Malcolm Posted July 12 Share Posted July 12 Another wrinkle re EVs World would need 55 per cent more copper mines to meet EV transition goals: study Story by Theresa Balocating • 23h • 3 min read The transition to greener, more sustainable transportation is impracticable as copper mine production cannot keep up with the rising global demand for electric vehicles, according to a new study. “I think there’s a disconnect between, what the intentions are to meet the global warming challenges and the reality of the materials that are going to be required,” said Dr. Lawrence Cathles , an earth and atmospheric sciences professor at Cornell University. The recent study published by the International Energy Forum , which was led by Cathles and Dr. Adam Simon , a professor of earth & environmental sciences at the University of Michigan, found that hybrid vehicles could present a more effective alternative than transitioning the global vehicle fleet to EVs. The study underscores that copper production cannot keep pace with the increasing global demand for EVs, which require about 83 kg of the metal per car, according to the International Copper Association . Copper, which is an effective electrical conductor, is needed for EV batteries, copper rotors used in electric motors, wiring and even charging infrastructure. Cathles said that there has not been sufficient investment in discovering and developing new copper mines to meet governments’ goals for transitioning from internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles to EVs. British Columbia has established CleanBC , their provincial government plan to “lower climate-changing emissions by 40 per cent by 2030.” In B.C., transportation is the largest single source of emissions. The province aims to reduce transportation emissions by approximately one-third by 2030. Ontario implemented the EV ChargeON Program , a $91 million initiative aimed at facilitating the installation of public electric vehicle chargers. This program focuses on building charging stations in locations outside Ontario’s major cities, including community hubs, highway rest areas, carpool parking lots and Ontario Parks. Meanwhile the federal government has an ambitious goal of 100 per cent zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035 for all new light-duty vehicles. Hybrids do not qualify as zero-emission vehicles. Only 8.9 per cent of light-duty vehicle sales were zero-emission in 2022. The U.S. Federal Sustainability Act has also announced that all manufactured cars must be electric by 2035. Similarly, the European Union is targeting full electrification of sold vehicles by 2035. The study shows that in order to meet current business-as-usual trends, 115 per cent more copper will need to be mined in the next 30 years than has been mined historically so far. Electrifying the global vehicle fleet would require 55 per cent more new mines. “There are a lot of fundamental needs for copper and it’s not a replaceable commodity,” said Cathles. “You can’t just go banning capabilities unless you have a replacement for them,” he said, emphasizing that the political push for electrification will require significant financial investment. A switch to hybrid vehicles would be more achievable, the study found, as they require “negligible extra copper mining.” “A lot of the benefits that you’d like from electrification … can be met with hybrids,” Cathles said. There are ways to increase the amount of copper that is mined, including through remote mining and seafloor mining. But these techniques still need time to fully progress. Remote mining involves self-driving or partially autonomous vehicles employed in mining operations are managed remotely via an interconnected system that integrates GPS, vehicle control, and obstacle detection. These vehicles are specifically designed to function autonomously within mining sites, eliminating the requirement for direct human oversight. Seafloor mining is notably observed in the deep ocean near hydrothermal vents, where hot, chemical-rich fluids from beneath the seafloor form valuable deposits. Some attempts to extract deposits from the seafloor have been successful, but so far, few have managed to overcome the technical difficulties of retrieving substantial amounts of material from deep ocean depths. According to Cathles, the study seeks to stimulate discussion among the general public, not just experts in the field, and to increase awareness of the issue. “Making such a fundamental change is going to take time,” he said. “When you put a deadline of 2035 or 2050 or whatever, you’re asking the world to change on a dime, and I just don’t think it’s going to happen.” Ottawa considering tariffs to counter flow of Chinese electric vehicles China 'taking advantage': Freeland announces hurried EV tariff consult over summer Our website is the place for the lat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaydee Posted July 18 Share Posted July 18 https://canada.autonews.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted July 19 Share Posted July 19 Stellantis tells owners of over 24,000 hybrid minivans to park outdoors due to battery fire risk The recall is due to a 'rare' abnormality in individual battery cells The Associated Press · Posted: Jul 19, 2024 1:19 PM MDT | Last Updated: 1 hour ago The Stellantis Windsor assembly plant is shown on Oct. 30, 2023. (Chris Ensing/CBC) Stellantis is telling the owners of more than 24,000 plug-in hybrid minivans to park them outdoors away from buildings, and to stop charging them due to the possibility of battery fires. The company said Thursday that it's recalling certain 2017 through 2021 Chrysler Pacifica plug-in hybrids, mainly in North America. Some are being recalled for a second time. All can still be driven. The vehicles are made at the Stellantis plant in Windsor, Ont. GO PUBLIC 'Urgent' safety recall leaves couple with dangerous Ram truck for nearly 2 years Stellantis recalls nearly 1.2M vehicles to fix software glitch that disables rear camera Stellantis, maker of Jeep, Chrysler, Ram and other vehicle brands, said its investigation is ongoing but the company has linked the problem to a rare abnormality in individual battery cells. The risk of fires is reduced when the battery is depleted. A company review of warranty data discovered seven fires within the group of vans being recalled. All happened when the vehicles were turned off, and some occurred during charging, Stellantis said. Four customers reported symptoms of smoke inhalation. The Stellantis Windsor assembly plant is shown in a file photo. The facility produces the Chrysler Pacifica minivan. (Katerina Georgieva/CBC) Engineers are still testing the remedy, which involves a software update designed to detect the battery abnormality. If a problem is found, dealers will replace the high-voltage battery at no cost to owners. Owners will be notified by mail when to take their minivans in for service. After July 24, they can go to recalls.mopar.com or checktoprotect.org and key in their vehicle identification numbers to see if their vans are part of the recall. Later models have an improved manufacturing process and are not being recalled, the company said. The recall comes six months after U.S. safety regulators began investigating a 2022 recall of nearly 17,000 of the vans. