Category: autonomous vehicles

Waymo and Cruise Allowed to Operate Autonomous Vehicles in San Francisco, Top Selling Global EVs

On August 10, Waymo and Cruise were approved to operate their paid robotaxi services 24/7 in San Francisco. That decision was made by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in a 3-to-1 vote. Members of the public were able to participate in a six-hour public hearing where they voiced their support and opposition to the autonomous vehicles (AVs). That followed several years, and tens of billions of dollars, with several companies investing heavily in developing and testing AVs — with very little hope until this vote passed through.

Waymo, owned by Alphabet, Inc., and Cruise LLC, owned by General Motors, are being allowed to operate their vehicles at any hour of the day throughout the city of San Francisco while charging for the rides. The commissioners urged the companies to address problems and concerns that were raised by San Francisco officials and residents. These issues included AVs blocking roads, causing traffic jams, and getting in the way of emergency vehicles. Commissioner Darcie Houck said that the comments were being taken very seriously in their decision. If further reports came of incidents, the CPUC could vote to limit the number of vehicles allowed on the roads, or companies’ permits could be revoked altogether.

Waymo operates Waymo One with 24/7 across 225 square miles of the Metro Phoenix area. Waymo One takes passengers from downtown Phoenix, to Scottsdale, to the East Valley, the company says. Riders can download the Waymo One app and take a ride in an all-electric Jaguar I-PACE, with no human behind the steering wheel.
Way One service started in December 2018.

The World’s Top Selling Plug-in Cars — 1st Half 2023
1. Tesla Model Y — 579,552
2. Tesla Model 3 — 279,320
3. BYD Song (BEV + PHEV) — 259,723
4. BYD Qin Plus (BEV + PHEV) — 204,259
5. BYD Yuan Plus EV (Atto 3) — 201,505
6. BYD Dolphin — 158,512
7. Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV — 122,052
8. GAC Aion S — 115,606
9. BYD Han (BEV + PHEV) — 96,437
10. GAC Aion Y — 92,034

In March, AAA published results from its annual AV survey. While survey respondents are open to partially-automated vehicle technology. They’re more apprehensive about fully self-driving vehicles. This year’s study found a major increase in drivers who are afraid, rising to 68% as compared to 55% in 2022. While automakers and their partners have made advancements in AV technologies, improvements will still need to be Mae to build public trust and knowledge about the technology, AAA said.

Source: InsideEVs

While the Tesla Model Y crossover SUV and the Tesla Model 3 small sedan are well known in the US market, here’s a look at the other top-selling electric vehicles in the global market — with Chinese maker BYD playing a major leading role………..

  • The BYD Song (a Chinese name, after the Song dynasty) is a series of compact crossover SUV developed by BYD Auto. 
  • The BYD Qin (pronounced “Chin”) is a compact sedan, available as an all-electric car, as a plug-in hybrid, and as an internal combustion engine vehicle.
  • The BYD Yuan is a subcompact crossover SUV, slotting below the BYD Song compact crossover. It is part of BYD’s “Dynasty Series” of production vehicles, and is named after the Yuan dynasty. It’s selling as the BYD ATTO 3 in Europe.
  • The BYD Dolphin is a battery electric hatchback produced by the Chinese manufacturer since 2021. A subcompact (B-segment) hatchback in its home country, the Dolphin is positioned above the Seagull in the Chinese market and part of BYD’s ‘Ocean Series’. It’s been exported to overseas market such as Europe, Australia, and Thailand since 2023 with lengthened dimensions to satisfy more stringent crash safety standards, and placing it in the compact or C-segment space.
  • The Wuling Hong Guang MINI EV is very cheap to buy — about $5,000 new. It’s not available outside of China, and its inspired competitive automakers to make similar models. It will be coming out in a cabriolet and a long-range version.
  • The Aion S is a compact electric sedan produced by Aion, a marque of GAC Group. It was unveiled at Auto Guangzhou of 2018. A new version, the Aion S Plus, was shown in 2021.
  • The BYD Han is a full-size/executive sedan manufactured by the Chinese automaker, available in an all-electric variant and a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) variant. It is the latest entry of BYD’s “Dynasty” series passenger vehicles, and gets its name from the Han Dynasty, which is considered to be the first golden age of Imperial China. 
  • The Aion Y is a compact electric crossover SUV produced by Aion, another model from GAC Group, since 2021. It was revealed as a concept at Auto Guangzhou in November 2020.

And in other news………..

Ford’s Farley on EVs: Ford CEO Jim Farley said the company is cutting back on its initial goal of building electric vehicles at a rate of 600,000 per year by the end of 2023. That will be moved into next year. A goal of 2 million by 2026 was delayed without an extension date provided yet, if at all. Ford is losing money on each EV it sells; but the plans are still there overall he said. The company’s plant in Cologne, Germany is ideal for launched the electric Explorer, he said. Another challenge has been delaying vehicle production to investigate thermal propagation, which build in countermeasures around fire. They needed a six-month delay “to get the engineering right,” Farley told NPR.

Nikola recall: Nikola is recalling all the 209 battery-powered electric trucks that had been delivered to customers due to an investigation into recent fires that found a coolant leak inside a battery pack as the cause. The electric and hydrogen-powered heavy-duty truckmaker is contacting all parties about it, the company said. The preliminary findings came from a third-party investigator looking into a “minor thermal incident” on one pack on a parked engineering-validation truck, the company said, adding that no one was injured.

