States
Op-Ed:
Transforming Rural Transportation To Benefit All Vermonters. According
to an op-ed by Rob Kidd in the Vermont Digger, “he status quo of transportation in Vermont isn’t serving the best interests of our communities. Instead, it’s hurting our environment, health, and wallets. With Vermont’s rural geography, Vermonters drive 20%
more than the national average to get to work and spend a large part of their incomes on gasoline and car maintenance. Our cars and trucks make up over half of our state’s greenhouse gas emissions, and the tailpipe pollution spewing from them contributes to
an influx of health problems, drives hospital visits and burdens Vermonters with health care costs. The good news is that Gov. Phil Scott has an immediate opportunity to shift us away from the dirty status quo and invest in Vermont’s future. It’s called the
Transportation and Climate Initiative, or TCI for short. TCI would establish a multi-state program that caps emissions from motor fuels in the Northeast and invests in clean transportation solutions as early as 2022. Multiple polls in Vermont and across the
region have shown broad, bipartisan support for a cleaner, safer, healthier, more equitable and modern transportation system. Legislative and business leaders, urban and rural communities, and stakeholders across the political spectrum are all on board to
reduce transportation pollution, create thousands of new jobs and save consumers billions of dollars in health care costs. (If this sounds good to you, take action: Residents from across the region can offer their comments on the draft plan at the online portal
through Feb. 28.)” [Vermont Digger, 2/6/20
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Electric
Cars Take Center Stage At This Year's Auto Show. According
to Yahoo, “The Auto Show presents the 'Energy Zone' which promises to be an electrifying highlight of this year's event. Besides lots of information about the future of electric cars there is plenty of opportunity to get up close and personal with a number
of electric vehicles. Steve Hotz of LED Energy Solutions is on hand in the Energy Zone and says "We are all going to be moving into the new frontier of electric cars." adding "It may have seemed outlandish in the past but with technologies that are available
it's in reach." The New York Power Authority is here with a display that explains charging stations. Spokeswoman Rebecca Hughes says "our ultimate goal is to make the easy choice for consumers. We are starting to dispel some of the range anxiety and build
consumer confidence." The NY Power Authority plans to have two-hundred charging stations in place through out the state by the end of 2020. The Auto Show runs through February 9th at the Buffalo Convention Center. You can get more info at their website.” [Yahoo,
2/6/20
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Xcel
Offering Special Pricing Plan For Charging Electric Vehicles. According
to MPR, “Xcel Energy is offering a fixed pricing plan to charge electric vehicles, hoping to inspire more people in Minnesota to buy them. The charging plan costs $33 to $44 a month, depending on whether a customer rents or buys charging equipment for their
home. A charger costs $886. The plan only covers overnight and weekend charges. Juicing up a vehicle outside those times will cost extra. he offer is part of a two-year pilot program enrolling 100 participants. “Our target is the customers that are just showing
up at an auto dealer and they're asking: 'How much will it cost? How will I do this?’” said Kevin Schwain, director of Xcel's electric vehicle program. Customers can sign up for the program through 11 Twin Cities auto dealers selling electric vehicles. As
of last April, there were 10,109 electric vehicles in Minnesota. About 7,000 were registered in communities served by Xcel. Tesla cars account for about a third of the electric vehicles in Minnesota. More than half of the electric vehicles in the state are
in Hennepin or Ramsey counties. As of 2017, Minnesota was in the middle of the pack in terms of electric vehicle registrations per 1,000 people, with a rate of 1.11, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. California was tops with a rate of 8.64; Mississippi
was last at 0.20. Xcel says electric vehicles charged on the utility’s system have about one-third the emissions of a gasoline-powered vehicle, with an operational cost equivalent to less than $1 per gallon of gas. The company will release details about additional
electric vehicle pilot programs later this year.” [MPR, 2/6/20
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Auto
Manufacturers
GM
Trumpets Flexible EV Architecture, Starting With Cadillac EV To Be Unveiled In April.
