The Daily Mail
"California's congested, crumbling streets are set to become even WORSE as EV sales rise and key revenue from gas tax plunges - after roads were rated 'D' on infrastructure report card"
Story by Keith Griffith For Dailymail.com
13 JANUARY 2024
* Report warns California faces road funding shortfall due to switch to EVs
* Transportation revenues are projected to decline by $4.4 billion over the next decade
* Fees on EVs won't be enough to make up for lost tax revenue on gas and diesel
California's roads are set to face a funding shortfall, as revenue from gasoline taxes that fund transportation infrastructure dries up with the adoption of electric vehicles, according to a recent report.
The report from California's Legislative Analyst's Office projects the state's annual transportation revenues will plunge by $4.4 billion, or 31 percent, over the next decade as compared to current levels.
The decline includes a drop of $5 billion, or 64 percent, in gasoline excise tax collection, as well as a $710 million drop in diesel tax revenue, or a 20 percent decline.
Falling revenue from fuel taxes would be partially, but not fully, offset by a projected $1 billion increase in annual registration fees for battery‑electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.
California's roads are already among the worst in the nation, receiving a second-to-last 'D' rating from the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2022, beating out only Mississippi's D minus.
California's transportation funding issue is a preview of dilemma that many states will grapple with, as they encourage adoption of EVs to reduce carbon emissions and fight climate change.
Thanks to generous tax incentives for owners, California leads the nation in adoption of EVs, with 25 percent EV market share, according to data from the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.
In 2022, California regulators approved a measure backed by Governor Gavin Newsom that would effectively ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035.
The recent report said that measures such as that will accelerate the shortfall in transportation revenues.
'While we estimate total revenues would decline even under a baseline forecast due to ongoing increases in fuel efficiency and greater interest in [zero-emission vehicles], the state's recently adopted and planned policies will expedite these underlying trends significantly,' the report warns.
California has the highest gasoline excise tax in the nation, at 57.9 cents per gallon, on top of a 2.25 percent sales tax on fuel.
Revenue from fuel taxes and vehicle fees funds about a third of state spending on transportation, according to policy news site CalMatters.
'As the state tries to meet its ambitious climate goals through the adoption of zero emission vehicles, and greater fuel efficiency within conventional vehicles, the report finds that we'll see a decline in fuel tax revenues,' Frank Jimenez, a senior fiscal and policy analyst with the Legislative Analyst's Office, told the outlet.
California's long-term gas tax dilemma comes as the state faces pressing budget shortfalls.
Governor Newsom on Wednesday projected a nearly $38 billion deficit for the 2024-25 budget year.
That's down from the $68 billion that the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office predicted last month.
However, the shortfall is deep enough that it could delay a minimum wage increase for more than 400,000 health care workers and force spending cuts across various housing and climate programs.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/calif ... e10b&ei=27
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Daily Express US
"EV drivers discover fundamental flaw in car battery tech as -30F temperatures hit the US"
Story by Emily Hodgkin
15 JANUARY 2024
The USA has been hit by an arctic blast and -30F temperatures that can cause frostbite in minutes.
While Americans are feeling the cold, so are their cars.
EVs come with various benefits, including the fact they are eligible to pay less tax, although that list in shrinking with Feds confirming fewer EVs and hybrids are eligible for 2024 tax credits
X user Mark Boharichuk took to the platform to claim drivers of EVs, like the new Chevrolet EV, were struggling to charge their cars in the cold.
He wrote: "Took my wife into work today for safety's sake."
"It's -45 this morning.
"Saw a fellow sitting in his EV at a charging station."
"The businesses were still closed for him to stay warm and dawdle while his car charged."
"I briefly spoke with him as he went into the store."
"He said he's been sitting in the car running the heaters and it was taking about twice as long to charge."
"The car's range was about 280km in the cold he said."
"The fellow said his trip to Saskatoon from Kelowna takes about 3 times longer for charging time (sitting time)."
"His charges today were about $100 and two hours of sitting with heaters on and the battery was only 2/3 charged."
"He said he liked his EV, but only in summer."
"But he said only if it's not too hot, AC drains batteries very fast."
"So, if you live in Canada, and are considering buying an EV, make sure your pockets are deep and you're NEVER on a schedule."
"I wished him luck."
"His name was Jack (John) from Kelowna."
Last December amid brutal weather in Iowa, mechanics warned against the problems of cold weather and EVs.
Jason Grice, Black Hawk College Automotive and Welding professor, said: "They have an effective operating range or an optimal operating range between 32 and 80 degrees."
When it starts dropping below 32 degrees, "they see about an average of 20% decline in their overall capacity."
"Every 10 degrees below that, it seems to drop about 10%."
"So cold weather is not good for it."
Jack is far from the only person to experience these issues, according to X users.
Another said: "I live in a summer vacation area."
"Lots of residents have Lake homes here but live in one of the state's big cities."
"We have snow and sub-zero temperatures and so one guy drove his EV here this morning to check out conditions here."
"But he was afraid to drive up the hill because of the snow."
"And he didn't know how long it would take to go 150 miles to his home."
"Well, it took five hours, he had to stop twice to charge, and the last charge only gave him 66%."
"No, thank you."
One Tesla fan wrote: "I love Teslas and aspire to own one someday."
"However, I fully recognize their limitations in Canada."
"We have a triple whammy against EVs: vast distances, cold weather, and poor charging infrastructure."
"Plug-in hybrids make more sense here."
Some defended EVs, though.
One wrote: "-45c is not normal temperature."
"F*ck that."
"I would never live in conditions like that."
"Also gas cars struggle in such harsh conditions as much as EVs would."
How does cold weather affect EVs?
While there are benefits to EVs, the batteries in the cars are affected by very cold weather, which makes them far less efficient.
The cold weather makes the chemical reactions in the battery slower, limiting the amount of energy is can produce.
HERE, sustainability experts, estimate: "Vehicle range drops 20% when temperatures start hitting the 32 degrees Fahrenheit mark."
"If it drops another 10 degrees Fahrenheit that number slumps to 40%."
EVs have additional energy consumption needs in the winter too.
The cars heating system draws power from the battery, which could further limit range.
It's advised to preheat your vehicle while it's still plugged in, as this power comes from the grid and not the battery.
EV batteries can become damaged by long term exposure to extremely cold temperatures.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technolo ... cac&ei=171
"EV drivers discover fundamental flaw in car battery tech as -30F temperatures hit the US"
Story by Emily Hodgkin
15 JANUARY 2024
The USA has been hit by an arctic blast and -30F temperatures that can cause frostbite in minutes.
While Americans are feeling the cold, so are their cars.
EVs come with various benefits, including the fact they are eligible to pay less tax, although that list in shrinking with Feds confirming fewer EVs and hybrids are eligible for 2024 tax credits
X user Mark Boharichuk took to the platform to claim drivers of EVs, like the new Chevrolet EV, were struggling to charge their cars in the cold.
He wrote: "Took my wife into work today for safety's sake."
"It's -45 this morning.
"Saw a fellow sitting in his EV at a charging station."
"The businesses were still closed for him to stay warm and dawdle while his car charged."
"I briefly spoke with him as he went into the store."
"He said he's been sitting in the car running the heaters and it was taking about twice as long to charge."
"The car's range was about 280km in the cold he said."
"The fellow said his trip to Saskatoon from Kelowna takes about 3 times longer for charging time (sitting time)."
