Auto Manufacturers

 

BMW Group

 

Recharged And Electrifying: The Classic Mini Launches Into The Future. According to Automotive World, “The conversion of classic Minis to an electric drive combines traditional values with future-oriented technology. The idea was born even before the British premium manufacturer had a fully electric car on offer with the MINI Cooper SE (electricity consumption combined:17.6 – 15.2 kWh/100 km according to WLTP; CO2 emissions combined: 0 g/km.). As a one-off, a classic Mini Electric was built in 2018 and presented at the New York Auto Show. The reactions were so positive that a dedicated team from MINI Plant Oxford set to work and developed the plan to make a corresponding offer available to customers who own a classic Mini. To experience traditional go-kart handling with an emission-free drivetrain, the original petrol engine of the classic Mini is replaced by a modern electric drive. Only reversible changes are made to the substance of the vehicle during the conversion as part of MINI Recharged. Careful handling of the historical heritage is an important part of the concept. This makes it possible to restore the classic Mini to its original condition at a later date. During the conversion, the original engine of each vehicle is marked and stored so it can be reused in the event of a future retrofit of the classic Mini. ‘What the project team are developing preserves the character of the classic Mini and enables its fans to enjoy all-electric performance. With MINI Recharged, we are connecting the past with the future of the brand,’ says Bernd Körber, Head of the MINI Brand.” [Automotive World, 1/25/22 (=)]

 

Ford Motor Co.

 

Ford To Halt Orders For Hybrid Pickup Maverick. According to Reuters, “Ford Motor Co (F.N) said on Monday it would halt retail orders for the Maverick, an affordable pickup that the automaker rolled out last year, as it did not have the capacity to meet overwhelming demand. The company will stop taking new orders after Jan. 27 to focus on existing bookings, although customers may still be able to purchase a Maverick at their local Ford dealer. The company will resume taking orders for the 2023 Maverick in the summer, it said in an emailed statement. The Maverick compact pickup truck was launched in June with a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain as standard equipment, a technology choice aimed at keeping the vehicle’s starting price below $20,000. The worldwide shortage of computer chips has left car manufacturers unable to complete assembly of some new vehicles, prompting several companies to idle production.” [Reuters, 1/25/22 (=)]

 

Ford Stops Taking Maverick Orders Due To Overwhelming Demand. According to Jalopnik, “Ford has stopped accepting customer orders for the Maverick because demand for the compact pickup now exceeds Ford’s production capacity. The problem is people keep ordering the Ford Maverick, and the carmaker says it refuses to take on more orders than it can build, according to the Wall Street Journal. To be clear, this is a good problem to have, unlike the problems Ford ran into with recent model debuts. Right now, Ford is struggling to catch up on Maverick orders dating back to the truck’s release, and the carmaker told dealers those orders get first dibs. Some inventory will trickle in to dealers to ‘replenish stocks,’ but Maverick orders are closed until mid-2022, per the WSJ: Ford told dealers Monday that it is suspending customer orders for the Maverick pickup truck because it is already straining to fill a backlog. The company will resume taking orders for the 2023 Maverick in the summer, it said in a memo to dealers, reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The WSJ mentions that nationwide chip-shortages have made it hard for carmakers to sustain their usual rate of production, but that’s not exactly why Ford is struggling to fill the overwhelming amount of Maverick orders.” [Jalopnik, 1/25/22 (=)]

 

General Motor Co.

 

LG Energy Solution, GM To Build $2.1 Billion Battery Factory In U.S. According to Reuters, “South Korea’s LG Energy Solution (LGES) plans to spend $2.1 billion with General Motors (GM.N) to build a U.S. electric vehicle (EV) battery plant, parent firm LG Chem (051910.KS) said on Tuesday. LGES and GM are expected to fund the project equally via Ultium Cells, their U.S.-based battery joint venture, for what will be their third joint battery plant in the United States, LG Chem’s regulatory filings showed. LGES declined to provide detail on the location or production capacity of the new plant. In December, Reuters reported that GM had proposed building a $2.5 billion battery plant near Lansing, Michigan, with LGES. read more LGES commands more than 20% of the global electric vehicle battery market and supplies Tesla Inc (TSLA.O), Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) and Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS), among others. It is already building two plants with GM in Ohio and Tennessee to m” [Reuters, 1/25/22 (=)]

 

Autoworkers Worry About GM's Use Of Lower-Paid Employees To Build EVs. According to The Detroit News, “As General Motors Co. prepares for its electric vehicle future with multibillion-dollar investments in Lansing, Orion Township and elsewhere, autoworkers worry about the growing number of employees making less than traditional union-represented employees at the Detroit automaker. They see the push to add more jobs at subsidiary GM Subsystems Manufacturing LLC and GM’s joint venture battery cell manufacturer Ultium Cells LLC as unmistakable moves to retain a tiered wage system the United Auto Workers fought hard to eliminate.” [The Detroit News, 1/24/22 (=)]

 

Tesla Inc.