Transitional Technologies: Autonomous vehicles lagging far behind factory robotics and drones

Tesla owners will have access to fully automated, Level 5 autonomous electric vehicles sometimes this year. No humans will need to be involved, except for being passengers. That’s according to comments made by CEO Elon Musk a few days ago from a video released at a Chinese AI conference.

“I remain confident that we will have the basic functionality for level five autonomy complete this year,” Musk said. “I think there are no fundamental challenges remaining for level five autonomy.”

The problem would be: Where could Tesla owners legally ride in their autonomous EV beyond a limited test run — most of which would not allow them to be the ones riding in that test car?

Australia, Canada, China, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the US have government-sponsored programs and policies in place for testing and developing AVs. None of these countries have yet allowed these vehicles to be deployed at scale. In the US, 40 states have enacted legislation, or have received governor executive orders, on autonomous vehicles. None of them have allowed them to be driven beyond the testing phase; or in limited applications, such as Waymo’s autonomous rides in Arizona.

As for now, AV activities have been put on hold. After COVID-19 hit hard in March, AV companies such as Argo, Aurora, Cruise, Pony, and Waymo, suspended vehicle testing and operations that involved a human driver. Around the same time, Waymo and Ford released open data sets of information collected during AV tests. The two companies challenged developers to use them to come up with faster and smarter self-driving systems.

AVs are years behind robotics being used in manufacturing plants, and for air and sea drones used by the military and other entities such as NOAA (more on this later).

Carnegie Mellon University has always played a leading role participating in AV test projects. A new study has taken a look at another angle — the connection between AVs and electric vehicles. Researchers from the university recently published a paper in the Nature Energy journal. They found that certain parts of the AV ride cycle can drain car batteries, but fixes made to software and hardware should make fleets of electric AVs possible.

“A bunch of commentators used to suggest the first AVs might have to be gas hybrids,” says Shashank Sripad, a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon who worked on the paper. “But we believe that, if we want to do electric vehicles, autonomy will be compatible with it.”

That probably referred to the Toyota Priuses being used in the early stages of the study that was conducted near Google’s (now Alphabet’s) corporate campus in Mountain View, Calif. More recently with Waymo, that’s been taken over by the Chrysler Pacifica minivan.

Automakers are split on their support for Level 4 AVs, and what type of powertrain would be best to use. Ford plans to transition over to battery-powered self-driving cars, says an AV spokesperson for Ford. But if the company can stay on track and hit its original goal of rolling out an AV for service by 2022, it will be rolling out self-driving gas-electric hybrid vehicles.

Automakers have made big commitments to AVs in investments and research studies that will continue. Some of the more memorable deals include General Motor’s $1 billion acquisition of Cruise, Uber buying Otto for $680 million, Ford’s $1 billion Argo Ai investment, and Intel acquiring Mobileye for $15.3 billion.

Five years ago, several companies including Nissan and Toyota promised self-driving cars by this year, but that’s being delayed. AV stakeholders have started to revise their marketing and event messages on where it’s all going for now. Level 4 autonomous will be it for now.

Robotics are already here in production and assembly lines for several automakers and in other industries, with COVID-19 making the topic much more relevant with worker safety being factored in. Meat and poultry workers have been hit hard. In April and May, more than 17,300 meat and poultry processing workers in 29 states were infected and 91 died, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Plant shutdowns started in late April.

Tyson Foods Inc. assembled a team, including designers once employed in the auto industry, working on a deboning system that could make more efficient and safe the procedures carried out in Tyson plants. The team is developing an automated deboning system designed to handle some of the roughly 39 million chickens slaughtered, plucked and sliced up each week in Tyson plants.

The company has invested about $500 million in technology and automation. CEO Noel White said those efforts likely would increase in the aftermath of the pandemic. It’s been chaotic for meat producers, grocery stores, and fast-food chains to keep the product in stores — with Americans having high expectations for buying meat.

On the drone side of the equation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is launching a fleet of 30 gliders to study how the ocean affects hurricanes. It started in 2014 with two gliders used for tracking and measuring huge storms approaching coastal areas.

“We have gliders that have gone through two or three hurricanes already,” explained Gustavo Goni, a lead scientist at the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory in Miami, which is run by NOAA. “They are robust. They don’t even care. Some of them have even been in fights with sharks. We know this because we find sharks’ teeth in gliders when we recover them.”

The past six years has involved building up the floating, sensor-packed units. The first part was figuring out how to get them funded and set up to be sea worthy and long lasting. Then it had to train technicians on how to equip and use them.

Delivery drones have been another application for robotics, used by companies such as Workhorse Group and Amazon. Allowing human beings to go along for the rides in AVs will have to take a lot longer to work out safety, legal, and risk management issues.

Lyft wants all electric fleet by 2030, Ford and VW partnering on commercial vehicles and electrification

Will Lyft go electric?  Ride-hailing company Lyft has committed to do big things by the 2030 benchmark — led by making sure its fleet is 100 percent zero emission. In collaboration with Environmental Defense Fund, other initiatives will be included in coming years such as bringing in autonomous vehicles, and rolling out its Express Drive rental car partner program for ride-share drivers. The challenge will be getting its drivers to switch over to EVs, as Lyft will continue to be a mobile app company partnering driver/car owners to customers needing a ride. The company won’t block drivers who don’t have EVs from accessing their network and getting business; Lyft has to talk them into it. That will be without incentives. The company is counting on governments spiffing up their programs for clean air and fighting climate change.

