Electric Vehicles News & Discussions

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caltrek
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California Is Racing to Electrify Trucks. Can the Industry Keep Up?
by Gabriela Aoun Angueira
March 3, 2023

Introduction:
(Mother Jones) Before the sun rose on a cold January morning, Alex López navigated an 18-wheeler through busy traffic on the 710 freeway. He was headed to the Port of Long Beach, just south of Los Angeles, to retrieve a shipping container and haul it to a warehouse. In the eight years he’s been driving trucks, it was a process López had done thousands of times. “There’s usually nothing new with the routine we have as truckers,” he said.

But on this day, there was something new: He was driving an electric truck.

López drives for Hight Logistics, a family-owned company that moves cargo in and out of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. In January, Hight added four battery-electric trucks to its 50-vehicle fleet. They will mostly haul containers between Hight’s warehouse and the port, a route that cuts through a cluster of communities that have some of the dirtiest air and highest rates of asthma in the country.

Trucks play a foundational role in the US economy. Forty million of them roam the nation, carrying nearly three quarters of its freight. They generate 23 percent of the country’s vehicular greenhouse gas emissions and 32 percent of its nitrogen oxides, or NOx, a main contributor to air pollution. Going electric would significantly cut those emissions and nearly eliminate the NOx.

As the country begins to decarbonize its trucking fleet, drayage trucks—which transport cargo containers from ports and rail yards to distribution centers—provide a logical place to start. They run short routes that require less battery range, and operate out of centralized locations where they could charge. Electrifying them would have a transformational impact on the frontline communities near drayage hubs that struggle to breathe heavily polluted air.

Read more here: https://www.motherjones.com/environmen ... ulations/
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caltrek
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VW Backed Scout Motors to Build $2 Billion Factory in South Carolina
by Tim Stevens
March 2, 2023

Introduction:
(TechCrunch) Scout Motors, the VW Group spinoff taking aim at the U.S. market with rugged all-electric vehicles, is deepening its investment with plans to build a $2 billion factory capable of producing 200,000 EVs a year in South Carolina.

There are a growing number of reasons for Scout Motors to keep the brand as red, white and blue as possible. And it’s not just to market itself to U.S. consumers. There are actual incentives on the line thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act and likely some kind of incentives package from South Carolina’s state government. The state government has not disclosed details on what incentives may be provided to Scout. However, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has made it a priority to make the state an EV epicenter through an executive order signed in October 2022 that prioritizes building EV infrastructure, preparing the state workforce for advanced manufacturing jobs and organizing EV planning under a centralized state working group.

Scout Motors will build its factory in Blythewood about 20 miles north of Columbia, which will ultimately employ 4,000 people, on 1,600 acres right in the middle of the developing “battery belt.” The plant itself will occupy 1,100 acres of that property.

Groundbreaking is expected to occur in mid-2023, according to the company.
Read more here: https://techcrunch.com/2023/03/03/vw-b ... carolina/
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Move to Green Trucks at California Ports Faces Gaping Infrastructure Void
by Edvard Pettersson
March 10, 2023

Introduction:
LOS ANGELES (Courthouse News) — California has committed itself to phasing out the heavy-duty diesel trucks that haul containers from the ports to inland destinations by 2035, but a near complete absence of public charging stations for electric trucks presents a major obstacle for truckers to go green.

Although 2035 may seem reassuringly far off, the gap between the state's ambitions and the current lack of charging infrastructure will become much more acute as soon as Jan. 1, 2024, when under a pending proposal the California Air Resources Board will only allow zero-emission trucks to be added to the register for drayage trucks serving the ports.

That deadline, and a recent feasibility assessment issued by the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach that found little progress has been made in building out a charging infrastructure for electric trucks, has alarmed truckers who feel they are being forced along without a clear understanding of how they'll be able to operate.

"The problem is that the timeline is against us," said Matt Schrap, chief executive officer of the Harbor Trucking Association. "This is 10 months away, and the main question my members have is where is the infrastructure."

