Clean Car Standards
Michigan Automotive Companies Feeling Pressure
To Join California Deal On Clean Car Standards. According
to the News-Herald, “General Motors and other automakers are debating whether to join a deal to keep clean car standards high. The agreement is between the state of California and VW, Ford, BMW and Honda. The deal would conform closely to current Obama-era
targets and would block a rollback being proposed by the Trump administration. Jim Doyle, president of Business Forward, a trade group representing 6,000 Michigan companies, says the rollback would create uncertainty and ultimately cost auto industry jobs
in Michigan. ‘It’s a bad idea, executed poorly,’ he said. ‘For Trump it’s a PR stunt. For the industry, it’s years of litigation. ‘It’s going to have a bad impact on GM and Ford and Chrysler, and autoworkers in Michigan are going to pay a price.’ The current
federal standard calls for an average fuel economy of 54 miles per gallon by 2024, but Trump wants to freeze the standard at 2021 levels and undermine states’ ability to require standards higher than those set by the EPA. Automakers had pushed for the rollback,
but many now are agreeing to keep the higher standards required by 14 states, which represent 110 million Americans, a big chunk of the U.S. car market.” [News-Herald,
9/4/19
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Congress
Barrasso To McConnell: Don't Expand EV Tax Credit.
According to E&E News, “Senate Environment
and Public Works Chairman John Barrasso is redoubling his efforts to kill the federal electric vehicle tax credit. It began in February, when the Wyoming Republican introduced legislation to end the tax credit and impose a new fee on EV drivers (E&E News PM,
Feb. 6). And it continues in this recess with Barrasso circulating a letter asking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to reject a competing bill aimed at expanding the EV tax credit. The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the letter. EV
buyers can currently receive a tax credit of up to $7,500. The credit begins to phase out after a U.S. automaker has sold 200,000 eligible vehicles. General Motors Co. and Tesla Inc. have both hit that threshold. The competing bill is sponsored by Sens. Lamar
Alexander (R-Tenn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.). It would extend a $7,000 subsidy for an additional 400,000 vehicles per manufacturer. The Wall Street Journal editorial board praised Barrasso’s efforts today, calling the EV tax credit
a handout for wealthy Americans. ‘It’s hard to imagine a more blatant income transfer for the well-to-do,’ the board wrote.” [E&E News,
9/3/19
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Auto
Manufacturers
Ford's Finally Getting Serious About Electric
Vehicles. According to Jalopnik, “Ford’s
big EV play, drama at the United Auto Workers negotiations, and some more executive-level intrigue at Renault-Nissan. All this and more in The Morning Shift for Tuesday, September 3, 2019. 1st Gear: Ford’s Electric Plan To date, Ford’s electric strategy has
felt incredibly unclear. While it’s had its share of hybrids, it has yet to do a truly competitive fully electric vehicle and some critics have said the big tie-up with Volkswagen is a better deal for the Germans. But Ford has been quietly ramping up in the
electrification department, and, before you know it, a bunch of electric Fords will be here. That includes an electric F-150 and a ‘Mustang-inspired’ EV crossover. They’re going after the stuff they know their customers want to buy, it seems. Per Automotive
News: After years of heavy investment and one forgettable attempt, Ford Motor Co. has yet to deliver a serious battery-electric vehicle. That will change in 2020 with the introduction of Ford’s first long-range EV, a Mustang-inspired crossover expected to
be called Mach E. That will be followed as soon as a year later by a full-electric F-150, with two midsize EV crossovers on tap for late 2022. And still two more are expected in the same period.Ford may have ceded the early days of the EV craze to the likes
of Tesla, Nissan and General Motors, but executives say Ford didn’t miss much, considering the low demand and even lower margins today’s EVs command.” [Jalopnik,
9/3/19
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EPA Forces VW To Correct Gas Mileage On 98,000
Vehicles. According to E&E News, “EPA
is making Volkswagen Group correct fuel economy labels for about 98,000 gasoline-powered vehicles. The revisions of about 1 mpg cover VWs as well as affiliated brands Audi, Porsche and Bentley. All are from the 2013 through 2017 model years. EPA said Friday
that it investigated the gas vehicles after finding that VW cheated on diesel emissions in 2015. The agency and the California Air Resources Board found that transmission software on the gas vehicles made them shift differently during government lab tests
on treadmills so they got better mileage and polluted less than when they were on the road. The software was on about 1 million vehicles, but only 98,000 were found to have lower mileage than stated on EPA window stickers, according to an EPA statement. VW
Group said it also settled lawsuits filed by owners and will reimburse them for overstated mileage. Under the settlement, valued at $96.5 million, owners will get payments ranging from $5.40 to $24.30 for each month they have owned or leased the vehicles.
