Stellantis has invested 155 million US dollars in a sustainable copper production project in Argentina. The project is called Los Azules, which will produce 100,000 tonnes of cathode-quality copper per year from 2027.
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Chinese electric car manufacturer Nio has taken a stake in the Australian lithium company Greenwing Resources. Nio will pay 12 million Australian dollars (currently approx. eight million euros) to Greenwing through its subsidiary Blue Northstar in exchange for around twelve per cent of the company’s shares.
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Renault is getting ready to sell electric vehicles in Latin America starting next year. The list comprises the Megane E-Tech Electric, Kangoo E-Tech Electric and Master E-Tech Electric coming to Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico. More countries will follow shortly.
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The Chinese battery cell manufacturer and Volkswagen partner Gotion High-Tech has signed an agreement to build a lithium carbonate plant in Argentina. In future, the material will be processed into battery cells in Argentina, which could then also be used in electric vehicles made in four continents.
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Ford has signed a non-binding off-take agreement with lithium producer Lake Resources. The agreement provides for the delivery of about 25,000 tons of lithium per year from the Kachi project in Argentina.
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The South Korean steel company Posco is investing 830 million US dollars in a new lithium factory in Argentina. This is to be built near the salt lake Salar del Hombre Muerto in northern Argentina from the first half of 2022.
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The South Korean steel company Posco has announced plans to build a factory in Gwangyang in S.Korea to extract lithium hydroxide for electric car batteries. The company also plans to invest in Argentina to further its electric vehicle ambitions.
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Starting next year, the BMW Group will be purchasing lithium from a second supplier, the US company Livent. The volume of the multi-year contract is around 285 million euros. Livent will supply the lithium directly to the BMW Group’s battery cell manufacturers.
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Chinese battery giant CATL is taking a roughly $8.5 million Canadian dollar-stake in mining company Neo Lithium in exchange for about eight per cent of the company’s stock. The Canadian company holds mineral and surface rights to a newly discovered lithium salar and brine reservoir complex in Argentina.
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Enel X has completed its first charging corridor in Central and South America. It includes 220 JuiceBox charging points in eleven countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru.
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The shared e-scooter supplier Lime is withdrawing from twelve cities due to lack of profitability. In the USA these include Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego and San Antonio, in Latin America Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Lima, Puerto Vallarta, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo and the Austrian city of Linz in Europe.
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The British electrification company Equipmake has officially opened a new factory in Snetterton, Norfolk, to construct vehicle chassis for their EBus. A workforce of 52 people will be working on the electric bus kit.
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Nissan is starting sales of the Leaf in the four largest South American markets: the electric model is now available with the 40 kWh battery in Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia.
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A total of 18 electric buses have officially gone into operation in the Argentine city of Mendoza. Some of the vehicles are from the Chinese group BYD, which is expanding its dominant position in the electric bus market in Latin America.
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Argentina’s first fleet of electric buses will pick up operations in in Mendoza, with 12 electric buses supplied by BYD recently having arrived. At the same time, Seattle has received their first electric garbage truck, also provided by the Chinese EV manufacturer.
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The Chilean lithium supplier SQM will sell their 50% stake in the Cuachari-Olaroz project in Argentina to the Chinese company Ganfeng Lithium for 87.5 million dollars.
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Nissan will be offering the Leaf as of the coming year in Latin America as well. The EV will be released in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Uruguay and Puerto Rico in the first phase of South American rollout.
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The Latin American country has put the import tax for electric buses to 0%. Importers and manufacturers can bring in a total of 350 electric buses duty-free over the next three years. But, for each electric bus imported, they must source another one locally.
platts.com
Toyota Tsusho, the trading arm of Toyota, has acquired a 15% share in Australian lithium miner Orocobre. The deal cost Toyota 232m dollars but the investment is to secure exclusive lithium supply for its future EV batteries.
