Manufacturers & Fleets

 

Arrival

 

Arrival (ARVL) To Reportedly Shelve Bus And Uber Car To Cut Costs And Prioritize Van Deliveries. According to Electrek, “Recent news out of London affirms previous statements from UK-based EV start-up Arrival – which has said it plans to cut at least one-third of its costs amid waning cash flow in order to get production of its electric Van over the starting line. The company aims to begin generating revenue off the Arrival Van before circling back to the development of its two other electric vehicles, the Bus and Car. Arrival ($ARVL) is a seven-year-old EV start-up focused on urban-centric mobility, including an all-electric passenger Bus, a delivery Van, and a rideshare-specific Car designed alongside Uber. The company currently has headquarters in both London and Charlotte, North Carolina, but all of its R&D and design currently take place in the UK. That’s also where Arrival Van production will begin via the company’s unique micro factory approach. Although Arrival’s Q1 report said Van and Bus production remained on track for 2022, the start-up, like many, has been met with financial woes due to a challenging economic environment around the globe, with rising interest rates and wavering stock markets. Since going public via SPAC merger in March of 2021, the start-up’s stock has consistently fallen, leading to an announcement in July that it would be reorganizing its business to focus on Arrival Van production.” [Electrek, 8/5/22 (=)]

 

Blue Bird Corp.

 

Blue Bird & Lightning To Offer ZEV Retrofit For School Buses. According to Electrive, “US bus maker Blue Bird will offer to retrofit some of its fuel-powered school buses to electric together with Lightning eMotors. Based in Colorado, Lightning will help BlueBird develop a ‘first-of-its-kind’ repower EV system. Blue Bird says this will help customers future-proof their school bus fleet by purchasing gasoline- or propane-powered vehicles and converting them easily and cost-effectively to zero-emission electric buses later. Blue Bird targets launching the repower program in 2023 for their Vision Type C school buses built after September 2021. The manufacturer expects the Lightning electric powertrain system to allow for battery configurations from 100kWh to 225kWh, supporting a projected vehicle range of up to 150 miles /about 240 km) on a single charge. The company promises to retrofit the buses within 30 days to the same OEM safety and quality standards as a new Blue Bird bus. Trained technicians at their service centres in North America will replace the internal combustion engine with the EV powertrain. BlueBird also promises the retrofitted buses will retain the remainder of their original warranties. The EV powertrain will be issued a new OEM warranty.” [Electrive, 8/8/22 (=)]

 

Ford Motor Co.

 

US: Ford BEV Sales Reached A New Record In July 2022. According to Inside EVs, “In July, the total sales of Ford and Lincoln vehicles in the US increased by 36.6% year-over-year to 163,942. That’s the second month with strong year-over-year growth and a clear indication that the production constraints are easing. Ford sales: 156,975 (up 35.5%) Lincoln sales: 6,968 (up 64.5%) Total sales: 163,942 (up 36.6%) The year-to-date result is now only slightly lower than a year ago at 1,079,762 (down 3.3%). Meanwhile, Ford’s all-electric vehicle sales reached a new record. In July, the company sold 7,669 BEVs, which is 169% more than a year ago and 4.9% of the total volume (also a new record). The company says that its BEV growth rate is outpacing the market’s average and that the brand is now the 2nd biggest player in the BEV segment, after Tesla. ‘Ford’s overall share of the electric vehicle segment is rapidly expanding. In July, Ford established 10.9 percent share of the segment its highest level on record. This compares to 7.3 percent in Q2 and 4.4 percent in Q1 of this year. Combined, Mustang Mach E, F 150 Lightning and E Transit are conquesting from competitors at a rate over 60 percent this year. Ford now ranks as America’s second best’ ‘Ford grew more than 3 times the rate of the overall electric vehicle segment in July.’ The number includes 2,173 Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickups (a new monthly record), 4,970 Ford Mustang Mach-E (near record) and 526 Ford E-Transit.” [Inside EVs, 8/5/22 (=)]

 

