Category Archives: global warming

HF Sinclair Plea Deal – Climate- and Health-Harming Emissions

Posted on 17 January 2025 by Ken Zino

The Justice Department, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) announced today a proposed settlement with HF Sinclair Navajo Refining LLC, an HF Sinclair Corp. subsidiary, resolving alleged Clean Air Act and New Mexico Air Quality Control Act violations at the company’s oil refinery in Artesia, New Mexico. The refinery is adjacent to a community overburdened by pollution. This settlement is part of the Justice Department and EPA’s ongoing commitment to address unlawful pollution in historically marginalized and dis-proportionally impacted communities.

“This settlement reinforces the United States’ commitment to protect communities from illegal refinery benzene and VOC emissions,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Katherine E. Konschnik of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “Under the settlement, the refinery will make significant capital investments in pollution controls and implement additional programs to improve air quality and reduce health impacts on the residents of Artesia, including the students at Roselawn Elementary School.” Continue reading →

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Toyota’s Hino Motors Emissions Fraud – $1.6B Plea Deal

Posted on 16 January 2025 by Ken Zino

The U.S. Justice Department, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), FBI, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and State of California reached criminal and multiple civil resolutions, valued at more than $1.6 billion, with Hino Motors Ltd., Hino Motors Manufacturing U.S.A., Inc. and Hino Motors Sales U.S.A., Inc. (collectively, Hino) for violations related to the submission of false and fraudulent engine emission testing and fuel consumption data to regulators and the illicit smuggling of engines into the United States. These resolutions are subject to approval by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

“Hino knew the requirements that engines must meet to be certified to operate in the United States, yet it falsified data for years to skirt regulations,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) yesterday. “Hino’s actions led to vast amounts of excess air pollution and were an egregious violation of our nation’s environmental, consumer protection and import laws.” Continue reading →

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CARB Eases Portable Generator Rules Because of Wildfires

Posted on 13 January 2025 by Ken Zino

In California, every portable generator rated at or below 19 kilowatts must be certified to California emission standards in order to be legally sold. “However, in some areas, there is currently a shortage of California certified portable generators available for sale due to the increased demand resulting from on-going wildfires. During this emergency, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will exercise maximum discretion with regard to the sale and use of new generators less than 19 kilowatts in size by temporarily allowing (through June 30, 2025) the import, distribution, sale, and offer for sale of U.S. EPA certified generators,” CARB said over the weekend. Continue reading →

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Honda 0 Saloon and Honda 0 SUV Protypes Debut

Posted on 7 January 2025 by Ken Zino

Honda today held the world premiere of the first two models in the company’s new 0 Series line of battery electric vehicles at the 2025 Consumer Electronics Show. The so called Honda 0 SUV and Honda 0 Saloon(sedan in U.S. car speak)  use the 0 as a reference to emissions levels and their SAE Level 3 eyes-off autonomous driving – not as seems appropriate here to the amount of styling that went into the boxes. Production models based on both prototypes will launch in North America in 2026 followed by global markets. Both will initially be built at the Honda EV Hub in Ohio. Continue reading →

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Mazda to Make its First Pure EV in Hiroshima

Posted on 6 January 2025 by Ken Zino

Mazda Motor Corporation said today in Hiroshima that it will build a new module pack plant for automotive cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells in Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. The new plant will produce modules and packs of automotive cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells procured from Panasonic Energy Co. The completed battery packs will be installed in Mazda’s first battery EV that uses a dedicated EV platform and will be manufactured at Mazda’s Hiroshima plant. The annual production capacity is planned to be 10 GWh. Continue reading →

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Significant 2024 Automotive Stories and Trends

Posted on 1 January 2025 by Ken Zino

Once again at the beginning of 2025 AutoInformed notes – matter-of-factly – that its vision is 20-20 on the consequences of long past occurrences. However, in the here and now our perception is cloudy. We do not have the advantages of historians re-assessing events years later with help from other news outlets, blogs, letters, memoirs, magazines and whatever new forms of expressed thought emerge. Thus far the most valued revisions and nuanced interpretations appear in books and essays after more documents and perspectives surface from the players or perpetrators engaged in them. These are not yet available, and under Trump 2.0 they would likely be banned anyway. Continue reading →

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US Electrified Vehicle Sales Soar in 2024

Posted on 31 December 2024 by Ken Zino

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today released its monthly update to National Transportation Statistics (NTS), a guide to historical national-level transportation trends. Of interest to AutoInformed are trends in Gasoline Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Sales; the Average Age of Automobiles and Trucks in Operation; and U.S.-Canadian and U.S.-Mexican Border Land-Freight Gateway Travel and Goods Movement.

A trend of note is that during the last three years, sales of Hybrids, EVs and PHEVs have come close to doubling, representing ~2,500,000 in annual sales during 2024. Continue reading →

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BMW i Ventures Buys into Phoenix Tailings

Posted on 30 December 2024 by Ken Zino

BMW i Ventures announced today an investment in Phoenix Tailings, a inventive metals production company dedicated to creating a zero-waste, zero-emission future. The Series B financing, which was led by Envisioning Partners and included additional participation from Yamaha Motor Ventures and Escape Velocity, will enable Phoenix Tailings to scale its rare earth processing operations to produce ~200 tons of rare earth metals annually. The output can be used in electric motor magnet , batteries, semiconductors – among other applications.

