California will have cleaner air than the rest of the US sooner. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is about to greenlight plans allowing the state to phase out diesel trucks earlier than the rest of the United States and introduce stricter emission regulations.
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Porsche has significantly improved the EPA-estimated driving range figures of all 2023 Taycan model variants in the US compared to the range ratings from 2022. “Incremental software improvements since launch,” are responsible for the improved ranges, according to the German luxury carmaker.
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The US Government has announced nearly doubling the budget for clean school buses this fiscal year. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said the decision followed “overwhelming” demand, with school districts from all 50 states applying for the 2022 Clean School Bus Rebates.
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According to an agency report, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to include electric cars in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which regulates the blending of renewable fuels. This could benefit large electric car manufacturers such as Tesla.
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Hyundai and California’s South Coast Air Quality Management District have secured funding for another five fuel cell trucks and infrastructure. They applied for Targeted Airshed Grant (TAG) funding from the US Environmental Protection Agency EPA and were successful twice.
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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has officially restored California’s right to set its own emissions limits and standards for the sale of zero-emission vehicles.
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The United States Postal Service (USPS) is now saying that – with sufficient funding – the service can electrify 70 per cent of its fleet within a decade. This is considerably more than previously planned. To start off with the new commitment, 5,000 electric vehicles are apparently to be ordered.
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In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set emissions requirements for new passenger cars and light-duty trucks through model year 2026. The new regulations come into effect with the 2023 model year and require a 28.3 per cent reduction in vehicle emissions by 2026.
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The EPA has published range ratings for more electric models including the Polestar 2 single motor version, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, the Kia EV6 and the Volvo XC40 Recharge.
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The US Environmental Protection Agency and US Department of Justice filed and simultaneously settled a civil lawsuit against Toyota for “systematic, longstanding violations of Clean Air Act emission-related defect reporting requirements”.
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Volkswagen’s electric crossover SUV, the ID.4 has now officially been confirmed by the EPA with a range of 250 miles (402 kilometres).
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The US EPA has published its range ratings for the all-electric models Volvo XC40 Recharge and Polestar 2 with surprisingly low values: 208 miles (335 km) for the Volvo XC40 Recharge and 233 miles (375 km) for the Polestar 2.
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Rumour has it that Tesla is planning a 100-kWh version for Model 3, but Elon Musk has denied that Tesla is developing such a Model3. In addition, the range for the Model S with a large battery will indeed increase, but only in North America for the time being.
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The President of the USA, Donald Trump has just dramatically reduced fuel efficiency standards. These are now only required to increase by 1.5% each year through model year 2026 instead of the 5% annual increases introduced in 2012 by the Obama government.
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After Tesla recently announced an increase in the Model Y’s maximum range from 280 miles to 315 miles (507 km), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) now confirmed this.
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The US American Environmental Protection Agency has released their officially calculated range for Porsche’s Taycan Turbo BEV. The electric car only managed 201 miles – quite a bit lower than the anticipated 280 miles by WLTP standards.
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California and 22 other US states have now filed lawsuits against the Trump administration, who is trying to deny them the right to set their own – higher – emissions standards. California’s Governor Gavin Newsom has also just signed two laws to tighten emission standards for trucks and other vehicles.
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US-President Donald Trump wants to deny California the right to set its environmental standards for cars. Following reports last year, Trump has now announced this himself via Twitter.
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The new Nissan Leaf with a 62 kWh battery pack has received its official EPA rating for range. The two different vehicle versions feature ranges of 215 miles and 226 miles, respectively.
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The new Nissan Leaf featuring a 62 kWh battery, has approximately 40 km more range in the basic version, than in premium trims due to the higher weight of the more luxurious models. Meanwhile, Nissan also updated their US strategy with regards to rapidgate.
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Tesla appears to operate on an aggressive timeline for producing the Model Y, internal documents leaked to Business Insider show. Tesla sent said documents to engineers ahead of the Q3 earnings call in October and so a Tesla spokesperson called these to be “outdated” by now. Still they reveal ambition.
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The US government behind Donald Trump has gotten more specific with the measures announced in April that would loosen environmental requirements for vehicles. California and 18 other states have already announced their intention to defy the regulation.
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In a Trump-defying move, 9 states of America with California in the lead have released an action plan to boost electric vehicle sales. The plan lists 80 steps that the industry, utilities, state officials and infrastructure companies should take until 2021.
