Month: July 2024

It wasn’t that long ago that we all heard about Ford Motor Co. surging forward in electric vehicle sales in the U.S. While that trend has continued, Hyundai Motor America and its three car brands stand out this year. Ford saw real gains with EV sales at 44,180, up from 25,709 last year in the first half. Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis all saw real gains over the first half of 2023. With its luxury brand Genesis and its Kia brand included, Hyundai Motor America sold 59,980 electric vehicles in the U.S. in the first half of this year.

At 304,451 units sold in the U.S. in the first half of this year, Tesla’s share of the market has been declining. It reached 75% in 2022, and is now at 49.7% according to Kelley Blue Book.

Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 crossover SUV has been its top selling battery electric model. It’s built on the E-GMP – the Electric Global Modular Platform – which the South Korean automaker says opens up a new era for the company, pioneering the development of EVs. It’s capable of quick-charging at peak rates of 235 kW, and only needs 18 minutes to go from 10 to 80 percent charged. The range is anywhere between 220 and 303 miles, based on the model and the battery.

Sales have been very good for the Ioniq 5, even though it doesn’t qualify for the federal $7,500 tax incentive. The company expects that it will qualify for this tax credit starting in October. That’s when it will be the first EV built at its Georgia assembly plant. Recent changes to the federal tax incentive have blocked foreign-made EVs from gaining the tax credit.

The EV market continues to be strong in the U.S., and along with several other countries overseas. For the first half of the year, 599,372 EVs were sold in the U.S.; that’s up from 558,377 in the first half of last year — a 7.3% increase, according to Kelley Blue Book.

Hyundai, which first came to the U.S. market in 1986, has been enjoying winning impressive sales gains — along with industry awards — in recent years. The 2023 IONIQ 6 was named World Car of the Year, World Car Design of the Year, and World Electric Vehicle. The 2025 Ioniq 5 N was named 2024 World Performance Car. The “N” designation is new to the Hyundai lineup with attention being placed on high-performance standards.

The 2024 Ioniq 5 has been recognized as a 2023 TOP SAFETY PICK+ by the IIHS, its highest safety award. The 2024 Ioniq 5 has a starting MSRP of $41,800.

The crossover EV6 has been Kia’s top selling EV. Kia dealers are offering a 36-month lease for $259 in monthly payments.

Hyundai has been present at ACT Expo and other automotive and fleet industry events. That includes its Nexo Fuel Cell, a dedicated hydrogen-powered SUV with an estimated range of 380 miles and zero emissions. In February, the automaker forged a deal with Italian vehicle manufacturer Iveco. Hyundai Motor Co. will supply an all-electric light commercial vehicle from its global eLCV platform to Iveco Group in Europe.

And in other news…….

Discount offer on conference: AltWheels Fleet Day offers a discount of $90 with a $7.88 fee through August 1 for its annual one-day conference. This year it will take place on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. It brings together corporate and municipal fleet managers and clean-fleet stakeholders working to reduce emissions, increase reliability, and lower costs for tomorrow’s transportation needs. Watch more about the conference on this video.

Award winning RIDE electric school bus: For the second year in a row, bus maker RIDE won Student Transportation News’ prestigious Best Green Technology Award. This year, the accolade was awarded to the Creator, the company’s innovative Type C school bus. The Creator electric bus offers a driving range of up to 208 miles, a battery capacity of up to 282 kWh, and seats up to 78 passengers. It comes with a 12-year battery warranty. BYD | RIDE school buses including The Achiever are available throughout the U.S., and are eligible to participate in the EPA Clean School Bus program and several state incentive programs including the California HVIP voucher program.

Truck sales in 2024: Times are good for fleet and commercial vehicles sales. The National Truck Equipment Association (NTEA) predicts a 2% growth in truck and equipment sales for the remainder of the year. That’s coming from moderate growth in the U.S. economy. That growth should be fueled by increased activity in residential construction, transportation and warehousing, and state/local government spending, according to Gary Perman, president, PermanTech.

October, not August: The grand unveiling of Tesla’s robotaxi won’t be taking place on August 8. It will be taking place in October, though that date has yet to be released. The company’s engineering design team has to rework some elements of the self-driving electric car, according to sources familiar with the matter. The August 8 launch was announced in early April after news came out that the carmaker had canceled its long-awaited inexpensive car. This development ties into two elements that Tesla analysts deal with: overpromising of launches, and how much the company is counting on robotaxis in its long-term strategic model. There’s also the problem of getting regulators to allow for autonomous vehicles to be released beyond limited robotaxi rides in a couple of U.S. cities.

J.D. Power on Cheapest Electric Vehicle States: States with the biggest savings from EVs: New Jersey where $10,345 can be saved; and Nevada with $9,216 in savings. States with losses from EVs: West Virginia: $-1,800, and Maine: $-1,619. That comes from J.D. Power in a detailed analysis conducted in the first quarter for Automotive News. Maine and West Virginia were the only two states where cost savings can’t be gained. The study looked at total cost of ownership for en EV over five years.

Hydrogen getting cleaner: Clean hydrogen, which is generated from both renewables and fossil fuels through the use of carbon capture and storage technology, is taking off in America, with the U.S. being the largest producer in the world, accounting for almost 37% of global supply by 2030. That comes from a study by Gary Perman, president of PermanTech. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is one of the reasons this growth rate is expected, through tax credits for hydrogen production. The study says that these incentives are making hydrogen an increasingly attractive energy source and feedstock.

There is still hope, former Microsoft chief said: Bill Gates was thrilled to be in London recently for the Breakthrough Energy Summit, which brought together global leaders, industry executives, innovators, and investors to develop solutions for fighting climate change. Key stakeholders will have to get creative, cooperative, and committed to success during these days of progressively worsening climate conditions. Fortunately, technology breakthroughs are showing up, and that’s a necessity these days. “But it was clear that meeting these goals would require unprecedented investment from the private sector to drive innovation. It would also require extraordinary collaboration across all sectors to get clean energy ideas out of the lab and into the market affordably and at scale,” Gate write in his LinkedIn column.

Facts about EV charging in US and Europe: According to a new analysis report by Chargepoint, there are more than 170,000 publicly available charging ports across the United States and Canada based Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) statistics. At ChargePoint, the saw year-over-year port growth in North America increase by 31% in 2023. According to European Alternative Fuels Observatory (EAFO), there were over 380,000 public charging ports available to drivers across the European Union and more than 30,000 in the U.K. at the end of 2023. There was a 47% overall increase in public charging ports in the EU year-over-year.

Peak demand for oil is here: Demand for global oil supply looks like it will be hitting its peak sooner than some experts had predicted. Oil use won’t be disappearing anytime soon, but measuring “peak demand” shows where the amount of oil being consumers will start falling rather than rising permanently. The climate crisis is driving things along, with global demand increasing another 2% to 3% over three to four years; and then the tipping point comes after that peak with oil consumption continuing to decline. It will need to be replaced by something, hopefully an alternative fuel.