This Week’s Top 10: Chevy Bolt stays on schedule, Congressmen ask for extension of mid-term comment period

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…….

  1. Chevrolet BoltBolt launch: The Chevy Bolt is back on track to launch by the end of the year, and it had never gone off course, according to Chevrolet. Several media reports and enthusiast websites said that the Bolt would be delayed by six months. The Bolt remains on schedule, with U.S. sales set to begin by year end, according to a Chevrolet spokesman. General Motors engineers have been spotted testing Bolts equipped with correct finishes and colors in the Detroit area, which means that the Bolt is on schedule.
  2. Midterm review extension: Three Congressional leaders asked federal environmental and safety officials to extend by 60 days the public comment period for the midterm review on new vehicle emissions and fuel economy standards. Fred Upton, chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce; Ed Whitfield, chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Power; and Michael Burgess, chairman of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade, signed the letter that was sent to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Administrator Mark Rosekind.
  3. Audi electrified: Audi is preparing sporty models and electrified vehicles for launch as it emerges from parent company’s diesel reporting scandal. Audi has committed to make sure 25% of its sales will be plug-in hybrid or battery electric vehicles by 2025. Audi said the e-tron Quattro all-electric crossover vehicle will go on sale in 2018 as the lead model in its electrified vehicle campaign, with U.S. sales expected to start in 2019.
  4. California bill on HOV stickers: Plug In America has been opposing a bill in the California legislature, Assembly Bill 1964, that supports plug-in hybrids but limits purchase incentives on battery electric vehicles. The electric car advocacy group appreciates support the bill gives to High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) carpool lane green stickers for plug-in hybrid vehicles, but opposes limitations placed on white stickers for battery electric vehicles. As of last night, the bill had not progressed through the voting procedure in Sacramento and is likely to be put on hold.
  5. AB 1613: CALSTART is supporting California Assembly Bill 1613, which is backed by President pro Tempore Kevin De León and would allocate approximately $1.2 billion in revenues collected under the state’s cap and trade program. The majority of the funds were generated during auctions held by the state in 2015. “If Assembly Bill 1613 is approved by both houses, it would enable approximately $20 million in high-value clean transportation projects in the San Joaquin Valley. A number of very promising and different electric trucks and buses would be deployed in the Valley if this legislation passes,” said CALSTART President and CEO John Boesel. Read all about the clean transportation projects being funded that include electric transit buses and postal trucks.
  6. Fuel cell military pickup: General Motors will be testing out a hydrogen-powered Chevy Colorado pickup with the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) for military use. TARDEC says that it appreciates fuel cell capability because of its capabilities in off-road environments and because it is quiet. Additional tests will include demonstrating exportable power generation. GM and TARDEC will showcase the fuel cell vehicle at the Association of the United States Army’s fall meeting.
  7. Uber takes a loss: Uber lost $1.27 billion in the first half of 2016, according to sourves attending a shareholder call recently for the privately-held company. Incentive subsidies paid to Uber drivers, especially in China, caused much of the loss, the Uber chief financial officer said during the call. Subsidies for Uber’s drivers are responsible for the majority of the company’s losses globally, Gupta said during the earnings call. Some of that loss has come through intense competition with Chinese ride-hailing market leader Didi Chuxing. Uber has lost about $2 billion in two years in China, and has invested at least $1 billion in subsidy incentives for drivers in that market, according to the Bloomberg report. The recent deal with Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi is expected to help stabilize Uber’s financials. Another challenge has come through an aggressive price war with Lyft.
  8. Startups getting hit in China: Starting up an electric vehicle manufacturing company has been a hot commodity for angel investors in China, including well-known technology business leaders. That’s expected to take a downward spiral as the government leans toward cutting the list down to only 10 startups that will be receiving permits to become vehicle manufacturers. Half of those spots might already be taken. Beijing Electric Vehicle Co. and Hangzhou Changjiang Passenger Vehicle Co. have been grated permits. Companies preparing to file include Wanxiang Group, LeEco, and WM Motor.
  9. Kia Optima PHEV: Car and Driver reviewed the Optima PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle), Kia’s first plug-in. The main difference from the regular Optima hybrid lurks under the rear seats and trunk floor: a 9.8-kWh lithium-ion battery pack that, Kia claims, allows the PHEV to go up to 29 miles in electric-only mode and to operate at speeds of up to 75 mph on battery and electric motor, according to the reviewer.
  10. Cap and trade funds: See where funds raised by California’s cap and trade auction end up. It’s called the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and has committed $850 to the state’s high-speed rail project as its largest recipient. Low carbon transportation projects are receiving $325 million to back zero and near-zero emission passenger vehicle rebates, freight transportation projects, and others.

California SB 32 and AB 197 set tone for next wave of clean transportation policies and funding if accepted by key stakeholders in government and business

CARB websiteCalifornia has settled a legislative battle through simultaneous passage of Senate Bill 32 and Assembly Bill 197 – or at least has gained a temporary truce. SB 32 extends the state’s greenhouse gas mandate another 10 years and reduces greenhouse gases even more. AB 197 expands oversight of the California Air Resources Board with a priority set on cutting emissions from local oil refineries and manufacturers. The two bills were “double-joined,” which is legislative jargon meaning both bills have to be signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown to take effect. That signature is expected to be happening soon. Brown had already filed an executive order with similar goals, but the legislation once signed turns it into law.

Questions will need to be answered on what these new laws will mean for vehicle emissions, oil production, and power plants over the next 15 years. Observers will need to watch whether leadership in both political parties, and major corporations in the state, can buy into decisions made in the legislature and agencies such as CARB and California Energy Commission. Here’s a look at the regulatory issues that are expected to set the stage:

Senate Bill 32: SB 32 requires the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. The current target is reaching 1990 levels by 2020, a goal the state is on track to meet. Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) wrote the new legislation and the 2006 legislation (AB 32) that set the foundation for the new bill. The state’s cap and trade program and low carbon fuel standard came from implementation of AB 32.

“People once thought we were being alarmist when we talked about drought and year-round wildfires,” Pavley said to the LA Times. “But all these predictions have come true, and the realities of climate change seem to be accelerating and are tangibly visible sooner than I ever expected. The discussion here now is how to address it, not if.”

Media reports and analyst commentary predict how these steeper reduction targets in SB 32 may impact industries. Some possible policy changes could be increasing the number of electric cars required to be sold in the state, adding penalty fees to purchase traditional fossil fuel-powered vehicles, renewing incentives for solar and wind power, and pushing for batteries to store energy at homes and commercial buildings.

It’s also likely to be an engine for constructive job creation. Earlier this month, CALSTART released a report, “California’s Clean Transportation Technology Industry: Time to Shift into High Gear,” profiling OEMs and suppliers that are now based in California and are building zero- and near-zero emission light, medium, and heavy duty vehicles; and clean fuels, engines, and components. The report also acknowledged that state policies and funding investments are encouraging more companies to move to, or expand, in California.

“The State Assembly voted today in favor of job creation, and to make California a leader in the clean transportation technology industry going forward. We expect that passage of this measure will lead to more in-state manufacturing jobs for advanced vehicles and components,” said CALSTART President and CEO, John Boesel, in a press release last week.

