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This Week’s Top 10: China ramping up new energy vehicle production, EV charging had a strong week

by Jon LeSage, editor and publisher, Green Auto Market

Here’s my take on the 10 most significant and interesting occurrences during the past week…….

China ramps up EV production: As part of the Chinese government’s “new energy vehicles” mandate to reduce air pollution, automakers are ramping up production of plug-in electric vehicles. According to statistics published by the Ministry of Industry, vehicle manufacturers produced 25,000 new-energy vehicles in June. The growth rate is exceeding what’s being produced in Japan and the U.S. In June,10,500 battery-electric and 6,663 plug-in hybrid passenger cars were manufactured, along with 6,218 battery-electric and 1,645 plug-in hybrid commercial vehicles. That production figure has shot up in recent months, with June seeing about one-third of the total 78,500 plug-in EVs built in China for the first half of 2015. The Chinese government’s data also includes low-speed, neighborhood electric vehicles. The question becomes: Will consumers and fleets buy them? Incentives have been strong in China, but purchasing new energy vehicles has not yet made it to the level the Chinese government and auto industry has hoped for.
EV charging had an interesting week with three announcements: One was from Hyundai-Kia’s U.S. technical center, which is teaming up with Mojo Mobility Inc. to develop a high-speed wireless charging system. That is being supported by a $6 million grant from the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to complete the project, which will be tested on the 2015 Kia Soul EV. On the open standards side of charging, Greenlots is working with Kia Motors to expand public-access DC fast chargers in California, Texas, Georgia, Oregon, and Washington. This second rollout brings over 30 additional DC charging stations to 21 Soul EV-certified Kia dealers, Greenlots said. And being open sourced, the site host can choose the hardware that’s perfectly suited to his or her application. For those interested in studying pricing on chargers, ChargePoint Home is rolling out a new home charger that will be available later this summer via Amazon for prices ranging from $499 to $749.
Westport adding propane to F-150s: Westport Innovations announced that it has added a dedicated propane autogas system for the 2016 Ford F-150 powered by the 5.0L V-8 engine. The propane-powered pickup joins the compressed natural gas package as part of the Westport Wing Power System. The company expects both systems to receive certification by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board.
LAcarGUY selling Toyota Mirai: For anyone who’s been to Los Angeles-area green car events like AltCar Expo, you’ve probably met Mike Sullivan, president of the LAcarGUY dealer network in Santa Monica. Sullivan was championing the Fisker Karma and Toyota Prius for several years, and now the dealership has been chosen by Toyota to sell its Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car. Sullivan says he isn’t making any extra efforts to sell that car. His dealership will be one of only eight stores in California chosen by Toyota to sell the hydrogen-powered car with its 312-mile range. Toyota is taking a slow and careful approach, expecting to only sell 3,000 of them nationally by the end of 2017. Having access to dealers like LAcarGUY gives Toyota an opportunity to reach consumers who have interest but little experience with the technology. “These are trailblazers, early-adopter-type customers,” Ed LaRocque, Toyota’s national marketing manager for the Mirai, told Automotive News. “They’re going to come in educated, and the customer experience for this product is very important to the dealers and Toyota. We have to get it right the first time.”
BorgWarner buying Remy: Tier One automotive supplier BorWarner Inc. is investing nearly a billion dollars to acquire another supplier, Remy International Inc. The $951 million in cash acquisition highlights the increasing importance of the electrification of the powertrain, which has not been a strength for BorgWarner, CEO James Verrier said. Remy is well known in the industry as a maker of electric hybrid motors, turbochargers, and transmission parts. While hybrid sales are down this year, not all of the major automakers and suppliers are pulling out of that market.
Navy leasing EVs: The U.S. Department of the Navy will be leasing somewhere between 300 to 600 passenger electric vehicles (EVs), with an initial focus on its sedan fleet; these will be used at various Navy and Marine Corps installations within California. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command is holding a forum for discussion with industry partners. The event will be held on July 21 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the California Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters building in Sacramento. Topics to be discussed will include EV leasing, warranties, maintenance, liabilities, charging infrastructure support and other issues.
Waze offering carpooling mobile app: Waze, a popular driving direction mobile application owned by Google, has launched a new mobile app called RideWith for those interested in carpooling. It’s getting a trial run in Israel near Tel Aviv. RideWith pairs commuters looking for a ride from home to work, or vice versa, with drivers using Waze going in the same direction. This new product brings up the topic of ridesharing, where riders using Uber and Lyft can save money sharing that technology, and that ride, with another passenger.
EVs and the Grid Summit: 2GreenEnergy Editor Craig Shields attended the EVs and the Grid Summit in Los Angeles last week. The symposium on V2G (vehicle to grid) analyzes what electric vehicle (EV) charging means for a grid within a certain region during peak periods and all that goes with it – such as potentially discharging EVs that have extra charge to spare. Shields says that these questions have been coming up since he first started attending similar events in the 2008-timeframe – but there’s no clear answer yet. He does make a good point on the benefits of having a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle as a backup power source for five-to-six days in the event of a power outage.
Golf TDI gets high mileage: For those interested in considering an internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle instead of an alternative powertrain to reduce fuel consumption, you might want to consider the 2015 Volkswagen Golf TDI clean-diesel car. It got 81.17 mpg during a road test across 48 states that set a Guinness World Records achievement for non-hybrid fuel economy. Drivers traveled 8,233.5 miles in 16 days during the trip. The previous record in this test program for a clean diesel was 77.99 mpg, and the hybrid record is 74.34 mpg.
Eco-benefits of driverless electric taxis: Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in California see real environmental benefits coming from driverless cars. If a fleet of autonomous electric taxis were to replace everyone’s gas-powered, personal cars, we could see more than a 90% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions and almost 100% decrease in oil consumption from cars. Given that highly lofty goal won’t be happening anytime soon, what about more realistic transportation alternatives? A fleet of driverless electric vehicles (EVs) about 15% of the size of all private cars could service the same population, if scheduled correctly, estimated Jeff Greenblatt, co-author of the study. The cost savings would be there – even if an EV were to cost $150,000 up front, the study researchers say that an autonomous EV that could drive 24/7, not require a salary, and uses no gasoline would pay for itself in less than five years.
Plus in this week’s Green Auto Market Extended Edition: Three companies have been added to the list of Clean Transportation Publicly Traded Companies that’s featured monthly in the Extended Edition…… Plug Power: Best known for manufacturing hydrogen fuel-cell forklifts, Plug Power is prominent in the fuel cell market with its strategic alliances. Indoor forklifts was the company’s first viable market with customers such as BMW, Mercedes, WalMart, Kroger, and Whole Foods. Renewable Energy Group: A leading North American producer, REG converts natural fats, oils, and greases into advanced biofuels (primarily biomass-based diesel) and converts diverse feedstocks into renewable chemicals. Vivint Solar: Part of the Vivint holding company best known for home security and smart control panels, Vivint Solar went public in 2014 and is No. 2 in the US solar energy market behind SolarCity. For those interested in subscribing to Extended Edition, read all about it.

