Clean
Car Standards
Could
California’s Emissions Rules Be Implemented Nationwide? According
to Power Nation TV, “It’s possible. California’s emissions rules could soon be a template of sorts for America. For the last four years, the Trump administration has been trying to reverse the Obama-era fuel efficiency standards and had little success. Essentially,
it ended up in court and got stuck there. In fact, California and a few other states have filed suit to challenge the Trump rollback. However, under President-elect Joe Biden, the issue could go away entirely being that Biden was vice president when the Obama
administration adopted the current emissions standards. So instead of rolling any emissions standards back, a Biden administration could mean even stricter rules enforced. Reuters reports that current California standards could be used across the other 49
states. Automakers including Ford, Honda, BMW, and Volkswagen have struck a deal with California that falls somewhere between the Trump administration and Obama-era requirements. Meanwhile, GM, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler, Mazda, Subaru, Nissan, and Kia chose not
to join the California emissions pact and sided with President Donald Trump. Mary Nichols is currently the chairwoman of the California Air Resources Board and who sources say could be the next federal environment chief, has said that California’s agreement
with major automakers for fuel efficiency requirements could serve as a ‘good template’ for federal standards through 2025. These tougher standards could cost automakers billions of dollars and they are preparing to battle it out in court. That being said,
President-elect Biden has vowed to negotiate ‘ambitious fuel economy standards’ with both industry and environmental groups.” [Power Nation TV,
11/13/20
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How
A Biden Administration Could Push Companies Further On Climate. According
to Grist, “Over the past year or so, as the Trump administration continued to roll back or weaken as many climate regulations in the United States as it could get its hands on, the corporate world seemed to be doing the opposite. A steady stream of companies
— from tech giants like Apple to oil majors like BP to retail behemoths like Amazon — announced major commitments to decarbonize their businesses. Pledging to go net-zero became the new gold standard for corporate sustainability. While many companies haven’t
yet matched their net-zero promises with specific action plans, that could change under the administration of President-elect Joe Biden. With the executive branch and the private sector pulling in the same direction on climate, experts expect progress on corporate
pledges to continue. ‘Companies and investors really struggle with uncertainty,’ said Tom Murray, who advises companies on reducing emissions for the Environmental Defense Fund. ‘They often use it as an excuse for inaction. So by making climate change a top
priority, president-elect Biden is putting an end to that uncertainty and calling for real action.’ […] Lubber and Murray also expect Biden to use his executive power to reverse a number of Trump’s rollbacks, like reinstating fuel economy standards for vehicles,
putting controls on power plant emissions, and reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. The first step on many companies’ journeys to net-zero is to reduce emissions from their operations, whether that’s greening the electricity powering their
offices and factories or the vehicles they use to make deliveries.” [Grist,
11/13/20
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Presidential
Transition
Will
There Be An EV In Every Driveway Under The Biden Administration? According
to Car and Driver, “The upcoming Biden Administration elicits unequal parts worry and excitement when it comes to electric vehicles and the future of the automobile industry. The excitement is there, in spades and with good reason, but there are worries from
many corners as well. Excitement over electric vehicles flows from the president-elect himself, who promoted two distinct EV policies in his campaign climate plan. First, his Day One ‘unprecedented executive actions’ include moving the federal government procurement
system toward 100 percent ‘clean energy and zero-emissions vehicles’ as well as making sure U.S. fuel-economy standards are set so they get ‘100 percent of new sales for light- and medium-duty vehicles [to] be electrified’ alongside annual improvements for
heavy-duty vehicles. Second, Biden’s ‘Year One Legislative Agenda’ is to include accelerating the deployment of electric vehicles by working with governors and mayors to deploy over 500,000 new public charging outlets by the end of 2030. The plan also calls
for restoring the federal government’s electric-vehicle tax credit and targeting it toward middle-class consumers while prioritizing electric vehicles made in America when possible. That’s what the president-elect has said himself. Industry sources who spoke
to Car and Driver on background said once Biden is inaugurated, he could use the presidential bully pulpit to signal to Americans that the future belongs to EVs. He could also stop the fight with California over fuel-economy standards and get back to promoting
one national standard. It's also the case that some of the names being suggested as members of a Biden cabinet are strong proponents of EVs, among them Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles, former Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, and Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer.