“We will aggressively promote and help drivers access incentive funds,” a Lyft told TechCrunch. “If policymakers do their part in the next few years, EVs should reach cost-parity with gasoline vehicles by mid-decade.”

Lyft will be working with EDF and other environment groups to lobby for EV incentives and charging infrastructure development. The challenge will be steep as Lyft drivers are used to getting good mileage in small, fuel efficient cars from Asian manufacturers. Another challenge will be Honda putting out a hybrid CR-V on the market soon, providing larger passenger and cargo space with great mileage from a non-EV.

Ford and VW working on electric vans:  Ford Motor Company and Volkswagen AG signed agreements on June 10 that expand their global alliance and take the next step from their initial alliance forged July 2019. They’re seeing increased demand in commercial vehicles and high-performing electric vehicles in Europe and other regions. Their alliance will produce a medium pickup truck engineered and built by Ford, for sale by Volkswagen as the Amarok starting in 2022 within the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles lineup. Next up will be a city delivery van built by VW’s commercial vehicle group; and later onto a 1-ton van created by Ford. By 2023, they’ll be powered by Volkswagen’s Modular Electric Drive (MEB) toolkit, expanding on Ford’s zero-emission capabilities in Europe. The two global automakers will also work with Argo AI to independently develop autonomous vehicles at scale based on Argo AI’s innovative self-driving technology. Argo AI is a Pittsburgh-based company in which Ford has ownership and development interests.

For those interested in Ford’s new Mustang Mach-E electric performance SUV, it’s coming equipped with a more precise predictor of available range. Mustang Mach-E’s innovative Intelligent Range can accurately estimate how much range the all-electric SUV has left, helping reduce anxiety about when and where customers can recharge.

NREL sees hope in blockchain tech:  Blockchain continues to be taken more seriously as unexpected parties like the US Dept. of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), based in Golden, Col., enters the game. But this won’t be about tapping into the highly volatile cryptocurrency capital market. The power grid is bringing in blockchain technology to help ensure the reliability, resiliency, and security needed to distribute energy. With this stability, NREL is ready to take on a major opportunity: how property owners can sell unused power from their rooftop solar panels. Blockchain will serve as a distributed digital record of actions agreed and performed by multiple parties, to facilitate moving clean energy and its efficient distribution effectively. NREL researchers have been evaluating the use of blockchain for transactive energy using hardware in the laboratory’s Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF). So far, they’re impressed.

Automating driving on hold:  BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz AG put development cooperation in automated driving temporarily on hold. Their joined efforts on next-generation technology for automated driving will be placed on the back burner for now. Both companies are emphasizing that cooperation may be resumed at a later date and that the two companies’ underlying approach to matters such as safety and customer benefits in the field of automated driving remains highly compatible. Autonomous vehicle projects are being led by automakers in partnership with competitors and technology suppliers. As COVID-19 continues to hit all of the global markets, these ventures have to be placed on hold for now.

DOE funding advanced lithium-ion batteries:  The US Dept. of Energy is making up to $12 million available for projects that address capability gaps for enhanced lithium-ion batteries, next-generation lithium-ion batteries, and next-generation lithium-based battery technologies. Working through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Advanced Manufacturing Office and Vehicles Technologies Office, funding is available for projects that address these four areas: materials processing and scale-up; innovative, advanced electrode and cell production; designer materials and electrodes; and formation. DOE will be woking with National Laboratories to establish public-private partnerships that solve engineering challenges for advanced battery materials and devices, with a focus on de-risking, scaling, and accelerating adoption of new technologies. The agency is soliciting proposals for projects that can meet these objectives.

Uber and Lyft rides are so far adding to air pollution, Nikola Motor going public

Ride-sharing not helping to cut emissions:  Bad news for those hoping the explosive growth in Uber and Lyft rides in recent years would mean less car ownership, gasoline consumption, and air pollution in crowded cities. It’s actually getting worse. According to a new study by the Union of Concerned Scientists, ride-hailing trips today produce an estimated 69 percent more pollution on average than the trips they displace in the US. In cities, these rides provided by Uber, Lyft, Via, Curb, and other firms, are usually taking away even more low fuel consumption and displacing mobility such as public transportation, biking, or walking. UCS recommends that these companies take efforts to electrify their fleets and increase their pooled rides. “For ride-hailing to contribute to better climate and congestion outcomes, trips must be pooled and electric, displace single-occupancy car trips more often, and encourage low-emissions modes such as mass transit, biking, and walking,” the report says.

But that’s a tough sell for fleets of driver-owned cars and self-employed workers struggling to make a living in ride hailing/sharing. When you take an Uber or Lyft ride, you’ll usually be picked up in a small, fuel-efficient car or crossover utility vehicle. It could be in a Kia Optima or Kia Sportage, a Honda Civic, a Toyota Yaris, a Nissan Rogue, and occasionally in a traditional Prius hybrid. Customers are not going to get a ride in an all-electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle, unless things change. And group rides of three or more passengers can be very inconsistent for customer satisfaction; such as one passenger in a business suit angry about having to wait until being the last drop-off and maybe miss their flight.

Startup truck maker Nikola going public:  On Tuesday, hydrogen fuel cell truck maker Nikola Motor Co. announced that it’s merging with a publicly listed acquisition company called VectoIQ. The transaction is expected to close sometime in the second quarter of this year, and when it does, Nikola will be listed on the NASDAQ exchange as NKLA. The Phoenix-based truck maker will receive $525 million in new investment as a result, adding to an existing stockpile of that same amount that it previously raised across three rounds of funding; and through a joint venture the company started in Europe. Nikola and its backers see much potential in the zero emission commercial truck market as several countries are implementing greenhouse gas rules that are coming to trucking the same way light-duty vehicles are seeing it happen in several countries.