Sunrun Now Offering Electric Vehicle Chargers. According to Clean Technica, “Driving on sunshine. Driving on sunlight. That’s the dream that has become a reality for millions of people in the past decade. Powering one’s home represents a monumental shift in energy. For most of us, all of our ancestors since the discovery of fire have burned things in order to heat their homes — up through the burning of coal and natural gas at the grid scale. That by itself is an exhilarating shift to make. But then there’s transport. On the transportation side, we’ve also been burning stuff and burning stuff and burning stuff in order to push large, heavy vehicles (and ourselves) forward. Switching to electric powertrains for that propulsion is its own exciting new development, but if you take it a step forward and collect sunlight for that electricity, then, fundamentally, you are powering your electric car with sunlight, you are driving on sunshine. Solar power companies have partnered with automakers for years in order to try to lead more people to that transformational technological collaboration (for example, Ford and Sunrun recently partnered to help power F-150 Lightnings with Sunrun solar). Now, Sunrun, the #1 home solar installation company in the United States, is encouraging its customers to drive on sunshine in another way. It has launched its own EV charger. The Level 2 charger can be installed and used at homes, workplaces, or anywhere else someone may want to park and charge for long periods of time.” [Clean Technica, 8/7/22 (=)]

 

Jimmy Fallon Test Drives F-150 Lightning, Mustangs On Metro Detroit Visit. According to The Detroit News, “Comedian and TV host Jimmy Fallon burned some rubber Friday with Ford Motor Company on a whirlwind visit to Metro Detroit. The celebrity and former ‘Saturday Night Live’ star did some test drives at the M1 Concourse in Pontiac then dropped by the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn — to the surprise and delight of Ford employees. Jimmy Fallon with Ford CEO Jim Farley on Friday. Topping Fallon’s Detroit bucket list was a spin in the F-150 Lightning, which the automaker introduced in May. ‘The Tonight Show’ host already owns a gasoline powered F-150 and is thinking about purchasing the electric version, a Ford spokesperson told The Detroit News. ‘Fun day at the track and the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, MI surprising our teams building the (F-150),’ Ford CEO Jim Farley said on Twitter. ‘Thanks Jimmy!’ Fallon was accompanied by Farley, and while the visit was pre-planned by management, it was a total surprise to workers who were blown away by the entertainer’s willingness to chat them up and pose for photos, the company representative added. ‘We’re so proud of it,’ Farley said of the F-150 Lightning in an interview with WDIV-TV (Channel 4), an affiliate of Fallon’s network, NBC. The interview was taped during the day at the track and broadcast on the evening news.” [The Detroit News, 8/5/22 (=)]

 

Geely

 

Volvo Group Intends To Build Battery Cell Plant In Sweden. According to Inside EVs, “Volvo Group announced this month that it intends to establish a large-scale production plant for battery cells in Sweden. The group, which is separate from Volvo Cars, is engaged in commercial vehicle applications, including trucks (Volvo Trucks), buses (Volvo Buses), construction equipment (Volvo Construction Equipment) and electric drivelines (Volvo Penta). The company currently produces electric vehicles using battery cells and modules supplied by Samsung SDI. The new battery plant will be built together with undisclosed partners, so at this point, we are not sure who will provide the cell technology or even what the target chemistry is. What we do know is that Volvo Group, after completing an extensive site localization study, is interested in the Skaraborg region in Sweden, which is considered an ideal location for the plant. ‘The proposed site in the municipality of Mariestad is situated close to the Volvo Group’s current main powertrain plant in Skövde and will benefit from the region’s existing industrial and logistics infrastructure and build on a strong heritage and world-class competence in advanced, high-volume manufacturing, while having access to Sweden’s rich supply of fossil free energy. The Volvo Group’s R&D centers and headquarters in Gothenburg are only two hours away.’ Volvo Group notes the growing demand for battery electric heavy-duty vehicles and machines, which requires preparation for the future. The company has already set a target to achieve at least a 35% share of electric products out of its annual sales by 2030.” [Inside EVs, 8/7/22 (=)]

 

 

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