The tea leaves are still too weak to read with precision, but it's something to keep an eye on as Biden gets ready to be sworn in in January.” [Car and Driver,
11/14/20
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What
Biden’s Environmental Plans Mean For Electric Vehicles. According
to TNW, “The Green New Deal has received a lot of attention since it was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in early 2019. But how many people have actually read it and know what’s in it? The bill isn’t long, as bills go, but it’s dense. I’ve
tried to pull out the main points below. You can read the complete text of the bill here. President-elect Joe Biden has a lengthy description of his ambitious climate plan on his website. It’s based on the Green New Deal and contains many specific proposals.
I walk you through it below. In the interests of space and clarity, I am using an outline format with bullet points in some parts of this post. The Green New Deal The Green New Deal, H.RES.109, is not a law—It’s a framework for dealing with the climate crisis
while also boosting job creation and addressing systemic racism and discrimination. It was named in the spirit of President Roosevelt’s New Deal, which helped pull America out of the Great Depression in the 1930s. It also is meant to reflect the efforts and
sacrifices that the United States made during World War II. On February 7, 2019, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the bill’s sponsor, introduced the Green New Deal in the U.S. House of Representatives of the 116th Congress, 1st Session, along with
68 other cosigners. To back up its climate change proposals, the bill references the October 2018 Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 degrees by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the November 2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment
Report. The reasons given for presenting the bill were: Human activity is the dominant cause of climate change. Climate change leads to many catastrophic results, including sea level rise, wildfires, storms, droughts.” [TNW,
11/14/20
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Congress
Lawmakers
Eye Rail After 'Amtrak Joe' Victory. According
to E&E News, “House lawmakers plan to probe America’s passenger rail network following the victory of President-elect Joe Biden, a vocal fan of Amtrak. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials
will hold a hearing Wednesday on the Surface Transportation Board’s role in ensuring a ‘robust’ passenger rail system. Amtrak has seen ridership and revenue plummet during the COVID-19 pandemic. But advocates hope the Biden administration will oversee a renaissance
of rail to help combat climate change, boost U.S. economic competitiveness and overhaul the nation’s infrastructure (E&E Daily, Nov. 10). While serving as a junior senator from Delaware, Biden rode Amtrak every day between Washington and his Delaware home
to see his two young sons in the wake of a fatal car crash that killed his first wife and daughter. On the campaign trail, Biden chartered an Amtrak train to tour Pennsylvania and Ohio, two battleground states in his contest against President Trump. Republicans
on the T&I Committee, including Rep. Rick Crawford of Arkansas, the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, sent a letter last month to Amtrak CEO William Flynn questioning the Biden campaign’s use of the taxpayer-funded
rail service (Greenwire, Oct. 21). Amtrak Senior Executive Vice President Stephen Gardner will be on hand to testify, as will the chairman and vice chairman of the Surface Transportation Board, the obscure federal entity tasked with regulating freight and
passenger rail. House and Senate appropriators agree on spending about $2 billion on Amtrak next fiscal year, but the Senate has not backed $8 billion in emergency dollars to keep the system afloat amid the pandemic (E&E Daily, Nov. 12).” [E&E News,
11/16/20
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States
Florida's
Transportation Agency Brainstorms How To Make Electric, Hybrid Vehicles More Accessible.
