Hyundai Kona Electric joins 200-mile plus club, CALSTART hosting Drive-to-Zero event on commercial vehicles

New member to 200-mile plus club:  The Hyundai Kona Electric received a rating of 258 miles per charge in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s rating. For MPGe figures, it was given 132 city, 108 highway, and 120 combined. The range rating puts it in a small league with above 200-miles per charge vehicles that includes the Chevy Bolt, Tesla Model 3, Tesla Model S, and Tesla Model X. The Kona Electric is powered by a 64 kWh battery that has a 150 kW and 395 Nm electric motor (front-wheel drive), and a top speed of 104 mph. It has 100 kW CCS Combo DC fast charging capability.

Lucid Motors finds $1B investor:  PIF, the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund that may be helping Tesla go private, may also be investing more than $1 billion in Lucid Motors and its high-performance electric models. According to sources familiar with the matter, that would be $500 million at fist and cash injections later based on goals being met. CEO Elon Musk has said that PIF may be investing up to $72 billion in taking Tesla off the stock market into a private company. PIF has already agreed to other investments including $45 billion into a giant fund led by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp. that will be funding several new mobility technologies.

Getaround raising funds:  Car-sharing/car rental firm Getaround is taking on Hertz and Avis with its “peer-to-peer car-sharing model. It’s been enough to raise $300 million from an investment round led by SoftBank. The car rental company has raised $400 million since its founding, with Toyota having previously made an early investment in the startup. Using the Getaround app, users can search for cars parked near them to choose one for a ride. The account is set up with the customer’s drivers license and credit card, and the app allows the user to unlock the door from their phone. These cars will be provided by other car owners who join the Getaround network and want to make side income off their car when they’re not using it.

Ford recalling some electric models:  Ford is recalling the charging cords for more than 50,000 of its plug-in hybrid and battery electric cars sold in North America since they could cause fires in electrical outlets. The 120-volt charging chords came with certain 2012 through 2015 Focus all-electric cars and some 2013 through 2015 Fusion Energi and C-Max Energi plug-in hybrids. Ford reported that four fires had started in C-Max vehicles, but there no injuries. In three of the fires, owners had been using their own extension cord, which Ford had warned against doing. The fourth fire was inconclusive and Ford said it does not believe the fire was related to the cord. Dealers will be getting new cords for Ford owners to replace the first version; the new cords can sense high temperatures and shut off charging if necessary. Letters will be going out to owners starting next week.

CALSTART event next month:  CALSTART will host the “Global Commercial Vehicle Drive-to-Zero” workshop on Sept. 11 at the Bay Area Metro Center in San Francisco. CALSTART will launch a new seven-year program during the event aimed at dramatically reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 with a focus on global medium- and heavy-duty vehicle markets. It’s an affiliate event for the U.N. Foundation’s Global Climate Action Summit (GCAS) supporting the Paris Agreement. Under contract with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), CALSTART has done an extensive analysis, validated by global OEMs, and identified which segments of the medium- and heavy-duty vehicle market could most rapidly transition to zero- and near-zero emission technology. The event next month will kick-off a multi-year partnership between CALSTART and those who share the vision of making commercial zero emission vehicles widespread by 2025. Visit this page to register.

• 
•