Tag: evs

This Week’s Top 10: Plug-In 2014 Conference downsizes to better serve its audience, Sales of plug-in electric vehicles were solid in July

Plug-In 2014by 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. Smart grids, fast charging, and an open integration platform for electric vehicles were topics covered last week at Plug-In 2014 Conference in San Jose, Calif. Now in its seventh year, the annual plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) conference changed gears – there was no exhibit hall this year and a schedule with two simultaneous breakout speaker panel sessions instead of three. According to comments from attendees, it continued to be a much-needed resource for peer networking and staying current on what’s happening in the industry; the exhibit hall and extra speaker panels weren’t necessary and the conference has needed to be streamlined. During “The Last Word” panel on Wednesday afternoon, Tom Turrentine from the PH&EV Research Center, Institute of Transportation Studies, at UC Davis, talked about a study he’s been part of finding out the challenges auto dealers are going through in effectively educating customers on PEVs and charging. The other panelists, including Ed Kjaer, director, transportation electrification at Southern California Edison, and Chelsea Sexton, founder, Lightning Rod Foundation, agreed with Turrentine that education of dealers and car shoppers is still very much needed. Looking at real data from PEV driver experience over the past three-and-a-half years is another resource to tap into; along with key stakeholders (utilities, automakers, and infrastructure suppliers) setting aside technology disputes and supporting the larger movement toward electrified transportation, should be high priority, Kjaer and Sexton said. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), which organizes the conference, announced an alliance with utilities and automakers to develop and demonstrate an open platform to integrate PEVs with smart grid technologies. The platform will offers customer-friendly interface where PEV drivers can more easily participate in utility PEV programs, such as rates for off-peak or nighttime charging. With more than 225,000 plug-in vehicles on US roads, these vehicles will also play a significant role as a distributed energy resource to support grid reliability, stability, and efficiency. Honda, BMW, Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, and Toyota have joined together with major utilities and regional transmission organizations. During another announcement at Plug-In 2014, NRG eVgo, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, Inc., said that its partnering with BMW on its new ChargeNow DC Fast program. Now, BMW i3 drivers in California can enjoy unlimited, no cost 30 minute DC fast charging, at eVgo Freedom Station® sites equipped with DC Combo Fast Charging, through 2015.
  1. Sales of plug-in electric vehicles were solid in July. There were 3,117 Nissan Leafs sold – 62% more than July 2013. Nissan thinks that its No Charge to Charge promotion worked well. The Chevy Volt saw its best sales month since December, with 2,020 units sold. Tesla Motors reported building 8,763 Model S units in the second quarter and delivered 7,579 of them to customers. The company expects to deliver 7,800 of them this quarter. Tesla reported second quarter revenues of $858 million, up 55% from a year ago; and the automaker saw gross margins rise to a record 26.8%.
  2. The California Energy Commission approved about $60 million for hydrogen fueling, battery electric vehicle and plug-in hybrid projects. About $8.1 million also has been allocated for electric vehicle placements and $4.3 million for natural gas vehicles.
  3. The agreement on the “Gigafactory” between Tesla Motors and Panasonic Corp. has been confirmed. Panasonic, which currently supplies battery cells to Tesla, said it will manufacture and supply cylindrical lithium-ion cells and invest in the equipment, machinery and other tools based on the two companies mutual approval. Tesla role will be to prepare, provide and manage the land, buildings, and utilities. The dollar amount Panasonic has agreed to invest hasn’t been revealed.
  4. Toyota Motor Corp. has a name for its $69,000 fuel cell vehicle:  Mirai. That’s a Japanese word for “the future,” according to a person familiar with the decision. The US version has been called the FCV, and the car is expected to go on sale in the fall of 2015.
  5. The 2014 Chevy Volt with the optional Forward Collision Alert system was the only one out of 12 cars tested to earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s 2014 Top Safety Pick award. The plug-in hybrid also received an acceptable overall score in IIHS’ small overlap front crash test. The small overlap front crash test simulates a frontal collision that impacts the driver’s side corner at 40 mph. Other cars tested included the Nissan Juke, Mini Cooper Countryman, and the Ford C-Max Hybrid.
  6. “The Musk Who Fell to Earth” will be an upcoming episode on an upcoming episode in the 26th season of “The Simpsons.” This will be Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s second appearance on the show, though the first time that he’ll speak. During the episode, Mr. Burns, an iconic series character and billionaire nuclear energy tycoon, loses all of his money to Musk.
  7. The US Commerce Department is increasing penalties on Chinese imports for dumping solar cells, panels, and other equipment into the US market at very low prices to grab market share. Duties could reach as high as 165% for some Chinese producers and 44% for manufacturers in Taiwan. The tariffs will become permanent if the department confirms its initial finding that the practices hurt the US solar industry.
  8. The Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Davis is offering an online tool called EV Explorer helping car shoppers made a decision over the best choice for themselves – a plug-in electric vehicle, a hybrid, or a regular gasoline-engine vehicle. By entering a starting address and ending destination, EV Explorer offers a bar graph comparing the total annual energy costs of up to four vehicles simultaneously.
  9. A new report from Research and Markets forecasts that the global biodiesel market will grow at a compound annual rate of 8.1% between 2013 and 2018. One prominent market drivers is expected to be the advantage of using biodiesel over diesel. For those seeking a clean source of energy, biodiesel offers reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and carbon footprints.

