09 Jul 2022 | Ford Fast Running Out Of EV Tax Credits

Jul 09, 2022, 11:05 AM

➤ Mercedes launches sales of the EQE with a smaller battery
➤ Volvo Quits Europe Car Lobby Group as EV Shift Fractures Industry
➤ Tesla Model 3 Ranked Greenest EV In The US, Lucid Air Comes Second
➤ Germany takes big step towards integrating electric cars into grid
➤ The road ahead for electric cars relies on affordability, not scrapping grants
➤ Like GM, Ford Will Soon Run Out Of EV Tax Credits
➤ ZipCharge Go sees over 10,000 global pre-orders
➤ Mazda MX-30 Sales Decreased In June: 23 Units Sold
➤ Nissan Ariya Seen As A Top Pick
➤ Tesla spotted gathering massive number of Megapacks

Show #1526

Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily, you trusted source of EV information. It’s Saturday 9th July, it’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

MERCEDES LAUNCHES SALES OF THE EQE WITH A SMALLER BATTERY

Mercedes-Benz now offers further variants of its electric model EQE. The new price list of 5 July lists a total of six variants, including the new entry-level EQE 300 and the EQE 350, both of which are equipped with a slightly smaller 89 kWh battery.  The battery in the previous EQE 350+ and above (i.e. the EQE 500 4MATIC and the two AMG models) comes with a usable energy content of 90.56 kWh. The base list price for the EQE 300 in Germany is 66,402 euros, the EQE 350 costs at least 70,210 euros. Above that, the EQE 350 4MATIC (with a system output of 215 kW like the rear-wheel drive) costs 73,363.50 euros and the EQE 500 4MATIC with 300 kW costs 87,286.50 euros.  orders for the second AMG variant of the EQE were also opened a few days ago. This means that six drive variants of the EQE are currently available to order.


VOLVO QUITS EUROPE CAR LOBBY GROUP AS EV SHIFT FRACTURES INDUSTRY

"Volvo Cars AB is withdrawing from Europe’s car lobby, the second major automaker to do so in the past month, as the industry fractures over the transition to electric vehicles. Volvo Cars, which aims to produce only EVs by 2030, said Friday that the ACEA lobby’s efforts to combat climate change aren’t aggressive enough. The company said it was “better to take a different path for now.”


TESLA MODEL 3 RANKED GREENEST EV IN THE US, LUCID AIR COMES SECOND

“The Tesla Model 3 tops this year's Bloomberg Green's Electric Car Ratings of the greenest EVs available in the United States. The Green rating for each car is a weighted score of its range divided by curb weight plus battery size, on a scale from 0 to 100 (100 being the best rating). The efficiency makes up 70% of the score, while battery size makes up 30%.   Lucid took second place despite having one of the biggest battery in the ranking, with a usable capacity of 112 kWh; the Air's battery capacity is only topped by the Rivian R1S and R1T (129 kWh) and GMC Hummer EV (205 kWh).  The Lucid Air does compensate with the highest EPA range of all the vehicles in the list (451 miles for the Dream Edition Performance) and the highest charging speed (20.1 miles per minute)."


GERMANY TAKES BIG STEP TOWARDS INTEGRATING ELECTRIC CARS INTO GRID

German parliament has empowered the federal network agency to define the framework for implementing electric vehicles (EVs) into the grid, using them as remote batteries to balance electricity demand. Using EVs as remote batteries is a long-held dream by the German electrical grid community. The technology is usually known as “vehicle-to-grid” and allows the batteries built into EVs to be drawn on in peak electricity demand. Germany’s power grid is in dire need of upgrade to ensure stable supply in a country aiming to source 80% of its electricity from intermittent wind and solar by 2030. Meanwhile, the German government has begun providing additional funding for further research on the switch to EVs and their integration into the electricity grid. 