Any money that doesn’t go to owners will be used for environmental remediation. Attorneys’ fees are not included and will be settled later.” [E&E News,
9/3/19
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Chart Of The Day: Auto Emissions Credits.
According to Axios, “One way carmakers
comply with increasing fuel economy standards — even without selling many hybrids or electric cars — is by using the regulatory credits they stockpiled from previous years or purchased from competitors. Driving the news: The availability of future credits
will depend on how the fight between California and the Trump administration shakes out over mileage and emissions rules, Axios’ Joann Muller writes. Go deeper: Emissions credits are like gold The fight over fuel economy puts carmakers in the middle. Speaking
of EVs, it looks like the timing of Ford’s planned battery-powered F-150 pickup is coming into focus. A company executive tells Autocar that it will come ‘before 2022’ (h/t Electrek). Why it matters: Ford is competing with Tesla and others to create an electric
version of pickups, a very popular vehicle with U.S. consumers. In late July, Ford circulated a video of a prototype pulling over 1 million pounds, but the company said only that the launch would come ‘in the next few years.’” [Axios,
9/3/19
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Electric Vehicles
Porsche Unveils Its First-Ever Electric Car.
According to Bloomberg, “Porsche chose Niagara Falls, a Chinese wind farm and a solar site in Germany to unveil its first all-electric
sports car, underscoring the new Taycan’s central role in turning parent Volkswagen AG into the world’s leading seller of battery-powered vehicles. After a bumpy start for sister brand Audi’s e-Tron, the Taycan, expected to be priced at around $90,000, is
for the time being the flag-carrier in VW’s massive drive to unseat e-car pioneer Tesla Inc. The wraps come off Wednesday at simultaneous events in its three biggest markets, where Porsche -- which has churned out roaring sports cars for seven decades -- will
bathe the new car in a backdrop of sustainable-power imagery. Despite all its engineering muscle as the world’s largest automaker, VW has struggled to slow Tesla’s march. The debut of the e-Tron, a challenger to the Model X sport-utility vehicle, was marred
by delays and a recall. Tesla chief Elon Musk has meanwhile stretched downmarket with the lower-priced Model 3, which started selling in Europe this year and is about to begin production in China. The Taycan and the mass-market VW ID.3 will be on display at
next week’s Frankfurt auto show, and are slated to start production later this year, underscoring VW’s more than 30 billion-euro ($33 billion) push to produce battery-powered cars across all price segments. It’s a plan the German manufacturer can ill-afford
to see falter.” [Bloomberg, 9/4/19
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Electric Car Charge Posts To Be Installed In Every New Home In England.
According to Clean Technica, “What comes to your mind when buying a new home? Or even renting a new home? Location is definitely important.
Do you want to be in the city or in the country? Near airports where there is constantly noise from air traffic? Maybe just off the Interstate so you can have quick access? Also, what type of home do you want to have? A traditional brick house? A cob cottage?
Either way, everyone knows there is a lot that goes into buying a house. Perhaps you are on the lookout for a home that has an electric car charging post already installed. When it comes to this idea, England is making it easier for owners of EVs as well as
future EV owners by introducing a mandatory electric car charging point for each newly built home. This means that every brand new home, by law, will have to have a charging port for your electric vehicle — even if you don’t yet own one. This would make it
easier on both fully electric and plug-in hybrid owners in England who use the government’s home charger subsidy, which has funded the installation of almost 100,000 wall boxes, as home chargers are commonly called.” [Clean Technica,
9/3/19
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Embattled EV Startup Hires BMW Veteran In Comeback Bid.