Big Picture: Smith Electric Vehicles coming back through Chinese investor, AC Transit may end its support for fuel cell buses

Smith Electric VehiclesIt looks like Smith Electric Vehicles will still be there – and it wasn’t looking too good not so long ago. Smith Electric, which produces all electric medium-duty commercial vehicles, has secured a $42 million investment from Sinopoly Battery Limited, a global supplier of lithium-ion batteries and related EV products. Sinopoly will be the exclusive supplier of batteries for Smith Electric vehicles (and vehicle applications compatible with Smith Electric platforms). The supplier will also provide EV components that will be manufactured at its Hangzhou, China, facility. Smith Electric will resume production in its Kansas City, Mo., facility in mid-summer 2014. The company recently suspended production to transition its supply chain to Tier 1 suppliers; that will enable Smith Electric to produce its vehicles at a lower cost, the company said.

And in other clean transportation news……..

  • AC Transit (Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District) in Oakland, Calif. is considering removing fuel cell buses from its fleet, according to an anonymous source. Transit districts have been a testing ground for alternative fuel vehicles; AC Transit has been testing out a fuel cell demonstration program since 2000 and has been considered to have the most comprehensive program in the US. The transit agency currently operates 12 third-generation fuel cell buses powered by a 120 kilowatt fuel cell power system.
  • New York has modified the list of trucks that are eligible under its $19 million Voucher Incentive Program. Hino’s 195h and 195h-DC diesel electric cab-over has been approved for the program and the list also includes OEMs such as Daimler Trucks North America, Isuzu, Peterbilt, and Volvo.
  • Toyota is wrapping up its deal with Tesla Motors to buy Tesla battery packs and motors for the Toyota RAV4 EV by the end of the year. In May 2012, Toyota, which owns 2.4% of Tesla Motors, said it would buy components for 2,600 RAV4 EVs over three years. That deal had produced $15.1 million in revenue for Tesla in the quarter that just ended. The RAV4 EV has never sold very well, and Toyota will be taking it out production later this year. This comes soon after Tesla announced first quarter 2014 performance – producing a record 7,535 vehicles and delivering 6,457 of them. On the state battle front, Tesla says its ready to fight in Missouri to sell directly to consumers; a bill looks like it will be introduced in the state to bar Tesla’s company-owned store system.
  • Dates for the next AltCar Expo have been released:  Friday, Sept. 19 and Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014, in Santa Monica ,Calif.
  • Navigant Research has launched the Transportation Forecast Research Service, an information and forecasting service that will focus on electric, stop-start, natural gas, fuel cell, propane and conventional vehicles. It’s part of Navigant’s Smart Transportation program.