THE ROAD AHEAD FOR ELECTRIC CARS RELIES ON AFFORDABILITY, NOT SCRAPPING GRANTS

"Since 2011, the UK government has been providing a tax-payer funded discount on the sale of battery electric vehicles. Known as the “plug-in car grant”, it was designed to help persuade motorists make the switch from diesel or petrol and commit to electric driving. But last month the grant was scrapped with immediate effect. It wasn’t exactly a surprise, given that the amount buyers were able to claim back had gradually been whittled down from £5,000 to £1,500; or that it was recently available only for new vehicles costing less than £32,000. For now, the government is essentially saying it will switch towards supporting the charging infrastructure and company car buyers. Unsurprisingly, the government’s latest moves have not gone down well with a car industry struggling in a difficult economic climate. And nor should the government forget the economic challenges for drivers of soaring petrol prices and the rising cost of living. If it wants more of them to make the switch to electric vehicles, it should be much more focused on making them an affordable option for as many motorists as possible."


LIKE GM, FORD WILL SOON RUN OUT OF EV TAX CREDITS

"General Motors reached the 200,000-vehicle cap to receive federal plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle tax credits back in early 2019, while its rivals over at Toyota also recently reached the milestone. Now Ford is also set to trigger the tax credit sunset period, with the Blue Oval reporting sales of roughly 180,000 electrified vehicles since 2009. The federal tax credit cap takes into account not only battery-electric vehicle sales, but also sales of plug-in hybrids with 4 kWh or larger. Ford had sold roughly 160,000 vehicles that meet this criteria as of the end of last year, our sister site Ford Authority reported this week. The automaker has also sold a reported 22,342 battery-electric vehicles in the first six months of 2022 between the F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit, which would bring the total to 182,342 vehicles. This does not count sales of PHEV models like the Escape Hybrid and Explorer Hybrid, either, which would push Ford even closer to the 200,000 unit cap"


ZIPCHARGE GO SEES OVER 10,000 GLOBAL PRE-ORDERS

"ZipCharge, a pioneer in portable energy and electric vehicle (EV) charging, has announced that over 10,000 people have registered to pre-order a Go portable EV power bank when they go on sale in 2023. The company’s engineers are currently optimising the performance of the portable EV charger’s key system components - including the NMC lithium-ion battery cells and the ZipCharge-designed bi-directional AC-DC converter - in order to evaluate thermal behaviour, charging performance, safety, durability and full functionality to ensure a seamless and safe ownership experience for everyday charging."


MAZDA MX-30 SALES DECREASED IN JUNE: 23 UNITS SOLD

"Mazda's only all-electric model, the Mazda MX-30, noted just 23 sales in June and 316 so far this year, which makes us wonder whether there is any sense to develop a new model? Low volume prevents offsetting development costs. The MSRP of $33,470 (+$1,175 DST), after deducting the $7,500 federal tax credit, means that the effective cost might be $27,145 - that's comparable to the new 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV/EUV, which however has almost a two times bigger battery for more than twice as much range. Range: up to 100 miles (161 km) EPA, 35.5 kWh battery pack, 30kWh useable (prismatic cells, total nominal voltage of 355 V). DC fast charging (CCS Combo) 20-80% in about 36 minutes, 37kW peak rate."


NISSAN ARIYA SEEN AS A TOP PICK

"EV enthusiasts have high expectations from the Nissan Ariya, the Japanese automaker's first all-new electric vehicle since the launch of the second-generation Leaf in 2017.  let's see what it is made of in this new in-depth review from Autogefühl. Thomas appreciates the build quality and materials of the interior, and also points out some cool interior features such as the dual 12.3-inch widescreen displays, sliding center console, electric storage compartment at the center of the dash, wooden capacitive climate controls and rearview mirror digital function. The range achieved by Thomas in good weather conditions and on fairly flat terrain is more that 450 kilometers or almost 280 miles, and that's with the standard battery."


TESLA SPOTTED GATHERING MASSIVE NUMBER OF MEGAPACKS

Tesla has been spotted gathering a massive number of Megapacks outside its Gigafactory Nevada. Is it a backlog due to supply chain issues or a new giant battery is in the work?  A Twitter user going by OttoPilot flew over Gigafactory Nevada and spotted an impressive number of Tesla Megapacks outside the factory. We see more than 500 Megapacks in this picture, which would represent up to 1.5 GWh of energy capacity. That’s more than Tesla has ever delivered in an entire quarter all sitting in one place.  However, it’s not clear why all those battery packs are there. Tesla produces the Megapacks at Gigafactory Nevada, along with its new Megafactory in California, but it’s not clear why these many Megapacks are sitting there."


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