"His charges today were about $100 and two hours of sitting with heaters on and the battery was only 2/3 charged."
"He said he liked his EV, but only in summer."
"But he said only if it's not too hot, AC drains batteries very fast."
"So, if you live in Canada, and are considering buying an EV, make sure your pockets are deep and you're NEVER on a schedule."
"I wished him luck."
"His name was Jack (John) from Kelowna."
Last December amid brutal weather in Iowa, mechanics warned against the problems of cold weather and EVs.
Jason Grice, Black Hawk College Automotive and Welding professor, said: "They have an effective operating range or an optimal operating range between 32 and 80 degrees."
When it starts dropping below 32 degrees, "they see about an average of 20% decline in their overall capacity."
"Every 10 degrees below that, it seems to drop about 10%."
"So cold weather is not good for it."
Jack is far from the only person to experience these issues, according to X users.
Another said: "I live in a summer vacation area."
"Lots of residents have Lake homes here but live in one of the state's big cities."
"We have snow and sub-zero temperatures and so one guy drove his EV here this morning to check out conditions here."
"But he was afraid to drive up the hill because of the snow."
"And he didn't know how long it would take to go 150 miles to his home."
"Well, it took five hours, he had to stop twice to charge, and the last charge only gave him 66%."
"No, thank you."
One Tesla fan wrote: "I love Teslas and aspire to own one someday."
"However, I fully recognize their limitations in Canada."
"We have a triple whammy against EVs: vast distances, cold weather, and poor charging infrastructure."
"Plug-in hybrids make more sense here."
Some defended EVs, though.
One wrote: "-45c is not normal temperature."
"F*ck that."
"I would never live in conditions like that."
"Also gas cars struggle in such harsh conditions as much as EVs would."
How does cold weather affect EVs?
While there are benefits to EVs, the batteries in the cars are affected by very cold weather, which makes them far less efficient.
The cold weather makes the chemical reactions in the battery slower, limiting the amount of energy is can produce.
HERE, sustainability experts, estimate: "Vehicle range drops 20% when temperatures start hitting the 32 degrees Fahrenheit mark."
"If it drops another 10 degrees Fahrenheit that number slumps to 40%."
EVs have additional energy consumption needs in the winter too.
The cars heating system draws power from the battery, which could further limit range.
It's advised to preheat your vehicle while it's still plugged in, as this power comes from the grid and not the battery.
EV batteries can become damaged by long term exposure to extremely cold temperatures.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technolo ... cac&ei=171
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
The Western Journal
"Chicago Charging Stations Turn Into Tesla 'Graveyards' as Biting Cold Exposes Major EV Vulnerability"
Story by Warner Todd Huston
17 JANUARY 2024
As a Midwest winter deep freeze returns after several years of warmer temperatures, electric vehicles are turning into giant frozen bricks, and the freezing temps are revealing a major vulnerability in EV technology.
Many Chicago-area Tesla and EV users are discovering the biggest drawback in eschewing gas-powered vehicles as the temps plummet and their batteries freeze up, sapping their power.
The scenes at the city's charging stations were highlighted by the media because a long line of dead Teslas was seen parked in the swirling, angry winter winds as desperate owners tried to juice them back up, often with limited success.
At a charging station in the Chicago suburb of Evergreen Park, for instance, Tesla driver Brandon Welbourne told CBS News that he had been waiting for five hours and still had not gotten to a charging stall.
"I've been here for over five hours at this point, and I still have not gotten to charge my car," he said adding that the severe cold was making charge-ups more than twice as long as normal.
"A charge that should take 45 minutes is taking two hours."
Meanwhile, a report from WLFD-TV about the Chicago suburb of Oak Park summed up the situation in dire terms:
"Public charging stations have turned into car graveyards over the past couple of days," it stated.
At an Oak Park charging station, Tesla owner Chalis Mizelle told WFLD-TV, "This is crazy."
"It’s a disaster."
"Seriously."
Another driver noted that the cold had prevented his vehicle from even taking a charge.
"Nothing."
"No juice."
"Still on zero percent," Tesla owner Tyler Beard told WFLD.
"And this is like three hours being out here after being out here three hours yesterday."
https://youtu.be/0b-w46UDdpo?si=RH75sMwyG5fVaD4B
Yet another Tesla driver was thoroughly disgusted by the whole situation.
"We got a bunch of dead robots out here," he said, according to WFLD.
CBS even noted that some drivers gave up and simply had their cars towed away from the charging station.
Mark Bilek of the Chicago Auto Trade Association tried to excuse away the frustrations of cars that would not charge because of the deep freeze.
He noted that that drivers need to hit the "preconditioning" button to warm a battery enough so it can take a charge in frigid temperatures.
"Like any new technology, there’s a learning curve for people," Bilek told WFLD.
The problem is, the preconditioning feature needs power to operate and if the car is sapped out, it isn't going to work.
Indeed, Mr. Bilek.
The "learning curve" should find drivers "learning" that an EV doesn't work in a Chicago winter.
For its part, Tesla warned drivers to remember that using the cabin heater will also use battery life a lot faster than driving during moderate temps.
Unlike gas-powered cars that use the heat generated by the engine as a heating source for the passenger cabin, an EV's heating is also using up battery power.
This means battery life will be cut down by a large percentage.
In a statement on the Tesla website titled "Winter driving tips," the company acknowledges that energy consumption from the battery will increase during the cold months, but says it has "made several updates to improve your driving experience in freezing temperatures, including better overall thermal performance, quicker Supercharging, and improved cabin conditioning."
"Leaving your vehicle plugged in whenever possible and keeping the charge level above 20% when not plugged in will reduce the impact of cold temperatures," the website states.
This week, with more than half the country experiencing an Arctic blast, EV owners in many parts of the country are finding out just how ill-suited electric cars are to winter driving.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/ch ... fde1&ei=75
"Chicago Charging Stations Turn Into Tesla 'Graveyards' as Biting Cold Exposes Major EV Vulnerability"
Story by Warner Todd Huston
17 JANUARY 2024
As a Midwest winter deep freeze returns after several years of warmer temperatures, electric vehicles are turning into giant frozen bricks, and the freezing temps are revealing a major vulnerability in EV technology.
Many Chicago-area Tesla and EV users are discovering the biggest drawback in eschewing gas-powered vehicles as the temps plummet and their batteries freeze up, sapping their power.
The scenes at the city's charging stations were highlighted by the media because a long line of dead Teslas was seen parked in the swirling, angry winter winds as desperate owners tried to juice them back up, often with limited success.
At a charging station in the Chicago suburb of Evergreen Park, for instance, Tesla driver Brandon Welbourne told CBS News that he had been waiting for five hours and still had not gotten to a charging stall.
"I've been here for over five hours at this point, and I still have not gotten to charge my car," he said adding that the severe cold was making charge-ups more than twice as long as normal.
"A charge that should take 45 minutes is taking two hours."
Meanwhile, a report from WLFD-TV about the Chicago suburb of Oak Park summed up the situation in dire terms:
"Public charging stations have turned into car graveyards over the past couple of days," it stated.
At an Oak Park charging station, Tesla owner Chalis Mizelle told WFLD-TV, "This is crazy."
"It’s a disaster."
"Seriously."
Another driver noted that the cold had prevented his vehicle from even taking a charge.
"Nothing."
"No juice."
"Still on zero percent," Tesla owner Tyler Beard told WFLD.