According
to WUSF, “As of July 2020, less than 1% of Floridians were driving hybrid or electric cars. That’s according to the Florida Department of Transportation’s in-house consultant Tanner Martin. He says there are many reasons people forego hybrid or electric vehicles—like
the high cost and lack of available models. Martin also says a shortage of charging stations in rural areas means people could be afraid to drive long distances. ‘So, once we have vehicles with longer range and we have [an] adequate supply of EVSE in the state,
i.e., charging stations, this range anxiety will decline significantly,’ Martin says. Martin says that if the state creates more infrastructure to support electric and hybrid vehicles, it could encourage more people to buy them. The Florida Department of Transportation
has been putting together a plan to add more charging stations to the state highway system. Martin says priority will go to certain areas. ‘We look at evacuation priority. So which facilities within the state highway system can best serve the movement of travelers
out of the state or to other parts of the state,’ Martin says. Other priorities include places with high traffic and short drive times from intersections. During today’s stakeholder webinar for the state’s Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Master Plan, the issue
of natural disasters came up. When hurricanes strike Florida, sometimes people have to evacuate. Most can fuel their cars on the road, but finding a charging station on the highway can be difficult for those with electric vehicles. Florida Department of Transportation’s
Jennifer Fortunas says her agency is considering using trailers with charging hookups.” [WUSF,
11/14/20
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Is
San Diego Ready For Transition To EVs? According
to the Mission Times Courier, “With the passage of recent state legislation phasing out the sale of all gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035 in an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a clear message has been sent encouraging the state’s drivers to switch
to electric cars. But is San Diego ready for such a transition? Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed an executive order that amounts to the most aggressive clean-car policy in the nation. Although it bans the sale of new gas cars and trucks after the 15-year
deadline, it will still allow such vehicles to be owned and sold on the used-car market. The City of San Diego is incorporating accommodating electric vehicles into its planning for the region’s transportation future. ‘One of the main strategies in the City
of San Diego’s Climate Action Plan is to lower emissions from our transportation sector, so electric vehicles are certainly a key component of that,’ said Nicole Darling in the City’s Communications Department. Noting an update to the City’s Climate Action
Plan adopted in 2015 is currently underway, Darling pointed out the CAP update includes ‘gathering the viewpoints and priorities of our residents. An online survey is available and virtual forums are planned for every council district. We anticipate that the
CAP update will include targets related to electric vehicles and charging stations across the city.’ Presently, the City has 57 electric vehicle charging stations (68 ports) at 15 locations. The locations include destination sites such as Balboa Park, other
parks and recreation centers, libraries, and entertainment districts. Information about the charging stations can be viewed at www.bit.ly/3jyyUgl. Concerning the future of infrastructure serving electric vehicles in the City, Darling said, ‘We expect public
charging in the region will increase over time and we are regularly looking for opportunities to continue that expansion.” [Mission Times Courier,
11/13/20
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2
New Electric Vehicle Makers Target Silicon Valley Car Market. According
to CBS SF, “There’s a new brand in town, and it is pure electric and pure performance. Newark-based Lucid Motors just debuted what it calls the world’s most powerful and efficient luxury electric sedan at Westfield Valley Fair. ‘We’re looking in the luxury
segment…and the primary competitors in the segment are Mercedes and Audi and BMW and companies like that,’ said Senior Director of Retail Operations Zak Edson. ‘Yes, we have an electric vehicle but that’s not the only attribute that customers care about.’