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in documents that it would review the effectiveness of the recall and try to understand the cause of the battery fires. CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|About CBC News Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 Who's tracking taxpayer millions spent on EV incentives? Calgary Sun 21 Jul 2024 LORNE GUNTER lgunter@postmedia.com @sunlornegunter A Where did the $590 million go? On Thursday, automaker Ford announced it was changing its plan to build electric vehicles (EVS) at its plant in Oakville, Ontario and was instead going to spend over $2 billion converting the plant to produce heavy-duty pickups, such as the F250. The symbolism couldn't be more perfect. Not only is Ford not going to build EVS in Oakville (a sign the company may finally have accepted that the future is not all-electric). It is instead going to build about 100,000 of its Super Duty model trucks annually. Ford is not switching from EVS to some tiny, fuel-sipping, internal-combustion compact like its Ecosport or C-max which, according to Ford, are designed “for the environmentally conscious family or individual.” Nope. Ford is going all in on a 3,300-kg (7,300-lb) road warrior that consumes about 12 litres/100 km. The move is great news for Oakville and nearby Windsor, where the engines are made. Those two cities will see 1,800 new, high-paying jobs beginning next year. That makes Ford's move very different from rival Stellantis' announcement that its nearby $15-billion EV battery plant (funded almost entirely with government subsidies and tax breaks) will employ hundreds of Korean and Japanese workers. Ford's new hires should all be Canadians. While governments (especially the federal Liberal government) continue to cling to the eco-fantasy that all new vehicles sold in Canada will be EVS by 2035, Ford's Oakville change shows just how fallacious the EV mandate is from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault. The market has spoken. Canadians don't want EVS in anywhere near the numbers their governments are demanding. Indeed, Ottawa is insisting that 20% of all new vehicles be EVS in just over a year. It's hard to see how that will happen when just over 10% of new vehicles currently produced are EVS. EV sales are flat-lining while hybrid and internal combustion engine vehicle sales are climbing. Ford is not stupid. It doesn't survive if it makes the wrong production choices — if it goes all in for EVS when its customers don't want them. Most carmakers have been caught up in EV hype (and the government subsidies and regulations) for the past four or five years. While wealthier consumers bought their EV toys as status symbols, the middle-class market has not followed. Even with massive injections of taxpayer dollars, Canadian consumers remain rightly skeptical about the practicality and cost of EVS. The parliamentary budget officer calculated that, in just the past two years, the federal, Ontario and Quebec governments have committed $53 billion to the building of EVS and EV battery plants. That doesn't include billions in subsidies to consumers to buy EVS and still more billions to build charging stations across the country. None of that spending changes the fact this is a vast country and, especially in winter, EVS can't go as far as gasoline-powered vehicles. Nowhere near as far. And they cost more. And they take longer to “refuel.” They go through tires faster. They're tougher on road surfaces and parkades because they're much heavier. And because of their weight, they are more damaging to other vehicles in crashes and thus more expensive to insure. The federal government's own estimate is that 25% of Canadians won't be able to afford vehicles in an all-electric future. Which brings me back to my initial question: Where did the $590 million go? I like that Ford has stopped listening to the political hype about EVS and has started listening to customers. However, when the initial conversion of its Oakville plant to EVS was announced in 2020, Ottawa and Ontario agreed to put in $295 million each to pay for the retooling. As a taxpayer, I want to know what's going to happen to that money. Article Name:Who's tracking taxpayer millions spent on EV incentives? Publication:Calgary Sun Author:LORNE GUNTER lgunter@postmedia.com @sunlornegunter Start Page:7 End Page:7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 Why nearly half of EV owners want to switch back to gas vehicles after major buyer's remorse READ MORE: Secondhand EVs now cost less than used gas cars By EMMA SALETTA FOR DAILYMAIL.COM PUBLISHED: 13:29 EDT, 27 June 2024 | UPDATED: 13:48 EDT, 27 June 2024 Electric vehicles (EV) may benefit the environment, but thousands of owners have expressed their regret over their car purchase. A McKinsey Mobility Consumer Pulse presentation released in June 2024 by McKinsey & Company indicated that 46 percent of EV owners in the US are 'very' likely to switch back to gas-powered vehicles. The data is based on responses from nearly 37,000 participants who own EVs, but the US results are what surprised the company that conducted the study. 'I didn't expect that, I thought, "Once an EV buyer, always an EV buyer,"' the head of McKinsey's Center for Future Mobility, Philipp Kampshoff, told Automotive News. The US ranked second out of the nine countries in the study that had the most EV users looking to switch back, with the biggest reason being the low approval rating of EV cars' charging infrastructure. A presentation released in June 2024 by McKinsey & Company indicated that 46 percent of EV owners in the US are 'very' likely to switch back to gas-powered vehicles A presentation released in June 2024 by McKinsey & Company indicated that 46 percent of EV owners in the US are 'very' likely to switch back to gas-powered vehicles Australia was the only location with a higher percentage of EV owners looking to switch back to gas-powered cars than the US Australia was the only location with a higher percentage of EV owners looking to switch back to gas-powered cars than the US Fascinating new survey suggests EVs are terrible value for money - and gives reasons why owners are scared to drive their electric cars A total of 35 percent of the study's global respondents said they would want to switch back to gas-powered vehicles because charging stations are 'not yet' good enough. On top of that, 34 percent of participants voiced their concern about the high total ownership cost, while another 32 percent were worried about frequent charging stops during long-distance trips. Other reasons why EV owners said they wanted to get rid of their cars were the inability to charge the vehicle at home, the stress behind needing to charge the car, the mobility change requirements and their overall lackluster experience driving an EV. The other countries that respondents in the survey represented were Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Norway. Australia was the only location with a higher percentage of EV owners looking to switch back to gas-powered cars than the U.S. The percentages in other countries were all lower than 40 percent, with Japan having the most loyal EV owners; only 13 percent were dissatisfied enough to admit they'd switch back to gas. Eleven percent of the EV owners who participated in the study had a problem with how far the nearest charging station was to their home, and even more glaring, a total of 38 percent claimed that a charging station was not close to their home at all. And for long-distance traveling and road trips, 40 percent said that there were not enough charging stations along highways and main roads to warrant the car's purchase. The data is based on responses from nearly 37,000 participants who own EVs, but the U.S. results are what surprised the company that conducted the study The data is based on responses from nearly 37,000 participants who own EVs, but the U.S. results are what surprised the company that conducted the study McKinsey & Company data read that 35 percent of global respondents want to switch back to gas-powered vehicles due to the charging infrastructure in public being 'not yet' good enough McKinsey & Company data read that 35 percent of global respondents want to switch back to gas-powered vehicles due to the charging infrastructure in public being 'not yet' good enough McKinsey & Company published its media presentation three months after the a new rule involving EVs was issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to the guideline, 56 percent of all new vehicle sales must be electric by 2032, along with at least 13 percent of them being plug-in hybrids or other partial EVs. Companies have since begun investing billions of dollars in factories and battery technology in order to speed up the vehicle sale process, according to AP. This rule is also meant to help cut pollution and fight climate change, which is are prime focuses in President Joe Biden's agenda. 