Rivian Camp mode, California heat-wave EV charging, US batteries for Toyota and Honda EVs: The Week in Reverse

Which automaker is first utilizing CATL’s cell-to-pack battery tech for 600-plus miles of vary?

Wherein U.S. state have EVs handed 15% of total new-vehicle gross sales?

That is our look again on the Week In Reverse—proper right here at Inexperienced Automotive Stories—for the week ending September 3, 2022.

Main into the Labor Day vacation weekend, California requested that EV drivers not charge their EVs in the afternoon after 4 p.m. due to unusually sizzling climate and elevated air con use. Whereas in a single day charging after 9 p.m. was nonetheless permitted, it delivered some awkward optics to California’s current coverage dedication to all-electric new-vehicle sales by 2035.

On the product information facet, Genesis introduced a beginning worth for its Electrified G80 fully electric luxury sedan—round $80,000. It additionally confirmed expanded U.S. availability for that and its GV60 EV. 

California’s Lucid Motors gave some hints that the Air Pure sedan is nearing manufacturing. That’s the $88,900 version of its Air luxury EV that the majority instantly rivals the Tesla Mannequin S, probably assembly or beating the Tesla hatchback’s vary with a smaller battery pack and a lower cost.

Rivian revealed a Camp mode characteristic that can, amongst different issues, automatically level the R1T or R1S in order that homeowners can sleep higher. In the event you’ve gone car-camping within the mountains, you’ll respect what a game-changer this might be.

Geely’s Zeekr premium EV model for China introduced that its Zeekr 009 “electrical luxurious MPV” would be the first manufacturing mannequin on the planet, out there early subsequent 12 months, to make use of cell-to-pack tech from CATL, enabling a driving range of more than 600 miles by China’s driving cycle. 

Tesla, Genesis, and Hyundai have been singled out among the many top-performing manufacturers in a J.D. Energy study of advanced-tech vehicle features. The agency singled out phone-based digital key options as very fascinating, whereas fingerprint readers are flubbing the execution. 

Stepping over to trade information, there have been an amazing many manufacturing bulletins this week—maybe held again to verify Congress handed the Inflation Discount Act and the long run American-sourcing necessities for the EV tax credit score that have been a part of it. Honda introduced a U.S. battery three way partnership with LG Power Answer that can make batteries for future Honda and Acura EVs. With a deliberate capability of 40 gigawatt-hours—sufficient for a whole bunch of hundreds of EVs—it’s going massive.

Toyota additionally introduced a battery plan that features manufacturing capability for EV batteries in North Carolina—and by extension, that implies U.S.-made EVs in Toyota’s future. Then later within the week a higher stage of dedication to EVs turned clear as Toyota’s $5.6 billion funding for battery manufacturing throughout continents included converting two Japanese plants—together with an engine manufacturing unit—over to battery crops.

Toyota can be aiming to “construct, set up, and consider” a 1-megawatt fuel-cell power plant that can have a look at how hydrogen could be used—perhaps as an alternative of huge battery packs—to buffer the grid or assist steadiness vitality from photo voltaic and wind sources. 

Bosch plans to construct hydrogen fuel-cell stacks for electrified semi trucks in South Carolina—with Nikola one in all its first supposed prospects. And BMW has began assembling them in Germany, on a restricted foundation, for its upcoming iX5 Hydrogen fuel-cell SUV, with the gas cells themselves from Toyota however electrical propulsion items borrowed from the BMW i4 and iX. As different automakers shift their fuel-cell efforts to giant vehicles, that makes BMW more and more an outlier on the tech. 

SparkCharge, which has been offering on-demand EV charging by way of its At present app, introduced new funding and a continued growth to 12 extra California cities. 

The U.S. Postal Service evaluation that was the rationale for not making the entire fleet of next-generation mail vehicles electrical, was found to be “significantly flawed” by College of Michigan researchers who famous it lacked any consideration of giant components just like the greening of the grid over time.

In Europe, Sono Motors says that it’s reached 20,000 reservations for its $30,000 Sion solar EV, which guarantees 70 free miles from the solar every week and has dwelling power-bank functionality with bi-directional charging.

California topped 15% EV sales in Q2, with the Tesla Mannequin Y and Mannequin 3 persevering with their gross sales dominance within the Golden State—which is now so pronounced that the Mannequin Y outsold the best-selling Ford F-150 and Chevy Silverado mixed.

And have fun that along with all the remainder of the EV selections there at the moment are a minimum of 14 distinct EVs with an EPA range of 300 miles, the U.S. Division of Power underscored this week. As lately as 2016 there was only one. 

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