Month: May 2024

While Ford is one of the few global automakers to report losses from electric vehicle sales, it’s not the only one by far.

For full-year 2023, revenue was up 11% to $176 billion for Ford Motor Co. Net income improved year-over-year to $4.3 billion; but the company also reported that it took $4.7 billion in losses for the EV division last year — and that it’s on track to lose another $5.5 billion this year.

Ford and General Motors say that they’re able to fall back on hybrid and gasoline-powered passenger vehicles to offset those losses; with pickup trucks being particularly profitable. EV losses are coming form slashing prices following Tesla setting up a price war, according to Ford. It’s also about the cost of battery packs needed to power long-range, high-performance EVs.

A solution that Ford is working on starts with supply-chain collaboration to reduce the overall production costs. Other automakers may be doing the same.

According to a March 2024 study by Boston Consulting Group, automakers are losing as much as $6,000 per EV that’s being priced at around $50,000.

“Creating the bridge from ICE to EV, you need to add the cost of the battery, which is about $10,000,” Andrew Loh, Managing Director and Senior Partner at BCG said to InsideEVs. “You add the e-powertrain and incremental electronics, which is about another $5,000. And then you need to add the incremental investment and labor and overhead.”

With ACT Expo open to attendees, you can can expect to roam the exhibit halls in Las Vegas and see more trucks than ever before. They might be powered by hydrogen, natural gas, propane, hybrid powertrains, and plug-in hybrid and battery electric powertrains.

Electric trucks have become more important in recent years to this audience of OEMs, suppliers, and end users that include fleet managers and fleet operators in trucking and urban delivery, utility fleets, government fleets, and companies needing trucks of all types in medium-to-heavy-duty.

So I took a look at two major truckmakers who’ve had a significant presence in the market and at ACT Expo.

Volvo Trucks, being one of them, delivered 1,977 of its electric trucks during 2023, an increase of 256% compared to the previous year, according to the company. That comes from a company that saw strong overall performance last year. “Thanks to our strong finances, we can continue to provide a good return to our shareholders and at the same time invest in and seize opportunities in the ongoing industry transformation to more sustainable solutions,” Volvo Group said in a company statement.

Volvo Group CEO and President Martin Lundstedt during the first quarter earnings call expressed optimism about the company’s ability to retain production flexibility, cost control, and pricing discipline while also investing in new technologies. That will include battery-electric trucks and internal combustion engines running on alternative fuels. During the first three months of this year, Volvo finalized the acquisition of Proterra’s battery business and signed a final joint venture agreement with high-pressure, gas-injection fuel system developer Westport Fuel Systems.

For ACT Expo, Volvo Trucks North America (VTNA) and Volvo Financial Services (VFS) announced that they’ve joined forces to form Volvo on Demand, a collaborative initiative based on the Truck-as-a-Service (TaaS) business model. Using 25 Class 8 Volvo VNR Electric trucks, Volvo on Demand offers clients the opportunity to simplify the acquisition and reduce the major upfront investment in battery-electric vehicles. Volvo on Demand provides qualified customers with flexible term options as short as 12 months and includes Volvo Trucks’ Gold Contract and the option to bundle vehicle insurance for physical damage and collision, route planning, and optimization guidance; as well as consultation to find the best charging solution and incentives that might be available. 

Daimler Truck reported record results in 2023, including a 39% increase in profits over 2022, and more than half of those profits came from North America. Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) prides itself on having become a leader in the development of commercial electric vehicles since 2018. 

In 2023, DTNA sold 3,443 zero-emission trucks and buses, which is 277% more than the previous year, the company reported. DTNA’s electric lineup includes the Jouley bus, the FCCC MT50e van chassis, and the Class 8 Freightliner eCascadia. However, in 2022, DTNA built excess capacity to build 2,000 Class 8 battery-electric trucks, but sales were low due to a lack of charging infrastructure. DTNA plans to have 100 Freightliner dealer locations certified by 2025. 

Truckmakers have seen strong results in providing a high-quality lineup of electric trucks along with specialized services meeting the needs of the fleet market.

In March, DTNA announced rapid expansion of its BEV Dealer Certification throughout its Freightliner dealer network. The plan aims for having 100 dealer network locations certified by 2025. The company has been working on adding technical and support services since establishing its commercial electric vehicle development strategy since 2018.