Phoenix Tailings says it was “founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts  to transform how critical metals are produced – metals essential to the technologies that power modern society.” The nascent firm was heavily subsided by U.S. taxpayers via the United States Departments of Energy and Defense, as well as the State of Massachusetts. With the monies, Phoenix Tailings secured initial off-take agreements, validated its technology to process mining waste, and hired a team of workers to make the metals. Continue reading →

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Annals of Marketing – Honda Prelude Returns as Hybrid

Posted on 26 December 2024 by Ken Zino

Honda has announced that an all-new hybrid-electric Prelude* sports coupe will be re-introduced to the U.S. market late next year, presumably as a 2026 model. The first Prelude appeared in November 1978. This new one will debut Honda S+ Shift, claimed to be anew drive mode that “further advances Linear Shift Control to deliver maximum levels of driver engagement.” Continue reading →

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GAC Honda Automobile Plant Starts Making EVs

Posted on 23 December 2024 by Ken Zino

Honda Motor (China) Investment Co., a wholly-owned Honda subsidiary in China, announced today that GAC Honda Automobile Co., Ltd. (GAC Honda), a Honda automobile production and sales joint venture in China, began operation of its newly-constructed plant for new energy vehicle (NEV) production, named the Development District NEV Factory. The new factory is located in the Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development District in Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China. Under communist Chinese industrial policy 50% of the JV is owned by GAC.

The latest NEV production plant has state of the art production equipment to achieve a highly efficient, smart, and low-carbon production system. The stamping and welding processes completely eliminated logistics personnel by automating parts logistics. AI-based welding strength inspection was adopted for the first time at any Honda plant. In the assembly process, approximately 30% of the entire process is automated to achieve a highly efficient production line. Continue reading →

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Hyundai to Give Free NACS DC EV Adapters

Posted on 23 December 2024 by Ken Zino

Starting in the first quarter of 2025, current and new Hyundai EV owners* who have purchased or leased their vehicle on or before 31 January  2025 will be able to request a free NACS adapter (shipping included) through the MyHyundai owner portal, the Korean company said today. The 2025 Hyundai IONIQ 5 is the first non-Tesla vehicle on sale to have a factory-installed native NACS port. [footnote 1] Adapters will also be available for purchase through Hyundai authorized dealers. Continue reading →

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Toyota to Get $4.5M in Fed Funding for EV Batteries

Posted on 18 December 2024 by Ken Zino

Toyota (NYSE:TM) said today that Toyota Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc. (TEMA), inclusive of Toyota Motor North America (TMNA) R&D, has been selected to receive $4.5 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). The funding is part of the Catalyzing Innovative Research for Circular Use of Long-lived Advanced Rechargeables (CIRCULAR) Program, designed to support a circular domestic supply chain for electric vehicle (EV) batteries.

“As it stands, this project and program will highlight avenues for everyone to rethink their approach to battery circularity, and help prioritize the extension of battery life, facilitate battery reuse, and reduce battery waste while unveiling the appropriate pathways to achieve such priorities,” said Nik Singh, principal scientist at TRINA (Toyota Research Institute of North America) who is Principal Investigator on this project. “This is only made possible by the collaboration between the exceptional teams comprised within this project group.” Continue reading →

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California Advanced Clean Cars II Regs – EPA Grants Waivers!

Posted on 18 December 2024 by Ken Zino

“After reviewing the information provided by California, reviewing comments submitted by the public, and applying the limited criteria for waiver review under the Clean Air Act, EPA determined in each case that it would be appropriate to grant both waiver requests. The records, included in the waiver decisions, contain public comments on the programs’ feasibility, including costs to manufacturers and the lead time provided. EPA’s review found that opponents of the waivers did not meet their burden to show how either program is inconsistent with the Clean Air Act. California has longstanding authority to request waivers from EPA to protect its residents from dangerous air pollution coming from mobile sources like cars and trucks,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Today’s actions follow through on EPA’s commitment to partner with states to reduce emissions and act on the threat of climate change.” Continue reading →

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Toyota Slashes 2025 Electric Vehicle Prices $6000

Posted on 17 December 2024 by Ken Zino

Toyota said today in Plano Texas that the Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price* (MSRP) for the 2025 bZ4X is $6000 lower for the XLE grade and $5380 lower for the Limited grade.** The 2025 bZ4X also adds a new Nightshade edition, making it the first-ever Toyota Nightshade BEV. There is more standard driver assistance technology on the Limited grade, including Traffic Jam Assist, Lane Change Assist, and Front Cross Traffic Alert.

“For drivers thinking about going all electric, the Toyota bZ4X just made the choice even easier,” Toyota said. “With a smooth, quiet ride, and an EPA estimated range rating of up to 252 miles on FWD models, the bZ4X is a great value for drivers that want a BEV from a trusted brand. For 2025, that value starts at an MSRP of $37,070 on the XLE FWD grade, a reduction of nearly 14-percent. Continue reading →

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Stellantis and CATL JV for LFP Battery Plant in Spain

Posted on 10 December 2024 by Ken Zino

Stellantis (NYSE: STLA )* and CATL (Shenzhen 300750) today announced they have reached an agreement to invest up to €4.1 billion to form a joint venture that will build a large-scale European lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery plant in Zaragoza, Spain. Designed to be carbon neutral, the battery plant will be implemented in several phases and investment plans. The transaction is expected to close during 2025 and is subject to customary regulatory conditions.

“Stellantis is committed to a decarbonized future, embracing all available advanced battery technologies to bring competitive electric vehicle products to our customers,” said Stellantis Chairman John Elkann. “This important joint venture with our partner CATL will bring innovative battery production to a manufacturing site that is already a leader in clean and renewable energy, helping drive a 360-degree sustainable approach. I want to thank all stakeholders involved in making today’s announcement a reality, including the Spanish authorities for their continued support.” Continue reading →

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