 

Cybertrucks, New Factories In Focus As Tesla Set To Report Record Earnings. According to Reuters, “Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) is expected to post record revenue on Wednesday, but analysts and investors are focusing on how fast Tesla can scale up production at two new factories this year with technology changes as well as battery and other supply chain constraints clouding the outlook. Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk promises an updated product roadmap on Wednesday, with eyes on the time frames for the launch of Cybertruck and a hoped-for $25,000 electric car. ‘I would not be surprised if Tesla has some significant manufacturing challenges, producing the new vehicle structures and new batteries in high volumes,’ Guidehouse Insights analyst Sam Abuelsamid, said. Tesla has weathered the global supply chain crisis better than other automakers, producing a record number of vehicles and revenue is expected to rise 52% in the fourth quarter to $16.4 billion, according to Refinitiv data.” [Reuters, 1/25/22 (=)]

 

Moody's Expects Tesla To Stay At EV Leader Spot, Upgrades To 'Ba1'. According to Reuters, “Moody’s upgraded Tesla Inc’s (TSLA.O) debt rating by two notches to ‘Ba1’ from ‘Ba3’ on Monday, reflecting the ratings agency’s expectations that the Elon Musk-led company will maintain its position as the leading battery electric vehicle manufacturer. Moody’s affirmed in a note that Tesla’s outlook remains positive and the company will continue to increase its scale rapidly and improve its profitability notably. Tesla’s financial policy is likely to be prudent and liquidity would remain very good, Moody’s said, adding that a more competitive offering of battery electric vehicles by other automakers could start to exert some pressure on the company’s margins in 2023. In January, Tesla reported record quarterly deliveries that far exceeded Wall Street estimates, riding out global chip shortages as it ramped up China production. It was the sixth consecutive quarter that the world’s most valuable automaker posted record deliveries.” [Reuters, 1/25/22 (=)]

 

Panasonic Will Invest $700 Million To Make Next-Generation Batteries For Tesla. According to Clean Technica, “Nikkei Asia reports that Panasonic will invest $700 million to expand its battery factory in Wakayama prefecture, Japan, and bring in new equipment to manufacture the new 4680 battery cells developed by Tesla. When completed, the factory will be capable of producing about 10 gigawatt-hours per year of the new batteries, enough to power about 150,000 electric vehicles. That is about 20% of the company’s total battery manufacturing capacity from its factories in Japan, the US, and other countries. The 4680 batteries cost 10% to 20% less to manufacture and have about a 15% higher energy density than the lithium-ion batteries that Tesla has been using to date. The extra energy density means a Tesla Model S would have a range of 750 kilometers, versus 650 kilometers today. Panasonic says the first batteries should be produced early next year.” [Clean Technica, 1/24/22 (=)]

 

Volkswagen Group

 

Volkswagen Group Drives Forward Decarbonization And Overfulfils The EU’s CO2 Fleet Target. According to Automotive World, “Volkswagen has made significant progress in decarbonizing its vehicle fleet on its path to becoming a sustainable, software-centric mobility group. In 2021, 472,300 electrified vehicles were delivered in the EU including Norway and Iceland, 64 percent more than in the previous year. The proportion of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) rose to 17.2 percent of total deliveries (2020: 10.1 percent). The Group is thus the clear market leader in the BEV segment in Europe, accounting for a market share of around 25 percent. Based on preliminary figures, the Group achieved average CO2 emissions of 118.5 g/km in 2021 for its new passenger car fleet in the EU, which is around 2 percent below the legal target. The final confirmation by the EU Commission is to follow at a later date. The emissions of Bentley and Lamborghini are measured individually, which is why they are not included in this figure.” [Automotive World, 1/25/22 (=)]

 

Lamborghini Sees Its First Fully Electric Model At End Of Decade. According to Reuters, “Italian supercar brand Lamborghini plans to roll out its first fully electric model at the end of this decade, its Chief Executive Stephan Winkelmann said in remarks confirmed on Tuesday by a company spokesperson. The plan underscores an even more cautious approach by Lamborghini - part of the Volkswagen Group (VOWG_p.DE) - to electrification, after Winkelmann last year said the brand’s first fully electric car model would appear in the second half of the decade. read more Lamborghini and other players in the high-performance sports car market, which include Ferrari (RACE.MI), Aston Martin Lagonda (AML.L) and McLaren, are wrestling with how to shift their ranges to battery power without losing the high performance that supports their premium pricing. Lamborghini’s first fully electric model will be a four-seater coupé sport utility (SUV), with a nod to the tradition of grand tourers (GT), the spokeswoman said confirming comments made by the Chief Executive to Italian press agency ANSA.” [Reuters, 1/25/22 (=)]