'The electric vehicle market is growing, but consumers have enough reservations about the current options and charging infrastructure challenges to limit more significant growth in the short term,' said analyst Jessica Caldwell. Transport secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement: 'Not only will these new standards save Americans money at the pump every time they fill up, they will also decrease harmful pollution and make America less reliant on foreign oil,' he said in a statement.' Unfortunately, it's not enough to make drivers want to keep their EVs. 'The charging infrastructure just isn't good enough. I think in areas like California it's better but most of America doesn't have enough chargers,' said motorist Michael Woods. 'You can see in the car dealerships that EVs are piling up because nobody wants them. It's a shame because I really wanted to love mine.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 https://youtu.be/Xzk6acQO-KQ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airband Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 ...and the hits keep on comin' Porsche waters down EV ambitions, says transition will take 'years' German automaker is latest to warn that goals set in recent years for future EV sales were too ambitious as customers remain reticent to make the switch away from gasoline-powered cars Porche Macan Turbo Mon Jul 22, 2024 - Reuters Quote "Our double strategy is more important than ever," Porsche said, referring to its continued development of both combustion engine and electrified cars. BERLIN — Porsche expects the transition to electric vehicles to take longer than it thought, it said July 22, having previously said its aim was for 80 percent of sales to be all-electric by 2030. It has now watered down that goal by tying it explicitly to customer demand and developments in the electromobility sector, saying in a statement only that it could now deliver on the 80 percent target if those factors warrant it. "The transition to electric cars is taking longer than we thought five years ago," Porsche said in a statement. "Our product strategy is set up such that we could deliver over 80 percent of our vehicles as all electric in 2030 — dependent on customer demand and the development of electromobility." Executives at carmakers from Mercedes-Benz to Renault have warned in recent months that goals they set in recent years for fully electric sales in the next decade were too ambitious as customers remained reticent to make the switch away from gas-powered cars. Porsche, struggling with low EV sales this year so far, highlighted the disparity in its three key markets in EV uptake, with demand far ahead in China, slower in Europe and spotty in the U.S. "Our double strategy is more important than ever," Porsche said, referring to its continued development of both combustion engine and electrified cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airband Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 Ukrainians strip out Tesla batteries to keep the lights on Russian attacks have reduced electricity to a few hours a day, forcing businesses to adapt to regular outages A single discarded Tesla can be made into a dozen home battery systems Thu Jul 25, 2024 - The Financial Times In a tiny garage on the outskirts of Kyiv, a group of mechanics pored over the carcass of a wrecked old Tesla, stripping it of parts. But instead of trying to repair the car, the men were busy extracting its battery, hoping to use it to power local businesses and homes. Their work — which can turn a single discarded Tesla into a dozen home battery systems — is one of myriad ways in which Ukrainian businesses are responding to the regular blackouts the country has faced since Russia launched a string of attacks on its energy grid earlier this year. Russia has now knocked out or captured more than half of Ukraine’s domestic electricity generating capacity, forcing energy companies to impose rolling nationwide blackouts that have left homes and businesses without electricity for up to 20 hours a day. Businesses have been forced to adapt. Across Kyiv, diesel generators parked outside shops and cafés rumble into action as soon as power goes down, and many households in the capital plug their appliances into rechargeable battery systems at home. Oleksandr Bentsa, 30, realised he had a potential solution to hand. For years, the businessman had been buying crashed Teslas on insurance auctions in the US and importing them to Ukraine, where his mechanics would restore and resell the cars. When the most severe blackouts began this spring, he realised there was a new use for his trade. Bentsa found electricians capable of doing the dangerous job of carving salvaged Tesla batteries into multiple rechargeable systems. “An old Tesla, including the cost of delivery, will be nearly $10,000. And you can turn that into 12 batteries, and also sell the parts,” he said. He named his brand Ukrainian Autonomous Systems. Each system thus produced has a capacity of 5 kilowatt hours, enough to run the lights and electrical equipment — but not energy-hungry electric heating — in a normal Kyiv apartment for 10 hours. Some he sells without a margin to the army, but most of his customers are civilians. Demand has gone from near zero to sky high in the past two months, and Bentsa expects it to rise as winter approaches. “What we see now is just a little, little, little piece. What we will see in the winter, it will be a very great problem,” Bentsa said. cont. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airband Posted July 25 Share Posted July 25 "There's no ifs, no buts" meets reality... Volvo softens EV-or-bust strategy as hybrids show promise Some dealers fear the consequences of sticking to a 2030 target as EV growth slows Thu Jul 25, 2024 - Auto News by Urvaksh Karkaria Quote "We will have to, or we will die, Volvo has gotten way out over their skis with this EV-only strategy." Volvo is said to be considering updating its SPA1 platform, which supports mild- and plug-in hybrid variants of the XC90 and XC60 crossovers, as the brand's electric vehicle sales in the U.S. and China slump. Automakers from Aston Martin to Volkswagen Group are recalibrating their electric vehicle ambitions as the technology's growth trajectory has lost some of its zoom. Volvo Cars' EV-or-bust strategy is among the industry's boldest and one that the Scandinavian brand hasn't publicly waffled on. Volvo Chief Commercial Officer Bjorn Annwall vowed last year that the automaker would not "sell a single car" globally that is not fully electric after 2030. "There's no ifs, no buts," Annwall told Automotive News in June 2023. Now, faced with slumping EV sales in key markets such as China and the U.S., Volvo's leadership could be reconsidering going all-in on battery power. During a quarterly investor webcast, Volvo CEO Jim Rowan said he's a "huge believer in electrical propulsion," which he called a better technology than the internal combustion engine. But Rowan acknowledged it will "take time to bridge different parts of the world for full electrification." Hybrids "form a solid bridge for our customers that are not ready to move to full electrification," he said July 18. "Our plug-in hybrids and mild hybrids remain very strong and popular with our customers, and we will continue to invest in this lineup." Beyond 2030 Volvo's U.S. retailers said they expect to sell gasoline-power-assisted hybrid sedans, wagons and crossovers well beyond the turn of the decade. "We will have to, or we will die," said a dealer who requested not to be identified. "Volvo has gotten way out over their skis with this EV-only strategy." In the next decade, Volvo will focus on supplying plug-in hybrids while the EV market matures in the U.S. and elsewhere, said a person familiar with the company's plans. "They are keeping their fingers crossed that PHEVs will start to be looked at favorably by the different governments," said the person, who asked not to be identified while speaking about internal matters. Volvo seeks to tap platforms from parent Geely Group to expand its PHEV range. In late May, Geely finalized a joint venture with Renault Group to develop and build more efficient internal combustion and hybrid