Last year, the state legislature failed to pass a bill to cut petroleum use in half by 2030, after the oil industry waged an intensive campaign against it. That’s where the double-joined strategy came from, with legislators crafting and joining the two bills to address concerns from local community groups and pressure from the oil industry and manufacturers.

Assembly Bill 197: Introduced by Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella), AB 197 increases legislative oversight of CARB, and requires the agency to focus more attention on cutting emissions from local refineries and manufacturers. One issue that shaped the writing of the law was the air quality impact of oil refineries, which are usually located near disadvantaged communities.

CARB has been both admired and admonished in the state and beyond, with praise given to its zero emissions vehicle mandate and adoption by other states; and criticism for adopting policies potentially raising fuel and energy costs, and for increasing the cost of doing business in California, which can motivate companies to move away to others states. Republicans and a few Democrats have accused CARB of wielding too much power in implementing climate laws; they demanded more legislative control over the agency, which became part of AB 197. It also addresses concerns from lawmakers who remain skeptical about whether policies to tackle a global problem are having a positive impact in their communities.

Garcia made comments that his bill addressed nuts-and-bolts questions about how the state would meet its goals, and how they would affect residents. “It’s great to hear about saving polar bears and hugging trees, and making sure we address global warming from a world perspective,” he said to the LA Times. “But how about people?”

Environmental groups have expressed concerns over the state’s cap-and-trade program. Though it puts an economic burden on companies until they reduce their carbon emissions, some environmental groups are frustrated because the companies can continue to release more carbon as long as they pay the price.

Cap and trade program: AB 32 required businesses that emit greenhouse gases to buy permits at cap-and-trade auctions. Oil companies, refineries, electric utilities, and manufacturers have been spending millions on credits to comply with state rules. Cap and trade auction revenue has funded programs for fleets to acquire clean vehicles, electric vehicle purchase incentives, and other clean transportation gains.

Cap and trade was not included in SB 32 or AB 197. The carbon tax, and cap-and-trade auction system, is scheduled to sunset in 2020. Gov. Brown has said that he might lead a statewide ballot measure in 2018 if lawmakers don’t come to agreement on an extension.

Recent cap-and-trade auction results have dropped, with revenue falling millions short of expectations. Funds raised since the auction started in 2012 have been substantial, and has created a new funding channel for clean transportation and clean energy stakeholders to tap into.

This Week’s Top 10: California climate change measure double-joined to second bill, Tesla adds 100 kilowatt-hour battery pack

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…….

  1. SacramentoCalifornia climate change bill: Legislation extending California’s climate change law through 2030 narrowly passed in the Assembly, but its future depends on the approval of another bill. Advocates for the state’s climate change law scored a major victory yesterday with the passage of Senate Bill 32 introduced by Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) that extends the state’s goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; however, it is contingent on passage of Assembly Bill 197 and on approval in the state senate. AB 197, introduced by Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella), would increase legislative oversight of the California Air Resources Board. It also has language that makes it contingent on Pavley’s bill. The two bills are “double-joined,” meaning that both bills need to be signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown to take effect. Oil companies are putting pressure on legislators to change the AB 197 wording, with portions of the bill targeted at slashing emissions from local refineries and manufacturers. SB 32 has been seen as a crucial step for reauthorizing the state’s cap-and-trade program. The bill now requires a 40% reduction from 1990 levels by 2030. The current climate law, AB 32, required the state to reach 1990 levels by 2020. CALSTART released a statement supporting passage of SB 32 as an engine for moving clean transportation, and advanced vehicles and components, forward.
  2. Tesla battery upgrade: Tesla Motors is adding a 100-kilowatt-hour battery pack for both the Model S sedan and Model X crossover. The Model S P100D will now have an EPA-estimated 315 miles of range, an increase of 45 miles over the P90D. The Model S P100D Price will begin at $134,500, and X P100D will start at $135, 500. It’s available for order immediately and due for deliveries starting in September
  3. Next step in commercial truck rules: Manufacturers of medium- and heavy-duty trucks, buses, and cargo vans are required to follow federal regulations on reducing carbon greenhouse gas emissions in three phases by 2027. It the latest step in a multi-year process designed to cut carbon emissions by about 1.1 billion metric tons over the vehicle’s lifecycle; that equates to about a 25% reduction compared to current standards. “This next phase of standards for heavy- and medium-duty vehicles will significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions while driving innovation, and will ensure that the United States continues to lead the world in developing fuel-efficient technologies through the next decade and beyond,” said Gina McCarthy, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
  4. Bill on California HOV lane stickers: Plug In America expressed concern over another California bill, which could hurt adoption of electric vehicles. Assembly Bill 1964 would remove the limit of 85,000 green HOV decals for plug-in hybrid vehicles to access the HOV carpool lane. Those who purchase an EV between January 2018 and January 2019 will have access to the HOV lane until January 2021, and those who purchase after January 2019 will also have access for three years. This gives anyone purchasing a PHEV some certainty that a green decal will be available and they can use the HOV lane. Plug In America is concerned that the bill only extends the green HOV decal program for PHEVs, but not the white decal program for pure battery electric vehicles (BEVs). If nothing changes in the proposed legislation, drivers of BEVs will not be allowed to access the HOV lane after January 1, 2019. The organization is encouraging those concerned to take action on the bill.
  5. PEV sales in Europe: The European plug-in electrified vehicle market saw a 21% increase in the first six months of this year compared to that same period last year, according to EV Obsession and CleanTechnica partner EV Volumes, with 91,300 PEVs sold. In June, the best selling model was the Renault Zoe held the top spot in June, which made up 14.2% of all PEV sales in Europe. This was followed by the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (10.2%), the Nissan Leaf (9.3%), and the Tesla Model S (8.7%).
  6. Tesla state battles: Tesla Motors is focusing on the state of Utah, where last year a bill intended to give the electric carmaker the right to sell its vehicles in the state stalled out after a series of compromises. State legislator Kim Coleman had led the drive, but so many amendments had been added to it that Tesla withdrew its support and the bill was voted down. Lawmakers and a dealer association are continuing to debate the issue of Tesla being allowed to have sales presence in the state. In Alabama, as state senators has filed a proposed a bill that would “allow a manufacturer of alternative fuel vehicles to sell and lease its vehicles directly to the public.” That would apply to Tesla and other manufacturers of vehicles fueled by electricity, natural gas, or propane. Direct sales are considered “an unfair and deceptive trade practice” in the state. Tesla’s sales are also banned in Arizona, Michigan, Texas, Connecticut, Utah, and West Virginia.
  7. CityAirbus ridesharing: Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is developing CityAirbus that will transport riders out of crowded cities via the sky. Short air trips will cost about as much as a taxi ride for each passenger. The first test run for CityAirbus will start in late 2017. Passengers can board the multi-propeller aircraft by using a mobile phone app, then going to a nearby helipad to catch the next ride. Airbus says it will offer avoidance of traffic congested areas, and it will be faster and more sustainable than what’s out there now.
  8. RNG in NYC refuse fleet: Robert Catell, former chairman of National Grid, US, and Joanna Underwood, chairwoman of Energy Vision, wrote a commentary piece for the New York Times, making a case for renewable natural gas. New York City’s Department of Sanitation plans to buy 340 new trash trucks this year, with at least 300 powered by diesel engines. Its 5,200 heavy-duty diesel trucks make up a fifth of the fleet, yet emit more than 60% of its greenhouse gas emissions. RNG comes from biogases emitted by decomposing organic waste, offering significant emissions reductions from fuel that can be sourced within the city.
  9. Lease programs on Model S and X: Tesla Motors has announced two-year lease programs on the Model S (for $593 a month) and the Model X ($730 a month) for their cheapest, starting price versions. There will be a hefty down payment – $6,000 for both models. There’s also a $695 acquisition fee and a month’s lease payment due when taking delivery of the car. There’s a 10,000 miles per year cap on the lease, unless you pay more for a 12,000 or 15,000 mile cap.
  10. Another Chinese startup: Chinese air-conditioning manufacturer Gree will be investing $2 billion to buy Zhuhai Yinlong New Energy Co., company that builds electric buses, lithium batteries, and drivetrain components. Yinlong has been manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles since 2009 and also builds drive trains for EVs and hybrids. The Chinese automaker says that it has seven electric cars in the development phase, but so far has focused on building electric buses. Gree is one of many companies making the purchase in order to support the Chinese government’s “new energy vehicles” program to clean up the environment and promote new, advanced technologies.