Lucid’s top-of-the-line Dream Edition is packed with 1080 horsepower and more than 500 miles of driving range. It costs $169,000 and goes into production next spring. Reservations for the waitlist can be made now for $300. The least expensive version of the
Lucid Air, which will be available in 2022, costs $69,900. Right now customers can also compare different options and interiors with its VR experience at its Valley Fair studio. ‘I think the car itself attracted me more than anything else,’ said shopper Vharat
Chaudheri. ‘The car looks much better than the Model S, the range is pretty good.’ Lucid also recently opened a studio at Westfield Century City. The California locations are 2 of 20 to open throughout North America by the end of next year. Other locations
will include Miami, West Palm Beach, New York City, Boston, and D.C. Another brand turning heads in the Bay Area is Volvo’s electric performance brand Polestar. The company delivered its first all-electric Polestar 2 cars in the U.S. this week. They’re priced
at $59,900, and the Bay Area is Polestar’s top market. The Polestar 2 boasts two electric motors with a 78 kWh battery capacity and a target range of 291 miles between charges. ‘Anybody who’s looking to go electric and not spend $100,000 — some huge price
tag to go that way — and also someone who really wants that kind of convenience, appreciates good, clean minimalist design,’ said Polestar Cars spokesperson John Paolo Canton of the brand’s customers.” [CBS SF,
11/14/20
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CARB
Enforcement Chief Warns Automakers Not To ‘Lie To Us,’ Praises SEPs. According
to Inside EPA, “The California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) enforcement chief is warning automakers not to ‘lie to us’ about complying with the state’s vehicle emission standards, while also praising the use of supplemental environmental projects (SEPs) as
valuable mitigation measures in settlements -- a sharp contrast to the Trump administration’s policy to end SEPs. ‘Obviously at CARB we have the opportunity to see more than our fair share of noncompliance. And sometimes staff at CARB, especially the long-time
staffers, feel like manufacturers can’t be trusted because they’ve been lied to repeatedly over the years. So the first thing I would say is, ‘Don’t lie to us,’’ said Todd Sax, CARB’s enforcement division chief, in a recent interview with Sidley Austin attorney
Justin Savage, on the Environmental Law Institute’s People Places Planet Podcast. Sax referenced the landmark billion-dollar enforcement settlements CARB and EPA reached with Volkswagen in 2016 and Daimler this year over the companies’ illegal installation
of ‘defeat devices’ that shut off or curbed operation of diesel emissions controls on hundreds of thousands of vehicles. ‘If you’re not disclosing software impacting a vehicle because you’re afraid of what the regulators would say, or don’t care what they
think, well that’s dumb,’ Sax said. ‘We should all be working towards the same goal. I know that’s naïve, but I want to believe the best in people. At least if you’re at an automotive company and you’re making some of these decisions, you should be looking
at the auto companies that have violated the laws of California and the United States and were caught. [And] thinking, is this choice worth hundreds of millions to billions of dollars to my company? As well as a tarnished public reputation with their customers.
It’s just not worth it.’” [Inside EPA, 11/13/20
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Auto
Manufacturers
Ford 'Discussing' Making Its Own Battery Cells
For EVs, CEO Says. According to The Detroit
News, “As the automotive industry moves further along in its shift toward electric vehicles, automakers face the key decision of whether to produce the battery cells and packs that will help power millions of electric vehicles, or whether they want to buy
them from suppliers. General Motors Co. has opted to make its own EV components. It’s joined up with LG Chem, for example, to mass-produce battery cells in Ohio. As recently as July, Ford Motor Co. executives said they had looked into producing their own batteries,
but concluded the supply chain was strong enough to meet their needs. Jim Farley, COO and incoming CEO, speaks unveils the new F-150 during a press conference this morning at the historic Dearborn Truck Plant in the Rouge complex, Thursday, September 17, 2020,
in Dearborn. But newly-minted CEO Jim Farley struck a different tone Friday at an automotive summit hosted by Reuters, during which he hinted at the possibility of Ford one day making its own battery cells and packs: ‘Absolutely we’re discussing it as a team,’
