We’ve become used to the mainstream press insisting that EVs aren’t selling, and that cheap gas will be the final nail in the electric coffin (most recently in a widely-cited report from Edmunds that found that car buyers are rushing to trade in their “hybrid and electric cars” for gas-guzzling SUVs). Bloomberg, however, has long… Read more »
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Meanwhile, Massachusetts extends its EV rebate program
As other states, including Georgia and Illinois, are eliminating their tax incentives for EV purchases, Massachusetts has allocated an additional $2 million to its Massachusetts Offers Rebates for Electric Vehicles (MOR-EV) program, which offers rebates of up to $2,500 to residents who buy or lease plug-in or fuel cell vehicles. The MOR-EV program was initially… Read more »
Georgia reverses policy on EVs, eliminating tax credit and imposing yearly fee
As expected, last week Georgia’s legislature passed a highway funding bill that not only eliminates the state’s $5,000 tax credit for EV purchases (effective July 1), but imposes a yearly user fee – $200 for personal vehicles and $300 for commercial EVs. Other states have introduced, or are considering, fees for EV drivers, but Georgia’s… Read more »
A123 shifts focus to starter batteries
Since battery-maker A123 was acquired by China’s Wanxiang Group, it has shifted its focus to concentrate on starter batteries, and has big plans to produce batteries for microhybrids, aka start-stop systems. A quarter of the company’s revenue still comes from EV battery packs – its factory in Hangzhou is running at full capacity to supply… Read more »
Chinese automaker BYD to triple production of batteries
Chinese automaker BYD aims to be a major player in the battery business, adding 6 gigawatt-hours of global production in each of the next three years, company spokesman Matthew Jurjevich told Reuters recently. If it continues at that pace, BYD’s capacity will be some 34 GWh of batteries by the beginning of 2020, putting it about… Read more »
Battery giants square off for court battle over lithium-ion patents
Two of the world’s biggest industrial companies are preparing for a high-stakes court battle over an arcane battery chemistry, and the outcome could have important implications for next-gen EVs, according to Quartz. Chemical colossus BASF and the Argonne National Laboratory have filed a lawsuit against Belgian battery-maker Umicore, accusing it of selling a battery component to… Read more »
VW may use solid-state battery in its next-generation EV
Volkswagen has acquired a 5% stake in US battery startup QuantumScape, with an option to buy more, and it is evaluating the company’s solid-state battery tech with an eye to using it in VW’s next generation of EVs. Last November, Volkswagen Group CEO Martin Winterkorn said he saw “great potential” in solid-state batteries, which potentially… Read more »
British Columbia renews Clean Energy Vehicle incentive program
British Columbia has announced the renewal of its Clean Energy Vehicle (CEV) incentive program, effective April 1 (via Green Car Reports). The CEV program, which expired in the spring of 2014 after exhausting its original $12-million budget, offers point-of-purchase rebates of up to $5,000 Canadian ($4,000 US) for battery EVs and $6,000 Canadian ($4,800 US)… Read more »
Consumer group challenges PG&E plan for vast EV charging network
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) made headlines in February when it asked California regulators for permission to build 25,000 public charging stations, which would be the largest charging network in the country. However, not everyone is thrilled with this plan. Consumer Watchdog has petitioned the California Public Utilities Commission to reject the PG&E proposal, saying… Read more »
Illinois suspends its $4,000 rebate program for plug-in vehicles
Illinois consumers who purchased a new plug-in vehicle in 2014, or later, will not receive a $4,000 rebate from the state. That is the message from the Illinois Green Fleet rebate program, which announced the suspension of the rebate last week. The Illinois Alternate Fuels Rebate Program started in 1998 and over $14 million in rebates have been… Read more »