According
to Electrek, “General Motors outlined its EV strategy yesterday at the company’s Capital Markets Day. GM President Mark Reuss confirmed that the first vehicle to use GM’s next-generation electric architecture will be badged as a Cadillac. It will be unveiled
in April. Reuss emphasized that GM’s flexible architecture can be applied to a wide array of segments. “Nobody we know has this combination of these levels of flexibility, speed, and scale,” he said. Reuss took about 10 minutes to present GM’s EV strategy
— at an event featuring nearly three hours of presentations from executives. He promised more details at an “EV Day” next month. Reuss prefaced the EV overview by speaking about the company’s new digital system that can handle “4.5 terabytes per hour of data
processing power.” He said the new onboard system, which is five times faster than GM’s current architecture, will pave the way to the company’s electric and autonomous future. We will unveil Cadillac’s first EV in April. Cadillac will offer mostly electric
vehicles by the end of this decade. And Cadillac’s EVs will have names that are words — not alpha-numeric designations. Reuss’ strongest case for electrification was based on its flexible battery architecture. He compared it to an ice-cube tray. “You can put
in as much water to make as many cubes as you need,” he said. Reuss said that engineering was “pretty much done.” It allows us to use as many battery packs as the vehicle specifications call for. Six for a smaller EV, or we can go up to 8, 10, 12, or even
24 [modules] stacked on top of each other. It allows for significant improvements over the previous generations, including larger footprint [vehicles] with lower height, higher energy density, a flexible modular design, and DC fast charging.” [Electrek,
2/6/20
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VIDEO:
General Motors' Chief Sustainability Officer Talks The Future Of Electric Vehicles.
According
to an interview with Dane Parker in Cheddar, “Dane Parker, Chief Sustainability Officer at General Motors, joins Cheddar Innovates to discuss what the future of EVs look like, and how GM is building greener grids to produce vehicles.” [Cheddar,
2/6/20
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How
Audi Went From Pariah To BMW And Mercedes Rival. According
to CNBC, “From the 1980s to the late 2010s, Audi went from being an also-ran among German luxury car brands to a serious rival to BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Now it is recovering from a few recent stumbles and is trying to transform itself for a new era of electrification.
The German luxury carmaker last year began delivering is e-tron fully electric SUV, the first of several battery-powered vehicles the brand is planning to release over the next several months. Audi’s transformation into a brand heavy on electric vehicles is
part of its parent Volkswagen’s broader commitment to electrification in the wake of a diesel test cheating scandal that rocked VW to its core. It is also part of a product overhaul the brand has been promising since top brass acknowledged a brief slump in
sales. After years of global growth, Audi’s sales fell 3.5% in 2018. In November 2018, the brand’s U.S. sales also broke a more than 100-month streak of year-over-year monthly growth hat had lasted since November 2009. At the time Audi attributed it to difficult
market conditions and challenges presented by Europe’s switch to the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure, an emissions regulation standard. “We are currently in a challenging phase,” said Audi CEO Bram Schot in the company’s 2018 annual report.
“Our sustainable economic success, our profitability and our future viability are at stake.” The e-tron has only been available in the U.S. since May 2019, and as of Dec. 31 sold just more than 5,000 units in the country.” [CNBC,
2/6/20
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Tesla’s
Stock Surge Bodes Well For EV Marketplace, And The Grid. According
to Forbes, “Tesla’s (TSLA) wild stock ride began Monday with a whopping 20% increase to $780 per share. That was followed by a 17% price spike Tuesday, sending prices near the $1000 dollar mark. Year-to-date that’s a 170% increase in Tesla’s share price, and
a quadrupling since its low of $178 in June 2019. The rally began after a positive fourth-quarter earnings report last week, revealing an above-expectations $105m profit. This was fueled by an accelerated roll-out of its new Model Y and positive news on the
company’s battery manufacturing and patent front. Tesla’s first ever back-to-back profitable quarters drove the stock price up and continued higher still due to an historic ‘short squeeze’ (short sellers with positions against Tesla rushed to cover their positions
– creating additional demand for shares). Even after a 17% correction Wednesday the company is still up 71% on the year – sitting at $755 per share as of this writing. Tesla has now overtaken Volkswagen, General Motors, Daimler, and Ford, only trailing Toyota
in total market capitalization. As the leading name in electric vehicles (EV), Tesla’s ascendance is good news for the EV market, and for the electric grid. Electric vehicle adoption is growing in the United States – the world’s third largest EV market – with
annual light-duty electric vehicle sales surpassing 2 million in 2018, an increase of approximately 70% from 2017. Growth of EVs in the long haul trucking sector hasn’t started yet, but plans are in the pipeline.” [Forbes,
2/6/20
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GM
Wants To Produce A Lot Of Cars — And Less Of Everything Else. According
to Barron’s, “General Motors, the auto maker that sells millions of cars and trucks each year, has a new production target: zero. CEO Mary Barra hasn’t lost her mind. Instead, GM’s goal is a future with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion, the
company said at an investor event following the release of its fourth-quarter earnings. It’s a bold vision to say the least. No greenhouse gases coming from a tail pipe, of course, is all about vehicle electrification. GM (ticker: GM), it seems, is leaving
the traditional motor behind. “We believe climate change is real, it’s a global concern and the best way to remove automotive ambitions from the environmental equation is an all-electric zero emissions future,” said Barra at the investor event. “The National
Zero Emissions Vehicle Program that we have proposed across all 50 states will help accelerate the transition to EVs.....it would also position the United States as a leader in electrification.” The GM plan calls for credits for zero-emission vehicles and
incentives for battery development, among other things. GM isn’t waiting for federal regulation, though. The company said in January that its Detroit-Hamtramck plant would be its first devoted to just making electric vehicles. And the company will host an
EV day for investors and analysts in Detroit on March 4. RBC analyst Joe Spak says the EV event could be a catalyst for shares. He is a GM bull, rating shares the equivalent of Buy with a $49 price target. The stock was down 1.6% at $34.44 Thursday afternoon.