"And this is like three hours being out here after being out here three hours yesterday."
https://youtu.be/0b-w46UDdpo?si=RH75sMwyG5fVaD4B
Yet another Tesla driver was thoroughly disgusted by the whole situation.
"We got a bunch of dead robots out here," he said, according to WFLD.
CBS even noted that some drivers gave up and simply had their cars towed away from the charging station.
Mark Bilek of the Chicago Auto Trade Association tried to excuse away the frustrations of cars that would not charge because of the deep freeze.
He noted that that drivers need to hit the "preconditioning" button to warm a battery enough so it can take a charge in frigid temperatures.
"Like any new technology, there’s a learning curve for people," Bilek told WFLD.
The problem is, the preconditioning feature needs power to operate and if the car is sapped out, it isn't going to work.
Indeed, Mr. Bilek.
The "learning curve" should find drivers "learning" that an EV doesn't work in a Chicago winter.
For its part, Tesla warned drivers to remember that using the cabin heater will also use battery life a lot faster than driving during moderate temps.
Unlike gas-powered cars that use the heat generated by the engine as a heating source for the passenger cabin, an EV's heating is also using up battery power.
This means battery life will be cut down by a large percentage.
In a statement on the Tesla website titled "Winter driving tips," the company acknowledges that energy consumption from the battery will increase during the cold months, but says it has "made several updates to improve your driving experience in freezing temperatures, including better overall thermal performance, quicker Supercharging, and improved cabin conditioning."
"Leaving your vehicle plugged in whenever possible and keeping the charge level above 20% when not plugged in will reduce the impact of cold temperatures," the website states.
This week, with more than half the country experiencing an Arctic blast, EV owners in many parts of the country are finding out just how ill-suited electric cars are to winter driving.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/ch ... fde1&ei=75
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
REUTERS
"US awards nearly $150 mln to repair, replace EV charging stations"
By David Shepardson
January 18, 2024
WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Department said on Thursday it is awarding $148.8 million for projects in 20 states to repair or replace nearly 4,500 existing electric vehicle charging ports.
The announcement is the latest in a string of awards to boost EV charging, as President Joe Biden's administration looks to finalize new rules in coming months that could dramatically boost EV sales.
The funds aim to help frustrated owners who find EV chargers out of service, said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt in an interview with Reuters.
"We know there's going to be more demand for the technology," Bhatt said citing rising EV sales, adding that charging is getting better.
"We anticipate reliability being less of an issue going forward."
The new funds are part of the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program funded by a $1 trillion 2021 infrastructure law.
Under the program, states need to operate federally-funded charging ports for at least five years, which must work 97% of the time.
The White House aims to expand the nationwide network of chargers to 500,000 by 2030, which include high-speed chargers no more than 50 miles (80 km) apart on the nation's busiest highways and interstates.
Automakers and others say drastically boosting EV charging stations is crucial to the wide deployment of electric vehicles, even as a growing number of automakers are adopting Tesla's EV charging technology.
The United States has more than 170,000 public charging ports, and since the start of the Biden administration, the number of publicly available chargers has increased by more than 70%, the White House said.
Biden in 2021 set a goal, backed by automakers, seeking 50% of new vehicles by 2030 to be EVs or plug-in hybrids.
The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed stringent new tailpipe regulations that would result in 67% of new vehicles being electric by 2032 and the administration is expected to finalize new emissions limits by March.
Automakers want the EPA to soften those requirements and Republicans in the U.S House of Representatives voted last month to bar the EPA from finalizing those rules.
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Varun H K
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 024-01-18/
"US awards nearly $150 mln to repair, replace EV charging stations"
By David Shepardson
January 18, 2024
WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Transportation Department said on Thursday it is awarding $148.8 million for projects in 20 states to repair or replace nearly 4,500 existing electric vehicle charging ports.
The announcement is the latest in a string of awards to boost EV charging, as President Joe Biden's administration looks to finalize new rules in coming months that could dramatically boost EV sales.
The funds aim to help frustrated owners who find EV chargers out of service, said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt in an interview with Reuters.
"We know there's going to be more demand for the technology," Bhatt said citing rising EV sales, adding that charging is getting better.
"We anticipate reliability being less of an issue going forward."
The new funds are part of the $5 billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program funded by a $1 trillion 2021 infrastructure law.
Under the program, states need to operate federally-funded charging ports for at least five years, which must work 97% of the time.
The White House aims to expand the nationwide network of chargers to 500,000 by 2030, which include high-speed chargers no more than 50 miles (80 km) apart on the nation's busiest highways and interstates.
Automakers and others say drastically boosting EV charging stations is crucial to the wide deployment of electric vehicles, even as a growing number of automakers are adopting Tesla's EV charging technology.
The United States has more than 170,000 public charging ports, and since the start of the Biden administration, the number of publicly available chargers has increased by more than 70%, the White House said.
Biden in 2021 set a goal, backed by automakers, seeking 50% of new vehicles by 2030 to be EVs or plug-in hybrids.
The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed stringent new tailpipe regulations that would result in 67% of new vehicles being electric by 2032 and the administration is expected to finalize new emissions limits by March.
Automakers want the EPA to soften those requirements and Republicans in the U.S House of Representatives voted last month to bar the EPA from finalizing those rules.
Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Varun H K
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 024-01-18/
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
REUTERS
"Ford cuts F-150 Lightning production as EV demand softens"
By David Shepardson and Nathan Gomes
January 19, 2024
Jan 19 (Reuters) - Ford Motor said on Friday it would reduce production of its F-150 Lightning pickup truck, as demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has been lower than expected.
The No. 2 U.S. automaker said it would cut production at its Michigan Rouge Electric Vehicle Center to one shift starting April 1.
In October, the automaker said it would temporarily cut one of three shifts at the Michigan plant that builds the electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck.
"We are taking advantage of our manufacturing flexibility to offer customers choices while balancing our growth and profitability," said Ford CEO Jim Farley in a statement.
The announcement is the latest sign of slowing demand for EV trucks.
General Motors in October postponed the opening of a $4 billion electric truck plant in Michigan for a year.
Ford told suppliers in December that it planned to produce about 1,600 F-150 Lightning EV trucks per week starting in January, roughly half of the 3,200 it previously had planned.
Ford sold 24,165 F-150 Lightning trucks last year in the United States, up 55% over 2022, out of about 750,000 total F-150 U.S. sales.
Ford shares were up 1% in mid-day Friday trading.
Ford in August had said the plant that builds F-150 Lightning could hit a 150,000-vehicle annualized production rate by October after saying in 2022 it would double EV truck production.
The Dearborn automaker said Friday it would add a third crew and create nearly 900 jobs at its Michigan assembly plant to increase production of gas-powered Bronco SUVs and Ranger pickups.
The F-150 Lightning production cut comes at a time when Detroit automakers are protesting that the Biden Administration is going too far with proposals to use emissions rules that would result in 67% of all new vehicles in 2032 being EVs.
On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted its proposal to finalize vehicle requirements to the White House for review.
The Republican-led U.S. House in December voted to bar the EPA from moving forward with the planned vehicle emissions regulations, drawing a veto threat from the White House.
Former President Donald Trump, who is seeking to return to the White House, has vowed to reverse the Biden administration's EV rules, while the White House has touted automakers significant EV and battery production investments along with government funding of new EV charging.
Ford said Friday the move impacts 1,400 workers at the plant.