engines. The Swedish brand also is considering updating its SPA1 platform, which supports mild- and plug-in hybrid variants of the XC90 and XC60 crossover moneymakers. "If you redid the interior and exterior of any SPA1 car, you could ride that horse for more than a decade," the person said. "It has a great suspension and chassis; you just need to change the top hat." According to AutoForecast Solutions, production of the flagship XC90 is expected to end in May 2030. Volvo previously said there would not be a third generation with a combustion engine or plug-in hybrid powertrain, but those plans could change. Volvo spokesperson Russell Datz declined to comment on future product plans. "While we firmly believe electrification is the future, this transition will not be a linear development," Datz said. "We will continue to invest across the breadth of our product range, both in new models and ongoing improvements to existing ones." Follow the market Volvo was early in spotting the shift toward electric mobility powered by government regulation in the U.S., China and Europe. The automaker switched to an all-electrified model lineup globally in 2019 and delivered its first EV — the XC40 Recharge P8 — in the U.S. two years later. U.S. EV adoption continues to rise, but the pace of growth has slowed dramatically. According to Cox Automotive, second-quarter sales rose 11 percent from a year earlier after increasing 48 percent during the same period in 2023. "It doesn't matter how many [electric vehicles] the industry wants to build," another dealer said. "You can't force EVs on a market that doesn't want them." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaydee Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 https://electrek.co/2024/07/24/ford-misses-q2-earnings-wide-margin-ev-losses-reach-2-5b/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0Hd_hm6LvpK4xTkDIrb-MAOdlkankZZSdtUxd5pVx8rKrlKxn0Ow61Rrk_aem_C8mXHj1QhuVrUMI4c3Hong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 Ontario did not pay the funds the promished (good for them) but did the Canadian Gov. pony up any that they said would help fund the project? I hope not Company halts construction of $2.7B battery project in eastern Ontario | CBC News Loaded Ottawa Company halts construction of $2.7B battery project in eastern Ontario Multibillion-dollar plant planned to bring hundreds of jobs to region Jocelyn Shepel · CBC · Posted: Jul 26, 2024 9:37 AM MDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago The Umicore plant broke ground in 2023, but the company now says it's launched a strategic review to maximize future business value in battery materials. (Dan Taekema/CBC) After breaking ground in 2023, the company building a plant to produce battery components for electric vehicles in a municipality near Kingston, Ont., says it's delaying construction of the plant citing a slowdown in EV sales. In a statement to CBC News, Umicore Rechargeable Battery Materials Inc. said Friday that its project in Loyalist Township is impacted by the "significant worsening of the EV market context and the impacts this has on the entire supply chain." The project carried a total price tag of up to $2.76 billion and was projected to create 600 jobs in the region back in 2023. According to a news release at the time from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, the federal government was slated to invest up to $551.3 million. New eastern Ontario plant to add hundreds of jobs, create battery components The province was to pay up to $424.6 million, but a source familiar with the project said that as of Friday, no provincial money has flowed to Umicore. Umicore cited a situation on June 12 when it announced that a contract with a Chinese manufacturer would not materialize. The company said its legacy contracts were tailing off faster than anticipated and there's a delay in the "ramp-up of contracts" in Europe. "For Umicore, customers' demand projections for our battery materials have steeply declined recently," the statement reads. Officials pose with shovels in October 2023 to mark the construction of a new battery components plant. (Dan Taekema/CBC) The company said it's realigning its operations "to the new market reality," adding that a part of accomplishing this involves a "thorough review" of its battery materials business. It's planning to present the conclusion of that review on its capital markets day during the first quarter of 2025. Canada is pouring billions of dollars into the electric vehicle industry. Will it pay off? Greig Mordue, an associate engineering professor at McMaster University, says both federal and provincial governments wanted to be early in the market. "They wanted to be first, and that's fine if you're making a market but the reality of it is Canada's auto industry is made up of suppliers or affiliates of globally owned companies," Mordue said. Mordue stated that the government has spent or committed tens of billions of dollars but the industry is simply not there yet. He said Umicore is not the only company taking a pause to evaluate its standing and wait for the market to catch up, referencing Ford which also recently scaled back its EV production. UPDATED Stellantis stops construction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airband Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 Electric Car Gloom Spreads A lithium stockpile Mon Jul 29, 2024 - Bloomberg News by Annie Lee and Mark Burton Quote “It’s quite difficult to be in an automotive board room right now,” The gloom enveloping the electric-car industry is starting to flow upstream, with a slew of battery-material producers winding back expansion plans. On Friday, Belgium’s Umicore said it’s delaying construction of a C$2.8 billion ($2 billion) cathode materials plant in Canada and projected two more years of losses at its battery materials division. The Ontario factory was expected to open by 2026 and supply battery materials for as much as 800,000 electric vehicles annually. The move comes after Umicore, which is based in Brussels and has a battery materials joint venture with Volkswagen, said in June that it was starting to reassess its new projects around the world due to the EV slowdown and manufacturers’ ongoing reviews of investment plans. “Our battery material business is not in a state that we would hope it to be at this point in time,” Umicore CEO Bart Sap said in an interview Monday. Umicore is far from alone. Earlier this month, BASF abandoned plans to invest in lithium mining assets in Chile. The German chemicals maker also has scrapped a planned $2.6 billion nickel-cobalt project in Indonesia with France’s Eramet. And last week, Eramet lowered its planned capital expenditure for its Argentinian lithium project after postponing the start of construction on a second plant until next year. A lithium stockpile. Photographer: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg The moves come against a backdrop of slowing demand that’s led automakers including Tesla, General Motors and Porsche to rethink their EV outlooks. Porsche just dropped a target for EVs to account for more than 80% of its new-car sales in 2030, while GM CEO Mary Barra said earlier this month the automaker won’t pull off plans to have production capacity for 1 million EVs at the end of next year. Tesla, which reported its fourth straight quarter of disappointing profits last week, is well off the pace of 1.8 million cars sold last year. The EV maker again warned it expects to see a “notably lower” growth rate in 2024. It omitted a previously stated goal to eventually sell 20 million vehicles a year from its latest annual impact report published in May. “Everybody’s somewhat surprised on the slowdown, because everybody put in a lot of money,” Umicore’s Sap said, referring to EV and battery investment. “It’s just not coming out as expected.” The gloom isn’t quite universal across the supply chain. The world’s biggest battery maker, China’s CATL, reported a rise in second-quarter net income on Friday. Chinese players appear to be working from a different playbook than their Western rivals, pushing ahead with expansions to win market share amid the broader downturn. By cutting down on investments, western producers risk making it harder for their European and US suppliers to compete with their Chinese rivals, who already are offering a glut of cheaper batteries and raw materials that the west can’t match. “It’s quite difficult to be in an automotive board room right now,” Umicore’s Sap said. “Your margins are under pressure, your EVs are not making money yet, and yet you have to commit, otherwise you will lose out on that technology trend, so you almost have to go around and build up that supply chain. That’s a very uncomfortable equation.” “I would still say that the ultimate direction is still clear,” he said. “Electrification will come. The question is the speed.