The Buzz-es will come from VW Commercial Vehicles plant in Hannover.
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles and VW Passenger Cars today debuted the all-new ID.Buzz and ID.Buzz Cargo. The two electric vehicles mimic the design of the T1 Microbus of hippie fame.
In keeping with VW’s German-eccentric focus, the first versions will come to the European market during Q3 with an 82-kWh battery powering 201-hp electric motor with maximum torque of 229 lb.-ft. Continue reading
Ford Pro claims it is aiming to create a “smooth transition for commercial customers into an electric future by providing a one-stop shop for fleet operations and investing in key areas of the business.” The latest is the launch of six new home and depot chargers to offerings. From the 11.5-kilowatt Ford Pro AC Charging Station to the 180-kilowatt modular DC fast charging systems, Ford Pro says it has created a diverse lineup of chargers.
Ford Pro Charging** hardware launches alongside the all-new 2022 Ford E-Transit shipping to dealers now and the all-new 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Pro that is due to start arriving this spring, providing compatibility for customers who may operate other electric vehicle makes with secure OEM data. Continue reading
Mercedes-Benz Vans today introduced a new all-wheel drive (AWD) system and 4-Cylinder Sprinter diesel and gas lineup that will be available for the U.S. market early next year. It’s part of a transition to a full 4-cylinder lineup for gasoline and, ahem, ultimately doomed diesel engines for model year 2023, creating a “more efficient portfolio.” Continue reading
Stellantis said today that it is celebrating International Women’s Day by launching Women of Stellantis Business Resource Group, which was also supplemented by regional employee activities across the Company. In release Stellantis said that “diversity and inclusion are key in supporting the company’s drive to a sustainable mobility tech company, acknowledging the best performance results from employees bringing their true selves to work.” (AutoInformed: Dare Forward 2030 – Stellantis Survival Plan Unveiled; Stellantis Claims Record First Year with €13.4B Net Profit)
Women of Stellantis is Stellantis’ first global business resource group, a result of merging its two corresponding groups from its two former companies – FCA, aka Fiat Chrysler, and Peugeot. Globally, Women of Stellantis represents and supports nearly 3,000 current members and allies in 26 countries.
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Vice President Kamala Harris and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced the winners of two school bus rebate programs: the 2021 American Rescue Plan (ARP) Electric School Bus Rebates, and the 2021 Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) School Bus Rebates.
“The $7 million in ARP funding is directed toward school districts in under-served communities to replace old diesel buses with new, zero-emission electric models, and the $10 million in DERA rebates will assist with 444 school bus replacements across the country,” EPA said. Continue reading
New Acronym? Vehicle to Home Power, aka VtHP.
Pacific Gas and Electric Company and General Motors today announced an alliance to pilot the use of GM electric vehicles as on-demand power sources for homes in PG&E’s service area.
PG&E and GM will test vehicles with bi-directional charging technology that it’s assumed can help power “safely” essential needs of a properly equipped home. The pilot will use various GM EVs with plans to open larger customer trials by the end of 2022. Thus a new automotive acronym is born; Vehicle to Home Power, aka VtHP at AutoInformed.
EVs, of course, play a critical role in achieving California’s goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and already provide customers with many benefits. Bidirectional charging capabilities add even further value by improving electric resiliency and reliability. PG&E, of course, is beleaguered by civil and criminal lawsuits for its corporate actions and neglect that, among other things, ignited the deadly 2018 Camp Fire. In 2020, PG&E pled guilty to 84 felony counts of involuntary manslaughter, the largest homicide ever legally attributed to a United States corporation. Continue reading
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West Europe’s passenger vehicle February selling rate saw only a modest increase to 10 mn units/year, from 9.7 mn units/year in January, according to the LMC Automotive Consultancy.
“While this can be considered a step in the right direction, selling rates remain below the December 2021 number of 3.1 mn units/year or indeed the pre‐crisis result of 3.6 mn units in 2019,” LMC said. “What the latest result continues to demonstrate is that the supply constraints faced by the automotive industry remain a significant headwind to sales volumes,” LMC said.
“Our 2022 PV forecast has become more cautious since last month as supply bottlenecks are expected to be exacerbated from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions. The selling rate is still anticipated to improve over the course of 2022 but at a slower rate than we forecast last month. Aside from the supply disruption, downward pressure is building on underlying demand through inflation and confidence,” LMC warned. Continue reading
Tesla is recalling some 2021-2022 Model S liftback vehicles because the right or left side curtain air bag inflators may have been assembled incorrectly. During manufacturing by supplier Joyson Safety System of Auburn Hills Michigan the inflator may have been installed into the side curtain airbag assembly with an additional spacer plate component. This results in an airbag that did not meet specifications. The replacement airbag was assembled with an inflator with a correct number of components that meet specifications. Continue reading
Construction begins immediately.
In the latest confirmation that the complicated electric vehicle transformation of the global auto business will be ruled by companies that figure out how to inexpensively make batteries, today General Motors (NYSE: GM) and POSCO Chemical* announced that they are working with the governments of Canada and Quebec to build a new facility in Bécancour, Quebec, estimated at $400 million (C$500 million).
The new plant will produce cathode active material (CAM) for GM’s Ultium batteries, which will power electric vehicles such as the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC HUMMER EV and Cadillac LYRIQ. AutoInformed readers might remember that the companies previously announced plans to form a CAM processing joint venture in December 2021, majority owned by POSCO Chemical.