Still, shares are up about 12 cents since fourth-quarter numbers were reported Wednesday.” [Barron’s,
2/6/20
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Buyers
Want Cleaner, Lighter Cars That Also Make Them Feel Good. According
to Bloomberg, “I spent the beginning of the week at BloombergNEF’s Summit on transportation, energy, and technology in San Francisco. I’m struck not just by the changes coming to the multi-trillion dollar automotive industry, like electrification and sharing
models, but also by what’s motivating those changes. Consumers are demanding that the automotive industry get cleaner, lighter, better, but each one of those imperatives is being expressed in a slightly different way. My colleague Julia Attwood, who heads
BloombergNEF’s advanced materials analysis, gave a talk (on web here, for terminal subscribers only) on the materials composition of today’s automobiles. That’s been slow to change so far—it took more than 20 years for automakers to reduce the steel content
of cars to below 50% of vehicle weight—but she expects it to shift much more quickly in the future. Carmakers are already quite rigorous about becoming cleaner operationally; as Attwood noted, Ford already operates 88 plants that send zero waste to landfills,
and Honda has begun designing its vehicles for ‘end-of-life,’ a.k.a. easier materials recovery and re-use. There is an economic rationale for companies behind these cleaner operations. More interesting to me, though, is that there’s now consumer interest in
substituting recycled plastics for virgin plastics in mass-market automobiles. That’s cleaner in a way that means more to the consumer than to the manufacturer, and is also difficult or impossible to appreciate in terms of how the vehicle looks and feels.
Attwood also noted that using composite materials allows vehicles to become lighter.” [Bloomberg,
2/6/20
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Tesla's
Wild Ride Got Even Wilder. According
to Axios, “Shares of Tesla closed down more than 17% on Wednesday, shredding more than $27 billion in market cap value, Axios’ Courtenay Brown reports. Between the lines: Wednesday ended a streak of eye-popping stock gains for Tesla. Per CNBC, it was the second-worst
day for the stock ever. But, but, but: Tesla’s stock is still up more than 60% since the beginning of the year. Where it stands: Tesla is down almost another 4% in premarket trading. Go deeper: Tesla shares crater 17% after coronavirus delays Model 3 deliveries
(CNBC)” [Axios, 2/6/20
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Electric
Vehicles
$1B
Proposal Aims To Boost EV Highway Chargers. According
to E&E News, “Two key players in America's evolving transportation sector announced a plan yesterday to use $1 billion to help expand electric vehicle charging — if the funding comes together. The National Highway Charging Collaborative involves both ChargePoint,
which has the biggest U.S. EV charging network, and NATSO, an industry group formerly known as the National Association of Truck Stop Operators. The effort focuses on the light-duty sector, and it aims to place electric charging infrastructure at 4,000 travel
centers and fuel stops by 2030. That could link U.S. drivers "to a vast and growing charging network in all 50 states and the District of Columbia," a news release said. It also envisions more access in rural areas. But favorable policies may be crucial in
determining whether the plan is realized. The collaboration's purpose includes advocating for policies that will be most conducive to encouraging private-sector travel center operators to invest in EV charging infrastructure, said David Fialkov, NATSO's vice
president of government relations and counsel. "In terms of where the money comes from, that will depend on how the policies unfold," Fialkov told E&E News. Highways remain a crucial part of creating a usable and reliable EV charging network that reduces range
anxiety in the United States. Drivers who attempt long-distance travel without gasoline- or diesel-powered vehicles can find missing or broken EV chargers — or none at all. California has explored the use of interstate highway rest stops for EV chargers, but
government restrictions have complicated that plan (Energywire, Nov. 27, 2019).” [E&E News,
2/7/20
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Will
The Federal Government Clear EVs’ Ignition Roadblocks? According
to PYMNTS, “While the electric car has long been touted as the future of transportation, it bears remembering that while electric vehicles (EVs) have been cool in the post-Tesla world, they are hardly new. The first electric vehicles started driving on America’s
streets in the early 1890s and by 1900, about one-third of vehicles were electric and EV cars were a major competitor for those powered by the internal combustion engine. But internal combustion engines evolved faster — with better transmissions systems that
made them drive faster, and the ability to hold more fuel than an EV could hold a charge, thus making them capable of driving much, much further. As a result, the internal combustion engine sizzled and went on to become a cornerstone of the industrial era
— and the electric car, well, didn’t. Almost 100 years later, however, EVs got another bite at the apple. Between 1996 and 1999, General Motors (GM) began mass-producing their first electric car — the EV1 and offering it for lease in California and Georgia.