 

So Much For Internal-Combustion-Only Lamborghinis. According to Jalopnik, “Lamborghini kicked off its hybrid future in 2019 with the Sián, a car that produced, combined, over 800 horsepower. That was just the beginning, though, with Lambo now saying that 2022 is it for its internal combustion only Lamborghinis. There have been many a rumbling about this, with many of us finding it hard to believe that Lamborghini wouldn’t just keep making V12s forever. Maybe they will, who knows, with new types of fuel; what is certain is that 2022 is it for V12 only. From Bloomberg: For this year, Lamborghini has almost sold out its entire production run following record deliveries during 2021, according to Chief Executive Officer Stephan Winkelmann. ‘It will be the last time that we only offer combustion engines,’ Winkelmann said in an interview. The carmaker has seen a ‘very good start’ to 2022, he said. Lamborghini has allocated a record 1.5 billion euros ($1.7 billion) for the shift to plug-in hybrids, and plans to offer a purely battery-powered model during the second half of the decade. While supercar brands like Ferrari NV and Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings Plc face an especially delicate task preserving brand identity in the costly shift to electrification, Lamborghini’s future plans are underpinned by VW’s record spending on new technology.” [Jalopnik, 1/24/22 (=)]

 

Electric Vehicles

 

The 2022 EVs That Matter Most For Climate. According to Politico, “Showrooms this year will have more new electric vehicle models on sale — at least 20 — than any year in history. Automakers and their dealers will say each one is a world changer. But not all EVs are equal when it comes to their impact on the climate. That factor is stubbornly important: Transportation is 31 percent of the country’s carbon emissions, a number that has barely budged despite the 2.2 million EVs now on the road. E&E News surveyed a number of experts on which 2022 EV models will move the needle on emissions. Observers said the ones to watch won’t necessarily be the ones paraded through Super Bowl ads or get plaudits from the automotive press. Many aren’t flashy or are beyond the reach of the regular buyer. … Here are the low-emissions EVs that the experts have their eyes on: Tesla Model 3 and Model Y … Toyota RAV4 and the plug-in hybrids … Delivery vans and trucks … Ford Lightning F-150 … Volkswagen ID.4 and the crossovers” [Politico, 1/25/22 (=)]

 

Biden’s Electric Vehicle Push Unites Warring Oil And Corn Allies. According to Bloomberg, “Lawmakers who support the rival petroleum and ethanol industries have joined forces to oppose the Biden administration’s push to electrify the federal vehicle fleet, marking a rare moment of unity between oft-warring interests. Fifty Republicans -- -- including 17 from oil-rich Texas and 21 from the Corn Belt -- warned President Joe Biden that his executive order requiring the federal government to purchase only zero-emission vehicles risks forfeiting climate progress and will make the U.S. dangerously dependent on China. The effort reflects a public detente between warring oil and biofuel interests, which see electric vehicles as a common enemy. Biden’s executive order, issued in December, requires federal agencies buying light-duty vehicles to make those zero-emissions models by the end of fiscal year 2027. Because almost all critical minerals required to manufacture electric vehicles are sourced from China or countries where China is a significant investor and influence, ‘this executive order creates a dependency on foreign adversaries,’ said the lawmakers in a letter released Monday, spearheaded by Representatives Ashley Hinson of Iowa and August Plfuger of Texas. The EV-procurement mandate, the lawmakers say, also ignores the opportunity to immediately cut costs and emissions using high-octane liquid fuels, ethanol and renewable diesel. ‘Instead of signing orders that will be costly, may have a slight carbon emission reduction over 15 years away and bolster our greatest foreign adversary -- China -- you ought to be turning to the liquid fuel sector for real solutions,’ they told Biden.” [Bloomberg, 1/24/22 (=)]

 

Why Won’t The US Embrace EVs? According to Clean Technica, “No longer do sales of diesel cars surpass electric vehicle (EV) sales in Europe. In December, 2021, European dealerships delivered 176,000 EVs, and EVs made up an estimated 14% of all new vehicles sold annually. Let’s look specifically at Denmark. The association of Danish automobile importers reported that their share of electrified passenger vehicles last month surpassed 50%. Europeans are really beginning to embrace EVs. So, too, is the consumer shift to all-electric transportation emerging in China, where 2021 EV sales skyrocketed by 158% over previous year’s levels. That means more than 3.5 million electric vehicles — or 9% total of all vehicles — were out and about on China’s roads. So, how is the US doing in comparison? Gulp. The amount of EVs delivered as a percentage of total US sales in 2021 totaled just 4%. And, while many of us absolutely love our all-electric transportation, the overall dismal EV adoption rate signals that something is very different, very wrong, with the idea of electrifying everything in the US in contrast to the rest of the world.” [Clean Technica, 1/24/22 (=)]