he said. While there is nothing to announce yet, Farley said it’s a ‘natural time’ to have the discussion, as the Dearborn automaker’s EV volume is set to grow exponentially with launches of the electric Mustang Mach-E SUV, E-Transit cargo van and F-150 coming
between the end of this year and the end of 2022. Such a move would help stymie job losses that the electric-vehicle transition is expected to bring: ‘We do have to solve for the reality that when electrification becomes 25% to 50% of our industry in the coming
years, what are we going to do about the jobs?’ Farley said. ‘One of the obvious choices is going into cell production, but it’s a completely different animal than final assembly of a vehicle.’” [The Detroit News,
11/13/20
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Volkswagen Accelerates Investment In Electric
Cars As It Races To Overtake Tesla. According
to the Wall Street Journal, “Volkswagen AG VOW +3.48% plans to invest around $86 billion in the development of electric vehicles and other new technologies over the next five years, as the world’s largest auto maker races to overtake Tesla Inc. as the leading
maker of electric cars. With the shift to electric cars, connected vehicles and an increasingly digital manufacturing process, the auto industry is amid its biggest transformation in a century. Volkswagen said Friday that it would allocate around half of a
planned $177 billion in R&D and capital expenditure to accelerate development of technologies such as digital factories, automotive software and self-driving cars. The German company, which sold around 11 million vehicles in 2019, updates its five-year investment
plans every November. This year’s revised plan underscores its efforts to build on its already vast investment in electric vehicles and digital technology. VW launched the ID.3 all-electric compact car this year, the first model in a new generation of all-electric
vehicles. The car has received complaints about quality and software features, prompting reviewers to score it below Tesla’s equivalent model. However, the car has sold well, pushing VW past Tesla in September as the biggest electric-vehicle maker in Europe
by sales. VW Chief Executive Herbert Diess has often complained about the company’s failure to catch up with Tesla quickly, especially in terms of software, which has been a weak spot. ‘In the next few years it will be important to also take a leading position
in vehicle software,’ Mr. Diess said Friday. ‘Only as a digital mobility company can we satisfy people’s needs for individual, sustainable and fully networked mobility in the future.’” [Wall Street Journal,
11/13/20
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GM Recalls 68,000 Chevy Bolt EVs For Potential
Battery Fires. According to The Detroit
News, “General Motors Co. is voluntarily recalling 68,667 Chevrolet Bolt EVs manufactured between 2017-2019 as it works with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to pinpoint what caused multiple battery fires. The automaker has found five confirmed
incidents of battery fires on the Bolt when the batteries were either at full-charge or almost fully charged. Three of those five incidents were highlighted in October by NHTSA, which is investigating the fires. GM has found two reports of smoke-inhalation
injuries out of the five. The recall comes after NHTSA began investigating after receiving two complaints about battery fires and found another similar incident. The Bolt fires aren’t the first time electric vehicle fires have been a concern. NHTSA is still
investigating fires in Tesla Inc. electric cars. GM still is unsure what caused the fires exactly, but has found similarities in the five incidents, including the amount of battery charge and that the cells used in these batteries were all manufactured at
a Korean LG Chem plant. The 2020 Bolts are not included in the recall because their cells are manufactured with a different chemistry. ‘The safety of our products is the highest priority for the entire GM team,’ Jesse Ortega, executive chief engineer for the
Chevrolet Bolt EV, said during a briefing with media on Friday. ‘We will continue to cooperate with NHTSA and we are working around the clock on our own investigation to identify the issue.’ The recall, which covers more than 50,900 Bolts in the U.S., will
require dealerships to reflash the vehicles’ battery software to limit the maximum state of charge to 90%, Ortega said: ‘We believe this action will reduce the risk of battery fire while we work to identify the issue, and determine the appropriate final repair.