Another step in this direction was announced earlier this month with Daimler Truck setting a goal to integrate zero emissions and road safety by combining its battery electric drive and integrated autonomous vehicle technology. That will be taking shape through the autonomous Freightliner eCascadia technology demonstrator. The demonstrator truck is based on a production battery electric Freightliner eCascadia and is equipped with Torc’s autonomous driving software and the latest Level 4 sensor and compute technology. This will eventually enable Level 4 autonomous driving. Torc Robotics is Daimler Truck’s independent subsidiary for autonomous virtual driver technology, the company said.

And in other news……….

Highlights from ACT Expo: Attendees made it over to Las Vegas for  ACT Expo 2024 with signs of record-breaking attendance with nearly 500 exhibitors showcasing over 200 cutting-edge technologies. The State of Sustainable Fleets saw its fifth report come out. Highlights from the study include getting a good handle on the implications of California’s Advanced Clean Fleets rule and the U.S. EPA’s Clean Trucks Plan, both setting stringent new emission standards and mandates for zero-emission vehicles. It also explores developments in the markets for renewable fuels and electricity paired with diesel, near-zero, and zero-emission vehicles; and a look at the historic investments and innovations in renewable fuels, charging infrastructure, and future engines. You can also find out who won the 2024 Fleet Awards. GNA (a TRC Company) President Erik Neandross said during his introduction that Tesla agreed to address the ACT Expo audience for the first time this year, with Dan Priestley, the Semi program’s senior manager coming out to speak. The Tesla Semi has had some excellent test fleet performance. PepsiCo has run more than 1,000 miles with one of its three Tesla Semis in a 24-hour period during NCAFE’s Run on Less Electric demonstration last year, with the other two totaling 754 and 808 miles, respectively, the company reported.

J.D. Power study on EV interest: Americans’ interest in electric vehicles has decreased compared to 2023, according to a new J.D. Power study. Concerns over cost of the electric cars and available charging has been part of it. For the first time since the U.S. Electric Vehicle Consideration study’s launch in 2021, analysts saw a decline in consideration of EVs by new-car shoppers. Those car shoppers “very likely” to consider purchasing an EV came in at 24%, down from 26% a year ago. Those who are “overall likely” to consider purchasing an EV also decreased, from 61% in 2023 to 58% in this year’s study.

Why did Tesla invest $2 million in Lidar, an autonomous vehicle (AV) technology that CEO Elon Musk had dismissed years ago nearly as much as he had done with hydrogen fuel cell vehicles? Does it have anything to do with his highly anticipated Robotaxi launch on August 8? Or his getting the green light by the Chinese government to test Tesla AV technology in their country?

Well, for one thing, August 8, or 8/8, is lucky in China. “I did partly pick it because 8/8 is a lucky number in China!” Musk told X user Michel de Guilhermier in late April.

Tesla’s FSD (Full Self Driving) doesn’t use Lidar (which every other AV does use), which comes from laser-based 3D mapping sensors. Tesla AVs, and Tesla vehicles equipped with its Autopilot features, use only use cameras to understand the world around it. AV experts have made convincing arguments, and have produced convincing test data, that Lidar is a must.

Tesla is obviously betting on robotaxis. The electric vehicle maker has scrapped its highly anticipated Model 2 in favor of the self-driving electric car on the same platform as the Model 2.

Tesla’s $2 million investment with Luminar is expected to produce 2,000 Lidar units for Tesla vehicles.

General Motors agrees with Tesla’s analysis that AVs tie very well to electric vehicles. Compared to an internal combustion engine vehicle, an all-electric battery pack is able to serve as a more stable power that can enable higher-powered AV components, the automaker said on its blog.

When AV technology exploded in 2014-15, arguments were made that it would be ideal to address the global trend toward crowded, polluted cities that would become even more susceptible to vehicle collisions. Then the testing began, and concerns were raised — and flags waived — about integration of the new AV technology with existing human-driven vehicles, the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, collision liability responsibility for AV owners and vehicle manufacturers, and whether consumers and fleets around the world would buy into AVs. It became obvious that adoption of AVs beyond limited fleet tests would be taking quite a few years in countries around the world.

Looking at what’s next
Here are a few recent developments that tie into the big picture of where robotaxis and AV technology are going in America, and perhaps, around the world……………….