Roughly 700 will transfer to its Michigan Assembly Plant and others will be placed in roles at the Rouge Complex or other facilities in Michigan, or take advantage of a special retirement program.
The automaker sees continued growth in global EV sales in 2024, though expects it to be "less than anticipated."
Ford said a few dozen employees could be impacted at component plants supporting F-150 Lightning production.
Ford lost an estimated $36,000 on each of the 36,000 EVs it delivered to dealers in the third quarter, the company said in October, after announcing earlier it would slow the ramp-up of money-losing EVs, shifting investment to Ford's commercial vehicle unit and citing plans to quadruple sales of gas-electric hybrids over the next five years.
Legacy car manufacturers have sharpened their focus towards hybrid models over the past year as buyers snapped up more of those in place of all-electric models.
Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, Franklin Paul and Mark Potter
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 024-01-19/
"Ford cuts F-150 Lightning production as EV demand softens"
By David Shepardson and Nathan Gomes
January 19, 2024
Jan 19 (Reuters) - Ford Motor said on Friday it would reduce production of its F-150 Lightning pickup truck, as demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has been lower than expected.
The No. 2 U.S. automaker said it would cut production at its Michigan Rouge Electric Vehicle Center to one shift starting April 1.
In October, the automaker said it would temporarily cut one of three shifts at the Michigan plant that builds the electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck.
"We are taking advantage of our manufacturing flexibility to offer customers choices while balancing our growth and profitability," said Ford CEO Jim Farley in a statement.
The announcement is the latest sign of slowing demand for EV trucks.
General Motors in October postponed the opening of a $4 billion electric truck plant in Michigan for a year.
Ford told suppliers in December that it planned to produce about 1,600 F-150 Lightning EV trucks per week starting in January, roughly half of the 3,200 it previously had planned.
Ford sold 24,165 F-150 Lightning trucks last year in the United States, up 55% over 2022, out of about 750,000 total F-150 U.S. sales.
Ford shares were up 1% in mid-day Friday trading.
Ford in August had said the plant that builds F-150 Lightning could hit a 150,000-vehicle annualized production rate by October after saying in 2022 it would double EV truck production.
The Dearborn automaker said Friday it would add a third crew and create nearly 900 jobs at its Michigan assembly plant to increase production of gas-powered Bronco SUVs and Ranger pickups.
The F-150 Lightning production cut comes at a time when Detroit automakers are protesting that the Biden Administration is going too far with proposals to use emissions rules that would result in 67% of all new vehicles in 2032 being EVs.
On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted its proposal to finalize vehicle requirements to the White House for review.
The Republican-led U.S. House in December voted to bar the EPA from moving forward with the planned vehicle emissions regulations, drawing a veto threat from the White House.
Former President Donald Trump, who is seeking to return to the White House, has vowed to reverse the Biden administration's EV rules, while the White House has touted automakers significant EV and battery production investments along with government funding of new EV charging.
Ford said Friday the move impacts 1,400 workers at the plant.
Roughly 700 will transfer to its Michigan Assembly Plant and others will be placed in roles at the Rouge Complex or other facilities in Michigan, or take advantage of a special retirement program.
The automaker sees continued growth in global EV sales in 2024, though expects it to be "less than anticipated."
Ford said a few dozen employees could be impacted at component plants supporting F-150 Lightning production.
Ford lost an estimated $36,000 on each of the 36,000 EVs it delivered to dealers in the third quarter, the company said in October, after announcing earlier it would slow the ramp-up of money-losing EVs, shifting investment to Ford's commercial vehicle unit and citing plans to quadruple sales of gas-electric hybrids over the next five years.
Legacy car manufacturers have sharpened their focus towards hybrid models over the past year as buyers snapped up more of those in place of all-electric models.
Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington and Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, Franklin Paul and Mark Potter
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos- ... 024-01-19/
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
REUTERS
"Chipmaker TI forecasts earnings below estimates as automotive begins to falter"
Reuters
January 23, 2024
Jan 23 (Reuters) - Texas Instruments forecast quarterly revenue and profit below market estimates on Tuesday, as chip inventory builds up in its key markets with initial signs of weakness in the automotive sector adding to continued industrial weariness.
The analog chipmaker's shares fell about 4% in extended trading.
Analysts believe Automotive - once one of TI's fastest growing end markets - is now starting to show signs of inventory corrections.
The pressure of high borrowing costs has dampened end-market demand for the automotive industry.
U.S. new vehicle sales are expected to rise just 1% in 2024, according to car shopping website Edmunds.
Demand from industrial customers - one of the company's largest - has waned as global manufacturing activity remains weak.
A survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) also showed U.S. manufacturing, an indicator of industrial activity, remained subdued in November 2023, with factory employment declining further as hiring slowed and layoffs increased.
The world's largest contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, warned that in terms of manufacturing capacity for analog chips, too much may be building up.
TSMC, which acts as a bellwether for chip production, raised concerns around over-capacity for analog chips, producing which requires relatively older technology compared to the machines used for building advanced chips for AI.
Peer Mobileye also forecast preliminary 2024 revenue below estimates, with a pullback in orders from its customers clearing excess inventory, further suggesting the automotive chip industry, which had managed to remain on the sidelines of the supply glut crisis, might face a downturn too.
TI forecast first-quarter revenue between $3.45 billion and $3.75 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $4.06 billion, according to LSEG data.
The company expects earnings in the range of 96 cents-$1.16 per share for the current quarter, missing analysts' estimate of $1.41.
Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri
https://www.reuters.com/technology/anal ... 024-01-23/
"Chipmaker TI forecasts earnings below estimates as automotive begins to falter"
Reuters
January 23, 2024
Jan 23 (Reuters) - Texas Instruments forecast quarterly revenue and profit below market estimates on Tuesday, as chip inventory builds up in its key markets with initial signs of weakness in the automotive sector adding to continued industrial weariness.
The analog chipmaker's shares fell about 4% in extended trading.
Analysts believe Automotive - once one of TI's fastest growing end markets - is now starting to show signs of inventory corrections.
The pressure of high borrowing costs has dampened end-market demand for the automotive industry.
U.S. new vehicle sales are expected to rise just 1% in 2024, according to car shopping website Edmunds.
Demand from industrial customers - one of the company's largest - has waned as global manufacturing activity remains weak.
A survey from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) also showed U.S. manufacturing, an indicator of industrial activity, remained subdued in November 2023, with factory employment declining further as hiring slowed and layoffs increased.
The world's largest contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, warned that in terms of manufacturing capacity for analog chips, too much may be building up.
TSMC, which acts as a bellwether for chip production, raised concerns around over-capacity for analog chips, producing which requires relatively older technology compared to the machines used for building advanced chips for AI.
Peer Mobileye also forecast preliminary 2024 revenue below estimates, with a pullback in orders from its customers clearing excess inventory, further suggesting the automotive chip industry, which had managed to remain on the sidelines of the supply glut crisis, might face a downturn too.
TI forecast first-quarter revenue between $3.45 billion and $3.75 billion, compared with analysts' average estimate of $4.06 billion, according to LSEG data.
The company expects earnings in the range of 96 cents-$1.16 per share for the current quarter, missing analysts' estimate of $1.41.
Reporting by Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri
https://www.reuters.com/technology/anal ... 024-01-23/
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
The LA Times
"Broken chargers, lax oversight: How California's troubled EV charging stations threaten emission goals"
Story by Russ Mitchell
25 JANUARY 2024
Doug McCune of Oakland was set to buy an electric car, a Mustang Mach-E.
