As the popular narrative has it, GM, Ford et al are walking back on their electrification plans because EV sales have slowed. Seldom mentioned in the headlines is the fact that GM and others have very few EVs for sale at the moment, and have fallen way behind their putative schedules for releasing new models…. Read more »
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GM’s rosy year-end figures obscure the fact that legacy automakers are in deep trouble
Duplicitous doublespeak has become de rigueur dialect in the auto industry. “We remain committed to an all-electric future,” says GM as it announces a rollback of its electrification plans. “We strongly believe in EVs,” say auto dealers as they support efforts to slow the EV transition. “The greatest responsibility for us as a company is… Read more »
Kia EV9 and Volvo EX30: Are they 2024’s most important EVs?
One’s a three-row midsize SUV under $60,000; the other’s a compact hatchback that starts in the mid-30s. Now we’ve driven both. Choosing “best of” or “most important” new cars is always dicey, and doubly so with electric vehicles. New entries are announced virtually every month, and picking the 2025 models that will be most important… Read more »
Next Jeep Wrangler to be available only as a plug-in vehicle
Fans of Jeeps, with their rugged, noisy, militaristic image, would seem to be unlikely buyers of EVs. But if you look at vehicle performance rather than demographic identity, a different picture emerges. As prolific EV writer John Voelcker recently noted, off-roading is actually an ideal application for EVs. “Maximum torque at extremely low motor speeds,… Read more »
LG Energy Solution will invest $3 billion in US plant to supply Toyota with EV batteries
Another sign that the sleeping Japanese giant is starting to stir: Toyota has signed a supply agreement with Korean battery-maker LG Energy Solution for lithium-ion batteries that Toyota will use in its US-built EVs starting in 2025. LGES will invest $3 billion in its Holland, Michigan battery facility for dedicated production lines to supply a… Read more »
Should we be excited about Toyota’s solid-state battery announcement?
When it comes to EVs, the mainstream press displays a curious mix of skepticism and credulousness (disasters and miracles generate clicks, but slow, steady progress does not). A recent announcement from Toyota concerning solid-state batteries got the world’s media all excited about a big boost for battery-electric cars. (A search for “EV Holy Grail” will… Read more »
Automakers are shifting battery plant plans from Europe to the US. Does the European Commission have a solution?
Events in the EV industry are moving so fast that, even with the best will in the world, we journalists can publish things that turn out to be out of date or just plain wrong—when we do, a correction and a mea culpa are in order. In my latest Charging Forward column, which appears in… Read more »
This provision of the IRA could deliver much bigger results than the EV tax credits
The so-called Inflation Reduction Act includes a long list of measures intended to promote e-mobility and renewable energy. The one that’s gotten the most press is the revamped system of tax credits for EV purchases—and naturally so, because that’s the measure that most drivers can see benefitting them directly. However, as John Voelcker writes in… Read more »
Colorado Teardrops camping trailer includes a battery pack to extend EV towing range
EVs have many advantages over legacy vehicles, but towing capacity is not (yet) one of them. When John Voelcker recently tested the new Ford Lightning F-150 for Charged, he confirmed that towing a sizable trailer can cut the vehicle’s range in half. Of course, a fossil fuel pickup will also take a huge range hit… Read more »
Startup led by Tesla alums aims to build electric RVs
As is the case with a legacy vehicle, towing a trailer with an EV greatly reduces range—as John Voelcker found in his recent test of a Ford F-150 Lightning (see the latest issue of Charged), towing can reduce range by 40% or even more. But what if the trailer had its own electric powertrain? That’s… Read more »