/home/ne ... -long-haul

[wjfox]

North Carolina Republicans Push Bill Forcing Towns To Destroy Electric Car Chargers

Thu, Jul 14th 2022

The core GOP belief in “small government” and “free markets” and “no taxpayer waste” doesn’t hold up quite as well as it used to to scrutiny, assuming it ever did at all.

Case in point: in North Carolina, Trump GOP lawmaker Ben Moss has pushed forward a ridiculous bill (HB 1049) that would require towns and cities use up to $50,000 in taxpayer funds to destroy free electric vehicle stations on public land, if local authorities don’t build free gas and diesel pumps alongside them. There’s, of course, no provision included in the bill that works in the opposite direction.

The bill is extremely likely the direct result of some local oil industry lobbyist throwing a terrible, ghost written bill in the lap of a corrupt lawmaker who didn’t even bother to read it (how most bills are born these days). Or, it’s an unprompted attention seeking bill by Moss letting his sponsors in the oil industry know he’s ready and excited to play ball as a new lawmaker. Either one is, of course, bad.

https://www.techdirt.com/2022/07/14/nor ... -chargers/

[caltrek]

North Carolina Republicans Push Bill Forcing Towns To Destroy Electric Car Chargers

^^^As somebody else once also quoted by W.J. Fox put it "they are trying to kill us." That is why voting Republican can be explained as an act of false consciousness. Also sometime known as willful ignorance as in "but I didn't know I was lying about the election being stolen."

Edit: It would also appear that North Carolina is rather schizophrenic on the topic:

VinFast EV Factory Wins North Carolina’s Top Incentives Package
by Jaclyn Trop
July 14, 2022

Introduction:

(Techcrunch) Vietnamese EV maker VinFast said Thursday it received $1.2 billion in incentives to build a factory in North Carolina.
The incentive package represents the state’s largest-ever economic development project and its aspirations to build North Carolina into a hub for the clean energy economy.

Construction on the 2,000-acre site at the Triangle Innovation Point in Chatham County, North Carolina, will start in the second half of the year. VinFast said it will begin building cars there in July 2024, ramping up to an annual capacity of 150,000 vehicles.

The $2 billion EV factory will make the VinFast VF 9 three-row SUV and the VinFast VF 8 midsize SUV.

VinFast will be joined in North Carolina by Toyota, which is building a $1.3 billion battery plant near Greensboro, scheduled to begin production in 2025. The Japanese automaker said its first-ever U.S. battery factory will supply 1.2 million EVs annually, toward its goal of selling eight million EVs annually by 2030.

Read more here: https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/14/vin ... package/

caltrek's comment: Yet another example of why North Carolina is properly considered to be purple state.

[Miky617]

As a North Carolina resident, NC is a bit of a special case. The Research Triangle area connecting Durham, Raleigh, and Chapel Hill is very progressive (relatively speaking of course) and I'd say the Charlotte area is as well. Very diverse populations, lots of out-of-state residents and generally well-educated with high flux of money and prestige. The rest of the state for the most part is very much stereotypical South and politically red. Asheville is another quirky blue bastion in the Mountains but the state does have a bimodal distribution on the spectrum. With the state capitol being housed in the progressive Triangle and with Roy Cooper being fairly liberal, the NC government does tend to vacillate between the two extremes: one representing the liberal interests of the powerhouse sections of the state (Triangle, Charlotte, etc.) and one representing the rural populace (basically everyone else).

[caltrek]

Sono Motors Reveals Final Design of Its Solar-charging Sion Electric Vehicle
by Rebecca Bellan
July 26, 2022

Extract::

(TechCrunch) Sono Motors unveiled this week the final production design of the Sion EV, a solar electric vehicle that’s been in the making since the Munich-based startup launched in 2016.
…
The Sion is a compact, five-door, family-friendly hatchback that will sell for €25,126 (~$25,628 at today’s conversion). Its outer shell will consist of 456 integrated solar half-cells that will collect power from the sun and enable self-sufficiency on shorter journeys. Of course, the vehicle will still use a traditional charger to refuel, but the constant drip-feed of solar should be enough to take care of most urban commutes, the company says.

The car’s 54 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery has a range of about 190 miles. Sono expects the energy generated by the solar cells to extend that by an average of 70 miles, and up to 152 miles, each week. In addition, the Sion is built with bidirectional charging technology, which allows commuters to use energy stored in the battery (~11 kW) to power homes or other electronic devices.

Read more here: https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/26/sono ... sion-ev/

[raklian]

"But EVs produce as much greenhouse gases as ICEs up in the manufacturing/mining chain..." debunked.

[caltrek]

VinFast Electric Scooters are Enabling a Transportation Revolution in Southeast Asia
by Kyle Field
August 5, 2022

Introduction:

(CleanTechnica) In addition to the vehicle VinFast produces 4 different models of electric scooters to meet the growing needs of Vietnam’s population, ranging from smaller, more affordable Feliz S scooter up to the larger, more powerful Theon S. Scooters are the backbone of transportation in Vietnam with the majority of citizens owning one or two scooters.

The streets of every city we visited were absolutely buzzing with scooters. It was a common sight in Hanoi to see two, three or even four people from a family riding on a single scooter. This is acceptable locally with up to two adults and children up to age 7, though locals tell us this is more of a suggestion than a hard and fast law. In addition to miniature humans, it was common to see scooters loaded up with groceries, goods for their shop, or supplies for a home repair project. They’re the ultimate utility vehicles in southeast Asia and VinFast is helping those very same scooter riders go electric.

VinFast hosted us in Vietnam where we were able to not only see their electric scooter production lines, we were able to ride all four of their electric scooters on a short loop course. Let’s dive right into the manufacturing process, where we saw electric scooters being assembled at VinFast’s factory in Hai Phong, Vietnam.

Read more here: https://cleantechnica.com/2022/08/04/v ... ast-asia/

[Nanotechandmorefuture]

The Infrastructure Bill being signed helps a lot since there are some cool plug in hybrids and full on electric vehicles out there.

.

Btw what does the crying cat mean? I kept seeing cats as memes or cats in general here and there growing up. What is that? Some sort of intel or something meaning?

[wjfox]

[Miky617]

Btw what does the crying cat mean? I kept seeing cats as memes or cats in general here and there growing up. What is that? Some sort of intel or something meaning?

It doesn't mean anything serious, it's a funny yet relatable picture. If someone shoved a microphone in my face and expected me to talk unprompted, I'd probably start crying, too

[Lorem Ipsum]

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/crying-cat

[caltrek]

The Climate Bill and Electric Vehicles
by Joann Muller
August 17, 2022

Introduction:

(Axios) The climate bill President Biden signed into law yesterday will open up tens of billions of dollars in subsidies for high-tech electric vehicle plants across the South and the Midwest.

Why it matters: The package is a big down payment on addressing climate change and moving toward energy independence as the U.S. races to build a domestic supply chain for batteries and other critical materials.

• It could also be a major economic jolt for a large swath of the country some are calling the Battery Belt, where lots of EV-related factories and facilities are being built.

Driving the news: The auto industry has already poured billions into new EV and battery manufacturing facilities across North America over the last couple years.

• Now automakers and battery suppliers will be eligible for billions of dollars in federal loans and tax credits to offset those costs and spur additional investments.

Read more here: https://www.axios.com/2022/08/17/elect ... elt-biden