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Citing the Obama era EPA consumption standards for cars and light trucks as “too high”, administrator Scott Pruitt has announced the plan to implement “more appropriate” GHG emissions standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards.
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Tesla’s Model 3 version with 75 kWh battery pack has been officially rated: The EPA confirmed the company’s own estimation, labelling the car with a city driving range of 321.9 miles (518 km), a highway range of 295.5 miles (476 km) and thus with a combined range of 310 miles (499 km).
Read moreBreaking battery news: The 2018 Kia Soul EV is to get a new battery that can use full 30 kWh, up from 27 kWh. This increases the range to 250 km (NEDC) and new colours will be offered as well, documents leaked in Germany revealed. Europeans may order the Korean electric car immediately with deliveries set for June. Prices start from 29,490 euros before incentives, 600 euros more than before.
kia-world.net, electrek.co, auto-motor-und-sport.de (in German)
Risk reduction at Tesla: Ahead of the Model 3, the EV maker plans to raise 1.15bn dollars in equity and debt. CEO Elon Musk said he would invest 25m in shares himself, while the press release claims “risk reduction” as the reason behind this latest quest for money. 250m dollars will be in common stock and 750m in aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due in 2022.
electrek.co, greencarcongress.com, ir.tesla.com
Below Tesla is where Lucid Motor pricing positions its Air EV. The start-up just issued the base price for the Lucid Air luxury sedan – 52,500 dollars after federal incentives. Reservations can be made now with a 2,500 dollar deposit. The entry version comes with 294 kW and is just short of 400 km range (386km). Bigger battery packs will offer 500 – 640 km on one charge and up to 735 kW in the AWD variant of the Air. Naturally, the price of the top-of-the-line model will be above 100,000 dollars.
greencarcongress.com, insideevs.com
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Cayenne power hybrid: Porsche plans to spice up its next-gen Cayenne range with a Turbo S E-Hybrid variant, the same 680 hp drive the Panamera hybrid utilises reportedly. Menawhile, spy shots reveal the new 911, which will include a PHEV version, too.
motor1.com (Cayenne), carscoops.com (911)
UK pricing for the Toyota Yaris has just come out. The hybrid with reengineered powertrain will be yours from 15,995 GBP, 200 pounds less than the version it replaces.
carscoops.com
Fuel rules review confirmed: The Trump administration has taken the next step that may make it easier for firms to destroy the planet further. EPA has been charged to review its latest emission standards and decide on whether or not to modify them by April 1, 2018.
electrek.co, epa.gov
Siemens to mass produce Uniti: Swedish start-up Uniti has just become serious about building its biodegradable compact EV as Siemens jumped on board. The initially crowdfunded company that received 1.2m euros, thus enters the realm of mass production that may start as early as next year, when 50,000 LEV could roll off the lines to be delivered by 2019. In order to do so, a fully automated factory will be build in either Malmö or Landskrona and Siemens has invested 3m euros in the company to date. The L7e vehicle weighs just 400 kilos and is planned with a range of either 150 or 300 km at a price from 200,000 kronas (21,000 euros). Battery options are 11 or 22 kWh while speed is capped at 90 to 120 kph – just in line with the speed limits on Swedish highways.
nordic.businessinsider.com, digital.di.se (in Swedish), youtube.com (Uniti video update)
Renault-Nissan to form LCV unit: The alliance has created a new business unit to combine its light commercial vehicle activities, including those of Mitsubishi. As partners, they will leverage complementary markets and products while maintaining their own brand identity. Two electric vans exist already with the Nissan e-NV200 and Renault Kangoo Z.E., plus Renault said it would electrify the Master model within this year reportedly.
commercialfleet.org, alliance-renault-nissan.com
First drive: Get a taste of the Jaguar I-Pace with this review by Matt Saunders. He found the electric SUV concept “stunning” and is delighted the team is working on a production version as they prototype.
autocar.co.uk
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VW’s redemption starts: CARB has received the first 200m dollar instalment from Volkswagen as part of a plan on how to spend the money to serve ZEV. About 120m dollars shall be spend in California on EV charging infrastructure over the next 30 months following the diesel fraud, the rest is for EV demonstration purposes according to the plan, which the regulators have to accept first.
greencarcongress.com, arb.ca.gov (investment plan, pdf)
The ecological onslaught of the Trump administration continues as it seeks to roll back fuel economy regulations. This is welcomed by carmakers, who had lobbied against EPA rules under President Obama, but feared by environmentalists. The move to reopen the review has yet to be made officially.