  • General Motors’ Project Driveway has passed the three million miles of hydrogen-powered driving. It’s fleet of Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell vehicles have been driven by over 5,000 drivers who’ve given feedback on their experience. Some of the crossovers have traveled more than 120,000 miles and the fleet has saved 157,894 gallons of gasoline consumptions.
  • General Motors announced pricing for its 2015 Chevrolet Impala bi-fuel model that can run on CNG or gasoline — $38,210 including destination. That makes for two CNG-powered production cars in the US with the Honda Civic Natural Gas.
  • Cal State University, Los Angeles last week opened the largest hydrogen station operated by a university in the US.
  • Texas will be offering $2,500 rebates to buyers of plug-in electric vehicles. It was approved by the state legislature last fall with in intended spring 2014 start date.
  • Chrysler Group is recalling 4,100 Fiat 500 electric cars; a power inverter module on 2013-2105 Fiat 500e may be experiencing coolant seepage that causes power loss while driving – a short circuit leading to power loss. Chrysler says there have so far been five incidents but no fires.
  • Mahindra Group is investing in a 37,000 square-foot facility in Ann Arbor, Mich., to the produce the all-new GenZe electric scooter. It’s still not been made clear when the functional, lightweight scooter with plenty of baggage carrying space will be available for sale in the US.
  • BMW Group’s factory in Moses Lake, Wash., will be getting an investment of $200 million from BMW and SGL Group to triple capacity of its carbon fiber plant. It will be the world’s largest producer of car bon fiber with an annual output of 9,000 tons by 2015 once expansion is completed. BMW’s i3 and i8 are built with carbon fiber reinforced plastics to increase their range and efficiency.

Big Picture: More actions on Tesla stores in Ohio and Arizona, Toyota Financial Services starts up Asset-Backed Green Bond

Tesla direct salesIn the wake of New Jersey’s decision on Tesla Motors’ right to run corporate retail stores, there are two more states seeing developments. Ohio Gov. John Kasich has received a letter from General Motors expressing concern that the state would allow Tesla to expand beyond the two Ohio stores it currently has in operation. GM thinks the state should oppose legislation allowing Tesla to open more stores, as it would allow Tesla to compete under a different set of rule. “We understand discussions are ongoing over legislation which could provide a broad exemption for a single manufacturer, Tesla Motors Inc., to circumvent long-established legal precedent on how new motor vehicles are marketed, sold and serviced in your state,” Selim Bingol, GM’s senior vice president of global communications and public policy, wrote in the letter.

Arizona may allow Tesla to sell directly to consumers at retail stores within the state – if the company is willing to have a service center in the state to handle repairs and warranty issues. The state’s Senate Commerce, Energy and Military Committee voted three-to-two to push forward this bill in the legislature.  Arizona Senate Majority Leader John McComish called the bill a “pre-emptive strike” against future laws that outlaw Tesla’s direct-sale model. The bill will need to go before another committee for review, then would go to the full Senate.

And in other clean transportation news…….