Electric trucks see a revival as automakers prepare to meet regulations and market demand

Daimler electric truckCommercial electric vehicles are seeing a revival this year, encouraged by government incentives and demand coming from fleets and freight haulers. Electric truckmakers and suppliers had seen several financial failures in recent years, but a turnaround is starting to pick up. California is playing a leading role, with its Sustainable Freight Action Plan aiming to see 100,000 trucks, trains, and cargo-moving machines fueled by cleaner fuels or electricity through its ports and on its roads by 2030. For the global market, Navigant Research says sales of electric drive and electric-assisted commercial vehicles are expected to grow from less than 16,000 in 2014 to nearly 160,000 in 2023. Electric hybrid vehicles are now being used in commercial applications where the improved technology offers major benefits for specific drive cycles that involve city driving in stop-start traffic, Navigant says.

Cities and states across the country are adopting tighter emissions rules for urban transport; the challenge is steep due to a lack of batteries with the durability to propel fully loaded vehicles for long periods of constant use. Automakers are starting to take these vehicles and battery packs more seriously, and a few of the startups are starting to make headway in the market. That includes Mercedes, Tesla, Nikola Motor, BYD, and Smith Electric Vehicles. Heavy-duty trucks, medium-duty delivery and work trucks, and buses, will have more electrified vehicle offerings in the near future……….

  • Mercedes-Benz outlined plans to start selling an electric heavy-duty truck in about five years, a week after Tesla Motors’ initial sketch on battery-powered commercial vehicles was announced in a Tesla blog post. Mercedes’ parent company Daimler says that its Urban eTruck will have a range of about 200 kilometers (120 miles) per battery charge and capacity for loads of as much as 26 metric tons. The electric truck is targeted for inner-city tasks such as supermarket deliveries. “Until now, there were extremely few commercial vehicles with electric powertrains,” said Wolfgang Bernhard, head of the Daimler Trucks division. “There’s now such a significant improvement on costs, performance and charging times that we’re seeing a step-by-step change.”
  • In the recent “Master Plan, Part Deux,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk outlined a long-term strategy bringing the company’s electric drivetrain to trucks and vans. “In addition to consumer vehicles, there are two other types of electric vehicle needed: heavy-duty trucks and high passenger-density urban transport,” Musk wrote. “Both are in the early stages of development at Tesla and should be ready for unveiling next year. We believe the Tesla Semi will deliver a substantial reduction in the cost of cargo transport, while increasing safety and making it really fun to operate.”
  • As for the electric bus that Musk referred to, in recent tweets he said that it’s going to more of a passenger van than a delivery vehicle. The planned “high passenger-density urban transport” will be not an electric city bus, but a smaller vehicle built on the Model X chassis. Musk has also said the Tesla Minibus will be modeled on an iconic vehicle – what he says is “inspired by some of the California Custom VW combi design art,” which is basically a 1960s VW van.
  • Salt Lake City-based startup, Nikola Motor, recently said that it has received 7,000 pre-orders for its Class 8 electric truck. The battery-powered prototype, Nikola One, is scheduled to be unveiled in December. The company says its electrified truck, which features a natural gas turbine range extender engine, is 10-to-15 years ahead of any other truck manufacturer in fuel efficiencies and emissions. Among a list of touted benefits, the natural-gas turbine powered rig is said to offer two-to-three times better mpg than today’s diesels and “near zero” emissions. “We are the only OEM to have a near zero emission truck and still outperform diesel trucks running at 80,000 pounds,” said Trevor Milton, founder and CEO.
  • Tesla Motors co-founder Ian Wright’s company, Wrightspeed, recently won a $30 million contract to convert hundreds of New Zealand transit buses with its turbine-powered plug-in hybrid powertrain. The Alameda, Calif.-based manufacturer of range-extended electric vehicle powertrains, also announced that it was just awarded as a World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneer, a selection of the world’s most innovative companies. Designed as a replacement for conventional piston engine and transmission systems, Wrightspeed’s Route is a range-extended electric vehicle powertrain that provides extended range and fuel cost reductions for the refuse, delivery, and mass transit markets.
  • Smith Electric Vehicles, based in Kansas City, Mo., just announced its decision to streamline its structure and operations to increase shareholder returns. The medium-duty electric truck maker will consolidate its operations hub in the US and will add a division in the UK. It will sell and distribute its products worldwide. The Smith Electric Newton and Edison models are deployed in several countries across a variety of industries, including parcel, food, beverage and equipment delivery, and personnel transport.
  • While BYD is leading the Chinese market in electric car sales, in North America, its electric transit buses are taking off. Last year, California-based BYD Motors won a contract with the Washington State Department of Transportation that will allow for up to 800 heavy-duty buses from all different propulsion types that included 12 different categories for all-electric buses. The contract has the potential to be the most complete electric vehicle procurement in US history as it includes buses from 30 to 60 feet in length for both highway and transit applications, the company says. BYD is providing electric buses to other transit districts in North America, including an agreement with the Long Beach Transit, based in Long Beach, Calif., that was set up in 2015.
  • Colorado-based Boulder Electric Vehicle has a growing fleet clientele tapping into its mid-size electric truck offerings. The 500 Series offers 80 to 100 miles per charger with up to 4,000 pounds of payload, freeway-capable speeds up to 75 mph, and a variety of available configurations and options. The 1000 Series has similar specifications with up to 6,500 lbs. payload.
  • Electric Vehicles International (EVI), a maker of battery electric light- and medium-duty trucks and a plug-in hybrid utility service truck, was acquired in March by First Priority GreenFleet. The investor describes itself as “a total solutions provider to sustainable fleets that brings customers a full range of zero and low-emission vehicles that allow them to select the products and infrastructure that best fits their needs.” Its parent company, First Priority Global, manufactures a variety of specialty vehicles, including firefighting, medical, rescue, and public safety equipment. EVI also sells powertrains and performs conversions.
  • Last year, Via Motors announced that California Air Resources Board and the US Environmental Protection Agency issued emissions certification for its full-sized Plug-In Extended Range Electric (eREV) Pickup Truck, clearing the way for the company to deliver the vehicles to its fleet customers. Via had previously received similar certification from CARB and EPA for its eREV Van. Via employs a streamlined up-fitting manufacturing process to integrate its proprietary VDRIVE power train into new OEM vehicles, then sells directly to fleets under the VTRUX brand name. Via VTRUX delivers over 40 mile battery range on a single charge and unlimited extended range, averaging upwards of 100 mpg in typical daily driving.
  • In November, Mercedes finished a test project on a Fuso Canter E-Cell pilot in Portugal. The six-ton Canter e-Cell comes from Daimler’s Fuso brand. The customers in the test trial experienced the Canter E-Cell as an efficient and reliable concept fully meeting the demands of urban delivery transport, the company said.
  • Swedish truckmaker Scania is testing electric trucks powered by overhead electric cables. Since February, Scania has been testing out a new electric truck on two-kilometer struck of road between the Port of Gävle and the town of Storvik along European highway 16 in Sweden. Siemens is providing electric drive systems in the test project that operate on a catenary system, using an overhead external conductive box and cable system. Scania is finding that using hybrid electric trucks fitted with this electrified vehicle technology rather than diesel trucks can reduce fossil fuel emissions by between 80% and 90% in some cases.