We expect this software update to be available beginning Nov. 17.’” [The Detroit News,
11/13/20
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GM Recalls Thousands Of Electric Vehicles, Warning
Of Battery Fires. According to Bloomberg,
“General Motors Co. recalled more than 50,000 electric vehicles on Saturday, warning that their high-voltage batteries could catch fire. A notice was issued for 50,932 Chevrolet Bolt EV vehicles dating from 2017 to 2019. It warned that the battery could ‘catch
fire when charged to full or nearly full capacity.’ The company said a final solution is still under development, but as an interim measure it would offer at no cost to reprogram the ‘hybrid propulsion control module 2’ to limit the charge to 90%.” [Bloomberg,
11/14/20
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Automakers Accelerate Shift To EVs But Major Deployment
Hurdles Remain. According to Inside EPA,
“Automakers are accelerating their shift to ramping up production of a growing range of electric vehicles (EVs) in response to state incentives and the incoming Biden administration’s expected push to promote the low or zero-emission cars, but major deployment
hurdles remain for the sector to overcome, say industry officials and legal analysts. Multiple states have issued or are developing programs designed to boost EV sales, with California’s policies in the lead as the state seeks to phase out sales of many new
gasoline and diesel-powered passenger vehicles by 2035. President-elect Joe Biden is likely to back federal incentives for purchasing EVs and other low or zero-emission vehicles as part of a revived federal climate program, which proponents say will provide
welcome support for climate action that has been missing under the administration of President Donald Trump. Biden has pledged to deploy 550,000 new EV charging stations by 2030, to provide tax credits for EVs, to offer rebates for trade-ins of older vehicles
for EVs and also to transition federal government vehicle fleets to electric drive, although sources say the precise timing of such measures is still uncertain. But even as programs to promote EV sales and roll out EV infrastructure are reaching a critical
tipping point, some challenges remain that could inhibit continued rapid growth of the sector, say industry officials and legal analysts. The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) hosted a webinar Nov. 10 where experts debated the challenges and opportunities
facing the EV industry. On that call, James Chen, vice president of public policy for EV manufacturer Rivian, said the industry is now at an ‘inflection point,’ where EV sales could either gain critical mass and expand dramatically across the country, or fail
to do so because of policy complications.” [Inside EPA, 11/13/20
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Electric
Vehicles
TVA Approves Plan To Boost EVs.
According to E&E News, “The Tennessee Valley Authority’s board has approved a proposal
aimed at putting more electric vehicles on the road. The nation’s largest public power utility adopted a plan Friday to set a new commercial rate structure and expand the number of fast chargers across the Tennessee Valley. Drivers’ so-called range anxiety
— stemming from the lack of options to charge EVs quickly — is a chief barrier to EV adoption, said Joe Hoagland, TVA’s vice president of enterprise relations and innovation, during the utility’s board meeting last week. TVA executives said they see increased
EV use as a way for the company to meet sustainability goals and lower the region’s carbon profile. The initiative also presents a new revenue stream for the utility, which sells wholesale generation to more than 150 local power companies across seven states.
The new pricing program allows for those companies to resell electricity for vehicle charging and creates a separate, discounted rate for charging at public stations. ‘It’s sales growth for us ... and it’s a better use of our assets to maintain low rates,’
Hoagland said. TVA is on track to cut carbon emissions by roughly 60% from 2005 levels by the end of the year and wants to reach 70% carbon dioxide reduction by 2030. ‘The time and place are right for TVA’s electrification initiative,’ TVA President and CEO
Jeff Lyash said at the board meeting last Friday. Besides reducing emissions, TVA sees having a lower carbon footprint as helping boost the region’s economic development. Tennessee is becoming a hub for EV production in the Southeast. General Motors Co., Nissan
Motor Co. Ltd. and Volkswagen AG all have made EVs a focus at their factories there.” [E&E News,
11/16/20
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GM Recalls 68K EVs. Are Batteries Safe?
According to E&E News, “General Motors Co. announced a voluntary recall last week of
more than 68,000 electric vehicles worldwide due to five reports of potential battery fires. The move adds to a string of fire incidents involving batteries used in electric vehicles and with energy storage. In August, a utility in Arizona released a report
finding a defective battery cell sparked an explosion in an energy storage facility last year (Energywire, July 29). BMW and Hyundai also issued EV recalls this year because of battery fire concerns. The GM recall applies to the Chevrolet Bolt — the only electric
car from GM currently available in the U.S.— with 2017-2019 model years, the company said. Of the 68,667 affected cars, 50,925 were sold in the U.S., according to GM. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the incidents, and GM
hopes to fully remedy the problem by early next year, the Detroit-based automaker said in a statement. ‘The safety of our products is the highest priority for the entire GM and Chevrolet team,’ GM said. ‘We are working around the clock on our continued investigation.’