  • Toyota has a very interesting offer through its Toyota Financial Services (TFS) captive finance arm – the auto industry’s first-ever Asset-Backed Green Bond; the company is outlaying $1.75 billion, which was upsized from $1.25 as institutional investors have expressed interest in this clean transportation investment opportunity.  TFS will use the proceeds from Green Bond toward the purchase of retail finance contracts and lease contracts for Toyota and Lexus vehicles that meet high green standards as established by three criteria: gasoline-electric hybrid or alternative fuel powertrain; minimum EPA estimated MPG (or MPG equivalent for alternative fuel vehicles) of 35 city / 35 highway; and California Low-Emission Vehicle II (LEV II) certification of super ultra-low emission vehicles (SULEVs) or higher, which would include partial zero emissions vehicles (PZEVs) and zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs). Qualifying models from Toyota include: Prius, Prius C, Prius V, Prius Plug-in, Camry Hybrid, Avalon Hybrid, and RAV4 EV. From Lexus, qualifying vehicles are CT 200h and ES 300h.
  • Producing more than 5,000 compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling tanks last year is one of several positive signs that Quantum Fuel Systems is on a turnaround that should continue, according to stock market analyst website Seeking Alpha; that’s more than double the amount of tanks that were produced in 2012. The company was close to collapsing 12 to 18 months ago, but a corporate restructuring has been completed and seems to have a brighter future. Quarterly earnings were reported earlier this month – positive earnings were reported for the first time in quite a while. The company’s share price has increased by more than 250% in the past 12 months. About 10,000 tanks are expected to be delivered in 2014.
  • The Energy Independence Summit will be taking place in Washington, DC, March 30-April 2. Leaders in clean transportation will be gathering to share best practices and educate federal policy makers about the benefits of the US Dept. of Energy’s Clean Cities program. The need for additional tools and resources to overcome barriers to the widespread use of clean vehicles and fuels will also be discussed.  You can contact Ken Brown at Transportation Energy Partners at ken@akbstrategies.com or (202) 674-7777 if you have questions or would like additional information about the Summit.
  • The CHAdeMO electric vehicle fast charging protocol, which was initially adopted in Japan by domestic automakers, has been officially recognized as an international DC charging standard by electrical standards organization the International Electrotechnical Commission. The final draft international standards were approved by committees in January 2014, and were finally published last week on the IEC website. The number of CHAdeMO fast charging stations doubled in 2012 to more than 2,000 units are expected to grow, the association said last year.
  • Dish Network unveiled 47 new propane-powered vehicles at an event on Friday in Hawthorne, Calif. Roush CleanTech converted Ford E-Series vans for Dish Network, and the company’s goal is to deploy 200 of these alternative-fuel vehicles that will run on propane autogas.
  • Volvo Trucks is bringing its full range of alt-fuel vehicles to the 2014 Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky. That lineup will include: Volvo VNL 300 CNG with 400-horsepower 11.9-liter Cummins Westport ISX12 G engine; Volvo VNL 300 LNG with 455-horsepower Volvo D13-LNG (compression ignition) engine; and Volvo VNL 300 dimethyl ether (DME) with 435-horsepower Volvo D13-DME engine.
  • BMW plants to produce more than 100,000 electric vehicles per year to meet tougher European emission standards that reach a key mandate level by 2020. CEO Norbert Reithofer told reporters that BMW will increase production levels of its i3 and i8 in 2018 in anticipation of getting up to 100,000 units annually in order to meet the stricter carbon dioxide emission standards. BMW was pleased to see that its i3 took 10,000 internet orders when it went online last fall.

Telling Your Story: How Tesla builds brand value without spending a dime on marketing

Tesla commercialTesla Motors, which doesn’t have a marketing budget, is benefiting from a creative video spot; the automaker didn’t need to spend one dime on it. In the commercial, “Modern Spaceship,” a little boy imagines himself breaking the speed of light while driving his father’s new car, a Model S. Everdream Pictures, a production company started by recent college graduates, spent $1,500 to make the commercial. So far, Tesla hasn’t paid for it, but may collaborate in the future; Everdream met with Tesla CEO Elon Musk in January to talk about possibilities, and Tesla may hire them for a future project.

As for now, Tesla has been streaming part of the video on its Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages; and Musk tweeted about the video recently. Tesla Motors sold 18,650 of its Model S electric luxury sedans in 2013 after launching it in the summer of 2012. The Model S sold less units last year than what Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt each experienced, but for its price range – with monthly lease payments ranging from $1,051 for the 60 kilowatt-hour (kWh) version up to $1,421 for the 85-kWh Performance model – those sales figures are quite impressive – especially for an automaker that really hasn’t been around for very long. Tesla has been promoting a less-expensive lease deal to raise consumer interest (more on that later).