Nikola has developed three different trucks, with a pickup concept being announced not long ago. Nikola also has a grand plan to deploy a hydrogen fueling station network across America, ideal for commercial truck drivers who wouldn’t be able to find hydrogen fuel pumps otherwise. The company also has versions of its trucks that are battery-powered, too, for end users that don’t need as much long range driving as the hydrogen-powered versions of the trucks can offer.  Editor’s note: I’ll have a second market report coming out soon (see below for more on the first one) entitled Hydrogen is finally here — but there are five hurdles to clear, with more on Nikola and other companies in the field.

Demand and interest in EVs in a few states:  If you take a look at this map created by auto site partcatalog.com, the Ford Bronco had the highest search rating in 19 states by car shoppers looking at vehicle refreshes and introductions set for this year. It’s also interesting to see that the upcoming Tesla Model Y took three states (California, Washington, and Hawaii) and the Rivian R1T took the top spot in two states (Vermont and Delaware). The Ford Mach-E, an electric Mustang SUV, won top interest in Idaho and Rhode Island. Partscatalog.com utilized Google trends data covering January 1 through the first week of February, looking at consumer interest in vehicles set to be released this year.

New Green Auto Market report: Will we see transformation of ground transport by 2030?
Will we be riding to work in electric, autonomous, shared vehicles a decade from now? Will the traditional internal-combustion engine auto manufacturing industry be clearly transformed into a new age? Could we witness steadily declining new vehicles sales; younger consumers moving away from car ownership; electric vehicles becoming more important to automakers and vehicle owners than cars and trucks powered by internal combustion engines; autonomous vehicles clearing regulatory hurdles and starting production; connected car features playing a significant role over the next decade; and mobility services leading the way in traffic- and smog-congested cities. For those of you who may have missed my coverage and analysis of these topics last fall, all of it is explored and updated in a new report, Will we see transformation of ground transport by 2030?  Here’s the link for those who are interested.

Audi eTron beats Model 3:  The Tesla Model 3 got trounced in Norway sales during February, with the Audi eTron doing very well in Europe’s hottest battery electric vehicle market. The eTron sold 1,131 units last month and the Model 3 only had 53 units sold. However, Tesla typically back-ends its quarterly cycle where about 50 percent of the volume takes place in the third month. The company should be doing a lot of catch up in March. The Volkswagen eGolf came in second at 740 units sold. That model will be replaced by the VW ID.3 later this year.

Smart cities meet 5G:  Smart cities will soon become one of the most important testing grounds for 5G technology and business models, according to a new Navigant Research study. The next generation wireless/cellular phone network is expected to much faster and load-intensive than 4G, but there’s been a battle over the technology going into the networks along with government communication regulations affecting the outcome. Carmakers and their tech partners are quite interested in how all this will go. The Navigant study looks at a few key areas that some of the challenges will have to be resolved for full integration of smart cities and 5G: cybersecurity, data privacy, the impact of automation, and issues of digital exclusion. The study also explores the strategies of global carriers and infrastructure vendors that are leading the development and deployment of 5G networks.

Daimler launching electric truck test project:  Daimler Trucks North America is launching the Freightliner Customer Experience (CX) Fleet for its electric truck program. The fleet of all-electric pre-series trucks includes six heavy-duty Freightliner eCascadias and two medium-duty eM2 106 trucks. Fourteen of Daimler’s commercial customers will be participating in the test project. Data collection will take place over the next 22 months/ DTNA will analyze data and feedback from the CX Fleet to continue to improve upon future vehicle design and assist customers navigating a transition to electric fleets. “It’s critical that we collaborate with customers across multiple segments to further our understanding of how commercial battery electric trucks will be part of a long-term solution in CO₂-neutral transportation,” said Richard Howard, senior vice president, On-highway sales and marketing, DTNA.

 

Cruise Origin wants to be first electric AV for shared rides, Corporate EV fleet alliance led by Ceres

Cruise Origin pushing the boundaries:  Cruise, General Motor’s self-driving vehicle unit, last week in San Francisco launched the Cruise Origin, a large battery-electric autonomous shuttle van that can carry up to six passengers. All of this without a steering wheel or a brake pedal — but it still needs to be cleared by government officials. GM and Cruise are waiting for an exemption from the Federal Motor Vehicle safety standards that would allow the companies to test vehicles without these manual controls. If that gets approved, GM will be able to deploy up to 2,500 robs-taxis a year through its own Uber-competitive ride-sharing business. The US Dept. of Transportation is taking a hands-off approach to regulation on the national level. Elaine Chao, the US transportation secretary, says that this was going to be left to the companies developing these vehicles to self-regulate.
Corporate EV fleet alliance:  Amazon, AT&T, Clif Bar, Consumers Energy, DHL, Direct Energy, Genentech, IKEA North America, LeasePlan, Lime, and Siemens are leading a campaign for an expanded electric vehicle market and improved policy landscape through the Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance, led by Ceres, a sustainability nonprofit organization. The alliance is focused on decarbonizing transportation to tackle the climate crisis. The group is promoting the benefits of transitioning over to electrified fleets — cost savings on fuel and maintenance, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, freedom from reliance on volatile oil and gas prices, improved driver safety, enhanced company reputation, and bolstered workforce recruitment and retention. Amazon’s purchase of 100,000 Rivian electric delivery vans, and a commitment to deliver 50% of shipments with net zero carbon by 2030, is part of the “climate pledge” the member companies are taking, according to Amazon.