The paperwork was complete; he only needed to sign.
Still, he'd heard bad things about the EV public charging system, and felt nervous.
He borrowed a Mach-E from Ford, tried a few charging stations, then changed his mind.
“I couldn’t count on finding a charger that’s functional or that doesn’t have a line of cars waiting because only one of four chargers is working,” McCune said.
“If I was comfortable with the charger situation, I would have bought the Mach-E.”
He chose a Volvo plug-in hybrid instead.
He's far from the only one worried about the dependability of the state's charging system.
Ask around and many EV owners will agree, public chargers have a bad reputation.
Those operated by companies including ChargePoint, Electrify America, Blink and EVgo don't work 20% to 30% of the time, according to studies from UC Berkeley and data firm J.D. Power.
How did the state-subsidized public charger system end up so problematic?
California's policies are at least partly to blame.
The state chose not to require that charger companies meet performance standards as it doled out $1 billion in subsidies, grants and other assistance to charger companies, with billions more on the way.
"We were just trying to get chargers out there and learning,” said Patty Monahan, one of five commissioners on the California Energy Commission.
So no financial penalties for poor reliability were included in its subsidy and grant contracts, and no mechanisms for enforcement were set up.
In 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered that new cars and light trucks sold in California must be greenhouse-gas free in increasing numbers until 2028, when more than half must fit that category, and 2035, when 100% of new cars and light trucks sold must be “zero emission.”
More than a million and a half EVs are on the road today in the state.
Politicians, EV drivers, automakers and California taxpayers wonder how California’s ambitious climate targets can be reached if public charging remains unpredictable.
“The lack of reliability of the EV infrastructure is going to affect the goals unless we get our act together,” said Democratic Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin of Thousand Oaks.
Strong advocates of electric vehicles, deeply committed to greenhouse-gas reduction, are furious at slack oversight.
“If we don’t fix this, none of our plans, regardless of how good they are, will come to pass because consumers won’t accept EVs without a reliable EV infrastructure,” said Frank Menchaca, president of sustainable mobility solutions at the Society of Automotive Engineers.
Poor oversight stems in part from the state's scattered approach to EV infrastructure management, critics say.
No agency is fully in charge.
The energy commission plays a big role; it has issued $448 million in grants and subsidies so far.
The California Air Resources Board Electrify America oversees an $800-million court settlement with Volkswagen after the emissions cheating scandal.
The California Department of Transportation and the California Division of Measurement Standards are responsible for pieces of EV infrastructure.
The absence of ultimate responsibility troubles automakers such as Kia.
The Korean company has committed to EVs and basks in glowing reviews from the automotive media for its new EV6 and EV9 electric cars.
But the company is afraid sales will be crimped because too many chargers don't work.
“What we’ve learned is that the infrastructure is at the top of reasons for rejection of EVs,” said Steve Kosowski, manager of strategy at Kia America, headquartered in Irvine.
Leadership of California charger spending is too diffuse and should be held more accountable, he said.
"There needs to be an individual who is going to be monitoring and assuring and making sure that the funds going into this" are spent effectively.
Another big problem: A lack of comprehensive data.
The energy commission “lacks sufficient data on EV charging reliability to assess the reliability of the state’s charging network," according to a September 2023 report its staff wrote.
The government can't even agree how many chargers there are in California.
The federal government counts 43,481 public chargers in the state, only about 50% of California's own tally, according to the report, though the state's estimate "lacks precision."
California aims have 250,000 chargers installed by the end of next year, and a lot more government money is on the way.
Hundreds of millions is expected to be spent over the next several years.
The federal government will pump $384 million into California — to be managed by the same agencies handling the state-funded charger program.
Automakers have invested heavily to build EVs and meet the California mandate, which has been adopted by a dozen other states committed to greenhouse-gas reduction.
Consulting firm AlixPartners said EV investment has doubled in the last two years, to reach $616 billion globally through 2027.
Meantime, with EV owners flustered as automakers fret, charger-company top executives are making bank.
Pasquale Romano left his job last fall as chief executive at ChargePoint, the nation’s largest charger company measured by total installations.
ChargePoint’s board paid him more than $31 million over the last three years, plus stock options that vest this month valued at $44.8 million.
Romano splurged on an $8.2 million home in Los Gatos in September 2022 ($1,051 per square foot), reportedly the year’s priciest single-family home sale in that posh Silicon Valley enclave: A home theater, wine room, gym, art studio and library, according to the Compass real estate website.
Four bedrooms and seven full and half baths.
Catherine Zoi quit her job as EVgo chief executive last fall too.
Her compensation — over $8 million — was less than Romano’s, but she’ll have more time to relax.
“My husband and I have a ranch in Ojai, growing agave instead of citrus,” she said at a Q&A webinar in November.
She’ll also advise young companies, she said.
Today, 17 years after the state’s public charger subsidies began, the energy commission continues to assess what kind of data it should collect on chargers.
Legislative action was required in 2022 to force the commission to gather comprehensive charger data in the first place.
The commission is still debating how to do that.
Why did it take so long to begin collecting data?
The need became clear “as we saw the importance of having reliability and saw EV sales start to escalate,” said energy commissioner Monahan.
The commission started getting a bit tougher in late 2021, said Monahan, when it began including a 97% "uptime" requirement in new contracts.
Uptime means the charger works when the customer needs it, and rules around calculating uptime allowing for weather, vandalism and other factors are being worked out.
Monahan said the state will now physically inspect charger stations, through a contract with UC Davis.
The air resources board has a chance to get tougher with Electrify America on at a meeting on Thursday, but appears ready to rubber stamp the company's plan to spend $200 million in settlement money with no mandates for working chargers and no financial penalties for nonperformance.
Some EV supporters are unhappy.
"We feel it's imperative at this point that all future funding has performance requirements and enforcement," said Carleen Cullen of Cool the Earth, a Bay Area organization dedicated to greenhouse-gas reduction and EV adoption.
"The industry needs to know they’re going to need to comply."
Air resources officials declined to speak with The Times.
However, at a meeting last June, the board's chair, Liane Randolph, pleaded with the charger companies to get their act together.
"Please make sure these chargers are fully maintained," she said.
"There is nothing more frustrating than planning on accessing a particular charging stations and finding the units not working."
The companies say they're dedicated to fixing their charging networks.
They blame — with some justification — supply-chain problems, software bugs, vandalism and more.
Both Electrify America and ChargePoint say they're investing in operations centers, hiring more maintenance workers and installing new chargers they hope will prove more dependable.
What about Tesla's Supercharger network?
By all reports, Tesla’s Superchargers, which to date have taken no state subsidy money, are working relatively well.
But not everyone wants to buy a Tesla.
“Tesla would have been the go-to car for us,” McCune said.
But “Elon Musk’s antics” turned him off.
Distressed by the state of the public charger system, automobile companies have struck agreements with Tesla to use its Superchargers.
The details are yet to be announced.
No word on what percentage of Tesla chargers non-Tesla cars will be able to use, how much it will cost, or how Tesla will handle an influx of non-Tesla cars.
If it all works spectacularly well, Tesla could be on its way to a charger monopoly, or at least market dominance.
In California, resale prices of electricity aren’t regulated.
Charging stations aren’t required to erect conspicuous pricing signs like gas stations are.
