1114: GM Announces New Battery Factories To Ease Future Supply Constraints | 15 June 2021 - a podcast by EV News Daily

Show #1114.

 

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Tuesday 15th June. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

 

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"General Motors will raise spending on electric and autonomous vehicles and add two U.S. battery factories as it gambles that consumers will eagerly switch from gasoline to the new technology. GM wouldn't give details about where it will build the new plants, but Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson said they would be similar in size to two factories now under construction in Lordstown, Ohio, and Spring Hill, Tennessee. Those factories each will employ more than 1,000 workers and cost about $2.3 billion." writes Autoblog: "The new plants were to come later in the decade, but now are expected to be in operation around 2025. They are part of GM's plan to spend $35 billion on electric and autonomous vehicles from 2020 to 2025. The company also said it will switch more U.S. assembly plant capacity to electric vehicles, but gave no details Wednesday."

 

The NY Times said: "G.M. this year introduced an updated version of its electric car, the Chevrolet Bolt, that can travel farther on a full charge and has added to roomier version of the same car. A battery-powered GMC Hummer pickup truck is set to go into production late this year and is supposed to be followed by more than 20 electric models over the next four years. The company did not say where the two additional battery plants would be built. It is building them in a joint venture with the South Korean manufacturer LG Chem."

 

 

 

"Volvo plans to produce a new premium SUV for its electric Polestar brand at a plant in Charleston, South Carolina, the company said Wednesday. Volvo is investing $118 million for production of the Polestar 3 at the South Carolina plant. The vehicle is expected to go into production in 2022. It will have the same platform as the next-generation Volvo XC90, which also will be produced at the plant." says CNBC: "Polestar currently operates in 13 countries, with plans to sell tens of thousands of vehicles globally."

 

 

"Audi is leaving nothing to chance when it comes to the 2022 e-tron GT and potential luxury car buyers being scared off by EV charging, inking a new agreement for free public top-ups. The agreement will see all 2022 Audi e-tron GT buyers get three years of complimentary DC fast charging at Electrify America stations across the US." reports Slashgear: "There are currently more than 600 public charging stations in that network, and the e-tron GT will be able to tap speeds of up to 270 kW. That’s the equivalent of taking the sports EV from 5-percent to 80-percent in around 22 minutes, or approximately 180 miles of range. By the end of the year, meanwhile, Electrify America says it expects to have around 800 locations in operation in the US. In total, there’ll be around 3,500 chargers on offer."

 

 

On the 8th August last year I spoke to Sam Arons, Director of Sustainability at Lyft. And he told us about their plans to be 100% electric by 2030. Now we have more concrete news.

"Lyft Inc (LYFT.O) said on Tuesday it will launch an electric vehicle rental pilot program for ride-hail drivers in a part of the San Francisco Bay Area in partnership with a local utility." asys Reuters: "The EV rental program in San Mateo County south of San Francisco is scheduled to begin this fall. It initially aims to provide roughly 100 EVs for use on the Lyft platform, the ride-hail company and Peninsula Clean Energy said in a statement. Peninsula Clean Energy, San Mateo County's official energy provider which aims to provide 100% renewable energy by 2025, will provide $500,000 in incentives to ride-hail drivers to ensure the cost of renting an EV is comparable to a gas-powered car. Lyft already offers EV rentals in Seattle, Atlanta and Denver, where drivers are able to rent Kia Niro and Chevy Bolt EVs."

 

 

"Chinese EV automaker NIO announced it has received European Whole Vehicle Type Approval (EWVTA) for its flagship SUV, the ES8. This essential certification will allow for mass production of the NIO ES8, as well as license plate registration for all countries in the EU." reports electrek: "NIO plans to bring its ES8 to Norway this September along with its direct sales and service network, as well as access to NIO House, an exclusive community for NIO owners. Furthermore, the NIO app will be available for European users, along with Power Swap Stations"

 

 

"The electric car-sharing service Zity is beginning to integrate a total of 250 Dacia Spring electric cars into its fleets. Zity is jointly operated by Renault and Ferrovial, operating in Madrid and Paris. In Paris, Zity will launch the first 150 examples of the Dacia this month, with another 100 to follow in September." according to electrive: "Zity currently operates 1,300 electric cars, 800 in Madrid and 500 in Paris. The business area in the French capital covers 105 square kilometres and covers both Paris and the neighbouring municipality of Clichy to the north. Zity says that users from Paris will be able to rent the new Spring via the service’s app starting in late June. "

 

 

"By significantly increasing the number of customers in Germany, Tesla aims to increase their satisfaction with the expansion of the charging infrastructure. In June 2021, the company reached a new milestone by opening 1,000 Supercharger stalls across the country." says Tesmanian: "In the last months of 2020 and in 2021, Tesla began active deployment of V3 Supercharger stalls in Germany at new charging stations and existing ones. "

 

 

On June 30, Mercedes-Benz Trucks will celebrate the world premiere of its battery-powered eActros for heavy-duty distribution. With the presentation of the first series-produced electric truck bearing the star logo, Mercedes-Benz Trucks will usher in a new era and underscore its commitment to locally CO2-neutral road transport. 

 

 

 

 

What’s the best way to navigate an EV journey and charge on the way? Do you use our smartphone or use the car’s internal system?

 

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