Top Selling US Electric Vehicles in 2019
1. Tesla Model 3: 300,471
2. Tesla Model S: 157,992
3. Chevrolet Volt: 157,054
4. Nissan Leaf: 141,907
5. Toyota Prius Prime: more than 109,003 (by September 2019)
6. Tesla Model X: 85,077
7. Ford Fusion Energi: more than 66,679 (by September 2019)
8. Chevrolet Bolt EV: 58,313
9. Ford C-Max Energi: 42,231
10. BMW i3: 41,988

The Tesla Model 3 continues to dominate electric vehicle sales in the US, at nearly double the volume sold of the Tesla Model S and the Chevrolet Volt. The Volt went out of production in the spring and will be running out of inventory available for sale soon as new vehicles. The Model S finally overtook the retiring Volt in December. The Toyota Prius Prime and Ford Fusion Energi will later include more sales units recorded for the year, as these numbers only went through the end of September. Through the end of October, the Model 3 was the top selling EV in the world, followed by the BAIC EU-Series, BYD Yuan/S2 EV, Nissan Leaf, and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Another report shows a steep drop for the Tesla Model 3 in The Netherlands, Norway, and Spain, compared to December; however, details on overall EV and new vehicle sales during that time period were not available in this analysis piece.

GAM readership changes:  Green Auto Market has switched over to Mailchimp, bringing over only a list of readers who’ve opened and read the newsletter recently. For those interested in joining the list, the subscriber link on the right column has been reactivated. And you can follow GAM and its editor on Twitter (both the publication and my page), LinkedIn, and Facebook.

RNG study:  Navigant Research just released a study on the growth boom in renewable natural gas. It includes it within the global biogas market, which is expected to continue to grow with a large and relatively established market in Europe and a rapidly growing market in Asia Pacific. Government incentives are making a big difference. “Transportation mandates such as the US Renewable Fuel Standard and California Low Carbon Fuel Standard have been instrumental in the RNG market,” according to the report.

DOE funding announcements:  The US Department of Energy (DOE) will offer an investment of nearly $300 million in funding for research and development of sustainable transportation resources and technologies through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). These Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) will be issued on behalf of the three sustainable transportation offices: Vehicles, Fuel Cells, and Bioenergy Technology Offices. EERE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) will provide funding support under two of the FOAs that will catalyze research, development, and adoption of energy-related advanced manufacturing technologies and practices to drive U.S. economic competitiveness and energy productivity. Topic areas within this FOA address priorities in advanced batteries and electrification; advanced engine and fuel technologies, including technologies for off-road applications; lightweight materials; new mobility technologies (energy efficient mobility systems), and alternative fuels technology demonstrations. The DOE’s H2@Scale initiative investment will support innovative hydrogen concepts that will encourage market expansion and increase the scale of hydrogen production, storage, transport, and use, including heavy-duty trucks, data centers, and steel production. In a separate announcement, the DOE said it will provide funding of about $96 million for bioenergy research and development. One project will be focused on reducing the price of drop-in biofuels, lowering the cost of biopower, and enabling high-value products from biomass or waste resources.
LCFS verification:  California Air Resources Board has set up its Low Carbon Fuel Standard verifier accreditation training program. The LCFS relies on accurate data monitoring, reporting, and verification to ensure the highest quality data are used in the program. In 2018, CARB approved amendments to add third-party verification requirements consistent with the verification programs under Mandatory Reporting and California’s Cap-and-Trade Programs, and international best practices. The LCFS verification program provides confidence and reliability in reported data for stakeholders, market participants, and the public. You can research accreditations on the LCFS Verification program webpage.

Volvo plug-in vehicles:  Volvo Cars has started taking orders for its XC40 Recharge P8 AWD, the company’s first all-electric car based on the best-selling SUV, in selected markets. The company said its already received several thousands of pre-orders well ahead of availability of the vehicle. The Swedish automaker has a very big goal to make battery-electric vehicles 50 percent of global sales by 2025, with the rest having hybrid variations. The company sold nearly 46,000 plug-in hybrids last year, a 23 percent increase over 2018. In Q4 2019, plug-in hybrids made up more than 20 percent of all its vehicles sold in Europe.

Hydrogen cost coming way down, New Jersey rolls out EV incentive

What’s been happening lately?
Hydrogen is looking better in costs now for fueling clean vehicles and in a few other areas including industrial feedstock and as an energy storage medium. That comes from a new study by Hydrogen Council and McKinsey & Co., that concludes there are now three core market drivers: a steep drop in production costs, higher load utilization cutting distribution and refueling costs, and additional cost drops from scaling up of end-use equipment manufacturing. The study looked at 25,000 data points gathered and analyzed from 30 global companies with cost reductions expected across several different hydrogen applications. These sectors include long-distance and heavy-duty transportation, industrial heating, heavy industry feedstock, and others, which make up about 15 percent of global energy consumption. Of course, much support is needed and Hydrogen Council is championing effective government policies to be adopted in key geographies, along with investment support of around $70 billion in the lead up to 2030 in order to scale up and produce for a much more cost-competitive fuel. “The Hydrogen Council believes that the report’s findings will not only increase public awareness about the potential of hydrogen to power everyday lives, but also debunk the myth that a hydrogen economy is unattainable due to cost,” said Euisun Chung, executive vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group and co-chair of the Hydrogen Council. “If we are to reach our global climate goals by mid-century and reap the benefits of hydrogen, now is the time to act.”