And while there is a lot of debate about the death of the EV1 and more than a few conspiracy theories about it, most agree that the car had the same basic problem they had 100 years ago. It didn’t drive far enough and couldn’t be easily refueled. EV1 only
went 75-80 miles on a full charge and needed several hours to get back up to full charge. GM stopped producing the car and when the leases came due, they took them all back. But electric vehicles are an innovation that has a habit of coming back.” [PYMNTS,
2/6/20
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Electric
Car Sales Sky-Rocket In Europe. According
to Transport & Environment, “T&E said the figures show that consumer demand is there and pave the way for 2020 to be the year of the electric car. Clean vehicles and emobility director, Julia Poliscanova, said: ‘Even before the EU CO2 standards for new cars
kicked in January, the electric car sales in the last quarter of 2019 reached an all time high. This shows that the demand is there and is growing, and the reason for low sales until now has been a poor supply of models by car makers. ‘The CO2 standards will
require the car industry to sell around a 5% share of electric cars in 2020, which is within reach and will kick-start the pathway to zero emissions mobility required by the European Green Deal.’ Diesel sales continued to fall and accounted for 29% of sales
between October and December 2019. Between 2005 and 2015, diesel dominated the market with over half of new car sales in Europe. In 2019, T&E analysed how many electric cars each carmaker will have to sell in 2020-21 to achieve the targets. Overall, the analysis
forecasts the EU-wide sales of EVs will go from 2% in 2018 (2.9% in June 2019) to 5% in 2020 (3-7% range) and 10% in 2021 (7-12% range). Around half of sales are expected to be zero-emission vehicles and half plug-in hybrids. The jump in EV sales in 2021 results
from the EU CO2 target applying to all cars sold in 2021 (not 95%) and because many carmakers will need to make use of most of their super-credit allowances in 2020 to meet the target.” [Transport & Environment,
2/6/20
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Congress
U.S.
House Democrats Propose Electric Vehicle Charging Network. According
to Reuters, “Two U.S. lawmakers on Thursday unveiled legislation that would create a nationwide electric vehicle (EV) charging network to promote the shift from gasoline-powered vehicles and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Democratic Representatives Andy
Levin and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez released legislation dubbed the “EV Freedom Act” to create a network of high-speed charging stations within five years along the public roads of the national highway system in the United States at a U.S. Capitol press conference.
“This is the infrastructure bill that we need to be rallying around.” Ocasio-Cortez said. “A lot of naysayers will say, ‘They are trying to get rid of cars.’ Well, we’re not trying to get rid of cars. We’re trying to actually advance and improve our fleets...