This Week’s Top 10: Feds investing $4.5B in nationwide charging, Tesla and SolarCity closing merger deal

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…….

  1. EV salesSupport for nationwide network: The Obama administration is adding to its support for electric vehicle charging stations with $4.5 billion in U.S. Energy Department loan guarantees. The funds will support a commercial-scale roll out of charging stations, with federal, state and local governments partnering with automakers including Tesla, Ford, GM, and Nissan. The administration aims to complete a national network of fast-charging stations by 2020 to make “coast-to-coast, nationwide zero-emissions travel” easier for consumers. State, county and local governments will be encouraged to buy electric cars for their fleets, lowering procurement costs while expanding the market for the cars. Utilities supporting the infrastructure growth include Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Con Edison, Duke Energy, and Southern California Edison are also involved. Twelve utilities and charging companies have committed to increase their deployment of EVs and charging infrastructure. Supporting programs include DOE’s Workplace Charging Challenge and an EV “Hackathon” this fall to create new solutions for EV charging.
  2. Tesla and SolarCity merger: Tesla Motors and SolarCity negotiated into the weekend on merging the electric carmaker with the solar power company. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has recused himself from voting, serving as chair of SolarCity and working with his cousins SolarCity CEO Lyndon Rive and SolarCity board member Peter Rive, who have also recused themselves from voting. The companies are in the final stages of carrying out due diligence on each other, and could agree on the terms of a deal in the coming days, though it is still possible that their negotiations end unsuccessfully, sources said. Investors and analysts have been concerned about Tesla taking on too much investment in the solar company.
  3. Debate over agency midterm report: The 60-day comment period on midterm report has flared up debate over how realistic the 54.5 mpg by 2025 really is, being heavily weighted by a surge in light-duty vehicle sales. The 1,217-page draft “Technical Assessment Report” was issued on July 15 by the Environmental Protection Agency, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and California Air Resources Board to evaluate the status of hitting the Obama administration’s fuel economy and greenhouse gas emissions goals. The inflated sales of pickup trucks, SUVs, and crossovers coming from cheap gas prices has changed the outlook for the 2025 target closer to 51 mpg than 54.5 mpg.
  4. Master Plan, Part Deux: In a Wednesday blog post on the Tesla website, CEO Elon Musk outlined a new horizon for electrified vehicles the company will be taking on – heavy-duty trucks, pickup trucks, a small SUV, a buy-type vehicle. Musk also says Tesla will be playing into the Silicon Valley mobility company identity through rolling out autonomous vehicles and a mobile app where Tesla owners could earn income by opening up their electric cars for shared rides. “Master Plan, Part Deux” calls for an electrified future merging solar power, on-site energy storage, carsharing, and electric autonomous cars. The announcement came out in the weeks following Tesla taking heat over a fatal crash involving its Autopilot system; more criticism from Wall Street has come from Tesla missing production and sales targets and being questioned over the merger with SolarCity.
  5. ZEV sales forecasts: Navigant Research has forecasted growth in zero emission vehicles in two separate reports. The research firm expects the North American plug-in electric vehicle market to grow by around 62% year-over-year in 2016, nearing 200,000 sales. Growth is anticipated to come from expanding sales of the Tesla Model X, the second-generation Volt, and introduction of the Chevrolet Bolt, Prius Prime plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV later in the year. The report projects that the introduction of the Tesla Model 3 in late 2017 will likely boost the North American PEV market by around 60% in 2017 and then nearly double the market in 2018 after the first full year of Model 3 sales. In a second report, Navigant forecasts that global sales of hydrogen fuel cell cars and buses are expected to total more than 580,000 from 2015 to 2024. “Overall, the driver for FCV activity continues to be the sentiment that a diverse drivetrain mix will be needed if the transportation sector is to shift away from petroleum dependence,”says Lisa Jerram, principal research analyst with Navigant Research.
  6. Autonomous Facebook flights and Slurpee delivery: Pilotless drone planes are gaining more support from big names like Mark Zuckerberg and 7-Eleven. A small Facebook team has been working on a secret project – sending a high-altitude solar-powered drone plan named Aquila on test flights. The mission statement is to launch of fleet of aircraft that will deliver internet access around the world. Zuckerburg says it’s part of the company’s plan to bring the internet to all 7+ billion people on Earth. Doing so will lift millions of people out of poverty, improving education and health globally along the way, Zuckerberg says. Convenience store king 7-Eleven Inc. and tech startup Flirtey have beaten Amazon to the punch in making the first drone delivery to a customer’s home in the U.S. During the 7-Eleven delivery on July 10 in Reno, Nev., Flirtey successfully transported: Slurpees, a chicken sandwich, donuts, hot coffee, and candy to the home of the family who placed the order. Flirtey is a privately held company based in Reno, which builds and operates drones to make deliveries that are needed in humanitarian and health work, retail and food industries.
  7. JLR, Ford, and BMW in battery plant talks: Jaguar Land Rover is in talks with Ford and BMW about building a battery plant with the capacity to power several hundred thousand electric vehicles. There’s been no word over whether this plant would be based in the U.K., the U.S., Germany, or another location. The plant would help Jaguar launch its first electric vehicle, and to join other luxury carmakers in a competitive battle with Tesla Motors. Ford has been working with LG and BMW with Samsung as lithium battery suppliers.
  8. Audi EV strategy: Audi says it will be rolling out three electric models by 2020, and that electric vehicles will make up 25% to 30% of its sales by 2025, CEO Rupert Stadler told a German newspaper. It will be tied into a larger corporate strategy to focus more on resources on electric cars, digital services, and autonomous driving. The rollout of electric cars will also include small vehicles in the A-(minicar) segment. The company will also set up a subsidiary, to be called SDS Co., to develop an autonomous car.
  9. Quantum has new ownership: Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide is emerging from its bankruptcy through acquisition by Douglas Acquisitions LLC, an affiliate of second-position secured creditors. Quantum, based in Lake Forest, Calif., had shifted its focus to selling natural gas fuel tanks in recent years. The company recently received a delisting notice from NASDAQ. Quantum filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in late March and sought a buyer through a “363” sale process, which is essentially an asset sale. The company will be renamed Quantum Fuel Systems LLC.
  10. EVs strong in used car sale days on the lot: Plug-in electric vehicles led the way in one-to-three year old used car sales during the first half of this year, according to iSeeCars.com. The fastest selling used car in the U.S. was the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid, taking just 19.7 days to move. It was followed by the Nissan Leaf at 24.3 days and the Tesla Model S at 26.1 days. More than half of these cars were sold in California, where the diamond lane, HOV carpool lane stickers made them more attractive to used car buyers.