New Jersey wants to take on greenhouse gases through a new transportation policy. Gov. Phil Murphy just signed an electric vehicle bill into law that offers a clear roadmap for state houses and governors nationwide to tackle climate change. The new law makes it easier for residents of New Jersey to buy an EV by providing a largest-in-the-nation rebate of up to $5,000. It also creates a statewide high-speed charging network, making driving an EV more convenient. Beyond cars, the law also requires NJ Transit to only purchase electric buses by 2032.

Cruise, General Motors’ self-driving vehicle division, has announced the Cruise Origin, developed with Honda Motor Co. It’s been designed with more space for passengers and to take on mobility competitors. The autonomous taxi will give ride-hailing giants Uber and Lyft another rival, Cruise CEO Dan Ammann said Tuesday during the vehicle’s introduction. GM is putting all its AV efforts into the Cruise unit these days, and giving the business space to work with competitors like Honda, which became an investor in October 2018. That’s helped Cruise move more quickly to develop a self-driving electric vehicle platform. GM created the platform that doesn’t require a backup driver or steering wheel. Honda contributed to the engineering and production of the vehicle. GM is waiting for an exemption from the Federal Motor Vehicle safety standards that would allow Cruise to test vehicles without these manual controls. If that gets approved, GM can deploy up to 2,500 robs-taxis a year that can be hailed vis a smartphone app.

And a few other new briefs:

  • President Trump said that Elon Musk is “one of our great geniuses, and we have to protect our genius.” 
  • Tesla Autopilot crashes put in a more realistic overview perspective by a mobility expert.
  • The latest on the AB 5 battle, California’s law requiring gig-economy workers to be treated as employees.

Autonomous a decade away? What about connected smart apps until then?

Last week saw the big CES show in Las Vegas, where autonomous vehicles took over five years ago; the star then was the Audi A7 self-driving prototype. Many attendees this year were very disappointed that automakers and tech partners have changed their story from the AV Revolution over to cool, connected features being added to new cars.

This topic has been further explored in a Green Auto Market analytical report. Click here to see the market report available for purchase and download.

 

 

Highlights from this year’s CES:

  • Sony unveiled an electric car concept that could set the Japanese tech giant up as a partner for self-driving EVs of the future. The company said sensors are embedded within the vehicle, in order to “detect and recognize people and objects inside and outside the car, and provide highly advanced driving support.” Magna Steyr built prototype, and Sony listed Benteler, Blackberry, Bosch, Continental, Elektrobit, Genetex, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and ZF Friedrichshafen as partners.
  • Along with reminders about its intelligent mobility offerings, Nissan revealed a new twin-motor, all-electric, all-wheel-drive system. It’s expected to debut in Nissan’s first all-electric crossover utility vehicle that may arrive in the US in 2021. Called e-4ORCE, the new system will deliver high-torque, precision handling and stability, Nissan said. This will be possible by optimizing power delivery to each of the four wheels.
  • Toyota’s Woven City was shown off as a prototype community of the future that will be built near Mount Fuji in Japan. The 175-acre site will house an experimental laboratory of future technologies including self-driving vehicles run on hydrogen fuel cells, robots, smart homes and new forms of personal mobility. People will be able to live in this community of the future.
  • Hey there, hardcore gamers:  This year, both Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PlayStation will launch new, next-generation game consoles. Both are scheduled to arrive this holiday season, and both are being slowly finished up for major launches. And you can always get a cutting-edge TV of the future to play the games on and watch your favorite show. Samsung showed off its Q950 8K TV with a minimal 15mm frame and AI processor that can track screen objects and position the sound to match. LG unveiled its latest rollable OLED TV, that can roll down from the ceiling like a projector screen with no need for a projector; there’s also a more affording OLED TV with a smaller 48-inch display.
  • Uber and Hyundai Motor Co. have a new partnership to develop Uber Air Taxis for a future aerial ride share network, and the new partners unveiled a new full-scale aircraft concept. Hyundai is the first automotive company to join the Uber Elevate initiative, bringing automotive-scale manufacturing capability and a track record of mass-producing electric vehicles.
  • Renault is developing a solution enabling automatic and secure interaction and communication between cars and connected objects in homes in partnership with French smart-home startup Otodo. Users will be able to control their home’s connected objects directly from their vehicle’s dashboard, as well as send instructions from their home, using a smartphone or connected speaker, to their connected Renault vehicle to prepare or share an itinerary, and other functions. It will be available in all Renault models that have the new Renault EASY LINK multimedia system, including the all-new Zoe, Clio, and Captur.
  • Hey there, Avatar fans:  Something that could be called “Ava-car” will be launched to promote upcoming sequels to the hugely popular Avatar movie made by the legendary director James Cameron. He spoke at CES to announced an Avatar-themed partnership with Mercedes-Benz, revealing the futuristic AVTR concept car. It offers what the German carmaker sees as the future of automotive design, featuring things like a steering wheel that will “merge” man and machine. AVTR will be able to recognize the driver based on their heartbeat and breathing patterns. The look of the car is based on non-human characters from Avatar’s fictional eco-universe. The seats and floor are made from sustainable materials, and the battery is recyclable, too.

Test projects may be tipping point for mobility, Uber and colleagues battling California labor law

Here’s the final commentary in a series on predictions that 2030 will be the watershed year to watch for when vehicles, transportation, and the entire auto industry itself will look quite different than it does today.