Every day thousands of drayage trucks arrive at the ports of LA and Long Beach, the two busiest container ports in the U.S., to pick up 40-foot boxes with imports from Asia and move them to distribution centers and railyards inland. The diesel fumes from the trucks clogging the surrounding streets and freeways have long been a source of misery for the neighboring communities, and both ports have set ambitious goals to eliminate diesel trucks and equipment from the docks.
Read more here: https://www.courthousenews.com/move-to ... ure-void/
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Electric Motor Drive Takes Off in Test Flight of Passenger Hybrid Electric Plane
March 21, 2023

Introduction:
(EurekAlert) Engineering researchers at the University of Arkansas achieved a major milestone Feb. 20 with the successful test flight of their electric motor drive on a hybrid electric aircraft. The project could lead to significant changes in the aeronautics industry and huge benefits to environmental quality.

Used primarily as air taxis in island regions and remote areas, small planes like the Cessna 337 have two gasoline-powered engines that perform the demanding tasks of air propulsion and acceleration, as well as lighter tasks such as taxiing, cruising and landing. These engines are notorious gas guzzlers.

For the past several years, researchers led by Alan Mantooth, Distinguished Professor of electrical engineering and executive director of the National Center for Reliable Electric Power Transmission (NCREPT) at the U of A, have engaged in an ambitious project to design and develop battery-powered motor drives that can be used in lieu of one of the gas-powered engines.
Further Extract:
The hybrid aircraft was displayed at the ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit in Denver in 2022 and inspected by U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. After extensive testing and evaluation, the test flight comes before the 2023 ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit that will be held in Washington, D.C., March 22-24. Aided by the research team, Ampaire will conduct additional test flights and continue to collect data to improve future designs.

"The University of Arkansas electric motor drive was the first ARPA-E technology to be successfully tested in-flight on the ARPA-E hybrid electric aircraft testbed and is a big accomplishment for ARPA-E and the CIRCUITS program,” said Isik Kizilyalli, ARPA-E associate director for technology.
Read more here: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/983498
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California to Require Half of All Heavy Trucks Sold by 2035 to Be Electric
Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Friday plans to grant California the legal authority to require that half of all garbage trucks, tractor-trailers, cement mixers and other heavy vehicles sold in the state must be all-electric by 2035, an aggressive plan designed to clean up the worst polluters on the road.

According to people familiar with the decision, the pioneering truck rule will go beyond federal requirements, which is why the state needed permission from the administration to enact it. It comes on the heels of an ambitious regulation passed last year by California that requires all new passenger vehicles sold in the state to be electric by the same target year, 2035.

Together, the two moves would propel California to the forefront of the race to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from transportation, the sector of the American economy that generates the most greenhouse gases.

As the world’s fifth-largest economy, the state of California has tremendous market muscle; its new rules can force changes throughout the automotive industry and spur other states to follow suit. In fact, six other states have already adopted truck rules modeled after California’s new requirement but had been waiting for federal action in order to enforce them.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/31/clim ... sions.html
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Tesla Next Generation 4 Million Car Per Year Production Plan and FSD Coming to China
April 4, 2023 by Brian Wang

https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2023/04/t ... china.html
There are reports (rumors) from China that Tesla is planning a next generation low-priced high volume car with initial production capacity of 4 million vehicles.

36 Krypton learned from several industry insiders that Tesla is planning a grand production capacity map for its new low-priced models.

  “This low-priced model is a small Model Y.” The source told 36 Krypton, “Tesla is building an annual production capacity plan of up to 4 million vehicles.”