Semi-legal parking: What drivers must deal with in congested urban environments

Looking for parking in crowded cityIn the not-too distant future, parking cars in crowded cities is expected to improve drastically. Self-driving cars will drop off riders and take care of the parking. Automated parking systems (APS) are starting to provide parking for cars on multiple levels stacked vertically to maximize the number of parking spaces while minimizing land usage.

The problem in large cities for local residents, workers, and those attending events, is that parking is going to remain an ever-increasing problem for several years. For those ridesharing drivers picking up riders or delivering meals, parking is taking a lot of perseverance and patience, laser-focused vision, and the risk of getting a parking ticket. It can mean pulling into a red zone, blocking a driveway, or using payment cards and dropping in coins at meters. The stress level can be high, and it can be quite a relief to find out you’ve dodged another parking ticket.

Part of the problem is that the cost of parking is going way up. Not that many years ago, it was shocking to find out you’d be paying $20 to park for a business meeting or social event in a big city. As for now, the average daily parking rate in midtown New York is $41, according to Bankrate. Honolulu is No. 2 at $38, followed by Boston at $34, Chicago at $32, with Los Angeles and downtown New York tied at $30 as the most expensive U.S. cities for parking costs. Metered parking cost has been shooting up, with drivers complaining about getting hijacked by a city trying to bring in more revenue through meters and parking tickets. Parking costs are on the rise in major U.S. cities as officials grapple with reduced revenue and political difficulties in raising taxes. Demand is part of it – drivers will pay more for parking when there’s absolutely nothing else available in crowded, congested cities.

As I’ve discovered driving for Uber, Lyft, and Postmates (a food delivery service), finding short-term parking can be quite stressful and sometimes costly. You might pull up for the passenger pickup and there’s no place to park, and you’ll be blocking traffic on a narrow street. What are your options? Park in a red zone or driveway? Circle the block looking for a decent place to park? Another scenario is that you’ve parked on a narrow street waiting for the rider to come out, and there are cars creeping up behind you. One of the drivers honks his horn, and others join the fray. You may have to leave that spot and circle around again, or call the rider.

Some riders seem perfectly comfortable making the Uber or Lyft driver wait five-to-10 minutes until they come out. Taxi drivers have been known for arriving at a home or office early and calling the rider to come out to their cab. Uber and Lyft riders are much more comfortable having the driver wait in an environment that might be tough to park and deal with the delay. It may be a generational difference for passengers – most of whom are Millennials riding with Uber and Lyft and who utilize food delivery services. The social rules of order appear to be transforming.

Food delivery drivers have to include short-term parking into their cost of doing business. Mobile-app food delivery services are taking off in cities now with UberEats, DoorDash, GrubHub, Postmates, Caviar, Seamless, and other services taking off. Drivers are independent contractors and have to build the cost into the trip. Suburban shopping malls are full of parking for drivers willing to take a long walk, but picking up meals at restaurants and stores in cities usually means looking for open metered parking spaces, or paying for parking garage fees. Some garages will allow drivers to leave the building for free if they’ve only been there less than 15 minutes. Other garages will require a payment of $2 to $5 for drivers to see that gate come up and freedom given from the parking garage – even if they’ve been there just a few minutes.

The future of mobility technologies is being carefully tracked by urban planners and developers, employers, owners of residential properties, university administrators, and event managers. Here are a few trends to watch for:

  • Green Parking Council is supporting development of sustainable, efficient parking garages. Examples include Propark America’s green parking Canopy facility at Denver International Airport. BMW Group’s DesignWorks USA and Green Parking Council worked with Propark on setting up the Canopy garage with LED lighting, EV charging, and alternative energy applications, including geothermal. Automation Parking Systems installed an automated facility in New York City in 2007 and has been working on improvements ever since. Robotic parking pallets are able to stack cars for efficiently using parking garage space.
  • More recently, the city of West Hollywood, Calif., opened up an automated parking garage attached to City Hall on Santa Monica Boulevard. The mission has been to remove the nuisance of driving around looking for parking. Drivers can just pull their cars into one of the small garages and the automated system does the rest. The city’s three-story automated parking garage with the capacity to house 200 cars was unveiled in May, and it marks the first municipal robot parking garage built on the West Coast.
  • Tony Seba, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and Stanford University lecturer, author of Clean Disruption of Energy and Transportation, and a two-time keynoter at AltCar Expo, had a few radical statements to make about the future of parking. Autonomous vehicles, along with carsharing services like Zipcar and ridesharing services like Uber and Lyft, will be game changers. Annual sales of new vehicles will shrink, highways will open up, and many of the parking spaces we have in our cities will go away. Highway capacity can be increased four times when autonomous vehicles show up on our roads; there will be no need for 80% of our parking spaces as autonomous vehicles show up exactly when and where they’re needed by the owner, Seba said.
  • Mobile apps for parking are offering some short-term solutions. Parkmobile, ParkWhiz, ParkMe, PayByPhone, and FordPass, are among the services available in select U.S. cities. Drivers are able to rent spaces from their smartphones, and will be directed to finding the space. It takes away the hassle and frustration of trying to find a parking space on multi-story parking structure with unexpected costs appearing. Riders using Uber and Lyft will typically bring up the problem of finding and paying for parking spaces when deciding to go take the ridesharing option instead of driving. They’re also interested in having more accessible and affordable parking options for those times they will be driving and parking their own car.

Parking and dealing with the stress of driving for ridesharing and food delivery services is part of my new book, Tales of UberMan: An auto journalist shares his Prius with savvy riders. You can also read about some of the trends in the marketplace and new technology innovations in the book’s blog.

This Week’s Top 10: California ZEV credits tightening up, Tesla shareholders have mixed feelings about SolarCity deal

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…….