 

This topic has been further explored in a Green Auto Market analytical report. Click here to see the market report available for purchase and download.

 

And in other news……..

Uber and other mobile apps fighting California’s new labor law:  California’s leading mobile app companies — Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Postmates, and Instacart — will be fighting the state’s new law, AB 5, that was approved and signed by the governor in September. AB 5 will essentially be making drivers employees after it becomes enacted on January 1. The Silicon Valley mobility companies are backing what’s called the Protect App-Based Drivers & Services Act, which will become a ballot initiative for the November 2020 election once enough Californians sign a request to have it placed on that ballot. Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash have each contributed $30 million to get the initiative approved by voters; Postmates and Instacart are each contributing $10 million. If enacted, their law would cancel AB 5; it’s being written to ensure drivers and couriers can continue to be independent contractors with flexible work hours. Drivers have been marching in support of the new initiative, which will have incentives built in such as guaranteeing they receive at least 120 percent of minimum wage while on the job. It would reverse the new rules that AB 5 has created for the state. Legal battles are likely to take place in the state’s courts, with class-action lawsuits for workers and suits filed by the mobile app companies attempting to thwart AB 5. For now, Uber and the other Silicon Valley startups are being quiet about how their drivers will be treated after January 1 — if the companies will follow AB 5, or if it will be ignored as they scramble to organize their lobbying and legal battles.

Ford v Ferrari:  For car buffs and racing fans, “Ford v Ferrari” will be a real treat. Released in theaters this coming Friday, the movie dramatizes the 1966 Le Mans 24-hour endurance race, where legendary designer Carroll Shelby’s Ford GT40 was able to knock out reigning champion Ferrari. Mat Damon plays Shelby and Christian Bale plays maverick driver Ken Miles. The filmmakers borrowed cars shown in the film from California-based Shelby Legendary Cars and its parent company, Superformance.

Uber and Lyft riders not happy with LAX:  Airline passengers coming in to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) have to wait longer now to get into their Uber and Lyft rides. Uber and Lyft passengers can no longer wait for the car to arrive curbside at terminals; they have to get on what’s called the LAX-it shuttle and be taken to an offsite station to meet their drivers. The airport continues constructing a major changeover, with a new people mover being set up to carry passengers across the expanding terminals. LAX ground transportation guidelines have been changing for a few years now, and passengers have become more agitated with the wait time and gridlock at the airport with continued construction and roadblocks. Airport administrators hope that setting up the new ride-hailing station will reduce traffic overall for drivers dropping off, and picking up, family and friends on the LAX terminal loop. Getting a ride from Uber and Lyft had been a convenient, cost effective transportation option in the past few years. That’s all changing now, with much of that efficiency being taken away. Air travelers and those driving them have been avoiding LAX whenever possible as traffic has gotten worse. Solutions for travelers include going to another nearby airport whenever possible. However, many cross country and international flights have to go in and out of LAX — and not the Orange County, Long Beach, or Ontario Airports. So changes at LAX greatly affect regular travels living and working in the LA and OC area. For taxi, chauffeured transportation, and shuttle operators, LAX’s changes affecting Uber and Lyft are just deserts for stringent and costly regulations imposed on them for several decades by airports and cities. Uber and Lyft are facing more regulations and fees in London, and the companies can expect government entities around the world to extend more of their own rules and fees as ride hailing continues expanding rapidly in these markets.

BYD Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. announced last week that they have signed an agreement to establish a joint company to research and develop battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The new R&D company, which will work on designing and developing BEVs (including platforms) and related parts, is anticipated to be established in China in 2020, with BYD and Toyota to evenly share 50 percent of the total capital needed. Additionally, BYD and Toyota plan to staff the new company by transferring engineers and the jobs currently involved in related R&D from their respective companies.

When will roads be filled with automated vehicles? Plus, official launch of Fisker Ocean

Here’s part four of a series on predictions that 2030 will be the watershed year to watch for when vehicles, transportation, and the entire auto industry itself will look quite different than it does today.

 

This topic has been further explored in a Green Auto Market analytical report. Click here to see the market report available for purchase and download.

 

And in other news:

Fisker launch announced:  Fisker Inc. has launched it long-awaited all electric luxury SUV, which the company has named the Fisker Ocean. The company said it will be the “world’s most sustainable vehicle,” built on recycled, vegan and more innovative materials. Fisker said it will be breaking the usual automaker product launch process by revealing a fully running production intent prototype sitting on the actual, completely engineered platform on Jan. 4, 2020. Early reservations will start with the launch of the mobile app later this month, when pricing will be announced. The battery electric vehicle will have 250 to 300 miles per charge, depending on driving conditions, that will come from an approximately 80 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. To learn more, visit www.FiskerInc.com.
BMW and Ford providing charging networks:  The BMW Group will install over 4,100 charging points for electrified vehicles at its German locations by 2021. The new charging infrastructure enables BMW Group employees to charge their cars conveniently at their workplaces. About half of the charging points will also be open to the public. That follows a recent announcement from Ford that it will be offering its all-electric vehicle customers North America’s largest electric vehicle public charging network, with more than 12,000 places to charge, including fast charging, and more than 35,000 charge plugs. Ford said it will be more charging infrastructure provided than from any other automaker. Through FordPass on a mobile device or in each vehicle’s on-screen dashboard, customers will be able to monitor charging at home, and find and pay for easy, one-stop charging at FordPass Charging Network stations.