The news comes as GM aims to transition to an all-electric car company that it says will rival Tesla Inc. The company announced earlier this year that it plans to roll out 12 new EV models by 2023 (Climatewire, July 29). The recall won’t deter that EV strategy,
said Kevin Kelly, senior manager of product and brand communications at GM. The automaker is developing its own Ultium cell batteries, which are different from the batteries used in the Chevrolet Bolt cars, Kelly said. ‘Ultium cells are a different chemistry
and use the latest manufacturing technology,’ he said in an email.” [E&E News,
11/16/20
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New Chairman Cancels Meeting On Electric Vehicles.
According to E&E News, “Newly appointed Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman
James Danly has canceled a roundtable discussion aimed at examining electric vehicles and charging infrastructure nationwide. The technical conference, slated for December, was planned by former Chairman Neil Chatterjee, whom President Trump demoted to commissioner
last week (Energywire, Nov. 5). The purpose of the conference was for the commission to gain insight into how the increase of electric vehicles across the country could affect the transmission system and wholesale electricity markets. The public notice offered
no explanation for the cancellation. The agency declined to comment for this story. A few days before the public notice, Chatterjee wrote on Twitter that the dialogue on electric vehicles ‘isn’t going away.’ Chatterjee was demoted in part for his efforts to
boost renewable energy development and pave the way for states to implement a carbon tax in wholesale markets (Energywire, Nov. 6). The commissioner said he was also being punished for his unwillingness to go along with the Trump administration’s governmentwide
edicts against diversity training (E&E News PM, Nov. 6). Observers predicted that a Danly-led FERC would cease all proactive agenda items, opting for a more reactive regulatory style (Energywire, Nov. 9). ‘I don’t expect Danly to be an activist chairman,’
Travis Fisher, who worked on Trump’s FERC transition team, said in a recent interview.” [E&E News,
11/13/20
(=)]
Hmm...Danly Cancels FERC Electric Vehicles Roundtable.
According to the Washington Examiner, “New
FERC Chairman James Danly yesterday canceled a planned roundtable discussion scheduled for December on the nationwide increase in deployment of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, and what that means for the grid and wholesale power markets. The
notice of cancellation does not state a reason. Commissioner Neil Chatterjee, who planned the EV discussion and organized similar discussions on carbon pricing and offshore wind, was demoted from chairman by the White House.” [Washington Examiner,
11/13/20
(=)]
International
Tiny GM Car Zips Past Tesla To Lead China’s Electric Vehicle Market.
According to the Wall Street Journal, “A tiny electric vehicle from General Motors Co.
GM 4.76% with a top speed of 62 miles an hour has zoomed past the Tesla Model 3 to become China’s bestselling EV. Launched in late July under GM’s local Wuling brand, the Hongguang Mini costs $4,300 and primarily targets consumers in China’s smaller, less
affluent cities. The Model 3, which Tesla Inc. TSLA -0.79% started producing in Shanghai last year, costs roughly $37,600 after subsidies and is tilted more toward buyers in China’s wealthy metropolises. GM’s strategy to go after the low end of China’s EV
market runs counter to its approach in the U.S., where it plans to launch a battery-powered Hummer pickup truck under its GMC brand in about a year, priced at around $113,000. After years of struggling to sell relatively affordable electrics like the Chevrolet
Bolt, GM’s coming slate of EVs will include larger vehicles and luxury cars, which should help the company turn a profit on them, analysts say. Through the three months ended Oct. 31, the Hongguang Mini notched 55,781 in sales, compared with the Model 3’s
35,283 sales over that same stretch, according to the China Passenger Car Association. The duo are the top-selling EVs in China by a wide margin, accounting for nearly a quarter of the purchases. Wuling, which GM produces through one of its two Chinese joint
ventures with state-run SAIC Motor Corp. , has been the dominant player in China’s entry-level segment for many years. The Hongguang’s instant success suggests Wuling is well-placed to maintain that position as auto makers transition away from gasoline to
electric propulsion. The mini EV also launched into a favorable market. Chinese EV sales emerged from a year-long slump in the summer and are now rapidly increasing again, more than doubling year-over-year in both September and October.” [Wall Street Journal,
11/13/20
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UK Expected To Ban Sale Of New Petrol And Diesel Cars From 2030.