  1. Chevy Volt at dealershipZEV credits tightening: California’s zero emission vehicle
    mandate, adopted by nine other states, is heading for change in 2018 as the credit structure enters its next phase. Automakers have been able to earn partial credits from sales of plug-in hybrids and hybrid electric vehicles, along with low-emissions and fuel efficient conventional vehicles. Regulations will be tightening in 2018 in a way that limits the impact of those partial credits and requires more sales of pure ZEVs, or battery electric vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. California and nine other states – Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Vermont – accounted for 28% of new-vehicle registrations in the U.S. last year, according to IHS Automotive data. Automakers are feeling the pressure to comply soon while rolling out more competitive, affordable, 200-mile-plus electric vehicles.
  2. Tesla and SolarCity: Tesla shareholders had mixed reactions to Tesla’s plan, announced last week, to take over SolarCity for $2.8 billion. Tesla said that by acquiring SolarCity, the two companies would create a unique package of clean energy offerings, including solar panels, home battery storage, and electric cars under a single trusted brand. Investors, however, have been cool to the deal, sending the value of Tesla down more than what it proposed to pay for SolarCity. Critics have argued the two companies cater to different groups of customers, with little crossover. Elon Musk, a founder of Tesla and SolarCity who owns about a fifth of each, has to rely on outside investors to decide where this deal will go, and the process is being led by major fund companies such as Fidelity Investments. Some investors are concerned that this new investment will take away the focus needed to run the gigafactory and roll out the Model 3 the way it should be rolled out; others perceive trouble in taking on more than $3 billion in debt carried by SolarCity, a company run by Musk’s cousins. Tesla shares closed at $198.55 yesterday after reaching a recent peak of $235.52 on June 8.
  3. Faraday testing self-driving cars: Faraday Future will begin testing prototype self-driving electric vehicles on California roads later this year after winning approval from the state, an industry source said. A spokesperson from California DMV confirmed that Faraday had been approved to test self-driving vehicles on public roads on June 17. While the company plans to begin selling high-performance electric vehicles next year in the U.S., no details have been revealed yet on its self-driving car.
  4. Karma starts assembly: Karma Automotive opened up its 555,670-square-foot factory in Moreno Valley, Calif., with its first Karma Revero rolling of the assembly line last month. “A flame-red 1993 Chevrolet Camaro was the last car to roll off an assembly line in Southern California 24 years ago,” the automaker said. “We changed that this May when the first Karma Revero rolled off our Moreno Valley assembly line. The first of many.”
  5. Nissan said it will introduce two new technologies this year to move the automaker along in becoming a leader in electric vehicles and self-driving cars. The first is a new range extender that Nissan says will tackle two of the biggest hurdles confronting electric vehicles: cost and limited range.The new hybrid system, dubbed e-Power, debuted as a concept, the Gripz compact crossover shown last fall at the Frankfurt auto show.
  6. EV market forecast: Navigant Research expects the North American electric vehicle market will grow by around 62% year-over-year in 2016, nearing 200,000 sales. Growth is anticipated to come from expanding sales of the Tesla Model X, the second-generation Volt, and the introduction of the Chevrolet Bolt 200-mile range BEV, Prius Prime plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV), and Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV later in the year. Navigant Research projects that the introduction of the Tesla Model 3 in late 2017 will likely boost the North American PEV market by around 60% in 2017 and then nearly double the market in 2018 after the first full year of Model 3 sales.
  7. Ford’s sustainability report: As part of its 2015/2016 Sustainability Report, Ford is introducing Project Better World, a mobility health services pilot program aimed at improving lives in developing countries while supporting new technological advancements and data analytics experiments. Through this program, Ford is working with World Vision South Africa and Riders for Health in Nigeria to donate two Ford Rangers, equipped to work as mobile health clinics, to meet the mobility needs of underserved communities in each country. Ford says that its continuing to invest in and strengthen its core business of designing, manufacturing, marketing, financing and servicing cars, SUVs, trucks, and electrified vehicles. At the same time, the automaker is aggressively pursuing emerging opportunities through Ford Smart Mobility – its plan to be a leader in connectivity, mobility, autonomous vehicles, the customer experience, and data and analytics.
  8. According to global EV sales data, consumers and fleets bought 58% battery electric vehicles and 42% plug-in hybrid electric vehicles as of last year. That’s shifting this year as PHEVs gain share. BEVs are showing more strength lately through strong sales in China.
  9. Fuel cell submarines: General Motors is working with the U.S. Navy in an effort to develop a new generation of unmanned undersea vehicles driven by hydrogen fuel-cell technology that can operate for as long as 70 days at a time. The technology would replace the more limited battery-drive systems currently in use in so-called UUVs, according to Navy officials.
  10. Audi vs. Tesla: Audi says that having roots going back to 1885 give it decades of experience that will help it win over Silicon Valley startup Tesla Motors. “For over 100 years, automobiles have always gotten better,” Stefan Niemand, the German engineer who is the architect of Audi’s electric-car strategy, said. “Drivers won’t adopt electric cars if they’re seen as smaller, uglier and more expensive.”

 

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This Week’s Top 10: Daimler releases comprehensive green powertrain lineup, Argonne publishes lifecycle analysis study

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…….