A group of automakers is planning charger networks of its own, but is far behind Tesla: General Motors, Stellantis, Kia, Hyunai, Mercedes Benz, BMW and Honda intend to spend $1 billion to build 30,000 public chargers in the U.S.
With all that's gone down, has California learned lessons from its experience funding public chargers?
Cool the Earth's Cullen said that because “a significant portion of the funds are for utility upgrades, securing land/sites, permitting et cetera,” the money spent isn’t a total waste.
“The good news is that much of that investment still has significant value."
The new CEO at Chargepoint, Rick Wilmer, who joined the company after running a salad-making machinery company, said he thinks the state's investments are "money well spent."
He added: “We are passionate about improving the transportation system for the health of the planet."
"Every initiative through every government entity that helps that happen is money well spent."
"We appreciate all the public entities.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/br ... de0f&ei=63
"Broken chargers, lax oversight: How California's troubled EV charging stations threaten emission goals"
Story by Russ Mitchell
25 JANUARY 2024
Doug McCune of Oakland was set to buy an electric car, a Mustang Mach-E.
The paperwork was complete; he only needed to sign.
Still, he'd heard bad things about the EV public charging system, and felt nervous.
He borrowed a Mach-E from Ford, tried a few charging stations, then changed his mind.
“I couldn’t count on finding a charger that’s functional or that doesn’t have a line of cars waiting because only one of four chargers is working,” McCune said.
“If I was comfortable with the charger situation, I would have bought the Mach-E.”
He chose a Volvo plug-in hybrid instead.
He's far from the only one worried about the dependability of the state's charging system.
Ask around and many EV owners will agree, public chargers have a bad reputation.
Those operated by companies including ChargePoint, Electrify America, Blink and EVgo don't work 20% to 30% of the time, according to studies from UC Berkeley and data firm J.D. Power.
How did the state-subsidized public charger system end up so problematic?
California's policies are at least partly to blame.
The state chose not to require that charger companies meet performance standards as it doled out $1 billion in subsidies, grants and other assistance to charger companies, with billions more on the way.
"We were just trying to get chargers out there and learning,” said Patty Monahan, one of five commissioners on the California Energy Commission.
So no financial penalties for poor reliability were included in its subsidy and grant contracts, and no mechanisms for enforcement were set up.
In 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered that new cars and light trucks sold in California must be greenhouse-gas free in increasing numbers until 2028, when more than half must fit that category, and 2035, when 100% of new cars and light trucks sold must be “zero emission.”
More than a million and a half EVs are on the road today in the state.
Politicians, EV drivers, automakers and California taxpayers wonder how California’s ambitious climate targets can be reached if public charging remains unpredictable.
“The lack of reliability of the EV infrastructure is going to affect the goals unless we get our act together,” said Democratic Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin of Thousand Oaks.
Strong advocates of electric vehicles, deeply committed to greenhouse-gas reduction, are furious at slack oversight.
“If we don’t fix this, none of our plans, regardless of how good they are, will come to pass because consumers won’t accept EVs without a reliable EV infrastructure,” said Frank Menchaca, president of sustainable mobility solutions at the Society of Automotive Engineers.
Poor oversight stems in part from the state's scattered approach to EV infrastructure management, critics say.
No agency is fully in charge.
The energy commission plays a big role; it has issued $448 million in grants and subsidies so far.
The California Air Resources Board Electrify America oversees an $800-million court settlement with Volkswagen after the emissions cheating scandal.
The California Department of Transportation and the California Division of Measurement Standards are responsible for pieces of EV infrastructure.
The absence of ultimate responsibility troubles automakers such as Kia.
The Korean company has committed to EVs and basks in glowing reviews from the automotive media for its new EV6 and EV9 electric cars.
But the company is afraid sales will be crimped because too many chargers don't work.
“What we’ve learned is that the infrastructure is at the top of reasons for rejection of EVs,” said Steve Kosowski, manager of strategy at Kia America, headquartered in Irvine.
Leadership of California charger spending is too diffuse and should be held more accountable, he said.
"There needs to be an individual who is going to be monitoring and assuring and making sure that the funds going into this" are spent effectively.
Another big problem: A lack of comprehensive data.
The energy commission “lacks sufficient data on EV charging reliability to assess the reliability of the state’s charging network," according to a September 2023 report its staff wrote.
The government can't even agree how many chargers there are in California.
The federal government counts 43,481 public chargers in the state, only about 50% of California's own tally, according to the report, though the state's estimate "lacks precision."
California aims have 250,000 chargers installed by the end of next year, and a lot more government money is on the way.
Hundreds of millions is expected to be spent over the next several years.
The federal government will pump $384 million into California — to be managed by the same agencies handling the state-funded charger program.
Automakers have invested heavily to build EVs and meet the California mandate, which has been adopted by a dozen other states committed to greenhouse-gas reduction.
Consulting firm AlixPartners said EV investment has doubled in the last two years, to reach $616 billion globally through 2027.
Meantime, with EV owners flustered as automakers fret, charger-company top executives are making bank.
Pasquale Romano left his job last fall as chief executive at ChargePoint, the nation’s largest charger company measured by total installations.
ChargePoint’s board paid him more than $31 million over the last three years, plus stock options that vest this month valued at $44.8 million.
Romano splurged on an $8.2 million home in Los Gatos in September 2022 ($1,051 per square foot), reportedly the year’s priciest single-family home sale in that posh Silicon Valley enclave: A home theater, wine room, gym, art studio and library, according to the Compass real estate website.
Four bedrooms and seven full and half baths.
Catherine Zoi quit her job as EVgo chief executive last fall too.
Her compensation — over $8 million — was less than Romano’s, but she’ll have more time to relax.
“My husband and I have a ranch in Ojai, growing agave instead of citrus,” she said at a Q&A webinar in November.
She’ll also advise young companies, she said.
Today, 17 years after the state’s public charger subsidies began, the energy commission continues to assess what kind of data it should collect on chargers.
Legislative action was required in 2022 to force the commission to gather comprehensive charger data in the first place.
The commission is still debating how to do that.
Why did it take so long to begin collecting data?
The need became clear “as we saw the importance of having reliability and saw EV sales start to escalate,” said energy commissioner Monahan.
The commission started getting a bit tougher in late 2021, said Monahan, when it began including a 97% "uptime" requirement in new contracts.
Uptime means the charger works when the customer needs it, and rules around calculating uptime allowing for weather, vandalism and other factors are being worked out.
Monahan said the state will now physically inspect charger stations, through a contract with UC Davis.
The air resources board has a chance to get tougher with Electrify America on at a meeting on Thursday, but appears ready to rubber stamp the company's plan to spend $200 million in settlement money with no mandates for working chargers and no financial penalties for nonperformance.
Some EV supporters are unhappy.
"We feel it's imperative at this point that all future funding has performance requirements and enforcement," said Carleen Cullen of Cool the Earth, a Bay Area organization dedicated to greenhouse-gas reduction and EV adoption.
"The industry needs to know they’re going to need to comply."
Air resources officials declined to speak with The Times.
However, at a meeting last June, the board's chair, Liane Randolph, pleaded with the charger companies to get their act together.
"Please make sure these chargers are fully maintained," she said.
"There is nothing more frustrating than planning on accessing a particular charging stations and finding the units not working."
The companies say they're dedicated to fixing their charging networks.
They blame — with some justification — supply-chain problems, software bugs, vandalism and more.