Flagship green car Toyota Prius approaching redesign and diminishing influence in market

The Toyota Prius has been a flagship for Toyota Motor Co. for about 15 years – and the automaker is counting on the redesigned 2016 model to restore its image as the leading green car on the market. Spy shots show that its body style is changing and will be more in-line with the revamped 2016 Chevrolet Volt; and the mileage will be getting better – sources say the standard Prius hatchback (sometimes called the “Liftback”) will go from a 50 mpg rating to 54 mpg on the window sticker. Toyota faces steep challenges in getting Prius sales back toward upward trending with gasoline prices being where they are; and stiff competition coming from small, fuel-efficient cars and competing alternative technologies.

If you study the chart above with the entire Prius model lineup, you’ll see sales dropping for all the variations – with the big one being the Prius Plug-in Hybrid dropping about 70% from a year ago and the mothership model down about 15%. Nationwide, Prius sales fell 12% last year to 207,372 units sold. The Prius had been the No. 1 new vehicle model sold in California during 2012 and 2013, but that model was beaten last year by the Honda Accord.

Toyota seems to have lost its commitment to assembling and delivering its Prius Plug-in Hybrid to its dealer network. Pricing is higher than the Prius and Prius C, even with the $2,500 federal tax credit and state incentives on the plug-in version, which makes it more challenging to sell; but a few years ago, the Prius Plug-in Hybrid was doing very well in new vehicle sales, sometimes selling more than the Chevrolet Volt. Less than 500 units (464) were sold in June; for comparison, in March 2015, 473 units were sold and in June 2014, 1,571 units were sold in the U.S. Toyota decided to cease production of the Plug-In Hybrid in June; the company said it was working hard at developing the next generation of the Prius Plug-in Hybrid and will be sharing details on the launch date. The recent decision to extend the launch of the Prius Liftback, C, and V, could push off the next generation Plug-in Hybrid as far as the second half of 2016 as a 2017 model.

It’s very typical to see fleet applications of the standard Prius model these days in taxis and in company cars. Toyota hasn’t released data on its fleet sales, but it does offer fleet incentives – for 2016 models, there will be a $500 incentive for the hybrid lineup (Prius, Prius C, and Prius V) versus a $1,000 incentive for the popular Toyota Camry sedan. The Prius Liftback comes in five levels with Two through Five being priced at a bit over $25,000 to just over $30,100. The level One is priced $1,000 less than the Two trim level and is reserved for fleet customers.

For Toyota Motor Sales, Toyota’s US division, seeing a lot of Prius taxis being used in markets like New York and Los Angeles isn’t very appealing. “I hate to see Toyotas in taxi fleets but (it) does create an image for us,” said CEO Jim Lentz in 2013. Taxi operators and drivers like the fuel efficiency and ample passenger room in the backseat and trunk area. The Prius is a very good car to drive on crowded city streets, being small and nimble with enough torque to cut through traffic openings.

A Toyota dealer in Texas thinks the Prius makes a lot of sense for Uber drivers to save money on their passenger trips. Toyota of Plano is offering hefty discounts and targeted online advertising to Uber drivers – and now is selling about 200 cars per year to these drivers, or 6% if its 3,200 cars sold per year.

The dealership likes it very much as a rolling advertisement for the Prius – as drivers pick up passengers and tell them how much they love their Prius. The dealership doesn’t mind offering great rebate incentives to Uber drivers. “If I lose $1,000 to sell a car and [an Uber driver] sends me three customers,” general manager Rusty Gentry said, “I still come out ahead.”

The future of hybrids has been called into question with moderate gas prices and fuel efficient cars and crossovers becoming more popular. Nissan has killed the hybrid version of its Pathfinder crossover as consumers look increasingly to other Nissan products. Hybrid sales numbers have been declining as a share of nationwide new vehicle sales, especially after gasoline prices started dropping in the summer of 2014. Toyota continues to try out a broad spectrum of technologies and vehicle categories to secure its spot as the No. 1 automaker in global sales – and as an innovator embracing new technologies. Lately, the Toyota Mirai fuel cell vehicle has become Toyota’s favorite alternative technology vehicle to show off.

This Week’s Top 10: Hybrid and EV sales not following seasonal patterns, BP oil spill finally sees completion

by Jon LeSage, editor and publisher, Green Auto Market

Here’s my take on the 10 most significant and interesting occurrences during the past week…….