Tesla’s brand value has been surprising to observe (as witnessed by its incredibly strong stock prices) given that the auto industry has historically been dominated by a small number of majors with startups going the way of failed 1940s Tucker sedan. Here’s my take on how Tesla Motors has been effectively telling its story…….

Fine product: While Tesla has been getting a ton of press and social media coverage in the past year (with the Hyperloop, Supercharger, and Model S recall fueling most of it), Tesla would have faded by now if its cars had gone the way of the DeLoreon concept car. The Tesla Roadster, built on a Lotus chassis, was impressive being the first production-scale electric vehicle after it was launched in 2008. It was the Model S that turned heads and managed to impress Toyota and Daimler enough to invest in its electric powertrain components. Driving one of them isn’t easy – you don’t get to show up at a dealership and get behind the wheel with a sales rep answering all your questions. You have to show up at a Tesla ride and drive and wait in line to drive one of them; or have a friend who lets you experience what may be the strongest torque ever in a passenger car – and the unique, double-TV-screen dashboard for navigation and apps. There’s been a lot of buzz about its upcoming Model X crossover with double-hinged doors. It’s more affordable Model E compact is scheduled to roll out in late 2016.

Removing range anxiety: Fear of having an electric vehicle’s battery poop out and being stuck on the side of a road has been the major stumbling block for selling a lot more EVs. Tesla has no plans to roll out a plug-in hybrid to alleviate that range anxiety. There are two factors that seem to be helping – one is impressive per charge range. For example, the US Environmental Protection Agency reported that the Model S Performance can go 265 miles on a single charge. Another step forward is coming through with its Supercharger stations that can recharge a Model S faster than any of the CHAdeMO or SAE Combo adapter fast chargers can deliver.

Creative financing: The Tesla Model S has a sticker price ranging from the low $70Ks to the mid-$90Ks depending on the package you choose. Even with federal and state incentives, it’s much more expensive than other EVs and you can find a lot of other quality luxury cars for a much lower price. Tesla has been working with U.S. Bank and Wells Fargo on a lease program that guarantees the residual value during its three-year contract. Tesla says it will have the top residual value of any high volume premium sedan brand – Audi, BMW, Mercedes, or Lexus. Tesla is also pitching the novel idea that the cost goes down to about $500 per month. The argument goes along the lines that you can save $267 per month in fuel costs compared to the BMW 5-Series, and you can subtract more dollars and save more time by gaining access to carpool lanes while driving solo. So, creative marketing and creative financing are paying off.

Leaders with personality: It certainly helps to have a self-made multi-millionaire celebrity like Elon Musk captain the ship. While competitors like GM and dealer networks likely despise him, Musk probably isn’t losing any sleep over it. It also helps to have JB Straubel serve as chief technical officer and Franz Von Holzhausen as chief designer. They’re getting a lot of media attention and respect from car designers – and Straubel and Von Holzhausen tend to be eloquent and analytical about the Tesla technology.

Guerilla marketing: It is quite strange to see the Tesla brand go viral and ubiquitous in such a short period of time. It’s taken Hyundai a lot longer to reverse its negative image and to start winning accolades. Tesla is benefiting from getting strong ratings from Consumer Reports and NHTSA safety ratings (at least before the battery fires last Fall). Its tactics are paying off – with appointment-only ride and drives helping, attention-grabbing retail stores, and sales maneuvers that probably would have impressed P.T. Barnum. An example of this tactic is how good Tesla is at teasing its audience about the upcoming launch of its Supercharger, Model X, etc. Tesla is taking advantage of the digital media/marketing environment where brand value can be increased for free – if done the right way. Getting an email from Musk explaining how the automaker is dealing with the battery fire problem is a very good example of it.