Both Electrify America and ChargePoint say they're investing in operations centers, hiring more maintenance workers and installing new chargers they hope will prove more dependable.
What about Tesla's Supercharger network?
By all reports, Tesla’s Superchargers, which to date have taken no state subsidy money, are working relatively well.
But not everyone wants to buy a Tesla.
“Tesla would have been the go-to car for us,” McCune said.
But “Elon Musk’s antics” turned him off.
Distressed by the state of the public charger system, automobile companies have struck agreements with Tesla to use its Superchargers.
The details are yet to be announced.
No word on what percentage of Tesla chargers non-Tesla cars will be able to use, how much it will cost, or how Tesla will handle an influx of non-Tesla cars.
If it all works spectacularly well, Tesla could be on its way to a charger monopoly, or at least market dominance.
In California, resale prices of electricity aren’t regulated.
Charging stations aren’t required to erect conspicuous pricing signs like gas stations are.
A group of automakers is planning charger networks of its own, but is far behind Tesla: General Motors, Stellantis, Kia, Hyunai, Mercedes Benz, BMW and Honda intend to spend $1 billion to build 30,000 public chargers in the U.S.
With all that's gone down, has California learned lessons from its experience funding public chargers?
Cool the Earth's Cullen said that because “a significant portion of the funds are for utility upgrades, securing land/sites, permitting et cetera,” the money spent isn’t a total waste.
“The good news is that much of that investment still has significant value."
The new CEO at Chargepoint, Rick Wilmer, who joined the company after running a salad-making machinery company, said he thinks the state's investments are "money well spent."
He added: “We are passionate about improving the transportation system for the health of the planet."
"Every initiative through every government entity that helps that happen is money well spent."
"We appreciate all the public entities.”
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/br ... de0f&ei=63
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
REUTERS
"Battery maker LG Energy Solution projects slowdown of global EV market"
By Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee
January 25, 2024
Summary
* LGES expects temporary slowing of 2024 EV battery demand growth
* Aims to achieve mid-single percentage revenue growth this year
* Risk factors include US election, EV transition plan changes
SEOUL, Jan 26 (Reuters) - South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solutions on Friday predicted slowing growth in the global electric vehicle (EV) market this year, signalling further challenges ahead amid intensifying competition from Chinese rivals.
The supplier of Tesla, General Motors, Volkswagen and other automakers reported operating profit of 338 billion won ($252 million) for the October-December period, up from 237 billion won a year earlier.
The profit is in line with a company forecast of 338 billion won, but it exceeds an estimate of 298 billion won compiled by LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward analysts who are more consistently accurate.
Fourth-quarter profit, however, dropped more than half from the previous quarter due to weak demand for electric vehicles (EV) in Europe.
"A temporary slowdown of global EV battery demand growth is expected due to original equipment manufacturers' (OEMs') conservative inventory control along with continued metal price decline," LGES said in a statement.
OEM here refers to automakers.
Risk factors this year would be the changing pace of EV transition plans by automakers, growing competition in Europe as well as political uncertainties, including the U.S. presidential election, LGES said.
LGES' forecast for this year's market outlook comes after its automaker customer Tesla warned on Wednesday of a sharp slowdown this year in sales growth for its cars.
On Thursday, Hyundai Motor Co also flagged the slowing of EV market sentiment.
"The global EV market would grow by mid-20 percent range this year, affected by several factors, including the North American market growth forecasted to stand at low to mid 30 percent range," LGES said in a statement.
It said it is targeting revenue growth at a mid-single percentage this year, and that this year's capital expenditure would be similar to last year's 10.9 trillion won.
LGES added that the estimated battery production capacity eligible for U.S. Inflation Reduction Act tax credits this year would be around 45-50 gigawatt hour (GWh), more than double the previous year.
Revenue for the quarter fell 6.3% year-on-year to 8 trillion won.
Shares of LGES were trading up 4.9% in the morning trade after the quarterly results, versus a rise of 0.9% in the benchmark KOSPI.
($1=1,339.1500 won)
Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Clarence Fernandez and Tom Hogue
https://www.reuters.com/business/batter ... 024-01-26/
"Battery maker LG Energy Solution projects slowdown of global EV market"
By Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee
January 25, 2024
Summary
* LGES expects temporary slowing of 2024 EV battery demand growth
* Aims to achieve mid-single percentage revenue growth this year
* Risk factors include US election, EV transition plan changes
SEOUL, Jan 26 (Reuters) - South Korean battery maker LG Energy Solutions on Friday predicted slowing growth in the global electric vehicle (EV) market this year, signalling further challenges ahead amid intensifying competition from Chinese rivals.
The supplier of Tesla, General Motors, Volkswagen and other automakers reported operating profit of 338 billion won ($252 million) for the October-December period, up from 237 billion won a year earlier.
The profit is in line with a company forecast of 338 billion won, but it exceeds an estimate of 298 billion won compiled by LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward analysts who are more consistently accurate.
Fourth-quarter profit, however, dropped more than half from the previous quarter due to weak demand for electric vehicles (EV) in Europe.
"A temporary slowdown of global EV battery demand growth is expected due to original equipment manufacturers' (OEMs') conservative inventory control along with continued metal price decline," LGES said in a statement.
OEM here refers to automakers.
Risk factors this year would be the changing pace of EV transition plans by automakers, growing competition in Europe as well as political uncertainties, including the U.S. presidential election, LGES said.
LGES' forecast for this year's market outlook comes after its automaker customer Tesla warned on Wednesday of a sharp slowdown this year in sales growth for its cars.
On Thursday, Hyundai Motor Co also flagged the slowing of EV market sentiment.
"The global EV market would grow by mid-20 percent range this year, affected by several factors, including the North American market growth forecasted to stand at low to mid 30 percent range," LGES said in a statement.
It said it is targeting revenue growth at a mid-single percentage this year, and that this year's capital expenditure would be similar to last year's 10.9 trillion won.
LGES added that the estimated battery production capacity eligible for U.S. Inflation Reduction Act tax credits this year would be around 45-50 gigawatt hour (GWh), more than double the previous year.
Revenue for the quarter fell 6.3% year-on-year to 8 trillion won.
Shares of LGES were trading up 4.9% in the morning trade after the quarterly results, versus a rise of 0.9% in the benchmark KOSPI.
($1=1,339.1500 won)
Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Clarence Fernandez and Tom Hogue
https://www.reuters.com/business/batter ... 024-01-26/
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
ABC News
"Political nonsense' about electric vehicles will 'die down,' energy secretary says"
27 JANUARY 2024
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm can relate to Americans' anxiety over electric vehicles.
The former governor of Michigan and longtime EV owner (who currently drives a Ford Mach-E) says she has experienced her own challenges with public charging on road trips.
She has heard from drivers who are reluctant to give up their eight-cylinder engines and large trucks and SUVs for an electric model.
But she is convinced that more Americans will soon realize the benefits of owning one, helping to change the current anti-EV rhetoric in this country.
"The Ford F-150 is a great example of a big car that has gone electric."
"But people have to make their own decisions," Granholm told ABC News in an interview Thursday.
"I get it -- nobody is gonna force anybody to make these decisions."
"I honestly think ... as the price of the electric vehicle comes down, and it has dropped 23% year-over-year, and the price of operating the car and not having to go to the gas station and being able to 'fill it up' for much less and more conveniently, honestly, I think it's going to sell itself."
She added, "People love their cars."
"And I think they'll love their EVs, too."