Didi in China: A report by global consultancy IHS Markit said the market size of China’s self-driving taxi services is expected to surpass 1.3 trillion yuan ($180.7 billion) by 2030, accounting for 60 percent of the ride-hailing market nationwide. The Chinese government has been rolling out policies to promote the development and commercialization of AVs. Didi Chuxang and its ride-hailing platform has been heavily involved in testing out AVs in China and, not long ago, in the U.S. The Chinese company lost its DMV permit in California in February. Testing and development has been going on since 2016 in China, and the company began allowing customers to take self-driving car rides in Shanghai starting in 2020. Didi recently opened an automated operation and maintenance center in that city offering repairs, parking, and battery charging for AVs.

Tesla’s FSD coming to China: Musk proposed testing Tesla’s FSD technology in China by deploying it in robotaxis, during a recent visit to the country. Chinese officials told the Tesla CEO that China “welcomes Tesla to do some robotaxi tests in the country” and hopes it can “set a good example,” a newspaper reported. Musk met with the country’s second-highest-ranking politician, Premier Li Qiang, during that visit. The automaker still needs to get final approval for the rollout, and to collect and transfer data from Tesla driver-assistance features.

More on Tesla robotaxi: In April 2022, during the grand opening of Tesla Gigafactory Texas, Musk shed more light on the robotaxis that he’d first talked about in 2016. The company would be rolling it out in the near future as its own exclusive robotaxi model, he said. In X tweets, Musk has said the the robotaxi will essentially be the initially planned $25,000 electric car with out a steering wheel.

Feds testing Autopilot safety: The safety of Tesla’s Autopilot features, and how that would transfer over to its FSD technology as well, is still being evaluated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The company had recalled more than two million vehicles last years over crashes involving its Autopilot system. The feds say they’re undergoing an investigation due to crashes continuing and concern over its safety and reliability. NHTSA put out a report last month from investigations of 956 Tesla crashes between January 2018 and August 2023, where Autopilot was involved; and in which 29 people died in the crashes. The electric vehicle maker had recalled the vehicles last year to fix Autopilot with an over-the-air software update after regulators said the driver-assist tech wasn’t doing enough to stop driver misuse. NHTSA is looking at tests of the recalled vehicles the effect of Tesla’s software update for getting drivers use the functions safely.

How Waymo is doing: Google parent Alphabet says that its self-driving Waymo One service is getting 50,000 rides a week in Phoenix, San Francisco, and more recently in Los Angeles. The company operates 24/7 service in parts of these cities. Waymo is also trying out Austin, Texas, but that only through limited rides to select members of the public. The company said that it’s taken a “safe and deliberate approach” to scaling its program for reaching the 50K milestone. Waymo says that they’re finding the autonomous robotaxi rides to be attractive from customers in all walks of life who appreciate their freedom of movement.

Cruise going to Arizona: Robotaxi competitor Cruise has had a whole set of problems with its San Francisco operations, but the General Motors subsidiary will begin testing robotaxis in Arizona this week with human drivers on board to make sure safety remains present. Cruise says it will make sure the check the vehicles’ performance against its “rigorous” safety and autonomous vehicle performance requirements as it puts its AVs in the Phoenix area.

After dragging a San Francisco pedestrian about 20 feet in October by one of its robotaxi vehicles, Cruise had its permit suspended by the California Public Utilities Commission. The PUC alleged that Cruise had covered up details about the crash for more than two weeks.

Will Tesla be offering paid robotaxi services? Good question. The company hasn’t clarified that question. In the past, Musk talked about how Tesla owners could make income offering their self-driving Teslas out to renters and riders. But with Waymo, Cruise, Didi, and other companies, testing out the autonomous ride model, it’s likely Tesla will do the same — at least their own version of it.

And in other news………..

Renewable natural gas taking off: Seventy-nine percent of all on-road fuel in the U.S. used in natural gas vehicles was renewable natural gas (RNG) last year; and it surpassed the previous year’s record-breaking level. That comes from the Transport Project (TTP) and Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas (RNG Coalition). RNG can produce carbon-negative results when fueling on-road vehicles like short- and long-haul trucks, transit buses, and refuse and recycling collection vehicles. That comes form capturing the RNG above ground from organic material in agricultural, wastewater, landfill, or food waste.

Time to bring in the experts: While upcoming greenhouse gas emission reporting standards and practices will soon become more complex in California, it’s not the only place GHG and climate reporting compliance will become more demanding. The European Union, the United Kingdom, and Japan have released proposed sustainability reporting standards that will add to the complexity.