Hybrid and EV sales: Both hybrid and electric vehicle (EV) sales are off the path of typical seasonal patterns – down from May but also down from the previous year. Hybrid sales were down 17.6% from June 2014 and EV sales were down 9.6% from that time period. That’s taking place while the overall new vehicle sales market is down from May (a normal seasonal pattern) but up nearly 4% from the previous year. Gasoline prices have come up, but not enough to spur more interest in these vehicles, along with small and fuel-efficient cars. Some models are seeing high growth rates despite the market conditions. The Tesla Model S more than doubled in sales from June 2014, while the BMW i3 saw more than 50% in sales volume increase during that time. The Hyundai Sonata hybrid is seeing very strong sales numbers. Other models have seen large drops since last year, including the Chevrolet Volt, Ford Fusion Energi, and Toyota Prius Plug-in. With new versions coming out in the 2016 model year, the Volt and Prius Plug-in are expected to stay down through this year. As for the overall average fuel economy of new vehicles sold in the U.S. in June, it came to 25.4 mpg – down 0.1 mpg from May. This decline likely reflects the increased sales of light trucks and SUVs in June, according to the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute.
BP oil spill: More than five years after its massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, BP Plc has finally settled its agreement on federal and state claims – for a record $18.7 billion. Three anonymous people close to the matter said that BP’s campaign to fight these claims in court following the collapse of negotiations in 2013 finally ended with the settlement. Sources said that both falling oil prices and a federal judge’s recent rulings putting a potential $13.7 billion penalty on Clean Water Act violations helped motivate BP to change its tactics. BP has time to pay it off – once the agreement becomes finalized, payments could be spaced out over an 18-year span.
CARB approves funding: The California Air Resources Board approved a $373 million funding plan for advanced technologies in fiscal year 2015-16, from zero-emission heavy-duty trucks and buses to rebates for low- and zero-emission passenger vehicles. That total is up by $150 million over last year’s budget. $350 million of the total comes from the funds in the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund dedicated to low-carbon transportation investments. An additional $23 million comes from the Air Quality Improvement Program under AB 8. $200 million will be dedicated to light-duty vehicles, including the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, which offers incentives for the purchase of zero-emission vehicles. $167.5 million will be dedicated to heavy-duty vehicle and freight-equipment projects, including vouchers to help support the purchase of hybrid and zero-emission trucks and buses. The remaining $5.5 million is held for administrative overhead and a reserve.
Connecticut EV rebates: The state of Connecticut has paid out or committed to pay more than $131,250 in state rebates to consumers who’ve purchased or leased electric vehicles (EVs) since May 19. The $1 million program was created by Gov. Dannel Malloy’s administration. Rebates are offered at three levels, from $750 to $3,000 depending on the type of vehicle. Under the Connecticut Hydrogen and Electric Vehicle Purchase rebate, consumers can receive cash rebates of up to $3,000 for purchasing or leasing eligible battery electric, fuel cell, and plug-in hybrid vehicles; there are 67 eligible vehicles included in the program.
Tesla Q2 earnings: Tesla Motors’ second quarter earnings increased 52%, which gives the company momentum prior to the launch of its Model X crossover model in September. Tesla sold 11,507 Model S electric sedans for the quarter that ended June 30, which set a company sales record. Dan Galves, an equity analyst with Credit Suisse, had correctly forecasted the higher-than-expected sales. He raised his price target on Tesla stock from $290 to $325.
CALSTART has welcomed two new board members: Donna DeMartino, General Manager/CEO at San Joaquin Regional Transit District (RTD), and Dr. Jeffrey Reed, Director Business Strategy and Technology Advancement for Southern California Gas Company. DeMartino helped champion the first deployment of zero emission transit buses in the San Joaquin Valley. DeMartino was appointed RTD’s General Manager/CEO in 2001 and currently serves as the Chair of the California Transit Association’s Executive Committee. Reed leads development of business strategies and initiatives aimed at supporting the development and deployment of sustainable energy solutions and leads the natural gas RD&D, energy efficiency technology, and venture investment programs. He has also led numerous company initiatives related to renewable and low-carbon energy technologies and policy.
United Airlines investing in sustainable fuels: United Airlines has made a $30 million equity investment in US-based alternative fuels developer Fulcrum BioEnergy, which turns municipal solid waste into low-cost sustainable aviation biofuel. United also has a long-term supply agreement with Fulcrum with the opportunity to purchase at least 90 million gallons of the fuel for a minimum of 10 years at a cost competitive with conventional jet fuel. In addition to the equity investment, United and Fulcrum have entered into an agreement that contemplates the joint development of up to five projects with the potential to produce up to 180 million gallons of fuel per year.
BMW going for it with plug-in hybrids: BMW is expected to roll out four more plug-in hybrids that follow its recently launched BMW i8. Plug-in hybrid versions of the BMW X5, 2 Series Active Tourer, 3 Series, and 7 Series are on the list. This falls in line with meeting stringent emissions targets in Europe and the US, and committing to the company sustainability targets. Performance will also continue: BMW’s plug-in hybrid drive line offers xDrive all-wheel drive, which is automatically activated when the system recognizes certain road conditions. The combined output is 220-horsepower with 284 pound-feet of torque, allowing the car to accelerate from 0-62 mph in about 6.5 seconds.
Toyota Mirai gets EPA ratings: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has rated the 2016 Toyota Mirai hydrogen fuel cell vehicle at 67 mpg gas gallon equivalent (GGE) and 312 miles range. “Mirai is the only zero emission electric vehicle on the market that tops the 300 mile range milestone,” according to Toyota. The 2014 Honda FCX Clarity is rated 59 mpg GGE combined, 58 city, 60 highway. The 2016 Hyundai Tucson is rated 50 mpg GGE combined, 49 city, 51 highway.
Uber wants driverless Teslas: Uber not only wants to bring ridesharing to cities around the world to reduce traffic and smog – now the company also wants to bring in driverless Teslas. Steve Jurvetson, an early Tesla investor and board member, heard Uber CEO Travis Kalanick make comments on it at the recent Top 10 Tech Trends dinner hosted by the Churchill Club in San Jose, Calif. If Tesla can build a fully-autonomous car by 2020, Kalanick says his company would buy every one Tesla builds. That probably won’t go over too well with Uber drivers who transport customers around in their own cars, and which Uber is very dependent upon to generate revenue.

Electric vs. CNG Buses – which will lead in next 10 years?

Public transit buses operating in the U.S. are showing some impressive numbers for alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA)’s annual Earth Day report in April said that 41.3% of public transportation buses use alternative fuels or hybrid technologies (as of the start of 2014); that’s broken down into 16.9% hybrid, 16.7% natural gas, 7.4% biodiesel, and 0.3% other alternative fuels including propane and hydrogen. Electric buses are starting to take off with transit agencies, as well.

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) will be investing in hybrid and natural gas vehicles. MassDOT’s board of directors approved a $222.2 million contract for 325 new replacement buses for the MBTA fleet – 40 of these will be 40-foot low floor hybrid and compressed natural gas (CNG) buses to begin in July 2016. The buses are coming from New Flyer, Inc., and are being funded with 80% Federal Formula funds and 20% Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Revenue Bond funds.

MassDOT’s alternative fuel strategy has been similar to one adopted 15 years ago in California, where several cities are now operating hybrid and CNG buses. About 60% of California buses now run on CNG, compared with 17% nationwide.

California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) has mandated a switch to “zero-emission” buses by 2040, creating a challenge for suppliers of hybrid and CNG buses to find a market in the state. As of March, there were 22 battery-powered electric buses and seven fuel-cell powered buses in California transit fleets, according to CARB. One challenge with electric buses is range – about 155 miles typically on a charge versus about 300 miles on a fueling for diesel- or natural gas-powered buses. Fuel cell buses have a much longer range than electric buses, but the lack of hydrogen fueling infrastructure limits range.

In response, the California Natural Gas Vehicle Coalition has proposed expanding the definition of “zero-emission vehicles” to include buses powered by renewable natural gas, which comes from cow manure or decomposing organic matter in landfills. The payoff is enormous, according the coalition. While traditional natural gas offers a reduction in greenhouse gases of about 15% to 20% over diesel, renewable natural gas offers a reduction of about 90% over diesel, the coalition says.

The charging/fueling cost is different, too – with a natural gas bus costing an average of $27,000 to fuel annually and an electric bus costing about $10,500 for charging. Fuel cost savings is helping to make CNG, hybrid, and electric buses more attractive when compared to diesel-powered buses.

This Week’s Top 10: Ford stepping forward as personal mobility company, Supreme Court rules against EPA on Clean Air Act

by Jon LeSage, editor and publisher, Green Auto Market

Here’s my take on the 10 most significant and interesting occurrences during the past week…….