bloomberg.com
Acura hybrid: There is a new hybrid out there, the 2017 Acura MDX Sport Hybrid. It uses a V6 engine and three electric motors to produce a total system output of 321 hp. Prices start from 51,960 dollars.
carscoops.com
Reading tip: The White House has proposed cutting EPA’s budget by about a quarter, sources familiar with the budget proposal sent to EPA say. Effectively, this would throw back the EPA to its 1980ies levels and surely would effect electric mobility measures as well.
politico.com
Video tip: Glenn Williams took the Chevy Bolt on a range test and managed more than 300 miles (480 km) in the real world – if you count California as real-world testing ground that is.
youtube.com via insideevs.com
Renault Master electrification: The French are not only showing their new Kangoo Z.E. with 270 km range at the Brussels Motor Show, but also premiered the electric version of its transporter van Master. The latter will arrive at European dealers towards the end of the year and will be fitted with a 33-kWh battery pack that allows for a range of 200 km according to NEDC, even though 120 km are a more realistic estimate.
greencarcongress.com, automotiveworld.com, renault.com
Serial production plans: According to Detroit News, the in Las Vegas presented Chrysler Portal Concept (we reported) has a real shot of going into serial production. The paper quotes CEP Sergio Marchionne who says the electric van could hit the road in its current or slightly modified for “after 2018.”
detroitnews.com
Naming explained: Faraday Future explained the naming of its models. The FF 91 got its label, because the cars are named after size and price using the number 1 through 9. The 9 therefore stands for it being a top model, while the 1 indicated it being the first generation. Future cars could therefore be called FF 92, 81, 71, etc.
insideevs.com
Lowering emission targets: Just ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, the EPA confirmed greenhouse-gas emission targets for light utility vehicles through 2025. Despite bickering from manufactures, the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) goals for 2025 are 54.5 mpg. The EPA says manufactures have enough technology at their disposal to comply.
autoblog.com, greencarcongress.com
Cutting subsidies: The Chinese government wants to reduce subsidies for EVs through 2020, starting with a 20 percent cut this year. The country now also confirmed that electric or plug-in hybrid buses will receive no more than 300,000 yuan in aides (previously 600,000 yuan), while exact subsidies are based on the buses’ energy density and charging capacity. Trucks and specialty vehicles only get 150,000 yuan and local funding has been capped at 50 percent of state aide.
reuters.com
10-hr rule up for discussion: According to Reuters, the South Korean government is reconsidering its previous rule that EVs will only receive funding, if they can be charged in less than ten hours using a regular Schuko-connection. Especially Tesla would benefit, as its battery packs are too pick to comply.
reuters.com
Audi plans new EV production sites: Starting in 2020, Audi wants to also build electric cars at its location in Neckarsulm, Germany, Audi CEO Rupert Stadler told German Stuttgarter Zeitung. Until then, the carmaker wants to already launch three electrified cars, the first of which will be produced in Brussels from 2018 (we reported).
stuttgarter-zeitung.de (in German)
Investing in electrification: The Chinese joint venture between Honda and Dongfeng Motor Group will investment 3bn yuan (436bn dollars) in a car factory in China. The yearly production capacity is said to reach 120,000 units from 2019. The plant will also have capacity for the production of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles.
reuters.com
Hyundai to build e-buses: According to South Korean media, Hyundai is gearing up for serial production of electric buses. Development is said to be completed next year, while the buses will be sold in South Korea and other countries from 2018. One reason for the move is the growing demand for electric buses, especially in China.
etnews.com
Tesla allowed to expand: The city of Freemont has given the green light for Tesla to almost double the size of its electric vehicle factory there, as the carmaker is getting ready to meet demand for its upcoming Model 3. Tesla submitted a new “master plan” to city of Fremont back in October (we reported) that will see the addition of twelve new buildings and increase the number of jobs from now 6,210 to 9,315
electrek.co
Fossil fuel fan to lead EPA: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has picked Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Ironically, Pruitt is a climate change denier and a close ally of the fossil fuel industry, and has fought tooth and nail against President Obama’s Clean Power Plan. We are baffled.
nytimes.com, forbes.com
EU could sue over diesel scandal: The EU Commission launched a legal case against seven member states, including Germany and the UK, for failing to police emissions test cheating or impose penalties even after knowing the extend of VW scandal and that other carmakers were also concerned. The countries now have two months to respond to the allegations. If they fail to convince the Commission otherwise, the case could go before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
autonews.com, europa.eu