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airband Posted August 6 Share Posted August 6 Wow, that's weird - stop bribing people to buy a product, and sales fall off. Electric Car Sales Plummet 37% in Germany as Slump Deepens July registrations show no signs of recovery after subsidy cut Tue Aug 06, 2024 - Bloomberg News By Wilfried Eckl-Dorna Germany’s electric-vehicle sales slumped in July, extending a broad pullback since incentives ended late last year and undermining automakers’ plans in the EV shift. Registrations of battery-powered cars fell 37% in Europe’s biggest auto market to 30,762 vehicles compared to a year ago, Germany’s federal motor transport authority KBA said Monday. It’s the biggest drop since December when the German government suddenly scrapped EV subsidies. Sales of vehicles without a plug gained 7%. The broad EV slowdown across Europe wherever incentives are removed is leaving carmakers like Volkswagen AG wrong footed on production plans while the overall shift is stumbling. Well-off and eco-conscious buyers are more or less tapped out, and the industry’s lack of affordable battery models is cutting mass-market consumers out of the market. “The ramp-up of e-mobility is proving to be unsustainable so far,” Constantin Gall, a consultant at EY said about the German results. “The market has lost all momentum and many customers doubt the prospects of electric cars.” The share of electric-car sales in Germany in July slumped to just under 13% from 20% a year earlier, according to EY, at a time when automakers expected rapid uptake of battery-powered vehicles. Registrations in Sweden, an EV leader, also fell in July to compound a slump since the start of the year. New electric car registrations dropped 15% in the month compared to last year, according to Mobility Sweden. Sales in Switzerland fell by 19%. The slowdown leaves the auto industry exposed after investing billions in the ramp-up of the technology. VW, Europe’s biggest automaker, said last week it has cut capacity at high-cost plants in Germany and also might change the timing of its battery-production ramp-up. The slump in EV demand has also dimmed the mood on business prospects of the country’s carmakers that also include Mercedes-Benz Group AG and BMW AG, according to a survey. EY’s Gall said that EVs sales in Germany will remain subdued for the coming months, challenging carmakers’ plans to boost sales and comply with stricter fleet emission targets in the European Union from next year. VW is particularly at risk and may face a €2 billion ($2.2 billion) negative impact on earnings next year as a result, UBS analyst Patrick Hummel said in a note. The drag from the worsening slowdown in the region is spreading with battery cell projects being put on hold. French supplier Valeo SE is seeking buyers for two plants that don’t do sufficient business. One of them had already been revamped to produce EV car parts. OPmobility, another French parts maker, said EV output was roughly half of what manufacturers had been expecting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted August 8 Share Posted August 8 South Korea to Ban Electric Cars in Parking Garages After Explosion Story by Camilla Jessen • 5h • 2 min read South Korea to Ban Electric Cars in Parking Garages After Explosion (msn.com) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 Faster charging technology is coming. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/investing/2024/08/13/zeekr-tackles-ev-range-anxiety-with-10-minute-battery-charge/ Zeekr Tackles EV Range Anxiety With 10-Minute Battery Charge By Peter Vercoe August 13, 2024 at 7:10AM EDT (Bloomberg) -- The race to end electric car range anxiety has taken a giant leap forward with Chinese automaker Zeekr unveiling a battery that can charge in just over 10 minutes. The upgraded lithium iron phosphate battery will charge from 10% to 80% in 10 1/2-minutes when connected to Zeekr’s V3 ultra-fast charging station, the company, which is part of auto conglomerate Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., said in a statement Tuesday. Range anxiety — the fear an EV battery will run out of juice before reaching your destination or drivers will get stuck in long queues at charging stations — is one of the main impediments to electric car adoption. That has seen hybrids gain popularity as the initial wave of EV purchases peaks, and sparked an arms race among battery makers for ever-more powerful and quicker-charging cells. The new batteries will be available in the 2025 Zeekr 007 sedan, with deliveries to begin next week. Even in cold conditions as low as minus 10C — when batteries degrade faster — the cells will be able to charge to 80% in around 30 minutes, the company said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deicer Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 Test driving BYD, Nio and other Chinese EV rivals of Tesla (cnbc.com) It's the video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Airband Posted August 13 Share Posted August 13 3 hours ago, deicer said: Faster charging technology is coming. Like most things EV - always 'coming,' never 'here.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted August 14 Share Posted August 14 EV battery production tainted by charges of environmental damage EV battery production tainted by charges of environmental damage (msn.com) Supply chains for the production of EV batteries could be © DPA International Proponents of hybrid and electric cars say they are a greener alternative to petrol and diesel vehicles. But the industry's supply chains could be "riddled by human rights and environmental abuses," going by newly-published research into the mining of nickel, a key component in electric vehicle (EV) batteries. "Nickel mining in Indonesia is driving deforestation and environmental harm," according to the London-based Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC), which warned of "threats to ancestral homes and livelihoods" faced by "small island communities" in parts of the vast archipelago. Nickel mining has caused "widespread clearing of forests" and, in two locations, "contamination of water," the Centre said. More than 20 household-name car brands could be linked to the tainted battery supply chains, the Centre suggested, adding that it sent questions about the issue to Toyota, Honda, Audi, Jaguar, Hyundai, Ford and General Motors, among others. But of the companies contacted, only BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Tesla and Volkswagen replied, saying they either do not source nickel directly or try to make sure suppliers of parts and components respect human rights and protect the environment. Related video: Why EV Prices Are Rising: Global Trends, Challenges, and the Impact of Chinese Competition (Climate Crisis 247) Loaded: 13.47% Play Current Time 0:00 / Duration 1:28 Quality Settings Captions Fullscreen Climate Crisis 247 Why EV Prices Are Rising: Global Trends, Challenges, and the Impact of Chinese Competition Unmute 0 View on Watch With over 20% of known reserves and over 60% of mining, Indonesia is the world's biggest source of nickel. In second is the Philippines, another south-east Asian archipelago, where the Centre last year said it had found indications of similar environmental concerns to those in neighbouring Indonesia. The Indonesian government has been attempting to establish a battery production industry to capitalise on the growing demand for the metal, which had been driven in part by demand for electric cars and net zero requirements put in place by governments in Europe and North America. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that global demand for nickel and for other metals and minerals such as cobalt, copper and lithium - needed to make alternatives to fossil fuel-powered engines for automobiles and aircraft - will soar during the coming decades. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted August 15 Share Posted August 15 Toronto's coming ban on gas-powered vehicles-for-hire needs U-turn: Industry Story by Bryan Passifiume • Toronto’s plan to require taxicabs and rideshare vehicles to be fully electric by 2031 is getting a resounding thumbs-down from the industry. Approved by council nearly a year ago, the rule requiring vehicles-for-hire to be electric specifically targets some of Toronto’s most vulnerable workers, says Earla Phillips, vice-president of the Rideshare Drivers’ Association of Ontario. “The vast majority of drivers are newcomers, people of colour, women, older people — these are all marginalized people who cannot afford these EV transitions,” she told the Toronto Sun. “The vast majority of drivers don’t live in homes where they can install chargers, they live in apartment buildings.” That’s a sentiment shared by Beck Taxi operations manager Kristine Hubbard, who said most of their cabbies are owner-operators, and thanks to the city’s unwillingness to regulate numbers are now forced to compete against skyrocketing numbers of drivers for an ever-decreasing amount of fares. “This city created the largest, most vulnerable workforce in our history … and now is going to depend on all these poorer drivers that they’ve created — with 100,000 more vehicles on the road — to be the ones to set the example,” she said. During last year’s deliberations over the plan, city staff described the 2030 EV mandate as both aggressive and aspirational, and expressed concern that the industry may not be ready for such a swift change. Uber riders to be told to buckle up Taxi scam picking up PINs, not customers, Toronto cops warn “This is a political statement, this has nothing to do with the environment,” Hubbard said. Phillips said it’s unfair the city is targeting them, when their timeline for electrifying the city-owned vehicle fleet is far more liberal. “The city’s own target to switch their own vehicles is 2040, but here they are forcing a mandate upon the vehicle-for-hire industry, which have had its income severely depressed,” she said. “They’re forcing it on us 10 years sooner than their own mandate for EVs.” Another issue seemingly ignored by the city is that, as of 2024, no insurance companies are yet willing to insure EV taxis, Hubbard said. As well, city regulations require taxis to be no older than seven years old . “About 1,000 are to be replaced this spring. They’re not going to be EVs because we still don’t have insurance and there still won’t be enough chargers,” Hubbard said. “Are we suggesting that by 2030 all of those vehicles should be thrown in the garbage? How is that good environmental policy?” bpassifiume@postmedia.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted August 19 Share Posted August 19 I guess the bigger in all electric semi than in the all electric car is why the fire is lingering. Tesla Semi Fire Screencap© InsideEVs Parts of Interstate 80 in Placer County, California shut down for hours Monday as crews worked to extinguish a Tesla Semi blaze. A Tesla Semi reportedly caught fire around 3 a.m. in Placer County, in the Greater Sacramento area. The highway has been shut down for hours while fire crews work to extinguish the blaze. The cause of the fire remains unclear. Several EV battery fires in South Korea have made headlines recently. Electric vehicles have been in the news lately for the worst possible reason: fires. After a spate of passenger cars sparked alarm in South Korea, the latest one happened in California this morning, leading to an ongoing shutdown of Interstate 80 in the eastern part of the state. Local news reports indicate an electric truck believed to be a Tesla Semi somehow caught fire around 3:16 a.m. near the Emigrant Gap area of Placer County in the Sacramento metro area. According to local station KCRA, the roadway has been shut down since with traffic being diverted elsewhere. California Highway Patrol officials have offered "no estimated time for reopening," but fire crews have been seen dumping water onto the burning remains of the Semi for hours. A CHP official reached by InsideEVs directed questions to another office, but that outpost has not responded as of this writing. We'll update as we learn more. A CHP spokesman at the scene told KCRA that "it is hazardous to breathe" in the area around the fire as fumes from the burning rig spew into the air. A reporter said crews plan to let it burn out on its own as they douse it with water. Neither Tesla, nor CEO Elon Musk, have addressed the matter as of yet on X, which seems to be the company's preferred means of communication these days. As we have reported previously, EV fires are statistically more rare than fires involving internal combustion vehicles, even with fewer of the former on the road than the latter. But when they do happen, lithium-ion battery fires are particularly nasty blazes that can take considerable time and effort to extinguish safely. The Tesla Semi is known to have a particularly large battery for long-haul trucking duty. The 500-mile version of the Semi is estimated to have somewhere around 850-900 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of battery capacity, based on energy consumption numbers. The official number has not been released. A normal electric car or crossover usually has around a 75-85 kWh battery, while electric pickup trucks have batteries that range from 123 kWh to 205 kWh. So a 900 kWh battery is truly huge. The long-promised Semi has been seen in testing across the country and is currently in use by a small number of corporate fleets, including PepsiCo. The reason for the fire remains unclear. This is a breaking news story and it will be updated. If you have information or photos, please contact the author. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted August 21 Share Posted August 21 Ford ditches new EV in major strategy shift©AP Ford has abruptly cancelled plans to produce a three-row electric SUV, and has delayed building a new EV plant in Tennessee . The pullback marks a major shift for the car company, amid tumbling demand for electric cars. Ford ditches new EV in major strategy shift (msn.com) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 Not to worry, EVs are environmentaly friendly. Report: Musk cut down 500,000 trees to make way for Tesla gigafactory ©EPA / Google Earth / AP / Getty ImagesElon Musk 's electric vehicle company Tesla felled an estimated half a million trees while developing a gigafactory near Berlin , new satellite analysis has revealed. Analysis from environmental intelligence firm Kayrros suggests that 329 hectares (813 acres) of dense woodland from the site southeast of Berlin were felled between March 2020 and May 2023. This is the equivalent to around 500,000 trees. Report: Musk cut down 500,000 trees to make way for Tesla gigafactory (msn.com) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 Tesla Model 3 Tax Credit CM Hero© InsideEVs Plus, BYD is still eyeing up a plant in Mexico and Stellantis' EV plans are aiding to company's disarray. The EV industry feels very tumultuous right now. Perhaps that uneasy feeling can be blamed on how politicized it has become in a short amount of time, and now that the U.S. presidential election is right around the corner, certain taxpayer incentives have become the focal point of how policy could affect the shifting industry. Welcome back to Critical Materials, your daily roundup for all things EV and automotive tech. Today, we're chatting about the implications that repealing tax credits could have on the industry, BYD's interest in Mexico, and Stellantis' very real brand problems. Let's jump in. 30%: Industry Fears Repealing IRA Is Like "Yanking