It’s the kind of headline EV boosters hate, and EV boo-birds trumpet: just two years after announcing that it would buy 100,000 Teslas and a raft of other EVs, rental giant Hertz announced that it would sell 20,000 of its Teslas and replace them with tried-and-true gas-guzzlers (at this writing, the company is offering around… Read more »
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The US and EU take different approaches to the threat of Chinese EV imports
Governments in North America and Europe are seriously concerned about China’s growing dominance of the EV industry. Chinese automaker BYD recently surpassed Tesla as the world’s leading seller of EVs, and it’s only one of several Chinese-owned brands that are already selling cars in the US and the EU. However, the world’s #2 and #3… Read more »
What is this EV mandate that auto dealers are kvetching about?
Since the advent of modern EVs, auto dealerships have been seen as an impediment to faster EV adoption—and that image doesn’t appear likely to change any time soon, even though annual US EV sales cracked the one-million mark in 2023. Over 3,800 US auto dealers recently signed on to an open letter to President Joe… Read more »
Volvo orders two Tesla-style Giga Presses for Slovakia EV plant
Tesla pioneered megacasting, a technique that uses giant casting machines to make car bodies with just a few massive cast parts (a Matchbox car is said to have provided the inspiration), and other automakers quickly took notice. In 2021, the LK Group reported that it would supply giant casting presses to several Chinese companies. In… Read more »
Hertz to offer 2,100 rental EVs in Houston, build public charging hub
Houston may be known as the capital of the US oil industry, but Mayor Sylvester Turner has a Climate Action Plan that sets out to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve regional air quality. Mayor Turner recently joined Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr to announce the launch of the Hertz Electrifies Houston initiative. The rental giant… Read more »
Norway has another electrifying year in 2022—10 top-selling cars were all EVs
Norway is the undisputed global capital of e-mobility. Private cars, taxis, buses, ferries, airport ground equipment—they’re all plugging in. The trend of steady electrification continued last year. The market share of plug-in vehicles rose from 65 percent in 2021 to 80 percent in 2022. This represents an important step towards reaching the country’s goal climate goal… Read more »
Hertz to order up to 175,000 GM EVs
Hertz is taking another step towards the electric future. Over the last year, the company announced plans to add 100,000 Teslas and 65,000 Polestars to its fleet. Now the rental giant has announced plans to order up to 175,000 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and BrightDrop EVs over the next five years. Regular readers know of… Read more »
The redesigned federal EV tax credit and other EV-related measures
Unpacking the Inflation Reduction Act The recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act—a sweeping package of tax, health care and climate measures—was like the happy ending to one of those heartwarming “Save Christmas” stories. We may never know what Machiavellian machinations persuaded Senator Manchin to release Santa Claus, but the merry old elf is coming… Read more »
Letter from Norway: Everything’s going electric
Norway is to EV-spotting what Costa Rica is to birdwatchers—you can count on seeing a vast variety of species, including some that are very rare elsewhere in the world. On a recent visit, I added several EV models to my life list. On the streets of Oslo and Bergen, I saw tons of Teslas, loads… Read more »
Orlando pilot provides a blueprint for electrification of rental car fleets
A new report from a nonprofit called the Electrification Coalition details the lessons learned from a public-private partnership that tested the deployment of EVs in a large rental car fleet. The report shares key findings from the Drive Electric Orlando Rental Pilot, which incentivized travelers to rent EVs in Orlando, the largest rental car market… Read more »