Ford champions its evolving identity: Ford Motor Co. was highly visible last week in its evolving role as a personal mobility company, and not just as a vehicle manufacturer. “People value access more than ownership. We need to understand customers’ concerns and make their lives easier,” Ford CEO Mark Fields said in an interview. Last week, the company announced a pilot carsharing program where 26,000 Ford Motor Credit Co. customers in six US cities and London are invited to offer their vehicles for short-term rentals. It’s part of the Ford Smart Mobility plan that Fields introduced in January; another offering from Smart Mobility will be electric bikes targeted at urban commuters. The bike is able to be folded up and recharged while being stored inside any Ford vehicle. Ford Motor Co. also announced that it’s in the second of three phases of its autonomous vehicle project. Ford executives have said that a number of driver-assist features that represent steps along the path toward a self-driving vehicle will be rolled out across the company’s vehicle lineup over the next five years. Some of the testing Ford will be carrying out on these advanced technologies will take place at its S ilicon Valley Research and Innovation Center, which opened in January. One development coming out of this center will be a technology that may be able to produce parts 25 to 100 times faster than traditional 3D printing.
Supreme Court rules against EPA on Clean Air Act: The Obama Administration’s health care reform act survived US Supreme Court scrutiny on Thursday, but the 2011 Clean Air Act amendments were overturned yesterday by that same court. In Michigan v. EPA, the court ruled 5-4 that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) underestimated the costs to utilities and other companies on toxic air pollutants. The EPA had previously estimated its rule would cost $9.6 billion, produce between $37 billion and $90 billion in benefits and prevent up to 11,000 premature deaths and 130,000 asthma cases annually. The court ruling found those estimates to be “unreasonably” interpreted and would be much more costly to industries. The EPA ruling had focused on coal-fired power plants, but there’s also been a good deal of concern that manufacturers would be drawn into the rule’s enforcement. “Manufacturers look to today’s victory as a sign of progress and will continue to lead the way to promote a more environmentally sustainable future, but we need a balanced approach to regulations that considers both costs and benefits to continue to create jobs and economic growth,” said National Association of Manufacturers Senior VP and General Counsel Linda Kelly. The EPA says that several utilities were already well on their way to adopting the Clean Air Act guidelines. “EPA is disappointed that the Court did not uphold the rule, but this rule was issued more than three years ago, investments have been made and most plants are already well on their way to compliance,” EPA spokeswoman Melissa Harrison said in a statement.
GM jabs at Tesla: While not being overt and blunt about it, General Motors CEO Mary Barra said that Chevrolet’s Volt and Bolt are being made “for regular people, not for the elites.” During an unveiling last week of the 2016 Chevrolet Cruze, Barra also made statements about GM electric vehicles. The Bolt EV Concept car has an estimated range of 200 miles, and like the Volt it will be affordable, Barra said. Earlier that day, GM’s executive chief engineer for electric vehicles, Pam Fletcher, said pretty much the same thing during a breakout session on plug-in electric vehicles. GM will make “electric cars approachable to the all, not just the elite,” Fletcher said.
Fuel efficient renewable diesel road trip: History was made by a performance car running on renewable diesel that made its way across the country on one tank of fuel. On June 26^th, CLP Motorsports’ Superlite Coupe crossed the finish line in Santa Monica, Calif., after making it across the US on one tank of NEXBTL renewable diesel. That came from an alliance between Neste, the world’s largest producer of renewable diesel, CLP Motorsports, and multiple time X-Games and Rallycross champion Tanner Foust. “We will continue to promote this great fuel through our fleet-servicing and retail stations and of course through our racing,” said Pat O’Keefe, inventor of this project and CEO of CLP Motorsports. The coupe averaged 67 mpg while traveling an average of 68 mph, and that included a segment of the trip driving over the Rockies.
Clean transportation information resource: South Coast Air Quality Management District’s Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) has published its quarterly Clean Transportation Policy Update. Read all about California’s administration, regulation, funding, research, and legal activities. Examples of topics covered include the groundbreaking decisions in the state on reaching the greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 through Gov. Jerry Brown’s new climate target.
More crowdfunding for Elio Motors: As the three-wheeled electric vehicle manufacturer scrambles to survive and thrive in the market, founder Paul Elio’s funding activities have become even more ambitious. Elio needs to raise about $230 million more to start manufacturing its vehicle in a four-million-square-foot former General Motors plant in Shreveport, La. Elio is offering early-stage investments on the Start Engine site. That investment has been made possible through the JOBS Act of 2012. This legislation permits individuals to invest up to $15,000 in startup companies; these companies are allowed to accept up to $50 million from non-accredited investors.
More support for disadvantaged communities: California Air Resources Board (CARB) voted to boost the size of the rebates for low-income buyers to $4,000. At the same time, the board cut out rich car buyers completely, setting an upper limit on the income of people receiving the rebates. To qualify for the low-income rebate, buyers must make no more than 300% of the federal poverty level, which comes out to about $73,000 for a four-person family, or $48,000 for a two-person household. (See the feature article, “Key findings from webinar on fleet incentives for clean vehicles,” in this week’s Green Auto Market for more information on the state’s priority to serve disadvantaged communities, which live in the most concentrated air pollution regions of California.)
Propane bi-fuel system: The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has granted certification to Imega International USA’s GAME bi-fuel propane autogas/gasoline system. The approvals cover the 4.6-liter V8 engine line-up for the model-years 2009, 2010, and 2011 Ford Crown Victoria, Lincoln Town Car, and Mercury Grand Marquis. Imega is in the process of EPA certifying many popular fleet platforms to be available soon, the company said.
More OEM energy storage: Daimler and Nissan are following Tesla Motors’ lead after that luxury electric vehicle maker introduced its PowerWall in late April. Daimler and Nissan say they’ll be bringing similar products to the commercial and residential energy sectors. Daimler is offering a storage plant of up to 20 kilowatt-hours that will begin shipping in September. The next week, Nissan announced it will deploy second-life vehicle batteries for commercial energy storage markets through partner Green Charge Networks.
Sustainable Transportation Day: The US Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) hosted the Sustainable Transportation Day at the Energy Department’s headquarters in Washington, DC. Visitors had the opportunity to see first-hand several of these EERE-supported technologies, ranging from high-efficiency internal combustion engines to vehicles that rely on electricity and hydrogen. The Hyundai Tucson and the Toyota Mirai fuel cell electric vehicles were among the vehicles on display.

Key findings from webinar on fleet incentives for clean vehicles

Having access to incentives for vehicle acquisitions and infrastructure continues to be a critical part of moving clean transportation technologies forward with consumers and fleets. A recent study by Navigant Research of 1,002 US consumers found some not-so-surprising results on incentives and how they affect electric vehicle purchases. A webinar presented last week, “Fleet Incentives for Clean Vehicles,” offered the latest on available resources.

Kevin Wood, Project Manager, at San Diego-based Center for Sustainable Energy, moderated the panel and discussed the Advanced Transportation Center. Advanced Transportation Center is led by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. in alliance with the Center for Sustainable Energy and with the Advanced Transportation Center of Southern California (which is based in Los Angeles and works with the e4 Mobility Alliance). The groups are working together to launch virtual and physical center locations, and to outreach to key industry stakeholders and end users. They’re also educating these communities on statewide incentive programs, air district grant programs, federal tax credits, technical assistance, and resources available through Clean Cities Coalitions. You can find more information at the organization’s website.

Randy Wilde, Clean Transportation Project Associate at Center for Sustainable Energy, talked about the Clean Vehicle Rebate Program (CVRP) that the center is offering in coordination with the California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board; and which is available to public and private fleets. Post-delivery rebates are available on electric vehicles (EVs) bought or leased statewide, including: $5,000 for fuel-cell vehicles; $2,500 for all-battery EVs; $1,500 for plug-in hybrid EVs; and $900 for neighborhood and motorcycle EVs. There’s about $25 million remaining in available funds for fiscal year 2014-2015. Funds are available for fleets in California or that have a California affiliate. You can visit this website to choose an eligible EV and apply for a rebate.