Problem into opportunity:  “When written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters – one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.”  U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy said in a 1959 speech. I chose this quote from JFK on my LeSage Consulting website because it eloquently states the challenge clean transportation is experiencing right now. For alternative fuels and vehicles, every one of them faces huge challenges to break through consumer and fleet acquisitions and building the essential charging/fueling infrastructure. Elon Musk and his team have so far been masterful at becoming well established in the ultra-capital intensive and challenging car business. It also makes for a colorful story of a company delivering cool new technology in this rapidly changing, global economy.

AeroVironment and KnowWhatYouDrive educate EV car shoppers

AVEV101Education and accessible, clear information is needed out there to get past the stumbling block that holds consumers back from owning an electric vehicle. If you take a look at a new educational website for electric vehicle (EV) shoppers, you’ll find answers to frequently asked questions:

  • What’s the difference between EVs, plug-in hybrids, and hybrids?
  • Why lithium ion batteries?
  • What do you get out of it? Why make the investment?
  • What’s the latest on charging technologies?
  • How long does it take to charge and how far do you travel?

AeroVironment is working with Saginaw, Mich.-based KnowWhatYouDrive on an educational initiative to help consumers take the plunge and purchase an EV and a home charging port. The free online course at AVEV101.com walks through all of the questions that typically come up for car shoppers – or those with some interest in owning an EV. Details are presented on the types of available charging stations, charging time, and how the installation process works. You can test your electric vehicle IQ and instantly earn $25, $50, or $100 coupon codes for an electric vehicle charging station and installation.

“Education is one of the key factors that will help speed EV adoption,” said Wahid Nawabi, senior vice president and general manager of AeroVironment’s Efficient Energy Systems business segment. Doug Taylor, founder of KnowWhatYouDrive, says that it can be a daunting task with all of the EVs on the market now through Ford, Nissan, Fiat, and other OEMs. KnowWhatYouDrive works with charging station supplier Eaton on its website, and offers a discount program for EV charging stations.

AeroVironment has been committed to making the EV ownership and charging experience more accessible to consumers. It launched a dealer program last year offering a turnkey residential charging package. Consumers can purchase the EV and the charger in combination at the time of sale and build it into the financing. The home installation process is built into the transaction so that it can take place in a faster, more seamless way than it typically happens.

Six bills signed in California that should help deploy EVs and charging

Gov. Jerry Brown signing billsCalifornia Governor Jerry Brown celebrated National Plug In Day his own way – by signing six bills promoting electric vehicles and alternative technologies in the state. There was some very good news for those building the charging infrastructure – one of them being Senate Bill 454 (SB 454), which adopts the Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Open Access Act. This means that the architecture is open for charging infrastructure deployment. While companies like ChargePoint have been pushing hard for proprietary networks to be the standard, California is adopting an open system for electric vehicle charging payment. Drivers will be able to pull up at any charging station and use their credit card to fuel their car; they’ll no longer be required to search for the limited number of charging stations that they have an account with.

Assembly Bill 1092 (AB 1092) addresses another tough issue for expanding the charging infrastructure – multi-family dwelling and non-residential development. The California Building Standards Commission and the Department of Housing and Community Developments are now required to develop standards for installing the charging stations.

Fans of the carpool lane stickers were probably thrilled to hear that the High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) extends access for low-emission and zero-emission vehicles until 2019; AB 266 and SB 286 extend white HOV lane stickers for battery electric vehicles and the green stickers for plug-in hybrids, respectively.

AB 8 will be funding $2 billion in green initiatives such as Alternative and Renewable Fuel and Vehicle Technology Program. It offers incentives for scrapping the dirtiest cars – along with $20 million to fund 100 hydrogen fueling stations. Fleets are being offered incentives through SB 359 that includes $20 million for the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project; $10 million for the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project; $10 million for the Heavy-Duty Vehicle Air Quality Loan Program; and $8 million for the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Program.

