Three states lead ZEV scorecard ranking: The Electrification Coalition (EC) today released the ZEV 
Scorecard, a three-tier ranking system acknowledging plug-in electrified vehicle state-level actions to support adoption of the technology. California, Maryland, and Connecticut made Tier 1; followed by Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey at Tier 2; and Vermont, Rhode Island, Oregon, and Maine at Tier 3. The coalition used a weighted ranking system and appraised state-level policy actions for three categories: state-provided incentives to consumers; availability and support of public refueling infrastructure; and, outreach campaigns to educate the public. “While there are more than 700,000 EVs on U.S. roads today, electric vehicles are still only about one percent of U.S. light-duty vehicle sales. As state legislatures look to automakers to increase the availability and diversity of PEV models in all ZEV MOU states, the scorecard is meant to be used as a resource for the public and policymakers,” said Ben Prochazka, vice president of the EC. “It’s a tool that can be used to decide whether states should take new, or enhance current, actions that will accelerate consumer demand — in turn catalyzing both vehicle availability and more EVs on the road.”
The full report can be found here.
Looking at the Big Picture: Green Auto Market’s take on developments impacting the auto industry, global economy, and clean transportation.
General Motors has appointed Dhivya Suryadevara as chief financial officer, the first time an auto 
manufacturer has seen both CEO and CFO jobs held by women; and GM is now the second of two current Fortune 500 companies to do so. Suryadevara, 39, will take over as CFO on September 1, replacing Chuck Stevens, who is retiring after 40 years with the company. She’s been serving as vice president, Corporate Finance, since July 2017 and played a leading role in the automaker’s divestiture of Opel, acquisition of Cruise, investment in Lyft, and SoftBank’s investment in GM Cruise. “Dhivya’s experience and leadership in several key roles throughout our financial operations positions her well to build on the strong business results we’ve delivered over the last several years,” said CEO Mary Barra.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a Berlin speech yesterday that the U.S. runs a trade surplus with Europe when services are included, in a move to rebuff to President Donald Trump’s sustained criticism of German manufacturing exports. Goods may be the old-fashioned way to calculate trade balance, but if you include services, the U.S. has a large surplus with Europe, she said. That follows the G7 summit, where Trump’s attacks had been particularly harsh against NAFTA partner Canada. Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration to aluminum and steel are already pushing up their costs for General Motors, according to CEO Mary Barra. The White House had imposed a 25% tariff on imported aluminum and steel. The Trump administration is also exploring the idea of imposing a 25% tariff on vehicles that are exported to the U.S. from the European Union as well as Mexico, Canada, and China. Barra is concerned that cost increases will impact affordability of the vehicles and consumer appeal. GM would need to be price competitive to maintain its role in global new vehicle sales.
German prosectors have fined Volkswagen a penalty of 1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) for cheating on diesel emissions worldwide. It’s one of the highest fines ever imposed on a company in Germany, the prosector said in an statement. It’s part of a tough campaign Germany is taking on its local companies to implement reforms and bring accountability to the VW scandal that broke in September 2015. Separately, the country’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (known as the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt, or KBA) discovered five “illegal switch-off devices” on about 1 million Daimler vehicles sold in Europe since 2014. KBA believes Daimler had equipped the device in the majority of its “Euro 6” classified diesel engines manufactured after September 2014 when the pollution standard became effective.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has bought $25 million worth of stock in Tesla, as the company announced it was slashing 9% of jobs due to “duplication of roles.” Musk increased his stake by about 72,000 shares, bringing the total to around 34 million shares and a 20% stake in the company. Musk would like to calm fears over Tesla’s future right after the electric carmaker on Tuesday said it would be cutting 9% of its workforce, mostly in salaried jobs. Since January, Tesla has added about 8,000 jobs and currently has about 46,000 employees. The new cut will remove about 4,100 jobs.
Ford Motor Co. is offering more electrified vehicles to fleets. It’s all-new Police Interceptor Utility, the industry’s first pursuit-rated hybrid SUV. Hybrid battery packs have been placed inside the vehicle to not compromise available space for passengers or cargo. The idea was to bring improved performance while reducing operating costs for police fleets. Ford is also rolling out the Transit Connect Taxi and Fusion Hybrid Taxi to help taxi operators reduce fuel costs. Ford says that the Transit Connect Taxi opens up space. It offers 60 cubic-feet cargo volume behind the second row, more than the Nissan NV200 Taxi.
