Category Archives: news analysis

Heavy-Duty Emissions Standards – Missed Opportunity?

“The final rule also leaves more work to be done, and state legislatures should spur use of electric and other zero-emission trucks by adopting the Advanced Clean Truck rule. By delaying the final standards for sleeper cabs until model year 2030 vehicles, EPA missed out on the additional climate and health benefits that would have started accruing much earlier from some of the highest-polluting vehicles on the roads. Continue reading

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Greenhouse Gas Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles Set

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced final national greenhouse gas pollution standards for heavy-duty vehicles for model years 2027 through 2032 – the “Greenhouse Gas* Emissions Standards for Heavy-Duty Vehicles – Phase 3.” Trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles are central to the economy by moving goods and freight as well as providing services for industry, transit, among other sectors. Heavy-duty vehicles account for 25% of all greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector, which is itself the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States. Under these new standards, the heavy-duty industry is expected to realize annualized savings of $3.5 billion compared to annualized costs of about $1.1 billion from 2027 through 2055 Continue reading

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Bidenomics – Fiscal Policy Increased Car Sales During 2020

“In the months following the outbreak of COVID-19, Economic Impact Payments and the Paycheck Protection Program provided fiscal support to households and businesses,” said the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings this week, citing a new research paper on Economic Incentive Programs (EIPs) during the early years of the Biden Administration economic recovery.

Using data on motor vehicle sales and the Consumer Expenditure Survey, Jack Dunbar of the University of Pennsylvania and co-authors Christopher Kurz, Geng Li and Maria D. Tito find that these policies boosted new car sales by 12% in 2020, or 1.75 million cars. They also find that the increase in sales caused by the fiscal programs accounted for 70% of the declines in inventory through 2021. The stimulus-induced demand, which coincided with supply constraints that reduced inventories, accounted for 20% of the increase in vehicle prices compared to pre-pandemic pricing. Continue reading

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Auto Industry Continues to Rebound from Pandemic Lows

Cox Automotive* experts on a media call today said U.S. new-vehicle sales in Q1 will increase 5.6% year-over -year (YoY) and reach 3.8 million units. The YoY increase in Q1 sales implies that the new-vehicle market in the U.S. continues to recover slowly from the 10-year low – 13.8 million total sales – recorded in 2022. AutoInformed notes that the Biden Administration recovery continues despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to harm the economy by keeping interest rates unduly high. Continue reading

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Suniva, Heliene to Make First U.S. Domestic Content Solar Cells

“With this strategic partnership Heliene and Suniva are well-positioned to rapidly scale domestic cell and module manufacturing to meet the surging demand for secure and reliable domestically made crystalline PV modules. Currently, all U.S.-made solar crystalline modules use only imported cells. This partnership will directly address that gap in the U.S. solar supply chain and help strengthen manufacturing capacity to meet increased demand for domestic products,” the companies said in a joint released timed to coincide with a visit by Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen at Suniva yesterday. Continue reading

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Honda Racing has a New UK Formula One Base

Honda is celebrating its 60th anniversary of its first F1 participation this year. The company is currently providing technical support and marketing cooperation as a team partner to Oracle Red Bull Racing, which is enmeshed in an ongoing alleged inappropriate sexual behavior scandal. Honda also supplies the VISA Cash App RB Formula One Team. As part of this technical support, HRC manufactures and supplies PUs along with support for PU operation throughout the season to Red Bull Powertrains (RBPT)*. This partnership will continue until the next year’s 2025 season.

*RBPT is a Red Bull group company responsible for F1 PU building. They are in charge of production and operation of ESS (Energy Storage System) for current F1 PU. Continue reading

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PEVE to Become Toyota Battery Company

Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) in Japan confirmed today that Primearth EV Energy Co., Ltd. (PEVE) will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota Motor. The subsidiary will use the technology advanced through Toyota’s hybrid vehicle battery business to date. and presumably improve on it. The transaction is scheduled to be approved at PEVE’s Annual General Meeting of Shareholders in late June 2024. It’s the latest in a series of moves by Toyota to become a dominant EV company.