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Total recall in France: The new French government wants to ban all sales of ICEs by 2040 in a bid to meet its targets from the Paris Climate Accord, COP21. Nicolas Hulot, France’s new ecology minister, called the move a “veritable revolution” and a question of public health. Overall, the Macron government’s policy platform on climate change is deemed to be more ambitious than its predecessors. However, other European countries like Norway want an end to gas guzzlers as early as 2025 and even la grande car nation Germany has had a proposal aiming at 2030 followed by the Dutch by 2035.
electrek.co, theguardian.com, lemonde.fr (in French)
India is on course to clean its act by 2030 and that includes hybrid cars for which taxes have just been raised, while those for EVs fell at the same time. The amended Goods and Services Tax (GST) now charges 43 per cent tax rates for hybrid cars, up from below 31% earlier. Electric cars, on the other hand, will be charged only 12% tax, against 20.5% before.
indiatimes.com, businesstoday.in
Also Argentina introduces EV tax benefits but applies them to hybrids and PHEVs as well over the next three years. This means little to no import taxes on electrified vehicles although only for those importers that operate production plants in the country like Toyota, Ford, GM, Renault, Nissan, and VW.
theqtimes.com
The UK’s first electric truck factory will open in Oxfordshire, after Charge Automotive signed a 15-year lease on a site in Banbury Cross. The company will start with lighter models first and hopes to assemble a truck in just four hours. Also pricing shall be accessible and in line with conventional vans.
smmt.co.uk
Tesla’s last crash test did not result in an extra good rating as the dummy hit its head too hard on the steering wheel of the Model S. Still, the IIHS rated its as “acceptable” and all other categories got top grades. Another crash for Tesla happened at the stock market, where shares lost 20 percent compared to their all-time high in June due to low deliveries this Q2 (we reported).
insideevs.com, youtube.com (crash test), cnbc.com (shares)
Self-parking Leaf: Nissan gives away another feature of its upcoming Leaf, the Pro Pilot Park function that sees the EV suits itself into any space. The video is a well-made illustration but not the real thing yet.
youtube.com via electriccarsreport.com
2,500 charge points for Flanders: The Belgium province plans a whole network of EV charging stations within the next four years. 2,500 shall be erected and Allego now received an order over 1,044 of those charge points. The Dutch provider has inaugurated the first already and hopes to get another 644 ready still this year.
brusselstimes.com, allego.eu
220 charge points but fast-charging ones meanwhile go to Argentina, where state-owned Oil company YPF reportedly wants to reutilise its petrol stations. It chose ABB as its supplier and the company is to deliver 220 multi-standard DC chargers for 110 locations this year. QEV Argentina will install them.
electriccarsreport.com
Talking oil turning electric: Shell released details on its plans to charge its pit stops in the UK and the Netherlands. Dutch EV drivers will find a chance to rejoice at 15 – 20 Shell stations across the country before the year’s end. The first ten charging stops will concentrate on the Randstad area.
nltimes.nl
Green fleet: Montgomery County, Maryland has purchased 16 Chevrolet Bolts that will be used by the municipal agencies for various tasks. They are replacing 15 older vehicles including a Toyota Prius. The County now has a total of 243 electric and hybrid vehicles with 29 charging stations.
montgomerycountymd.gov
East Coast supercharged: Tesla unveiled its latest Supercharger station at the Connecticut Post mall. With 14 charging stalls, it becomes the largest facility on the East Coast.
ctpost.com
Fastned to go public: The start up Fastned plans to erect 200 fast chargers by ABB along dutch motorways (we reported). To achieve their goal within the next three years and raise enough capital, Fastned currently prepares for its stock market launch.
sprout.nl (in Dutch)
Iceland to be charged up: In Iceland, similar plans are being hetched by Even. The company is tired of waiting for the government and plans to erect 200 fast charging stations on the Nordic isle. Iceland intends to have a 10-percent EV share by 2020.
icelandreview.com
Renault EVs in Argentina: The French manufacturer is offering test rides with two Kangoo Z.E. and two Twizys. Renault hopes to be able to sell its first EVs in Argentina by the end of this year, even though the Twizy has yet to be categorised. Charging points shall be erected by the local utility provider Edesur.
buenosairesherald.com
Eco tourist transport on Seychelles: Seychellois company Ecars plans to introduce electric cars by GEM to the Seychelles’ third most populated island, La Digue. The vehicles are already a success on Praslin and tourism enterprises have shown vivid interest in the EVs with a range of up to 50 kilometres.
seychellesnewsagency.com
Argentinians have had a hard time for some time now, but the latest shortage is set to bring things to a boil. McDonald is in short supply of Ketchup and no supplementary sauces were able to calm people. The Ketchup riot has now reached a new level, with burger-hungry burghers begging president Kirchner to loosen import regulations. It is time to ketch up, Argentina!
businessinsider.com