Wilde said that rental and car-share fleets can access a special reduced ownership provision, offering: $1,500 for fuel-cell vehicles; $750 for all-battery EVs; $450 for plug-in hybrid EVs; and $270 for neighborhood and motorcycle EVs. Increased incentives are now available to state and local public agencies through the new Public Fleet Pilot Project in disadvantaged communities. These incentives include $15,000 for fuel-cell electric vehicles, $10,000 for battery electric vehicles, and $5,250 for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Public fleets can also find out about eligibility for this program through CalEPA’s CalEnviroScreen model at this site.

Ted Bloch-Rubin, Associate Project Manager at CALSTART, talked about the California Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Program (HVIP). The HVIP’s goals include responding to a question that usually comes up for fleets – how to address the high incremental cost of medium- and heavy-duty advanced trucks. This program does alleviate some of that concern with attractive incentives – including $95,000 vouchers for vehicles over 26,000 pounds in gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) outside disadvantaged communities when acquiring one to 100 vehicles; $110,000 per vehicle for these heavy vehicles operating within disadvantaged communities and purchasing one to 100 vehicles; and $45,000 per vehicle when purchasing one to 101 to 200 vehicles. Medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses are included in the program at ranges starting with 5,001GVWR. Voucher enhancements have been added for serving disadvantaged communities, which tend to be affected by higher concentrations of air pollution.

Bloch-Rubin discussed vehicles being acquired by fleets in HVIP including trucks offered by Electric Vehicles International (EVI) and Smith Electric Vehicles, and electric buses available through Proterra and BYD. Hybrid vehicles available through the program include models manufactured by Hino Trucks, Altec, and Autocar. Hybrid vehicles are taking off in popularity with smaller fleets – the largest groups participating in HVIP for hybrids are in the one-to-nine vehicle programs. Hybrid conversions, such as vehicles offered by XL Hybrids, will be available in the fall of 2015.

Craig Rindt, Assistant Director for Research Coordination, Institute of Transportation Studies (at UC Irvine) provided an update on the development of the new California Energy Commission (CEC)-funded Natural Gas Vehicle Incentive Project. The specifics of the project have not yet been announced by CEC, but they should be of interest to statewide fleets that have been substantially deploying natural gas vehicles and refueling infrastructure for several years.

A public workshop seeking input will be held soon and guidelines are expected to be released soon on the Natural Gas Vehicle Incentive Project. This will be available by CEC as part of the Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program (ARFVTP). That program’s objective is to provide incentives that will directly benefit California’s economy and the environment by expanding the use of a domestically produced non-petroleum fuel that is a low-cost alternative to gasoline and diesel. Institute of Transportation Studies (ITS), Irvine, will work with CEC to administer the project.

There’s also a research component, where ITS Irvine will be conducting research on the natural gas vehicle market through enhanced data collection, a survey of end-users, and GPS and OBD data collection for a subset of end-users. The study will also explore natural gas vehicle market dynamics and market success conditions.

During the webinar, participants were asked to respond to quick survey questions. One question dealt with adopting emissions reduction goals. Seventy percent of webinar viewers said yes, 20% are planning to implement clean vehicle goals, and 10% don’t have these goals in place. For fleet managers participating in the webinar, 47% have plug-in electric vehicles, 58% use natural gas vehicles, 61% have hybrid vehicles, and 3% have fuel-cell vehicles.

To view a recording of this webinar, visit this site. To view the webinar slideshow, go to this site.

This Week’s Top 10: Feds release phase 2 of commercial truck emissions rules, National Research Council issues study on 54.5 mpg rules

by Jon LeSage, editor and publisher, Green Auto Market

Here’s my take on the 10 most significant and interesting occurrences during the past week…….