The Rug Out From Underneath" of Suppliers Lithium-Ion Battery Assembly© InsideEVs There's been a lot of talk about what could happen to EV incentives as a result of the November election. Republican candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump has openly confirmed that EV tax credits created by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) are on his radar, referring to them as "not generally a very good thing." If elected, Trump may end certain EV incentives such as the $7,500 tax credit for new electric cars. Related video: The 13 Best Electric Vehicle Models, According to Owners (Money Talks News) Loaded: 10.20% Play Current Time 0:00 / Duration 1:57 Quality Settings Captions Fullscreen Money Talks News The 13 Best Electric Vehicle Models, According to Owners Unmute 0 View on Watch The biggest fear of consumers is losing the tax credit for their next EV purchase, but those in the industry are concerned about the broader picture: what could happen to the already weakened progress of electrification, and what does that mean for nearly $90 billion in unallocated investments? After all, EV incentives are driving tons of manufacturing for batteries, cars and more—it's not just tax credits for buyers. Automotive News explains: Companies have allocated $223 billion to EV-specific facilities and initiatives in the U.S. in recent years, according to an Aug. 13 report by Atlas Public Policy. About two-thirds of that came following passage of the bipartisan infrastructure law in November 2021, a trend accelerated by the Inflation Reduction Act of August 2022. Those two laws, as well as the 2022 CHIPS and Science Act, represent a massive shift in U.S. industrial policy. They have spurred automakers, suppliers, battery makers and microchip manufacturers to develop a more robust regional supply chain for EVs and components — and to become less dependent on vehicles, parts and materials imported from China. [...] The National Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, warned that $89 billion in investments companies have announced but not yet allocated to specific facilities could evaporate if the legislation is repealed. Battery manufacturing accounts for about $133 billion of the allocated investment announcements in the U.S., with another $70 billion slated for EV manufacturing and $21 billion pledged for EV parts and critical minerals, according to Atlas. A slurry of automakers have committed to creating EV assembly and battery plants in the U.S. necessary to further their plans to electrify their fleets. Ford, General Motors, and Rivian have committed the most resources to the lift so far, while Hyundai, Toyota, Volkswagen, LG, and SK have each committed at least $10 billion in investments. Since the IRA began infusing funds into the move to EVs—$23 billion so far—the industry has seen rapid growth. In fact, the latest figures from the U.S. Department of Energy point to an increase in battery capacity production 10 times more than what was originally expected in 2021. The industry credits this to the IRA. With EV demand slower than anticipated and the coming presidential election being a toss-up, automakers are playing it safe with their investments. Targets for sales are being scaled back, as are ambitious plans for fleet-wide electrification. Instead, manufacturers like Hyundai are spending the money with lobbying groups to ensure their existing billions of dollars in EV stake won't be for nothing. 60%: BYD Is Still Sniffing For EV Plant Incentives In Mexico BYD Seagull© InsideEVs Chinese automaker BYD, champion of the $11,500 electric car, has its eyes set on North America. The manufacturer already has a presence in Mexico and will soon launch in Canada, which means that setting up shop in North America might make a bit of sense. The added benefit? A potentially better position itself for penetration into the US. market—maybe. The U.S. auto industry is scared of that, and so is the federal government. It's one of the reasons the government has upped tariffs of Chinese EVs from 25% up to a whopping 100% in order to shut out cheap imports with protectionist legislation aimed at protecting domestic automakers from "unfair subsidization." It even pressured the government of Mexico into refraining from granting incentives to Chinese automakers looking to set up shop south of the U.S. border. That hasn't stopped BYD from looking for both space and incentives on the state-level, though. Here's what Reuters has uncovered: Chinese electric vehicle maker has narrowed its list of finalists for the location of a manufacturing plant in Mexico down to three states and is reviewing a range of proposed incentives from them, the firm's country head said on Wednesday. Jorge Vallejo, BYD's Mexico director general, told Reuters the company was reviewing the latest proposals by the candidate states, which have offered "many benefits" including fiscal, land, management and preferential pricing incentives. [...] BYD executives were hoping to meet with the team of Mexican President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum and the economy ministry in the "coming days" to share plans for the plant, Vallejo said. The company would "specifically present the manufacturing and marketing scheme, and also to show what BYD can develop at a national level," Vallejo said. BYD hasn't made it clear where it plans to set up shop just yet. It appears that the company is still looking for the perfect state that's willing to play ball, though it has narrowed down a list of locations centrally located in the country. Reuters believes that this could point at either Nuevo Leon (home to a future Volvo plant and the location of Tesla's proposed Gigafactory Mexico) or central Puebla (which houses existing plants from Volkswagen and BMW). Regardless of the location, BYD has stressed in the past that it has "no plans" to enter the U.S. market. It notes that this new plant will be used strictly for vehicles sold in Mexico. But it's hard to ignore that the location does give the automaker a plant close to America which could be used to quickly pivot if the time for a U.S. entry ever comes. During a time when lawmakers see the foreign EV industry as disruptive, it may hit a little too close for comfort. 90%: Things Are "Starting To Come Apart" As Stellantis Rams Through EV Plans Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO© InsideEVs Stellantis Stellantis, like many automakers, is feeling the squeeze lately. The problem is that the squeeze in North America is a real problem for Stellantis, especially since North American profits is basically feeding the group's brands in other markets. And if Stellantis isn't making money in America, it's lifeboat made of cash could sink. CEO Carlos Tavares is taking some extreme cost-cutting measures across the company's portfolio. In fact, the CEO has even signaled that it could cut some under-performing brands as the automaker prepares to deal with "weak margins and high inventory" in the U.S. "If [brands] don’t make money, we’ll shut them down," said Tavares last month. "We cannot afford to have brands that do not make money." Recent internal measures appear to have led to a bit of a morale problem across Stellantis' various brands. Several high-ranking names have departed the company this year, including Chief Operating Officer Mark Stewart in January, Dodge and Ram lead Tim Kuniskis in May, and Jeep boss Jim Morrison in June. Meanwhile, the parent brand has been slammed by United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain over job cuts and alleged price gouging. One example is the brand's high average transaction price. At $59,068, it's the highest out of Detroit's Big Three, which means that sticker shock could be sending both new and returning customers to competitors. As such, sales are slumping and profits are down 48% in the first half of 2024. David Kudla, CEO of Mainstay Capital Management, says another reason could be the automaker's focus on EVs when it previously made a name for itself on V8s. "I don’t think you need to be an auto analyst at J.P. Morgan for 10 years to know or to believe that maybe that’s not the best strategy," said Kudla, referring to the 2025 Ram 1500 dropping the V8 and offering the promise of an electric option. "And so I think that the concerns about understanding the American consumer and American demands is a valid one." And while consumer focus is one topic, the other looks back to company culture. "We don’t know for sure what’s been going on here," said Autoline host John McElroy. "The fact that they’ve lost so many top executives shows that it’s an unhappy situation. I’ve heard from people who work there that morale is bad, and it’s not a happy place to work." McElroy described Stellantis as "starting to come apart," with a focus on cost-cutting and number-meeting measures leading to some issues within the company portfolio. And at the helm sits Tavares, who has landed in Detroit during his summer break to handle issues in person. Tavares seems like a no-nonsense CEO. While I don't think he's squaring up with anybody in the parking lot of Saltillo Assembly Plant, I do think he's committed to bettering the company through it seems like Stellantis is suffering from a few areas: high prices, a shift in market conditions, and an unstable move towards electrification. 