We have to go electric.” Levin represents a suburban Detroit district that includes many autoworkers, while Ocasio-Cortez of New York helped unveil the “Green New Deal” earlier this year to transition the U.S. economy away from fossil fuels. The effort is
backed by environmental groups and the United Auto Workers union. U.S. automakers like General Motors Co (GM.N) and Ford Motor Co (F.N) are spending billions of dollars to build new electric vehicles. EV automaker Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is deploying its own network
of fast-charging stations. The 18-page bill reviewed by Reuters notes a lack of charging stations poses a significant barrier to higher electric vehicle sales. “There is just no way that we will get to broad scale adoption of electric vehicles until we crush
range anxiety and then it will happen precipitously,” Levin told Reuters.” [Reuters,
2/6/20
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Ocasio-Cortez
Offers Long-Shot Plan To Build Electric-Vehicle Charging Stations. According
to the Los Angeles Times, “The Democratic congresswoman who pushed the Green New Deal to prominence aims to build a national network of high-speed chargers for electric cars under legislation unveiled Thursday. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and
Andy Levin, a Michigan Democrat, said the bill — dubbed the EV Freedom Act — would establish a network of chargers along public highways within five years. The measure is unlikely to pass in an election year with Republicans controlling the Senate. The bill
doesn’t yet have any Republican backers and the potential cost hasn’t been calculated, Levin said during a news conference in Washington. Tesla shares briefly surged after the plan was announced, rising as much as 8.3%, before retreating to close up 1.9%
at $748.96. The bill, which would require the Energy and Transportation departments to develop the details of a charging network, faces long odds in becoming law, said analyst Pavel Molchanov at Raymond James Financial Inc. As with other climate-related bills
pushed by House Democrats, “there is no realistic prospect of this EV proposal getting anywhere in the current Senate,” Molchanov said. “While EV infrastructure expansion will certainly continue, it will be led by a combination of state-level policies and
private-sector investments, rather than federal mandates.” Levin, a former green-energy entrepreneur, said in an interview that the proposed legislation would be a blueprint should Democrats win the Senate and White House in the November election.” [Los Angeles
Times, 2/6/20
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Ocasio-Cortez,
Levin Eye National EV Network In Five Years. According
to The Hill, “Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Andy Levin (D-Mich.) on Thursday outlined a bill that seeks to establish a nationwide electric vehicle charging network within five years. Their Electric Vehicle Freedom Act, which was slated to be
introduced Thursday, would establish the network along the nation’s highway systems and also promote compatibility between chargers and cars, affordability and the creation of automotive and infrastructure jobs, Levin said at a press conference. ‘We’re trying
to actually advance and improve our fleets and our vehicles, which means that we have to go electric and the way that we do that is with a public infrastructure,’ Ocasio-Cortez said. Levin declined to give a specific cost estimate, but said that ‘it’ll cost
a lot of money to put all these chargers in place.’ He said ‘we’ll see’ how much will be paid for by taxpayers and how much hosts will pay. He also didn’t give specifics about the numbers of chargers or their locations, but said that it would be an ‘extensive’
system across both interstates and the national highway system ‘such that it’s a comprehensive system so that people can get everywhere.’ The lawmaker said that the secretaries of Energy and Transportation would be tasked with with figuring out the network.
The legislation follows an infrastructure framework announced last week by House Democrats that also aims to develop an electric vehicle charging network. Levin said that he has had ‘very good discussions’ with the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee
but that his bill is more ‘specifically ambitious.’” [The Hill, 2/6/20
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Opinion
Pieces
Analysis: Tesla Has Some Wild Times.
According to Matt Levine in Bloomberg, “I feel bad that I have absolutely no idea what to tell you about what just happened with Tesla Inc., but the good news, for me, is that no
one else has any idea either. Morgan Stanley, for instance, doesn’t: Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said that ‘many investors are struggling to identify a strong fundamental underpinning for the move.’ The brokerage doesn’t have the answers to investor
queries on who is buying the stock, how high can it go or where there might be support, Jonas wrote in a report to clients Wednesday. … ‘Folks are asking a lot of questions,’ Jonas said. Tesla’s stock finished January (that is, last Friday) at $650.57, up
55.5% from its December close of $418.33, which was itself up 26.8% from November. On Monday, the stock ripped up 19.9% to close at $780. On Tuesday, it got as high as $969 before falling over the last 12 minutes of the trading day and closing at $887.06.
Yesterday it fell 17.2% to close at $734.70; it has remained pretty wild today, to the point that I am not going to risk typing a price here. Tesla’s 10-day realized volatility is 170. If you bought Tesla stock at any point from its founding up until last
Friday, you’ve done great. If you bought, for instance, at the high point after Elon Musk tweeted that he was going to take Tesla private for $420 per share, a tweet that got him in trouble for securities fraud, and you held through yesterday’s close, you
were up about 93.6% over about a year and a half.” [Bloomberg,
2/6/20 (=)]
Chad Ellwood
Climate Action Campaign
202.448.2877 ext. 119