  1. Mercedes electric powertrainDaimler green powertrain plan: Daimler will be spending $8 billion, half its R&D budget, on green powertrains over the next two years. Daimler says that all its vehicles will be “electrified” by 2020, and a next-generation electric car platform will be coming out at production level by the end of the decade. The green powertrains will include a mix of technologies including electric, fuel-cell vehicles, and BlueTec diesels. During a tech briefing yesterday at its headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, Mercedes-Benz announced that its upcoming GLC F-Cell hydrogen fuel-cell SUV will also include a battery pack that plugs in to recharge. It will be the first production vehicle to combine these two powertrains. Mercedes also gave details about it next-gen electric car platform. This “multi-model vehicle architecture” will be previewed as a concept vehicle at the Paris Auto Show in late September. It’s not scheduled to roll out as a production vehicle until later in the decade. It may come out first as an SUV similar to the GLC, and there’s also talk it could be a sporty sedan.
  2. Lifecycle analysis study: A new study by Argonne National Laboratory provides a comprehensive lifecycle analysis, or cradle-to-grave analysis, of the cost and greenhouse gas emissions of a variety of vehicle-fuel pathways, as well as the levelized cost of driving and cost of avoided GHG emissions. The analysis spans a full portfolio of midsize light-duty vehicles, including conventional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs), hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). The study finds that battery electric vehicles with 90 to 210 miles of range, and hydrogen fuel cell cars, can lower GHG emissions to 50g CO2/mile, if the electricity will be from 100% renewable energy. The report concludes that most of the advanced vehicle technologies with the greatest potential are also the most costly, while conventional gasoline engine cars can go below 150 g CO2/mile.
  3. More EVS29 keynote speakers: Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS29) organizers announced more keynote speakers for the plenary discussions. At the opening plenary on June 20, the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA) will welcome delegates from around the world. Event co-hosts from Electric Mobility Canada (EMC) will be featured, and prominent policy and industry leaders from Canada and the U.S. will deliver keynote remarks on the future of electric drive. Including: Philippe Couillard, Premier of Québec; Denis Coderre, Mayor of Montréal; Kim Rudd, Parliamentary Secretary to Jim Carr, Minister of Natural Resources; Éric Martel, President and Chief Executive Officer, Hydro-Québec; and Reuben Sarkar, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Transportation, U.S. Department of Energy. A mobile app is available now for PC, Apple, and Android devices. Features include the ability to message other attendees, view the schedule, and more. Click here to register for the conference.
  4. Ferrari executive Marco Mattiacci has been appointed Faraday Future’s global chief brand and commercial officer. Mattiacci was president and CEO of Ferrari North America from 2010 to 2014, and helped launch Ferrari in China. At Faraday Future, he will oversee branding, marketing, communications, distribution, sales and user experience. He will also serve on the company’s key strategy, product, design, and human resources committees.
  5. Which stock to buy? Executives at Ford and General Motors are frustrated that their impressive financial results haven’t surged their share prices, says Automotive News columnist and news editor Dave Guilford. Ford has been trading in the low $13 range in the middle of its 52-week average. GM has been around $30, also mid-range over the past year. Tesla traded below $25 in the first month after it went public on June 29, 2010. Tesla closed at $229.34 on June 9. For Guilford, it’s all about the perceptions of the market and how the financial institutions work. “Despite vastly improved operations, GM and Ford look like buy-and-hold stocks, great if you want to collect dividends over the years,” he wrote. For Nick Bunkley, staff reporter – Ford at Automotive News, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been as good as presidential candidate Donald Trump at shaking off bad publicity. “Almost every time Tesla Motors reports another quarterly loss, its stock price actually goes up, to the irritation and total bewilderment of Detroit auto executives who watch their shares stagnate amid record earnings,” Bunkley wrote.
  6. LAPD contract: BMW won a contract to supply the Los Angeles Police Department with 100 electric cars, beating Tesla Motors on the bid. BMW is leasing 100 of its i3 battery electric plug-in vehicles for $387 per car, per month. The LAPD plans to use these vehicles for community outreach and other police business, but not patrols or car chases. That will bring the city’s fleet up to nearly 200 electric vehicles in various departments.
  7. Green HQ: Toyota will be powering 25% of its electricity with a 7.7-megawatt solar array at its new North American headquarters in Plano, Texas. The automaker will have to capacity to go to 100% renewable energy in the long run. Toyota is seeking LEED platinum certification, the US Green Building Council’s highest level, at its new corporate campus. The new facility is slated to open in May 2017.
  8. Electric cargo trucks: BYD Motors will be providing 27 battery electric trucks to San Bernardino County’s regional government association in California. The electric trucks will serve three communities heavily impacted by truck emissions. A state grant of $9.1 million was awarded. “This project will help put the very cleanest trucks to work where they are heavily utilized, moving cargo within freight yards,” said Mary D. Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board. “Cleaner trucks mean cleaner air for all Californians, but especially for those who live in neighborhoods next to these freight transfer facilities.”
  9. Carsharing VW plug-ins: Zipcar’s London fleet will now include 50 brand-new Volkswagen Golf GTE plug-in hybrids. It’s part of a new partnership with Westminster City Council and Volkswagen UK. The new Volkswagen PHEVs can be rented for £7 ($9.93) an hour — the same rate that the gas-powered Volkswagen Golf can be rented from Zipcar in London.
  10. UberMan blog: My new book, Tales of UberMan: An auto journalist shares his Prius with savvy riders, now has a blog with content from the book and news developments in the field – including more details on the class-action lawsuit settlement by Uber drivers. You can also read one of the book’s chapters, “Taking drinkers off the roads and listening to their sad tales.” The chapter features a few interesting tales and digs into the social and safety issues Uber and Lyft drivers face driving drunk riders.

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This Week’s Top 10: Tesla Model X has a big month in sales, BMW shifting from electric to autonomous

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…….

  1. Tesla Model XMay EV and hybrid sales: The Tesla Model X has seen a huge sales increase – up a third from the previous month. Consumer Reports did feature a critical review in print and video, focused mainly on concerns with the falcon doors and too many bells and whistles versus practical features. That was released last week, so we’ll have to check on June sales to see if it’s having an impact. The Model S is seeing some decline in sales month-over-month and year-over-year. The Ford Fusion Energi is doing well in sales, and is getting closer to the Fusion Hybrid in overall sales numbers. The Ford C-Max Energi continues to soften in sales. Overall battery electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle sales were flat from April, and were up 5.5% over May 2015. Hybrid sales as a share of total U.S. new vehicle sales increased slightly – up to 2% of the total share after it had been hovering below the 2% mark for several months. Since it was debuted in January 2015, the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid has become a hot seller. Now at No. 2 in the rankings, it came in at No. 9 during the month of December 2015 with 1,430 units sold that month. The hybrid version was debuted a few months after Toyota halted production of the low-selling all-electric RAV4.
  2. BMW switching to autonomous cars: BMW announced that it’s slowing down in its EV development and wouldn’t be developing another fully-electric i model until 2021. BMW is moving over to development of autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence. While being a “fantastic car,” the BMW i3 isn’t as popular as BMW had hoped, so the automaker is switching some of its focus over to self-driving vehicles – which is becoming the next “technological race,” according to the BMW blog.
  3. Building EV market: The 29th International Electric Vehicle Symposium (EVS29) & Exposition has announced new forums dedicated to market building discussion. The Market Builders’ Forums will gather public and private industry innovators to discuss their strategies for growing the electric drive market and will include an opportunity for audience Q&A. Forum 1 will be moderated by Robert Graham, Director, EV Everywhere Challenge for the U.S. Dept. of Energy; panelists will include Britta Gross, Director, Adv. Vehicle Commercialization Policy at General Motors; Robert Langford, Manager, Electric Vehicle Sales at American Honda Motor Company; Brendan Jones, Vice President, East Region at NRG EVgo; and Laura Renger, Principal Manager, Air & Climate at Southern California Edison. Forum 2 will be moderated by Lisa Jerram, Senior Research Analyst at Navigant Consulting; panelists will include Aaron Cohen, General Manager, Electric Vehicle Strategy at Audi of America; Colleen Quinn, Vice President, Gov’t Market Development and Public Policy at ChargePoint; Marco Vivivani, Director, Development and Public Relations at Communauto; and CC Chan, Professor, Academician, Fellow at University of Hong Kong, EVAAP, WEVA and others. Register now and gain access to the entire electric drive value chain under one roof.
  4. Uber, Lyft, and Walmart: Ridesharing firms Uber and Lyft are adding to their list of services by working with Walmart for grocery shopping and delivery. Walmart will start with delivery tests through Uber in Phoenix and Lyft in Denver, which should start within the next two weeks. Walmart is testing another grocery service through its Sam’s Club stores. The pilot project started in March with delivery of general merchandise and grocery for business members in Miami.
  5. DOE funding: The S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) announced that $22 million is now available to support research, development, and demonstration of innovative plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) and direct injection propane engine technologies; as well as community-based projects to accelerate the adoption of light, medium, and heavy duty vehicles that operate on fuels such as biodiesel, electricity, E85, hydrogen, natural gas, and propane.
  6. EV charging in San Diego: San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) is supporting development of the electric vehicle charging infrastructure through a $45 million pilot program for the installation of electric-car charging stations; and through investing $7.5 million over the next five years in an education campaign to promote electric cars. The project will include installation of 3,500 charging stations at 350 locations, including businesses and apartment complexes. Of that total, 10% will be installed in disadvantaged communities, SDG&E said.
  7. Winner of EcoCAR3: Ohio State University has won EcoCAR3 once again. Along with winning the latest round, OSU won EcoCAR3 last year and won the final EcoCAR2 the previous year. OSU’s Series Parallel PHEV 2016 Chevrolet Camaro was the first to officially meet all safety protocols. The team of students achieved the goals in just a few short months after receiving the car, to winning the competition. Sixteen university teams each reworked a 2016 Camaro for the competition. EcoCAR3, run by the U.S. Department of Energy and sponsored by General Motors, works to further the reality of the vision and development of eco-friendly vehicles while maintaining power and performance.
  8. Santa Monica buses running on RNG: Clean Energy Fuels Corp. announced that the City of Santa Monica has awarded Clean Energy a multiyear liquefied natural gas (LNG) contract to fuel its Big Blue Bus (BBB) fleet of vehicles. The 5-year deal, worth an estimated $3 million per year, will enable BBB to continue using Clean Energy’s Redeem™ brand of renewable natural gas (RNG), rated up to 90% cleaner than diesel and considered the cleanest transportation fuel available. BBB began using Redeem by Clean Energy in January 2015.
  9. VW settlement in Germany: Germany’s motor vehicle authority KBA on June 3 approved proposed fixes for the three models with 2.0-liter diesel engines from the EA 189 diesel engine family, VW said. The automaker received regulatory approval for technical fixes to its Passat, CC, and Eos models. VW can now recall more than 800,000 of the 8.5 million cars in Europe affected by its emissions scandal.
  10. Smart city mobility: Navigant Research is presenting a webinar on June 14 at 2:00 p.m. EDT, “Changing Models for Urban Mobility – Examining New Transportation Options in the Smart City.” Vehicles are becoming more connected and autonomous, and more reliant on digital technologies. Electric vehicles are also becoming more widely available and affordable. At the same time, governments are pushing for increasing emissions reductions and cities are increasingly regulating private car usage. All these factors will work together to change how people move around in the smart city. In this webinar, Lisa Jerram, principal research analyst at Navigant Research, Eric Woods, research director at Navigant Research, and David Alexander, senior research analyst at Navigant Research, will discuss the dynamics surrounding this shift in transportation strategy.