Putin’s war on Ukraine has heightened the focus on an automotive supply chain rife with totalitarian countries such as China and its EV plans, which is arguably the biggest risk to automakers operating or buying components there. Continue reading
Researchers found that switching an internal-combustion-engine vehicle to a BEV results in greater total tonnage of emissions reductions as the vehicle size increases, due to the greater fuel consumption of larger vehicles.
University of Michigan and Ford Motor Company researchers in a new study that evaluated the savings in greenhouse gas emissions between electric and gasoline-powered vehicles say light-duty, battery-electric vehicles have ~64% lower cradle-to-grave life cycle greenhouse gas emissions than internal-combustion-engine vehicles on average across the United States.
“This is an important study to inform and encourage climate action. Our research clearly shows substantial greenhouse gas emission reductions that can be achieved from transitioning to electrified powertrains across all vehicle classes,” said study senior author Greg Keoleian, a professor at the U-M School for Environment and Sustainability and director of the U-M Center for Sustainable Systems. Continue reading
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US Light Vehicle sales continued to struggle in February due to sparse inventories. According to the LMC Automotive consultancy, sales fell to 1.05 million units, down by -12% YoY. Only four of the main OEMs – Tesla, BMW, Mazda and Hyundai – had positive results during the month, which was the weakest February since 2011.
The annualized selling rate, aka SAAR, of 14.0 million units declined in both the monthly and annual comparisons. However, the February SAAR was still 1 million higher than the average rate during the second half of 2021. With the same number of selling days as in January, February’s daily average grew by ~2,000 units/day, to 43,600 units/day – it has floated above the 40,000-unit threshold since November 2021 after President Biden was elected and a recovery from the economic reverses and job losses from the Trump Administration began.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today released its 2020 Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) National Analysis, which shows that environmental releases of TRI chemicals by facilities covered by the program declined by 10% between 2019 and 2020. The 2020 TRI National Analysis summarizes TRI chemical waste management activities, including releases, which occurred during calendar year 2020.
More than 21,000 facilities report annually on 800 chemicals they release into the environment or otherwise manage as waste. EPA, states, and tribes receive TRI data from facilities in industry sectors such as manufacturing, mining, electric utilities, and commercial hazardous waste management. (AutoInformed: EPA ChemView Web Site Expands Info on Toxic Chemicals; District of Columbia,15 States to Completely Wipe Out Toxic Diesel Fumes By 2050 in New MOU; CARB Warns of Toxic Metal Contaminants in Smoke from Fires) Continue reading
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Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a supplier of advanced semiconductors, today announced the expansion of its collaboration with Honda in the field of advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). Honda adopted Renesas’ R-Car automotive system on a chip (SoC) and RH850 automotive MCU for its Honda SENSING Elite system featured in the Legend, which went on sale in March 2021. Honda SENSING Elite incorporates advanced technology that qualifies for Level 3 automated driving (conditional automated driving in limited areas). (AutoInformed: Dangerous Marketing Tower of Babble: The Actual Meaning and Real Performance of Driver Assist and Autonomous Vehicles)
Now Honda has selected R-Car and RH850 for use in the Honda SENSING 360 omnidirectional safety and driver assistance system, which builds on the knowledge and expertise gained through research and development work on the earlier technology. The first automobile model equipped with Honda SENSING 360 is scheduled for release in China in 2022, with adoption in a broader range of models to follow. Continue reading
BMW announced today that it will invest more than $200 million to construct a 219,000-square-foot press shop at its South Carolina plant. The investment includes more than 200 new jobs. The announcement was made by BMW Manufacturing President and CEO Dr. Robert Engelhorn at the South Carolina Automotive Summit in Greenville, SC. The new press shop, which will start production in the summer of 2024, will take raw coils of steel, cut them into blanks, and stamp sheet metal parts for future BMW models. Those components include “hang-on parts” such as the vehicle’s four doors, fenders, exterior body sides, and lift gate. (AutoInformed: BMW Manufacturing is Largest US Auto Exporter Again)
A new press shop requires manufacturing jobs with advanced-level training. These include tool and die technicians, electrical and mechanical maintenance for automated machinery, and specialized line operators. More than 45 Plant Spartanburg associates are currently training at BMW Group press shops in Leipzig, Germany, and Swindon, England. These associates also train with partners from the Schuler Group, which manufactures automated servo press lines for all BMW Group plants. While Schuler will manufacture the automated press line, all tooling for Plant Spartanburg’s press shop will come from BMW tool shops in Eisenach, Munich, and Dingolfing. Continue reading
BMW Group Buys Customizer ALPINA
ALPINA was active in BMW tuning and motorsports from the 1960s onwards and began manufacturing passenger cars based on BMW AG products in 1978.
The BMW Group said in Munich today that is buying the ALPINA brand. BMW AG and ALPINA Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH + Co. KG* have reached an agreement to this effect that likely will secure the future of the ALPINA brand, as well as the Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH und Co. KG.
The existing cooperation will continue in a different form: The company owned by the Bovensiepen family will continue to use its engineering expertise in developing, manufacturing, and selling BMW ALPINA vehicles within the existing agreement until the end of 2025. Continue reading →