Phase 2 of commercial truck rules: A long-awaited ruling on medium- and heavy-duty trucks on greenhouse-gas emissions and fuel economy has been released by federal agencies. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are proposing emissions and fuel economy improve by up to 24% through 2027, and federal efficiency standards for new trailers have been included for the first time. The proposed second-phase rules on vehicle and engine standards would run from 2021 through 2027 and apply to semi-trucks, large pickup trucks and vans, and all types of buses and work trucks. Emissions and fuel consumption from heavy-duty pickups and vans will need to be reduced by 16% between the 2021 and 2027 model years, according to the federal standards. As for feedback on the ruling, American Truck Dealers voiced concern that’s been heard for years from truck makers and suppliers – about the higher costs of compliance and economic impact if prices for commercial trucks rise. Fiat Chrysler’s FCA said it “supports and commends” the coordinated approach taken by the federal agencies. NGVAmerica and its member companies commend the rule, as does CALSTART. The Consumer Federation of America released results of a survey conducted in mid-May with more than 1,000 US consumers; 71% favor increasing fuel efficiency mandates for heavy-duty truck, while 24% oppose it.
As for federal rules on light-duty passenger vehicles: The National Research Council (NRC), an 18-member committee nonprofit group that advises federal policymakers, found that the federal 54.5 mpg by 2025 model year standards are based on sound assumptions on its technological progress and costs – even if electrified transportation doesn’t hit high sales volumes. The NRC study also expressed concern over how much consumers will be willing to pay for the fuel-efficient vehicles. The report comes out during a time when automakers, environmental groups, and regulators are determining the final federal fuel economy standards from 2022 through 2025. This midterm review process was demanded by automakers before they make the investment in retooling to reach the high mpg and emissions targets.
Fisker Karma coming back: Fisker Automotive and Technology Group will be working out of a manufacturing plant to relaunch its Karma plug-in hybrid electric vehicle in Moreno Valley, located in California’s Riverside county. Fisker will create 150 new jobs, with about 100 of them being engineers. The company is also looking into keeping a portion of its former Anaheim headquarters. Chinese owner Wanxiang Group had promised to utilize Fisker’s Delaware plant, but the future of that plant has yet to be determined.
Watch these videos: NAFA’s past president Claude Masters and CALSTART’s Bill Van Amberg talked to Fleet Management Weekly in these video interviews about NAFA’s Sustainable Fleet Accreditation Program and hitting clean transportation targets. Masters talks about the programs being set up to provide data fleet managers need. Van Amberg says that the true role of CALSTART is to build a clean transportation technologies industry – creating jobs that, in turn, create cleaner air.
Hyperloop competition: It’s been nearly two years since SpaceX/Tesla CEO Elon Musk sent out the Hyperloop concept – and now it’s gaining more attention and enthusiasm. The SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition asks entrants to design passenger vehicles for the super high-speed Hyperloop train system. It’s intended to appeal to both university students and independent engineering teams, SpaceX says. Hyperloop Technologies, an unrelated startup with proprietary technology based in downtown Los Angeles, pledged on Twitter to support student teams submitting pod designs for the competition. Hyperloop is gaining enough traction to inspire a feature in Popular Science with this intro: “Elon Musk proposed a ridiculously audacious form of transportation. Now, startups are racing to bring the Hyperloop to life.”
Ford land-fill free in Mexico: Ford Motor Co.’s Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly Plant has earned zero waste-to-landfill status, making the automaker landfill-free at all of its Mexico manufacturing facilities. That means Ford’s Mexico plants are diverting 1.5 million pounds of landfill waste this year and going forward. This is part of a global campaign by Ford to reduce waste-to-landfill by 40% per vehicle produced from 2011 to 2016; Ford previously hit that target by reducing global per vehicle waste-to-landfill by 40% from 2007 to 2011.
Toyota might gain more ZEV credits in California: Toyota is not getting out of the plug-in business entirely to focus instead on hydrogen fuel cell cars. Developed with the new 2016 Prius hybrid, the new Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid will likely have longer electric range than its 11 miles on battery only in the current version. That will probably help tip the scales a little bit more in the automaker’s favor in California. The state is loosening up on its zero emission vehicle (ZEV) credits, and Toyota will be able to gain more credits if it sells more of these models than it’s been achieving lately. The 2016 model could generate that enthusiasm and sales increase, and could be a way for other companies to meet their targets. Mazda and Subaru, for example, will fall under ZEV requirements for the first time starting in 2018 and might be interested in buying Toyota’s technology for their vehicles to meet the targets – similar to what Toyota had previously done with Tesla Motors in its RAV4 EV.
Nevada wants to see Electric Highway: Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval announced that five new electric vehicle chargers will be placed on highway US 95 in between Reno and Las Vegas; that will go with the 150 charging stations already in place in the state. State officials are working with Tesla Motors to set up additional fast chargers, Tesla Superchargers, along the Nevada Electric Highway. That’ likely to happen given that Nevada will soon be home to Tesla’s Gigafactory lithium-ion battery plant near Reno.
Biofuels get mixed message in Washington: Fans of biofuels got some “good news/bad news” out of Washington, DC. Last week, Bill Cassidy (R-La.) introduced a bill that would completely recall the federal Renewable Fuel Standard, with its ethanol and biodiesel blends and advanced biofuels provisions. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) have made several attempts to remove the ethanol blend mandate, but leave in other biofuels, such as biodiesel. For those in the biofuels business needing funding, the federal government now is offering $100 million in grants under the Biofuels Infrastructure Partnership (BIP). That funding has been made available to support the infrastructure needed to make more renewable fuel options available to consumers. It will be administered by the Farm Service Agency; but those interested need to move fast – applications must be submitted by July 15, 2015.
Continental wants to win electrified turbocharger market: Tier 1 automotive supplier giant Continental AG is throwing down the gauntlet to compete with Valeo SA, BorgWarner, and Honeywell. Similar to Valeo’s 48-volt electric motor that will soon power a new Audi vehicle, Continental is working on an electric motor to pressurize a turbocharger that will eliminate what’s called “turbo lag.” Besides bringing more power, the electrified turbocharger improves fuel economy. BMW already uses Continental turbochargers on its BMW i8 and Mini Cooper.

Why Uber is seeing hyper growth in rides delivered and is influencing the future of transportation

Earlier this month, Uber celebrated its five-year anniversary since startup. CEO Travis Kalanick spoke to an audience at the company’s hometown of San Francisco and said that Uber provides more than one million rides per day, and does business in more than 300 cities in 30 countries around the world. He paid tribute to Uber drivers delivering service to riders while driving their own cars. Kalanick also ticked off a list of Uber’s contributions: less traffic congestion, cleaner air, and more jobs.

The number of trips being completed each day, and the revenue coming from those trips, have been booming in growth rate this year. Uber forecasts that its net revenue, or the amount it keeps after paying out drivers, will be more than $2 billion this year. That would be five times its 2014 net revenue of about $400 million. There’s also been extremely high valuation for the company – $41 billion – placed by investors in a recent funding round. Along with competing directly with taxi and limousine services for rides, Uber is investing heavily in package and cargo delivery, food deliveries, and setting up a strong presence in China through a $1 billion investment.

The company, called Uber Technologies Inc., is finalizing a $2 billion credit line with seven banks (compared to Tesla Motors’ recent addition to have access to a $750 million credit line); that five-year facility for Uber, known as a revolver, would be priced a half-percentage point lower than already competitive rate initially discussed, sources said. Analysts are pondering whether securing that large credit line from Wall Street will lead to an initial public offering (IPO) on the stock market, which that type of financial arrangement usually precedes. Kalanick didn’t mention the possibility of taking the company public during his five-year anniversary speech, but it’s possible that could be in the works.

Uber also faces a huge challenge that could shape its future; that challenge comes from a California Labor Commission decision last week that an Uber worker was in fact an “employee” – and not an independent operator as Uber has argued. The ruling awarded just over $4,000 to the Uber driver who filed the case; it ties into a separate class-action lawsuit brought by Uber drivers, where a federal judge is asking the jury to decide whether Uber drivers are indeed employees. The question becomes whether Uber will be spending a lot of its investors’ money fighting these cases, or if the company will be adjusting its financial model to pay more to drivers.

Uber also continues to fight the taxi and limousine industries for access to airports, and the right to do business, in cities throughout Europe and the US. Uber is taking away more business all the time from these transportation institutions. The New York Times reported that US airports are becoming more willing to try out allowing Uber and other ridesharing companies to have access to the airports – as a fee revenue source and because consumers are demanding access for Uber to drop them off and pick them up at major airports. Taxi and livery companies have been fighting ridesharing companies from having access to their markets without paying medallion and trip fees that they’ve had to pay all these years. Analysts warn Uber and other ridesharing firms about the liability issues they’ll face if there are a few serious collisions caused by Uber drivers that lead to class-action lawsuits.

San Francisco has been a hotbed of new transportation technologies and business models. Two other ridesharing (or sometimes called “car-hailing”) service providers, Lyft and Sidecar, also started up in that city. Carsharing services have also taken off in that metro area, along with electric vehicle adoption. All of this seems to come from the influence of Silicon Valley, and from area residents who prefer BART rides and transportation alternatives over having to take taxi rides or driving their car into a city where it’s extremely difficult and expensive to park. Uber says that about half its trips in San Francisco are ridesharing transactions, where passengers can save money on the trip by sharing the ride with somebody they don’t even know. Drivers must be willing to have somebody riding in the passenger seat next to them, and have two-or-three people riding in the backseat.

Uber is yet another example of how a new business model shaped by a mobile technology can disrupt and transform a market at a rapid pace. As automakers, Tier 1 suppliers, and transportation companies such as car rental and delivery companies, make strategic plans for the next 10-to-20 years, here are some of the issues affecting their future:

Millennials (late teens to early 30s) are extremely pragmatic about transportation: They make up the vast majority of Uber’s customers. Unlike previous generations, Millennials are not as likely to get their driver’s license on or near their 16^th birthday, and are tending to move into cities for work and lifestyle choices. Millennials are much more interested in getting a ride from a friend; taking a bus or train ride; walking; riding their bike; or whatever may make the most sense at that time and place. Many of them like the ease of use and coolness of using Uber – it’s right there on your phone and picks you up in five-to-10 minutes.