 

EV Infrastructure

 

Convenience Stores Want To Bring EV Charging To Rural America. According to Green Car Reports, “Is rural America ready for electric vehicles? And where would you charge your Ford F-150 Lightning or Tesla Cybertruck when out on a long ranch errand? Although a hearing of the House Committee on Agriculture earlier this month included plenty of testimony about rural America not being ready for EVs—cast into what many will hear as ‘fear, uncertainty, and doubt’ category—one sector presented a more optimistic-sounding vision for getting more charging out to the places where the distances are vast: gas stations and convenience stores. ‘The companies that currently provide transportation energy to motorists are well positioned to play an important role in decarbonizing the transportation sector through the sale of cleaner liquid fuels and alternative technologies, such as electricity,’ said Trevor Walter, the vice president of petroleum supply management for Sheetz, testifying before Congress earlier this month on behalf of the company and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS). ‘We want to partner with Congress to help achieve environmental goals in a market-oriented and consumer-friendly manner.’” [Green Car Reports, 1/24/22 (+)]

 

States

 

Gov. Whitmer Expected To Propose $2,500 Electric Vehicle Rebates Amid Auto Focus. According to The Detroit News, “Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will propose a new $2,500 rebate for the purchase of an electric vehicle and charging equipment during her State of the State address Wednesday, according to a source with knowledge of the plans. The initiative will be part of the address, in which the Democratic governor is expected to emphasize Michigan’s efforts to lay claim to the future of the auto manufacturing industry.” [The Detroit News, 1/24/22 (=)]

 

How An EV Charging Pilot Program At Plymouth State Could Help Transform The Grid. According to New Hampshire Public Radio, “Working with the New Hampshire Electric Co-op, Plymouth State is installing vehicle-to-grid charging stations. Those bi-directional chargers will allow the university’s two electric Nissan Leaf cars to double as battery storage for the energy system. The batteries in the car would give power back to the grid when there’s a lot of demand for electricity. These vehicle-to-grid chargers will be the first in the Co-op’s territory. PSU’s pilot is one of many demonstration projects across the country, and experts believe vehicle-to-grid technology could change the grid by lowering electricity bills for participants and supporting the transition to renewable energy, among other outcomes. ‘It could be a way to establish battery and energy storage systems that don’t require as much centralized investment,’ said Brian Eisenhower, director of the Office of Environmental Sustainability at Plymouth State. The project started with a pitch from Bill Johnstone, a business development executive at the Co-op, in the summer of 2021. ‘It’s baby steps here – two Nissan Leafs are not going to make a difference in the New England grid,’ he said. ‘But it’s testing the technology, making sure it’s viable and using this as a test case to show our members of the cooperative that it works,’ he added. ‘Obviously as more come online, it’s going to have a much larger impact [on] the grid.’” [New Hampshire Public Radio, 1/24/22 (+)]

 

State Department Of Commerce Hires First Automotive Director . According to Tulsa World, “The Oklahoma Department of Commerce has hired its first state automotive director. He is Jimmy Cagle, who becomes a state staffer after stepping down from a 37-year career with The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., where he spent 12 years at the company’s Lawton facility. In his role with the Department of Commerce’s business development team, he will lead the state’s efforts to expand its automotive sector and supply chain. ‘… Tens of billions of dollars are being invested into the automotive industry as automakers are investing in electric vehicle manufacturing and making sure that the industry continues to grow in Oklahoma has been one of my top priorities since I took on this role,’ Scott Mueller, Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce and Workforce Development, said in a statement. … In 2020, the Department of Commerce launched the Automotive Accelerator Program to boost industry growth. Since then, the state has seen increased interest from automotive manufacturers and suppliers, including an announcement from electric vehicle maker Canoo, which it said will result in an estimated 2,000 new jobs and more than $1 billion in investment to the state.” [Tulsa World, 1/24/22 (=)]

 

International

 

FedEx Express Tests EVs In India. According to Clean Technica, “FedEx Express is now testing electric vehicles in India as part of its global goal to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2040, FedEx has announced. The trial is slated to end in a month in Bangalore and will test the vehicle technology within FedExExpress operations. The company will assess the EVs’ operational effectiveness on a standard route that is fully loaded with packages. After the trial ends, the company will extend the trial to Delhi following positive results. Due to the growth of rapid-e-commerce, FedEx noted that each new EV added to the delivery fleet in India could lower the fuel consumption and emissions equivalent to five passenger cars. … By 2025, FedEx hopes to have 50% of its global vehicle purchases be EVs and 100% of the fleet electric by 2030.” [Clean Technica, 1/25/22 (=)]

 

 

Please do not respond to this email.

If you have questions or comments please contact mitch@beehivedc.com