  According to 36 Krypton, this is an early production capacity strategy, and Tesla is passing it on to the industry chain: 4 million production capacity will be distributed in global factories, of which, the super factory in North America will undertake 2 million vehicles, and the Berlin factory in Germany and Shanghai Lingang factories each undertake 1 million vehicles. Among the North American factories, the Monterrey plant in Mexico will be the main production capacity of this new model.
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650-hp Ram REV e-pickup boasts 500-mile battery + V2-all charging
By C.C. Weiss
April 05, 2023
https://newatlas.com/automotive/500-mil ... ic-pickup/

With its biggest truck competitor already out of the gate, and the Tesla Cybertruck rolling its way there, Ram is determined to best the competition by releasing a pickup driver's electric pickup. It's been promising best-in-class numbers since the Ram 1500 REV was but a whisper and white glow in the dark, and it now gives the world a closer look at what exactly it means. The 654-hp 2025 1500 REV will offer 500 miles (805 km) of range on battery alone, before even factoring in the planned range extender, while delivering a 2,700-lb (1,225-kg) payload and 14,000-lb (6,350-kg) towing. Ram is clearly hellbent on leaving second and third place yearly sales finishes in the ICE past and becoming the leader in electric trucks.

When news of a 1500 REV range-extender option surfaced earlier this year, it seemed logical to assume that the previously stated 500-mile range was the cumulative range for battery and combustion-engine generator. Turns out, 500 miles is for battery power alone, corresponding to an optional 229-kWh large battery pack.

Those who don't want to pony up for all those kilowatt-hours will still enjoy 350 estimated miles (563 km) with the standard 168-kWh pack, potentially besting the Ford F-150's EPA-official 320-mile (515-km) estimated range. Either way, they'll be able to plug in at a 350-W 800-V ultrafast charger and zap in 110 miles (177 km) of range in roughly 10 minutes.
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Tesla Master Plan 3 Detailed Plan for Global Electrification
April 5, 2023 by Brian Wang
Tesla published a 41 page Master Plan Part 3. This gives all of Tesla estimates of how many vehicles and types and energy storage and other costs and materials needed for full electrification of the world.
https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2023/04/t ... ation.html
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Tesla cuts prices on all models, 3rd cut this year
Source: AP

a minute ago

DETROIT (AP) — Tesla cut prices on its entire U.S. electric vehicle model lineup for the third time this year in an apparent effort to lure more buyers amid rising interest rates.

The cuts that appeared Friday on Tesla’s website ranged from $5,000 per vehicle for Tesla’s slower-selling more expensive models, the S large sedan and the X big SUV.

The company lopped $2,000 off the price of the Y small SUV, its most popular model, and added a lower-cost dual-motor version priced at $49,990. The 3 small sedan saw a $1,000 price cut.

The moves come as Tesla’s first-quarter sales grew 36% but fell short of analysts’ expectations. The company said Sunday that it delivered a quarterly record of 422,875 vehicles worldwide from January to March, up from just over 310,000 a year ago. But the increase fell short of analyst estimates of 432,000 for the quarter, according to FactSet.
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/tesla-price- ... 4e07ff6961
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A dramatic new EPA rule will force up to 60% of new US car sales to be EVs in just 7 years
Avatar for Michelle Lewis
Michelle Lewis | Apr 8 2023 - 9:27 am PT
https://electrek.co/2023/04/08/epa-rule ... v-7-years/
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to make a groundbreaking announcement this week that will make the majority of new US car sales EVs by 2032, according to a breaking New York Times scoop.
The EPA’s impactful new rule and EVs

The EPA’s administrator, Michael S. Regan, is expected to announce proposed limits on tailpipe emissions on Wednesday in Detroit. The Times noted that its sources “spoke on condition of anonymity because the information had not been made public.”

It will be the federal government’s most aggressive climate legislation yet, and will make the US a world leader in the efforts to cut transportation emissions.

The requirements will be some of the world’s most stringent auto pollution limits, thus ensuring that EVs make up between 54-60% of all new cars sold in the US by 2030, with that figure rising to 64-67% of new car sales by 2032. This beats President Joe Biden’s earlier goal of having 50% of new cars sold be EVs by 2030.
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