“The new company name embodies our determination to leverage the technology and skills honed since PEVE’s establishment in 1996 to contribute to the competitiveness of Japanese batteries and become a company that provides high-quality and highly safe on-board batteries. In addition to batteries for Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs), we plan to produce batteries for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs). Through our efforts in the production of diverse and next-generation on-board batteries, we hope to create new value and be useful to society,” PEVE said. Continue reading

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Home EV Charging More Satisfying Than Public Charging

Home charging offers a much more satisfying experience for electric vehicle owners when compared with public charging, according to the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Electric Vehicle Experience (EVX) Home Charging StudySM, released today. Thus the EV experience is similar to bathroom satisfaction in AutoInformed’s view. Continue reading

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Workers File Union Busting Charges Against Mercedes-Benz

Workers at Mercedes-Benz’s largest U.S. plant have filed multiple federal charges with the National Labor Relations Board over allegations that the German company is using aggressive and illegal union-busting. tactics Workers are requesting an injunction to put an end to the company’s retaliation against workers In February, Mercedes workers announced that a majority of their coworkers at the Mercedes plant in Vance had signed union authorization cards. Every Mercedes plant in the world is unionized—except the company’s two plants in the United States. Continue reading

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EPA Issues PFAS Test Order with Immediate Effect

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today has issued its fourth Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) test order requiring testing on per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under EPA’s National PFAS Testing Strategy. The order requires the 3M Company and Wacker Chemical Corporation to conduct and submit testing on the physical-chemical properties of NMeFOSE,* Chemical Abstract Service Reference Number: 24448-09-7, including testing on the health effects following its inhalation. Continue reading

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VW Chattanooga UAW Vote Set for April 17-19

More than 4000 Volkswagen workers are now set to vote in their union election on April 17, 18 and 19. The National Labor Relations Board has scheduled the election and will oversee the secret-ballot vote at the VW plant in Chattanooga. Continue reading

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Toyota to Build New Tokyo Corporate Headquarters

Toyota Motor Corporation said today it will sign a new agreement with Keikyu Corporation stemming from the agreement signed in 2020 to serve as a joint operator in the development of the Shinagawa Station West Exit area of Tokyo. The deal involves land, well as the joint construction and operation of a planned building to promote urban development.

Toyota will open a new Tokyo Head Office in FY2030 in the building. The area is expected to see improvements in urban functions with the opening of the MAGLEV line and other projects going forward. Continue reading

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Chattanooga VW Workers Want UAW Election

Auto workers at Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, the only VW plant anywhere with no method of employee representation, have filed with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a union election. Tennessee is a “right to work” (for less?) state, … Continue reading

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March US Vehicle Sales Up. Record Q1 Consumer Spending!

Total US new-vehicle sales for March 2024, are projected to reach 1,525,700 units, a 12.1% increase from March 2023, according to a joint forecast today from J.D. Power and GlobalData.* The seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for total new-vehicle sales is expected to be 16.4 million units, up 1.6 million units from March 2023. New-vehicle total sales for Q1 2024 are projected at 3,830,500 units, a 4.5% increase from Q1 2023 when adjusted for selling days as the Biden Administration recovery continues.

New-vehicle retail sales for March 2024 are also expected to increase when compared with March 2023. Retail sales of new vehicles are forecast at 1,225,000 units, a 10.7% increase from March 2023. New-vehicle retail sales for Q1 2024 are projected at  3,066,500 units, a 4.5% increase from Q1 2023 when adjusted for selling days. Continue reading

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Department of Commerce Proposes $8.5B Intel Funding

The U.S. Department of Commerce and Intel Corporation have reached a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms (PMT) to provide up to $8.5 billion in direct funding under the CHIPS and Science Act to strengthen the U.S. supply chain and re-establish American leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, the Biden-Harris Administration said today. This is the Department of Commerce’s fourth PMT announcement under the CHIPS and Science Act. So-called leading-edge chips power the most sophisticated technology extant, including developing AI and building critical military systems and weapons.

“There is no one who cares more about revitalizing American manufacturing than President Biden, and today’s announcement is a massive step towards ensuring America’s leadership in manufacturing for the 21st century. With this agreement, we are helping to incentivize over $100 billion in investments from Intel – marking one of the largest investments ever in U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, which will create over 30,000 good-paying jobs and ignite the next generation of innovation,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. Continue reading

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