Volvo Trucks selling EVs in Europe:  Volvo Trucks announced the start of sales of its Volvo FL and Volvo FE electric trucks in selected markets within Europe, meeting the increasing demand for sustainable transport solutions in city environments. “Global urbanization requires urban logistics and truck transport with zero emissions and less noise with increasing urgency. With the Volvo FL Electric and Volvo FE Electric we are able to meet both the strong environmental demands as well as the high commercial requirements of our customers,” said Jonas Odermalm, VP Product Line Electromobility.

GM strike won’t be ending anytime soon, What to expect by 2030 part 2

The United Auto Workers’ strike shows no signs of ending anytime soon — putting more than 48,000 workers in the US off the job since Sept. 16 and costing General Motors more than $1 billion as of Monday; and supplier partners are loosing hundreds of thousands per day. Virtually all of its North American assembly lines are off-line as labor and management attempt to negotiate a settlement contract over wages, healthcare, and job security on the labor side and management’s vision of where it needs to go in the future. Last month, the UAW signed indefinite contract extensions with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Ford Motor Co. The GM contract has historically set the tone and some of the details for the next wave with the other two major domestic automakers.

Contract settlement details from a Monday night offer from GM began to emerge yesterday. Wage increases or a lump-sum payment offered over four years of the proposed contract have been added. The union had rejected the initial offer and submitted a counterproposal Tuesday over disagreements on health care, wages, temporary workers, skilled trades, job security and “concessionary” measures. Talks are expected to resume today.

Along with the strike, two more former UAW leaders have agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors as the government builds a criminal case against some of the union’s leaders for embezzling more than $1 million funds for personal luxuries. Since it started, the corruption investigation has been marked by federal raids and criminal charges against 11 people linked to the UAW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. So far, nine convictions have been secured over breaking labor laws, taking kickbacks, bribes, and embezzlement. The crisis continues to raise flags over the future of the UAW — and how it will affect the GM strike.

Gaining loyal union membership has been a tougher sell in the US than in Europe and other parts of the world. Membership has been declining since the 1970s, with corruption scandals and strikes adding to worker frustration and declining public support. None of the “transplant” foreign automakers operating in the US have unionized workers. Volkswagen workers at the Chattanooga, Tenn., plant rejected UAW membership in June. Tesla chief Elon Musk continues to fight off moves by the UAW and complaints filed under state labor laws. A California judge ruled Friday that Musk and other company executives have been illegally sabotaging employee efforts to form a union. While these are considered unfair labor practices, Tesla doesn’t face any real penalties.

The economic trends started in the 1970s are continuing — closing plants in the US and opening them up again in other countries with cheaper labor and other costs; bringing in robotics to take over more of the assembly plant jobs; adopting the latest technologies to meet consumer demands, government regulations, and to gain competitive brand images to increase sales and profits. As economists have said in recent years, globalization, technology innovation, and corporate profits, are the defining elements in the future of corporations. Workers have less voice and are being pushed into looking for alternative futures for themselves and their kids. It’s a tough change to make for those coming from multi-generational families and communities that had done very well with auto industry jobs.

Management careers have also been hard hit over the past 30 years as well — with layoffs and forced geographic moves overseas disrupting the lives of thousands of low-to-mid-level management employees. High-level executives have also seen their share of turmoil since the Great Recession, with several surprising cuts being made as major automakers merge with former competitors and startup new business units to meet the fast-changing world of mobility. Shareholders expect to see better profit margins and stock prices, no matter what.

 

What to expect by 2030 part 2: What generation is most likely to lead the mobility transformation? 

This topic has been further explored in a Green Auto Market analytical report. Click here to see the market report available for purchase and download.

 

A few interesting news briefs:
Ford and Mahindra:  Ford is lessening its presence in India, taking a 49 percent share to Mahindra’s 51 percent through a new joint venture managed by Mahindra in the troubled auto market. The two companies will continue working on developing battery-powered cars, but Ford is needing to scale back in a key global auto market that’s been plunging in sales for nearly a year (and one that rival General Motors left in late 2017). The Indian government has been issuing incentives to grow electric vehicle sales, which have been down to only about 2,000 a year — nowhere near what New Dehli wants to see for emissions targets and reliance on oil imports.

Tesla in China:  Tesla’s Shanghai factory plant aims to start production this month but it is unclear when it will meet year-end production targets due to uncertainties around orders, labor, and suppliers. Tesla plans to produce at least 1,000 Model 3s a week from the new factory by the end of this year. The $2 billion factory gained government approval last month and is on schedule to start production in October, the sources said.

Amazon making biggest EV purchase ever:  Michigan-based startup Rivian Automotive will be building and delivering 100,000 electric vans to Amazon over the next decade. The first 10,000 will start hitting roads in 2021 and completing the delivery the next year, with all 100,000 EVs fully operational in Amazon’s fleet by 2030. It makes for the largest EV purchase ever. Amazon chief Jeff Bezos said 100,000-unit fleet will eliminate 4 million metric tons of carbon emissions when fully operational.

Electrify America chargers:  Volkswagen’s Electrify America announced yesterday that it will be offering Level 2 electric vehicle home chargers. Customers can now purchase the Electrify America Electric Vehicle Home Charger on Amazon for $499. The product is also accessible through electrifyamerica.com/charging-at-home. The company said its compatible with all electric vehicles available in the North American market today. It features a charging power of up to 7.6kW – about 6 times faster than the typical Level 1 charger provided to some new EV owners, depending on vehicle make and model.