100%: Would You Still Buy An EV At Today's Prices Without A $7,500 Credit? Kia EV9© InsideEVs It's no secret that EVs are still more expensive than their gas counterparts. But man, some of them can get pretty expensive. The $7,500 EV tax credit has been a lifeline for many American consumers looking to get behind the wheel of a new EV but were otherwise priced out of it. Heck, even vehicles like the Kia EV9 that don't qualify for the EV tax credit are receiving manufacturer incentives in order to remain competitive. Now that credit is being threatened and it's got would-be car buyers a bit worried about how the industry could look next year. If the tax credit is repealed, would you still consider buying a new EV, or how might your plans change? Let me know in the comments. More EV News What Is Lucid’s Mysterious Third Affordable EV? BMW Takes Down Tesla: More EVs Sold In Europe Hyundai's Extended-Range EVs May Include Trucks, Santa Fe, Genesis GV70 The Tesla Cybertruck Is Reportedly Getting FSD Next Month. We Have Doubts 2024 GMC Sierra EV Deliveries Are Finally Underway Volkswagen ID. Buzz: 'Solid Family Vehicle' Despite The Price, MKBHD Says Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 Ford Is Hitting Reset On Its Entire EV Plan (msn.com)Ford is America's no. 2 electric brand. But profits have been elusive, so it's hitting reset on the entire plan. Ford is America's number two electric vehicle brand behind Tesla. But getting there hasn't been easy. Over the past few years of F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E sales, Ford has sunk billions into models that aren't proving to be profitable, all while it deals with an uneven electric market, a boosted in interest in hybrids, intensifying competition and a rising China. As a result, the Dearborn automaker today announced some major changes to its EV and hybrid plan, and that includes 10% less capital spending on purely electric models overall. Ford announced that it will no longer make a three-row electric SUV as planned, but will go hybrid with those models instead; the so-called "skunkworks" electric truck will first be a midsize truck, not a compact one as planned; will not launch any EVs unless they can be profitable in the first 12 months; and continue to provide gas and diesel vehicles, among other things. "It's coming back to understanding the customer, understanding how this is going to transition over time," Ford CFO John Lawler said on a media briefing this morning. "It's about providing them those choices that meet their duty cycles and their needs, and that is giving them the options between full battery electric vehicles, hybrid technologies." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Posted August 22 Share Posted August 22 Can EV Tires Be Repaired Just Like Standard Tires? Sailun eRange Tires© InsideEVs Probably, but it can be more complicated. Tires designed specifically for electric vehicles are different from standard tires. They’re designed to do different things. Do their differences mean that EV tires can’t be repaired like standard tires if they’re losing air due to a foreign object like a nail or a piece of glass? Not necessarily, though the process may be more involved. First, let’s talk about one of the key ways EV tires are different from standard tires. Tire manufacturers ran into a problem with the advent of modern-day electric vehicles. With combustion gone, all of the noise, vibration, and harshness that accompanied it was also absent. What was left, however, was not silence, but rather the thrum of tire noise from all four corners. Their solution? Foam. Many EV-specific tires have a layer of sound-deadening foam glued to the inside of the tire. This foam dampens the noise that comes from the friction between the tire and the road, but it can present a problem when a repair is necessary. As with standard tires, EV tires losing air should not be plugged from the outside as a temporary solution. Doing so could damage the foam on the inside, and some people drive on plugged tires for far longer than just a trip to a service center, which risks even more damage to the tire and makes for unsafe driving. Ultimately, tires need to be taken off the rim to evaluate the extent of internal damage from a leak. Sailun Erange series tires 11© InsideEVs After you get your car to a service center, the tire must be patched from the inside in order to be fully repaired, especially if it has sound-deadening foam. This involves removing the wheel from the car and unmounting the tire from the wheel. A technician then cuts away the foam that covers the air leak so that a patch can be applied from the inside. Once the patch is in place and dry, the technician glues back in place the sound-deadening foam that was removed. If an EV-specific tire with sound-deadening foam sounds like more trouble than it’s worth, there are EV-specific tires without this feature that can be repaired just like a standard tire. Sailun, for instance, makes the ERange EV line of tires. This impressive product gives you all the benefits of EV-specific tires such as longer range, a higher weight-bearing capacity, and, yes, even quieter operation, without using any materials inside the tire like foam. Instead, Sailun uses a combination of technologies to achieve a quiet ride. For starters, the tread design itself, called SilentTread, uses staggered tuning technology and variable pitch sequence for the quietest operation possible. This design was tested both in the lab and on the road to surpass the company’s sound goals. ERange EV tires also employ specially formulated rubber compounds that, in addition to contributing to less noise, bring less rolling resistance and a longer lasting life. Lastly, ERange EV tires are purposely built with enhanced casing and sidewall construction to carry the increased weight of EV battery packs. This helps the tire avoid deforming under pressure and increasing the size of its contact patch, thereby maintaining a quiet and comfortable ride. Sailun eRange Tires Sailun eRange Tires Since EVs today come in all shapes and sizes, Sailun continues to expand its line of ERange EV tires to fit them all, including new sizes available for electric SUVs and crossover vehicles. The company also stands behind its products with a new warranty for 2024 that covers tires for up to 50,000 miles or 60 months. And all of this without foam. Sound-deadening foam has been a stop-gap measure that tire manufacturers use to fix an immediate challenge they faced when EVs went mainstream. Unfortunately, foam brought with it more problems, including the complexity required to repair a tire when a repair is necessary. Thankfully, tire companies like Sailun have spent their time designing a better EV-specific tire using different materials, different methods, and different goals. The result, the ERange EV tire, makes owning an EV as easy as we were promised. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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