According to E&E News, “Faraday Future, the electric-vehicle upstart that was on the brink of insolvency last year, hired a BMW AG veteran
to lead efforts to finally bring its debut car to market and raise more money. Carsten Breitfeld, who spent two decades at BMW and then 3 ½ years leading two other electric-vehicle startups, will take over as chief executive officer from Faraday founder Jia
Yueting, who’s becoming chief product and user officer. Faraday aims to start production of its 1,050-horsepower FF 91 model next year and follow that up with its mass-market offering, the FF 81, in 2021. ‘The top priority right now is fundraising. We will
have to go to the capital markets,’ Breitfeld said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. ‘In the first stage, it will be a three-digit million-dollar amount that’s still missing to make all of this happen.’ Breitfeld will also focus on hiring around Silicon
Valley. Faraday has 600 employees globally now, almost half of whom are in California. The FF 91 will be available in two- or three-motor configurations and be built in small numbers in Hanford, Calif. It’ll sell for upwards of $150,000 and come standard with
zero-gravity, lie-flat rear seats. Eleven screens inside the cabin boast about 100 inches’ worth of displays, including a 27-inch fold-down monitor for passengers.” [E&E News,
9/4/19
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City EV Efforts Could Threaten Grid — Report.
According to E&E News, “An influx of electric trucks and buses in Seattle could overwhelm the grid if utility officials don’t start
coordinating with other city agencies, according to a report released this morning. Released by Seattle City Light and the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), the report is the first municipal utility strategy for advancing electrification in every vehicle class,
including passenger cars. While the analysis focused on Seattle, the researchers said the findings highlight a major challenge that could await authorities in other cities and states with emission-cutting commitments. ‘There’s a whole iceberg underneath this,
of other utilities that are in no way prepared for the loads from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles,’ said Chris Nelder, a co-author and manager of RMI’s mobility practice. In Seattle’s industrial areas, where charging depots would likely be sited, the grid
lacked the capacity to deliver power for delivery trucks and other medium-duty vehicles, the co-authors found. Only about half of the grid’s feeders, which connect substations to overhead lines, could handle the lowest levels of power demand estimated for
a fleet of 200 trucks. Electric transit buses faced similar limitations. The city has already concluded that it will need to spend $2.2 million in grid upgrades for its goal of bringing online 250 electric buses by 2025. The challenges appear starkest for
Class 8, the heaviest vehicle class, according to the report.” [E&E News,
9/4/19
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Tesla Unveils Leather-Free Car.
According to E&E News, “Tesla Inc. announced that the interior of the plug-in Model 3 is now 100% vegan. The announcement, made Saturday
via Twitter, comes less than three months after the company’s most recent shareholder meeting, when CEO Elon Musk responded to questions from PETA representatives with an assurance that the company was working on non-animal leather alternatives. The 2020 Model
Y, Musk promised, will be completely vegan. Tesla originally offered cloth — and, later, synthetic — interiors as alternatives to leather in its first cars but has mostly eliminated leather for default vegan options over time. Until now, the last remaining
leather fixture has been the steering wheel: Because the wheel is fitted with internal heaters, the company had a difficult time developing a synthetic leather that would hold up to the heat over time. For current Model 3 owners who want their leather steering
wheel replaced to match the rest of their animal-product-free upholstery, Tesla is reportedly offering retrofits for $600. The Tesla Model S and Model X are the last remaining cars offered by the automaker that aren’t fully vegan. And, with Tesla moving away
from animal products at the request of activist stakeholders, other auto companies are rushing to follow suit. Just last week, Porsche announced that drivers of its 2020 Taycan electric model will have the option of fully vegan interiors as well, made in part
from recycled fibers.” [E&E News, 9/3/19
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Election 2020
Kamala Harris’ Climate Change Plan Would Phase Out Sales Of New Gas-Powered Cars.
According to the Sacramento Bee, “Kamala Harris became the latest presidential candidate to roll out an ambitious plan to combat climate change Wednesday, hours before she is set
to appear at a ‘climate crisis’ town hall hosted by CNN. In Harris’ proposal, the California senator promises to help the country reach an aggressive set of environmental benchmarks. Her plan calls for phasing out sales of gas-powered cars by 2035, mandating
carbon-neutral building standards and steering utilities to renewable sources of energy. By 2045, the United States will have ‘a clean, carbon neutral economy’ by ‘using progressive year-on-year benchmarks that target individual sectors, including energy,
transportation, infrastructure, industry and agriculture that meet appropriate goals for reducing emissions,’ Harris’ plan pledges. Harris also says that, as president, she will partner with her home state on tailpipe emissions — a leading source of greenhouse
gas — reinforcing California’s unique authority under the Clean Air Act of 1970, which allows it to set car emissions standards independent of the federal government. Harris suggests she’d like to go even further than the standards California and the Obama
administration agreed to in 2012, which the Trump administration is now trying to undo.” [Sacramento Bee,
9/4/19 (=)]
Chad Ellwood
Research Associate
202.448.2877 ext. 119