Why ever take a taxi ride again?: Getting a ride with Uber is about half the price of a taxi ride. You can do it quickly on your mobile device rather than booking an hour or so ahead of pickup, which is typical for taxi rides. Uber is ready to pay the driver automatically, once the passenger has set up their Uber account. Taxi riders pay for the trip using a card swipe in the back seat, which adds to the process and asks the question of whether or not you want to tip the driver. Uber riders are reassured that tipping is not a requirement. Uber passengers tend to like Uber drivers more than taxi drivers. That’s likely why Uber, Lyft, and Sidecar all started in San Francisco – a city where residents want more cost-effective and efficient transportation options. It’s also a city that has taxi drivers known for being just as aggressive as they are in New York City, many times cutting across lanes to beat other cars through the traffic. Some Uber passengers may want to chat with their drivers, asking them what it’s like to drive for Uber and how to beat stalled-out traffic.

Job opportunities in a fast-changing economy: Uber is exploring entry into other market segments like a food-delivery service (UberEats) and package delivery (think FedEx and UPS) that would probably need employee drivers; or independent contractors working structured schedules very similar to what employee drivers are given. For now, Uber drivers (which they call “Uber partners”) are independent contractors driving passengers in their own cars and paying all the operating costs. That may be changing in the wake of the California Labor Commission ruling, but for now self-employed Uber drivers are doing the work. Uber drivers appreciate the opportunity to make side income, and sometimes full-time income, in a job market different than it was just a few years ago. Some of these drivers have been laid off jobs in recent years or had their job duties increased in a reorganized work environment. They appreciate the flexibility and choice they’re given driving for Uber. One of Uber’s recent cable TV commercials shows the benefits drivers can gain, such as a mom picking up kids after school or a musician gaining extra time to practice for that next gig.

Research firm Benenson Strategy Group released study findings in December on Uber drivers showing that the drivers’ major reason for working with Uber is because it allows them more autonomy. Nearly nine out of 10 Uber drivers report that “being their own boss” and being able to set their own schedule was a primary reason they’re driving for Uber. The study also showed that the drivers are in a different generation than their passengers. More Uber drivers are over 50 than are under 30. In today’s work environment, employees over 50 are finding that there’s more pressure to retire, or are facing layoffs to make room for younger employees costing the company much less in labor expenses. That’s been in the works for several years – driven by globalization of the economy, advanced technologies changing the very nature of the work environment, and a heightened demand being made for increased profitability and efficiency – as taxi drivers are experiencing while Uber takes more of their customers away.

Ubiquitous in media coverage and in conversations: In a tribute to retiring late night talk-show host David Letterman, TV star comedian Ray Romano said that without appearing on “The David Letterman Show” in the 1980s, he would have never made it. “Without that moment, I’d be your Uber driver today,” Romano wrote in The Hollywood Reporter. It’s very common to hear pithy and iconic references to Uber these days during conversations you might listen to at the next restaurant table. It’s becoming nearly as pervasive as references to Tesla CEO Elon Musk being the cutting-edge technology guru of the day. Uber represents seismic shifts in lifestyles and mobile apps – and for many users, there seems to be enthusiasm and pride in being part of a revolutionary transformation in transportation and what’s called the “sharing economy.” Uber passengers tend to know about related services like Airbnb, a digital platform allowing customers to stay at someone’s house for a cheap price instead of having to pay more to stay at some name-brand hotel location. Uber passengers get to save money on transportation during a time when many of them are questioning whether or not to own a car now that they live in the heart of the city.

This Week’s Top 10: Spyshots revealed of Chevrolet Bolt, Rethink Methane Symposium launched in Sacramento

by Jon LeSage, editor and publisher, Green Auto Market

Here’s my take on the 10 most significant and interesting occurrences during the past week…….

The Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle, which grabbed eyeballs during its unveiling at the Detroit auto show as a concept car, was the subject of spy shots last week. A spy photographer took pictures of the Bolt on a test track in the Detroit area. The 200-mile range Bolt hatchback is expected to start production in late 2016 at General Motor’s Lake Orion assembly plant, for market launch in 2017. Shown off originally with its sunset-orange paint as a concept car, the spy shots show this test model has been painted in the camouflage style commonly seen on test tracks in recent years. The exterior paint makes it hard to see all the details, but there is one slight difference from the concept car – a black roof-mounted wing. There might also be some new lighting elements near the rear bumper. The price of the Chevrolet Bolt is expected to be around $30,000 after a $7,500 federal tax credit.
Rethink Methane Symposium took place for the first time last week in Sacramento. Presented by ACT Expo organizer Gladstein, Neandross & Associates, the symposium featured stakeholders in the natural gas, bioenergy, solar, wind, hydrogen, and fuel cell industries. Panel speakers explored how renewable methane from biological and synthetic sources can help California meet its climate protection and air quality improvement goals. Speakers included California Senator Fran Pavley, who co-authored California’s AB 32 and chairs the Select Committee on Climate Change and Assembly Bill 32 Implementation; California Senator Ben Allen, sponsor of a bill to establish a renewable gas standard for California’s gas utilities; and Peter Lehner, executive director of the Natural Resources Defense Council. One of the themes of the symposium was the importance of having policies and incentives in place to accelerate production of renewable methane from a variety of sources including organic waste, landfills, and wastewater treatment plants.
Honda committed to hydrogen, leaving natural gas: Honda will be bringing its first production scale hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to market in 2016, while also stopping production of the Honda Civic Natural Gas. That alt-fuel car was introduced in 1998 and has only seen 16,000 units sold since then. John Mendel, head of US sales for American Honda, says that gasoline prices being down influenced that decision. Mendel also said that the Honda Accord plug-in hybrid will go out of production and will be replaced by another plug-in hybrid by 2018.
More “new energy” cars coming to China: Guangzhou Automobile Group Motor will be investing about $322 million in a factory in China that will exclusively build green “new energy” vehicles; details on what technology will be used haven’t been given. The company, a subsidiary of Guangzhou Automobile Group, currently sells hybrid and range-extended electric versions of its GA5 sedan, with a hybrid version of its GS4 SUV scheduled to be launched next year. China’s “new energy” policy is aiming to clean up increasing air pollution in its cities, with green vehicles making for a big part of it.
EcoCAR 3 year one winners named: Ohio State University has taken the top spot in Year One of the EcoCAR 3 competiton, according to co-sponsors, the US Dept. of Energy and General Motors Corp. Virginia Tech and the University of Waterloo took second and third place respectively in the first part of a four-year collegiate engineering programs where students have the opportunity to design, build, and demonstrate clean, advanced vehicle technologies. This time, all the teams are working on conversion projects built on the 2016 Chevrolet Camara.
VIA Motors gains CARB and EPA certifications: VIA Motors announced that its plug-in hybrid Chevrolet Silverado has been given emissions certification by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The plug-in Silverado pickup truck has a 40-mile battery range and averages 100 mpg in typical daily driving, VIA says. Having a big fuel tank (16 gallons) allows it go an additional 400 miles of gasoline and electric miles.
Nissan sponsoring National Drive Electric Week: Nissan just made an agreement to be the national sponsor of the annual National Drive Electric Week for the next three years. The Nissan Leaf continues to be the highest selling electric vehicle ever, now closing in on 200,000 global sales since its introduction in December 2010. This year’s National Drive Electric Week, (an education, public awareness, and driving event) will be taking place Sept. 12 through 20.
General Motors entering energy storage market: While Tesla Motors is now entering the stationary storage market, GM’s strategy deals more with the classic question: What do you do with those expensive plug-in battery packs once they leave the vehicle? GM will soon be announcing its strategy for secondary use of its electric vehicle batteries. Three years ago, GM and Swiss engineering company ABB tested and showed off how they could take batteries from five Chevrolet Volts and convert them into a modular unit capable of providing two hours of electricity to three-to-five American homes.
DOE aggregate purchasing program: The US Department of Energy is moving its aggregate purchasing program forward by making up to $2 million available. The funding is designed to support its aggregate purchasing plan, when one central organization coordinates customers to maximize their collective buying power. It’s been designed to support increasing sales for plug-in electric and other alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles, subsystems, components, alternative fuels, and refueling/charging infrastructure.
‘Socially responsible’ charging stations: Social responsibility is resonating deeply within corporate America, and that might be a good vantage point to bring to the electric vehicle charging infrastructure, adding it to the list with environmentally responsible, really-cool technology. Volta Industries is using it as the model for building a network of 100 public stations that offer free charging. The company has secured an additional $7.5 million in funding to expand its operations, and has so far brought in Macy’s, Whole Foods, and the Sungevity solar company. Volta was founded in 2010 and began offering free public charging in Honolulu; since then, the company has expanded to San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Phoenix.

