Which mass-produced, U.S.-available EV is getting put to the test in Europe with battery swapping?
Why is Rivian reportedly reengineering its battery packs?
That is our look back on the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Automobile Reports—for the week ending December 9, 2023.
Green Automobile Reports named its 4 finalists for Best Automobile To Buy 2024. What are these 4 plug-in models recent for this yr, and that are the cleanest, greenest, and best for treading evenly?
2024 Fiat 500e
Fiat revealed 500e pricing, range, and have details for the long-awaited U.S.-bound version of this second-generation electric minicar. The 2024 Fiat 500e starts at $34,095 and is rated at 149 EPA miles of range. Just don’t expect the $49-a-month leases of the previous-generation automotive.
Fiat’s parent Stellantis announced it’s testing EV battery swapping from Ample on 100 Fiat 500e electric cars which are a part of the corporate’s Free2Move car-sharing service—and meaning a totally charged battery in five minutes. With this trial, it’s seeing if battery swapping can scale up, or extend out to other upcoming EVs from Stellantis’ many brands, including Jeep and Dodge.
2024 Lucid Air
The 2024 Lucid Air lineup starts at $78,900, in its Pure form, and restructured feature availability allows some items just like the metal or glass roof, to develop into independent of the version. Further, Lucid says a revamped Grand Touring—the model that makes essentially the most of the larger battery pack within the Air lineup—may have an updated powertrain with higher thermal performance for longer periods of “spirited driving.”
The British specialty sports automotive maker Morgan on Wednesday revealed the XP-1 electric three-wheeler, featuring a powertrain developed in-house and a weight of only around 1,500 kilos for this two-seater. Although still a prototype, this model could shape as much as be a more vintage-styled alternative to the long-awaited Aptera.
Morgan XP-1 prototype
Toyota has revealed a compact EV, called the Urban SUV Concept, for the European market. Could or not it’s an extra development of the bZ Compact SUV Concept that Toyota showed last yr and suggested may additionally be U.S.-bound?
Toyota also released more information in regards to the FT-Se electric sports automotive concept shown last month on the Tokyo auto show. Concerning the same size because the Supra, but a bit lower and wider, it showcases the potential of more energy-dense next-generation battery tech, Toyota says.
Toyota FT-Se concept
When GM is able to ramp up its EVs, it has a bit more support. The EV fast-charging network from GM and Pilot Travel Centers has announced the opening of its first 17 locations. It goals to deploy multiple 350-kw connectors at each site, with as much as 2,000 stalls and 500 locations on the best way—including 25 locations by the top of 2023 and 200 locations by the top of 2024.
Rivian developing a simplified battery pack for its R1S and R1T electric trucks which may take hundreds of dollars of cost out? Although these trucks’ packs get more energy into less volume, easier manufacturability and lower cost could show that there’s still loads of room for improvement.
Ford Intelligent Backup Power – F-150 Lightning
Ford, then again, has taken the bidirectional charging capability built into the F-150 Lightning a step further with a brand new partnership that explores integrating its vehicle-to-home (V2H) tech with smart thermostats. That would end in cleaner energy, less strain on the grid, and lower energy bills for F-150 Lightning owners.
Updated results on the range of the newest EVs from Consumer Reports highlighted what must be emphasized for anyone considering an EV: EPA range for EVs isn’t a highway number. That said, CR found that some models from Mercedes-Benz and BMW actually exceeded the EPA range at 70 mpg—an important thing—while others including Lucid and Tesla fell short.
2023 Mercedes-Benz EQE 350+
Jeep and Dodge parent company Stellantis is the newest automaker to fight California emissions rules, claiming that they’re giving several other automakers that opted to chop an early take care of the state’s Air Resources Board a competitive advantage. To assist meet the stricter California rules, Stellantis has already announced plans to diminish non-hybrid sales in California emissions states.
In accordance with a recent Bloomberg report, EV-critical lithium prices are falling—as are those for other key battery materials. It’s a refreshing turnaround after a raw-material price surge in 2022 that ultimately played a job in EV affordability and profitability. Now, excess manufacturing capability because the market grows could also be affording automakers some added flexibility and, perhaps, that may result in cheaper EVs.
The U.S. Department of Energy and Treasury Department released proposed rulemaking in regards to the “foreign entity of concern” requirements inside the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022—and it’ll play a giant role in how the electrical vehicle market continues to take form. Whether taking a look at the origin of critical materials or the company ownership behind brands, many more EVs won’t be tax-credit-eligible in 2025.
2025 Tesla Cybertruck – Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.
Initial deliveries of the Tesla Cybertruck are reportedly at a price of $121,985 with destination. Meanwhile, the EPA confirmed that the Tesla Cybertruck qualifies for a $7,500 EV tax credit—nonetheless the EPA’s inclusion of the Cybertruck for 2023 left numerous questions on Tesla’s intended Cybertruck pricing and arrival dates.
And as food for thought on the weekend, electric vehicles currently make up a 3rd of the posh vehicle market, in line with a recent summary by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Yet EVs make up lower than 2% of the non-luxury vehicle market. It’s one in every of many indicators of a lopsided U.S. EV market with respect to pricing and affordability. While EV interest is robust, the survey giant J.D. Power recently argued that there’s a “missing mass market” for EVs. On this complex situation, with some suggesting EV demand is slowing, it’s simply an absence of offerings priced and positioned for the mass market that might be the dealbreaker.
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This Article First Appeared At www.greencarreports.com
