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Volta Trucks Fully-Electric Commercial Zero to Debut in Italy
The arrival in Italy also follows the company’s recently announced Europe-first principles within its Road-to-Zero Emissions strategy, with Volta Trucks set to launch four full-electric commercial vehicles and increase its projected sales volumes to more than 27,000 by 2025. Given the competition from existing truck makers, this is ambitious. Continue reading
Posted in news analysis
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed, autoinformed.com, Ken Zino, Volta Trucks, Volta Zero
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Out of this World! Secret Lockheed Martin, GM EV Revealed
“This alliance brings together powerhouse innovation from both companies to make a transformative class of vehicles,” said Rick Ambrose, executive vice president, Lockheed Martin Space. Continue reading
FAA Cuts Boeing a Deal on More 737 Airworthiness Violations?
Boeing, debatably, profited from such interference when the Trump Administration refused to ground the 737 Max despite growing incidents and fatalities. It’s a reasonable bet that Boeing and Barr wanted to cut ties with Trump after he lost the presidential election last November. Continue reading
US New Vehicle Sales in May Forecast as Record Setting. Global Sales are Another Matter Entirely
Total new-vehicle sales for May 2021, including retail and non-retail transactions, are projected to reach 1,555,600, a 39.6% increase from May 2020 and a 1.9% decrease from May 2019. The seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for total new-vehicle sales is expected to be 16.7 million units, up 4.7 million units from 2020 but down 0.7 million units from 2019. The overall sales results for manufacturers will be mixed. Some are experiencing greater production problems because of semiconductor shortage. This will hurt, perhaps materially in the financial sense, various manufacturers monthly sales and profit performance for May and the months to come. Continue reading
BMW Group – Hydrogen is Key Technology for Future
“Our solution to the challenges of environmental policy is technological innovation. Technology is where the key to the future lies – and it’s our constructive response for climate protection,” said Hans-Peter Kemser, Director of BMW Group Plant Leipzig. Leipzig aims not only to be carbon-neutral but also to operate carbon-free production. “Our vision is to fully de-carbonize production by replacing fossil fuels with future fuels in the shape of green hydrogen,” he added. Continue reading
Ford to Up Electrification Spend to $30B by 2025. Wants 40% All-Electric Global Volume By 2030
Well, one wild card is the great unknown about the future of internal combustion engines that Ford is heavily dependent on. Will the change to EVs mean big write offs or mark downs of the value of existing plants, tooling and the elimination of jobs? Another potentially negative is Ford’s dismal record of introducing and then incurring huge warranty costs of complex vehicles with electronics. It has cost stockholders billions of dollars. Fixing these huge warranty costs is potentially worth $1-$2 billion annually given recent history. Continue reading
Hyundai Motor Teases “Enhanced” XCIENT Fuel Cell Truck
In a running battle with Toyota, Hyundai claims this will be the world’s first mass-produced, heavy-duty truck powered by hydrogen. Hyundai will begin production of 2021 XCIENT Fuel Cell in August this year. Continue reading
Hyundai Revises Ioniq 5 EV for 2022 with New Platform
IONIQ 5’s interior uses the E-GMP’s all-electric packaging, steer-by-wire and shift-by-wire systems to provide a close to flat floor for passenger and cargo space. With the battery pack mounted beneath the floor, between the front and rear wheel axles, the E-GMP architecture creates a flat floor for the cabin. This provides more legroom for passengers, while enabling various arrangements for the front and rear seats. Continue reading
Ford Introduces All-Electric F-150 Lightning Pro – Bring Money
Ford is the only automaker, thus far, to offer an 80-amp charge station as standard equipment with the so-called extended-range truck. It uses the only dual onboard charging system in the industry to cut the 15%-to-100% charge time to roughly eight hours for the hoped-for EPA-estimated 300-mile-range. This might help “reduce charging infrastructure investments and battery wear,” but this is Ford speculating about what remains a core issue with EVs – the ability to charge them and America’s outdated grid and infrastructure that the Republicans refuse to cooperate with job-creating Democrats to update. Continue reading
California Mandates Zero-Emissions Ridesharing Vehicles
The Trump administration of course tried to cancel states rights and citizens’ ability to govern their communities. California led a lawsuit last year with 22 more states and other jurisdictions challenging the Trump Administration’s plan to roll back vehicle emissions standards. Continue reading
First Look – 2022 Hyundai Tucson
Caveat here: The whole industry has moved rapidly toward small displacement force-fed, aka turbocharged, engines, but real-world fuel economy improvements – if any – are heavily dependent on where you drive and how smooth your driving technique is. In stop and go conditions, whether induced by traffic or by drivers that are first to every red light with late braking, will not see any gains in our experience. They might even use more fuel. Continue reading
First Look – Kia EV6 Joins Electrification Parade
The 11kW on-board charger (OBC) for Level 2 recharging from 10-to-100% in – gasp – 7 hours, 10 minutes (240v AC, at 40-amps) for the larger 77.4 kWh battery versions. No wonder Last Mile Navigation provides walking directions to the driver’s actual destination if the vehicle is parked between 0.1 and 1.2 miles away. Continue reading
EV Pickup! Ford is Betting Lightning Can Strike Twice
Two giant questions lurking the floors of the Dearborn Glass House are: When Ford builds it next year in 2022 will they come; Can Ford build a complicated new technology vehicle without a series of recalls, glitches and bugs that have been standard equipment on previous high-technology launches including the current generation Explorer? (See AutoInformed* below) Another unknown is EV tax credits. The maximum Federal tax credit is $7,500 for any vehicle no matter the cost. It ceases for automakers at 200,000 total EVs sold. Both General Motors and Tesla have hit the subsidy wall and currently do not qualify for the $7,500 tax credit. The Biden Administration could change this. Continue reading
Ford Recalls 2013-21 Transit Connect Vans for Rollaways
A damaged or missing bushing could prevent the shifter from moving the transmission to the intended gear position. This could allow the driver to move the gear shift lever to park, turn the vehicle off, and exit the vehicle with no instrument panel warning message or warning chime indicating the vehicle is not secured in park. This latest safety defect covers 192,080 vehicles in the U.S. and federal territories and 12,629 in Canada. Continue reading →