Tesla-Orama: Interesting comments from the annual shareholder meeting on Model X and other topics

Tesla Motors and its CEO Elon Musk had another week of heavy media coverage – with more being revealed on the upcoming Model X launch, Gigafactory, battery swapping, SpaceX, what shareholders want, and what Bob Lutz had to say……….

During the annual shareholders meeting last week, Musk said that the all-electric Model X crossover is moving forward and will be ready for deliveries in the third quarter of this year. The company reports that orders have been placed for at least 20,000 of them. Overall, the company expects to sell about 55,000 vehicles this year, with most of that volume coming from the Model S sedan. The Model X, with its “falcon wing” doors, had a two-year delay with questions buzzing on the internet about when it would actually be rolling out. It’s expected to be offered with a variety of different battery-pack sizes and performance levels, similar to the Model S.
The Gigafactory lithium ion battery manufacturing plant in Nevada is ready to start production in mid-2016. Partner-company Panasonic Corp. has committed to sending hundreds of its employees to the Gigafactory starting this fall and will be investing around $478 million on the plant this fiscal year.
Battery swapping took another blow – Tesla is backing away. During its California test program with Model S owners, only five out of 200 who had been invited tried out the battery pack swap that Tesla had made available. It’s clearly not very popular, and it’s unlikely to be expanded in the future, Musk said. Customers seem to be more interested in using Tesla’s Superchargers that can fuel the Model S battery pack for about 200 miles of range in about 20 minutes of charging. Plus, using the Supercharger is free for Model S owners, unlike the battery swaps.
As for its energy storage product, utilities and large companies are much more interested in making the investment than are consumers. The Powerpack, which will go to utilities and large industrial customers, will probably get more than 80% of the total energy sales. Based on negative feedback from consumers about the Powerwall energy storage product, Tesla is increasing the kilowatt power storage capacity without raising the price, Musk said.
Speaking of energy storage and working with utilities, Musk made another memorable quote last week during the Edison Electric Institute’s annual convention for investor-owned utilities in New Orleans (and which helped deflate the word “disruption”): “I’m not actually a fan of disruption for it’s own sake. I don’t think we should disrupt things unless it’s…fundamentally better for society,” he said. “I’m not really a fan of disruption; I’m just a fan of things being better.”
Two Tesla shareholders, Mark and Elizabeth Peters from Texas, want the company to stop using animal products such as leather seats. Elizabeth said her husband, Mark, had to go through “extreme measures” to get her a vegan Tesla as an anniversary gift. Later in the call, a representative from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals asked Musk if the animal-rights group could help the carmaker find vegan alternatives to leather. “We’ll look into it,” Musk said.
An “autopilot” edition of the Model S, with semi-autonomous features like a lane changer system, will be available in the near future.
Being in the auto manufacturing business requires a large amount of capital. Tesla has secured a credit line of up to $750 million backed up by property, inventory and equipment owned by the company, which was disclosed in a Tesla public filing on Friday. That line of credit had been in place for $500 million, and was extended another $250 million by Deutsche Bank, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo, and Credit Suisse. Tesla has been using up its cash reserves and needs to have access to a sizable credit line. Tesla spent more than $500 million in cash during the first quarter to bring its Model X to the marketplace. Tesla expects to see the Model X generating cash flow in the fourth quarter of this year; delaying the Model X launch again would get in the way.
As for the SpaceX interspace commercial transport company (where Musk serves as CEO), it won’t be going public anytime soon. That company recently asked the federal government for permission to begin testing an ambitious internet service from space – that would go into direct competition with Comcast, AT&T, and other internet-service providers. The SpaceX plan would launch 4,000 small and cheap satellites that would send high-speed internet signals to all parts of the earth. Musk has said it “would be like rebuilding the Internet in space.”
While former GM vice chairman and Chevy Volt champion Bob Lutz has been impressed with Musk and Tesla Motors, their battery business isn’t winning him over. Appearing last week on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Lutz said he can’t understand the fascination with backup battery storage or manufacturing your own lithium-ion batteries. He thinks that if the energy storage market were truly ready for growth, it would have been tapped by Alessandro Volta in 1800 when he invented the first battery. He also said that building its Gigafactory won’t necessarily make manufacturing lithium-ion batteries more cost competitive. That’s already being done in China and the US, where production is fully automated and labor costs are coming down. “The highest cost in the lithium-ion battery is not the assembly labor; it’s the raw materials,” Lutz said. “And the raw materials have to be procured at a certain price. And everybody pays more or less the same price.”
Some automakers are complaining about California’s zero emission vehicle mandate and what it means for staying profitable. Tesla Motors has complained about it from the other side of the coin. In an interview with Automotive News, Diarmuid O’Connell, Tesla’s VP of business development, said that California needs to step up and actually enforce the rule. “I don’t think it was ever conceived that a pure-play electric car company like Tesla could exist, let alone thrive, but we have,” O’Connell said. “The inconvenient truth is that our success has revealed the weakness of the mandate.”