According to The Guardian, “Boris Johnson is understood to be planning to ban the sale
of new petrol and diesel cars within a decade, with reports that the ban will be brought forward by five years. It follows the prime minister moving the cut-off date from 2040 to 2035 in February. Johnson is expected to announce the measure amid a raft of
new environmental policies next week, according to a report in the Financial Times, which attributes the news to industry and Whitehall sources. The government hopes the policy will energise the market for electric cars in the UK and help the country achieve
its climate targets, including reducing emissions of greenhouse gases to net zero by 2050. Scientists, academics and campaigners have urged governments and businesses to be more ambitious, calling on them to work to ‘restore the climate’ to as safe a level
as possible. Environmental activists signed a letter on Friday, stating: ‘The climate crisis is here now. No matter how quickly we reach zero emissions, the terrible impacts of the climate crisis will not just go away … As such, no matter how quickly it is
done, solely cutting emissions is not enough.’ Despite rising popularity, with demand more than doubling over the last year, electric cars still only make up around 7% of new vehicles bought in the UK last month, figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers
and Traders show. The organisation has previously called for the government to commit to significant long-term incentives for electric vehicle purchase and to set fixed targets on charging infrastructure, arguing that higher prices and concerns about charging
are keeping sales down. The government is expected to provide around £500m funding for charging infrastructure from next year, according to the newspaper’s report.” [The Guardian,
11/14/20
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Opinion Pieces
Analysis: Is Everyone Back To Buying Cars? Think Again.
According to Anjani Trivedi in the Washington Post, “Going by sales and stock prices, is everyone buying and making cars in China again? Not quite. A quick review of the numbers:
Passenger vehicle sales rose 9.5% in October from a year earlier, and have grown every month since May. Green cars, like hybrids and pure electrics, are standouts: Sales are up more than 50%. Stock prices for companies like BYD Co. and NIO Inc. have more than
doubled this year. New model launches have boosted sentiment as local automakers incline toward carbon-free. Beijing wants such cars to account for 20% of all sales by 2025. There’s no doubt that the path is toward a greener future, where electric cars and
even more expensive hydrogen-powered vehicles dominate. But here’s the reality right now. Gasoline-powered auto sales are rising, too, around 6%, with 1.9 million manufactured domestically sold in September.(1) This segment accounts for around 90% of passenger
cars sold monthly in the world’s largest market, where over 20 million autos were sold last year. Sport utility vehicles and other traditional-engine models that were beginning to find favor pre-slowdown aren’t seeing a big rebound yet. Electric car sales
– though surging – are rising from a low base and the numbers are small relative to the size of the market, with around 160,000 green autos sold in October. Commercial and passenger new energy vehicles more than doubled last month from a year earlier. However,
for the 10-month period, they fell 7.6% to around 875,000. That’s partly because some government subsidies were withdrawn or made harder to get last year. Penetration remains low, at around 6%, according to Jefferies Group LLC analysts. In recent months, Beijing
has released incentives to ease the purchase and financing of electric vehicles for fleets, leading to a faster uptake.” [Washington Post,
11/16/20 (=)]
Chad Ellwood
Senior Research Associate
Climate Action Campaign
202.448.2877 ext. 119