Some of these signed bills appear to be influenced by the state’s ambitious target of having 15.4% of new vehicles sold in the state to be zero emission (battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell) or plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2025. The state thinks that will bring more than 1.4 million zero emission and plug-in hybrid vehicles onto California roads by that year. A study by the state’s Air Resources Board is even more optimistic than that – the agency expects nearly 100% of all light-duty passenger vehicles sold in the state to be zero-emission vehicles by 2040.

Lithium-ion batteries see much brighter days for Asia-based battery makers

LG Chem battery researchNot long ago, Navigant Research identified what it considers to be the top 10 most significant lithium-ion battery makers active in the electric vehicle market. Its top 10 ranking is based on systems integration, safety engineering, chemistry performance, geographic reach, manufacturing and product performance, pricing, and overall corporate financial health. Here’s the top 10 list with a bit of company background information….

  1. LG Chem – formerly a subsidiary of LG Group, the South Korean company went public in 2001 with LG Group remaining a significant investor.
  2. Johnson Controls – a US-based company offering products and services to optimize energy and operational efficiencies to several industries including automotive.
  3. Automotive Energy Supply Corp. (AESC) – a joint venture between three Japan-based companies – Nissan, information technology company NEC Corp., and electronic device company NEC TOKIN Corp.
  4. Panasonic – a Japanese electronics company.
  5. Samsung SDI – a subsidiary of South Korea-based Samsung Electronics.
  6. SK Continental E-Motion – a joint venture between South Korea’s largest oil refiner SK Innovation and German automotive parts supplier Continental AG.
  7. Hitachi – a Japanese engineering and electronics conglomerate.
  8. Toshiba – a Japanese engineering and electronics conglomerate.
  9. GS Yuasa – a Japanese company known primarily for automobile and motorcycle lead-acid batteries.
  10. BYD – Chinese BYD Company is a major battery maker and also owns BYD Auto Co.

You might notice a pattern here – of these 10 companies, only one is US based and nearly all others are in Asia and bring many years of success in automotive, engineering, and electronics to their battery divisions. The US has its share of electric carmakers, but the battery packs haven’t gone well for US-based manufacturing. A123 Systems went bankrupt and is making a few batteries now for its Chinese company owner; EnerDel came from Ener1 and its troubled partnership with Norwegian electric carmaker Think. EnerDel is struggling with lack of business and just cut its Indianapolis-area workforce by one third. Coda Automotive has pulled out of the electric vehicle market and filed for bankruptcy. Management is now focused on building its battery energy storage system through its Coda Energy division, which it started in 2011, and it’s focused on markets outside of electric vehicles.

LG Chem has done very well in the global li-ion battery market, but the US has been a bad experience for the top-ranked company. LG Chem finally began producing li-ion batteries in July for the Chevrolet Volt at its Holland, Mich. plant, but that’s been stopped again in the past few days. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has raised questions about how the cells are being made. The EPA has issued a subpoena on LG Chem to find out what chemicals have been used in production. The company says that it’s still confident it can get production ramped up once this investigation gets wrapped up.

LG Chem had received $151 million in US Department of Energy funds, but had not built any Volt batteries from Holland, Mich., until very recently – only from its South Korean facilities. It got fairly ugly earlier this year when the Office of the Inspector General reported that LG Chem employees were sitting around doing nothing but playing games and watching movies while being paid from these federal funds. LC Chem was instructed to return $842,000 as a result of the report.

Lux Research reported that electronics giant Panasonic’s lithium-ion battery division earned about $40 million in profits during Q2 2013 – much better than in Q2 2012 when the company lost $20 million. The company is expected to invest over $200 million during the next year to expand its li-ion production lines in Japan. Panasonic has supplied nickel-metal hydride batteries to Toyota and Honda hybrid models, but more recently has invested more in its li-ion division. Tesla Motors is a major client – Panasonic has been producing 60 kilowatt hour to 85 kWh battery packs for its Model S electric car. Lux Research reported that Panasonic has overtaken LG Chem and AESC in US li-ion sales. The US market is competitive for li-ion EV battery market share, but it’s now coming from companies based overseas.