Daimler electrifying trucks and buses: Daimler Trucks is ready to play a leading role in the electric commercial vehicle space, with announcements yesterday of a line of electric trucks and buses. Pilot 
programs will launch later this year, and the company will go to full-scale production by 2021. During an event at Portland International Raceway in Portland, Ore., an electric version of its Freightliner Cascadia heavy-duty truck was revealed, along with an electric version of its M2 medium-duty truck. The eCascadia will go about 250 miles per charge, and the eM2 will go about 230, the company said. Daimler has previously shown off its Thomas Built battery electric Saf-T-Liner school bus and the electric Fuso eCanter delivery truck. “We are the undisputed global leader of the trucking industry and we want to remain in that position with regards to electric trucks,” said Martin Daum, global head of Daimler’s Trucks & Buses division.
Tesla shareholder vote: Tesla chief Elon Musk survived the first serious attempt by major investors to cut back what he’s able to do while running the electric carmaker, but the controversies and bad news continue for the company. A few leading Tesla shareholder funds had been demanding that three board members — directors Antonio Gracias, James Murdoch and his brother, Kimbal Musk — be removed from office. They also wanted Musk’s authority to be softened by taking away one of his titles with him remaining either CEO or chairman. The opposition failed to reach vote during the annual shareholders meeting on Tuesday. Musk said the company is ready to bring its long-promised goal of producing at least 5,000 Model 3 electric cars per week into play by the end of this month. News was also revealed about plans to open up the next Gigafactory near Shanghai, China. The electric carmaker has been dealing since then with more bad news, including: 23% of Model 3 orders were refunded according to a new report that Tesla is disputing; a Tesla Model X that crashed in California while using the Autopilot semi-autonomous system sped up to 71 mpg right before slamming into a highway barrier, investigators said; and former occupational health officials say that Tesla should release more information on worker safety and injuries than the company has done so far.
China EVs: The new energy vehicle market saw new developments yesterday. General Motors will be rolling out 10 more electrified vehicles in China from 2021 through 2023. That will join the 10 electrified vehicles GM and its Chinese joint ventures have already planned through 2020. Daimler and its partner in China, BYD, will each invest 400 million yuan ($62.5 million) to make improvements in their previously unprofitable electric vehicle joint venture, Shenzhen Denza New Energy Automotive. Denza launched sales of the Denza 300 electric compact sedan in 2014. Last year, the two companies had invested an additional 500 million yuan ($72.6 million) into the joint venture.
Three states renew EV investments: During this past week, California, New York, and New Jersey have announced significant government incentives and funding programs for electric vehicle purchases, home charging, and the charging infrastructure. California will see $738 million made available over the next five years. The state’s goals are to expand the charging network for both personal cars, electric trucks, and other large vehicles. New York is offering $250 million for 200 fast chargers on highways and in cities, along with 400 public charging stations at parking lots, airports, and train stations. New Jersey’s public utility company is investing $300 million to build out the state’s charging network to 50,000 charging points in neighborhoods, office parks, and along major roads. The 16,000 EVs in New Jersey will potentially expand up to 275,000 in the next seven years, the New Jersey utility said.