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The state of clean advanced vehicle technologies on World Environment Day 2016

World Environment Day 2016, a global outreach campaign organized by United Nations, celebrated its 42nd anniversary on June 5. It’s a global platform for raising awareness and taking action on what it considers to be increasingly urgent issues. About 25% of the world’s CO2 emissions are tied to transportation globally, according to the International Energy Agency; and about 30% in the U.S., according to the Union of Concerned Scientists. Here are the latest developments on clean, advanced vehicles around the world.

Proterra electric busUS-China electric bus competition: On Friday in Los Angeles, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx and Chinese Minister of Transport Yang Chuantang signed an agreement officially announcing the US-China “Race to Zero Emissions.” One city from each of the two countries will be competing to determine which one will deploy the highest percentage of emission free buses by 2025.  The race is designed to improve air quality in urban areas and prevent climate change. For each of the cities entering the competition, the minimum size of the fleet must be 200 or more buses. Two smaller transit properties can form a team and compete in the race if their combined fleet size is 200 buses or more. Potential participants can learn more at https://www.transportation.gov/r2ze. “This challenge will hasten the development of new and emerging technologies that will move us away from fossil fuels and race us closer to our ultimate goal of zero emissions, while creating good jobs and economic growth in both the United States and China,” said Secretary Foxx.

In large part inspired by the successful federal “Race to the Top” education program in the U.S., CALSTART developed the Race to Zero concept in 2014. In June 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry announced that the Race to Zero had been endorsed in concept by the U.S.-China Climate Change Working Group. A five-year federal transportation bill came through in December dedicating $55 million annually for the purchase of zero or near-zero emission buses; and the Chinese government has made attractive incentives available through the national government and many of the larger cities.

CALSTART is working under contract with the U.S. DOT to support the Race to Zero Emissions. Entrants in the competition will be able to take part in annual meetings and able to learn about the latest developments in electric bus and charging technology in both the United States and China. “CALSTART is eager to begin working with cities and transit properties that not only want to take full advantage of the advances in zero emission bus technology, but also wanted to become part of a larger global effort to prevent climate change,” said CALSTART President and CEO, John Boesel.

Mahindra launches 2nd EV: In commemoration of World Environment Day, Mahindra Electric launched the e-Verito, its second all-electric car in the country; it’s another step in the Indian automaker’s efforts to offer the most affordable electric vehicles in the world. The e-Verito’s base price starts at 950,000 rupees (about $14,225). Mahindra is already selling the e2o electric hatchback in India. The e-Verito will come with a 72V 3-phase AC induction motor producing maximum gross power of 41 hp @3500 rpm and maximum torque of 91 Nm @3000 rpm, mated to an automatic transmission. It can be quick charged in two hours through fast charging at the top-end option and price for the e-Verito.

The Mahindra e-Verito and e20 are tied to the discontinued Reva, with the e20’s exterior styling very similar to the Reva. The Mahindra e20 may be the most affordable electric car in the world with a starting price of 592,000 rupees (about $8,865). The e20 can travel 120 kilometers (74.5 miles) on a single charge.

Norway may ban fossil fuels: Norway’s political system may soon adopt the world’s fastest fossil fuel ban. Politicians from both sides of the political spectrum have reportedly reached some concrete conclusions about 100% of Norwegian new vehicles sold running on clean fuel by 2025. Norway may ban the sale of all fossil fuel-based cars by that year, continuing its trend towards becoming one of the most ecologically progressive countries on the planet, according to reports.

There has been some denial from opponents of the measure that the move has been confirmed. If passed, it would be particularly significant because a large proportion of Norway’s funds rely on the country’s petroleum industry. The government has offered attractive incentives for electric vehicle purchases in the country. That helped the nation experience the highest percentage of EV sales ever recorded – with EVs making up 23% of new vehicle sales in the country last year.

South Korea emissions tests and green car sales: The South Korean government will be enacting real-world emissions tests of diesel vehicles in 2017, and unveiled ambitious new targets for environmentally-friendly vehicle sales. South Korea’s cities have become choked by smog, similar to what China has been seeing. The South Korean government wants to bring air quality up to western European levels within a decade. The government would like to raise its green vehicle target to 30% of new vehicles sales by 2020 – up from 2.6 percent currently. The government also promised to support growth in plug-in electrified vehicle sales by increasing new charging stations to 10 times their current level.

Israel base for advanced vehicle technologies: While Israel had been the home to the now-defunct Better Place electric vehicle battery-swapping company, that company’s presence and other local innovators have brought investors to the country. Mobileye, a technology company that develops vision-based advanced driver assistance systems providing warnings for collision prevention and mitigation, has been gaining attention globally and seems to symbolize advance technology innovations in the country. Waze, the world’s largest community-based traffic and navigation mobile app, started up in Israel before being acquired by Google for over $1 billion. Analysts say these two companies were part of a big wave of auto sector startups. Better Place is considered to have served as an “incubator” in Israel for talented developers and professionals who later moved on to new startups or established vehicle technology companies. Israel has been a vital space for General Motors, which a few years ago invested in an R&D center there. The technologies developed in Israel, including those developed in the Global Connected Consumer project led by the Israeli R&D division, will be integrated into millions of GM vehicles worldwide in the coming years.