Tesla, which commands 56% of the U.S. electric vehicle market, has largely been responsible for the boost in EV sales, which hit a record of nearly 1.2 million units in 2023.
According to data from Edmunds, the average transaction price of a new EV last December was $62,526 versus the industry average of $48,408.
Tesla on Wednesday said it sold 1.8 million vehicles in 2013, a 35% jump from 2022, but warned that sales growth would be "notably" slower this year.
The carmaker has slashed prices on its popular Model 3 and Model 7 models to maintain its market share.
The company's shares tanked on Thursday even with the announcement of a "next generation low-cost vehicle" coming in late 2025.
Electrifying the U.S. auto industry is a top priority for President Joe Biden.
The federal government has provided millions of dollars in funding for the expansion of the nation's public charging infrastructure, including the maintenance of broken or nonfunctioning chargers.
Sales of new electric vehicles totaled 7% of the U.S. market in 2023 though Biden's goal is to reach at least 50% by 2030.
Owning an electric vehicle and supporting the industry's push to go green eclipses blue state and red state politics, Granholm argued.
She pointed to the thousands of workers in the South who work on assembly lines building electric SUVs and batteries for major automakers like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Ford, Volkswagen, Volvo and Genesis.
Mercedes-Benz, for example, invested $1 billion in a state-of-the-art battery factory in Alabama.
Hyundai Motor Group has teamed up with LG Energy Solution on a $4.3 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia.
"All of those factories that I was talking about regarding building electric vehicles and electric vehicle batteries, 60% of them are going into red states."
"So, you know, people in red states love their EVs, too, and are working at these factories," Granholm said.
"I just think that over time, the political nonsense about it will die down and people's experience will speak much more loudly."
She went on, "For those who care about global warming [and] climate change, EVs are a solution for them."
"For those who care about cost, EVs are a solution for them."
"For those who care about power, EVs are a solution."
ABC News' complete interview with Secretary Granholm will be published on Monday, Jan. 29.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/po ... 03f44&ei=7
"Political nonsense' about electric vehicles will 'die down,' energy secretary says"
27 JANUARY 2024
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm can relate to Americans' anxiety over electric vehicles.
The former governor of Michigan and longtime EV owner (who currently drives a Ford Mach-E) says she has experienced her own challenges with public charging on road trips.
She has heard from drivers who are reluctant to give up their eight-cylinder engines and large trucks and SUVs for an electric model.
But she is convinced that more Americans will soon realize the benefits of owning one, helping to change the current anti-EV rhetoric in this country.
"The Ford F-150 is a great example of a big car that has gone electric."
"But people have to make their own decisions," Granholm told ABC News in an interview Thursday.
"I get it -- nobody is gonna force anybody to make these decisions."
"I honestly think ... as the price of the electric vehicle comes down, and it has dropped 23% year-over-year, and the price of operating the car and not having to go to the gas station and being able to 'fill it up' for much less and more conveniently, honestly, I think it's going to sell itself."
She added, "People love their cars."
"And I think they'll love their EVs, too."
Tesla, which commands 56% of the U.S. electric vehicle market, has largely been responsible for the boost in EV sales, which hit a record of nearly 1.2 million units in 2023.
According to data from Edmunds, the average transaction price of a new EV last December was $62,526 versus the industry average of $48,408.
Tesla on Wednesday said it sold 1.8 million vehicles in 2013, a 35% jump from 2022, but warned that sales growth would be "notably" slower this year.
The carmaker has slashed prices on its popular Model 3 and Model 7 models to maintain its market share.
The company's shares tanked on Thursday even with the announcement of a "next generation low-cost vehicle" coming in late 2025.
Electrifying the U.S. auto industry is a top priority for President Joe Biden.
The federal government has provided millions of dollars in funding for the expansion of the nation's public charging infrastructure, including the maintenance of broken or nonfunctioning chargers.
Sales of new electric vehicles totaled 7% of the U.S. market in 2023 though Biden's goal is to reach at least 50% by 2030.
Owning an electric vehicle and supporting the industry's push to go green eclipses blue state and red state politics, Granholm argued.
She pointed to the thousands of workers in the South who work on assembly lines building electric SUVs and batteries for major automakers like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Ford, Volkswagen, Volvo and Genesis.
Mercedes-Benz, for example, invested $1 billion in a state-of-the-art battery factory in Alabama.
Hyundai Motor Group has teamed up with LG Energy Solution on a $4.3 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Georgia.
"All of those factories that I was talking about regarding building electric vehicles and electric vehicle batteries, 60% of them are going into red states."
"So, you know, people in red states love their EVs, too, and are working at these factories," Granholm said.
"I just think that over time, the political nonsense about it will die down and people's experience will speak much more loudly."
She went on, "For those who care about global warming [and] climate change, EVs are a solution for them."
"For those who care about cost, EVs are a solution for them."
"For those who care about power, EVs are a solution."
ABC News' complete interview with Secretary Granholm will be published on Monday, Jan. 29.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/news/po ... 03f44&ei=7
Re: ELECTRIC VEHICLES
FOX News
"Electric buses are sitting unused in cities across the US; here's why"
Story by Breck Dumas
29 JANUARY 2024
Between the federal government, states and municipalities, untold billions in taxpayer dollars have been spent adding electric buses to transit fleets across the U.S. in an effort to reduce carbon emissions.
However, cities from coast-to-coast are grappling with broken-down e-buses that cannot be fixed, are too expensive to fix, or they have scrapped their electric fleets altogether.
Officials in Asheville, North Carolina, recently expressed frustration that three of the five e-buses the city purchased for millions in 2018 are now sitting idle due to a combination of software issues, mechanical problems and an inability to obtain replacement parts.
Earlier this month, The Denver Gazette reported two of the four e-buses Colorado Springs' Mountain Metropolitan Transit acquired in 2021 are not running.
They cost $1.2 million a piece, mostly paid for by government grants.
Part of the problem is the manufacturer of the buses, Proterra, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August.
The company, founded in 2004, rose to become the largest e-bus company in the U.S., representing nearly 40% of the market prior to going belly-up.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm sat on Proterra's board until she joined the Biden administration, and President Biden touted the company while taking a virtual tour of the manufacturer in the spring of 2021.
Granholm made $1.6 million selling her stock in the company shortly after that, following criticisms that her holdings in the firm were a conflict of interest.
Asheville's interim transportation director, Jessica Morriss, told local outlet WLOS-TV it has been impossible to get parts since Proterra filed for bankruptcy last summer.
However, Asheville – and several other cities – had problems with the company's buses long before then.
In 2020, The Philadelphia Tribune reported SEPTA's entire $24 million fleet of Proterras had been pulled out of commission.
A spokesperson for the transit agency would not get into the specifics of why the 25 buses – the third-largest fleet of all-electric buses in the U.S. at the time – were put on ice, but suggested the issues might be covered under the manufacturer's warranty.
Then in Sept. 2021, the Daily Bulletin out of California reported that "As of August, Foothill Transit, based in West Covina and serving the San Gabriel Valley, parts of Los Angeles and Pomona Valley, had 13 idled battery-electric buses out of 32 in its fleet."
"At one point, the agency indicated up to 67% of its electric buses were not operating during 2019 and 2020."
The outlet noted San Joaquin Regional Transit District in Stockton, California, the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County in Reno, Nevada, and the Transit Authority of River City (TARC) in Louisville, Kentucky, were also struggling with Proterra buses sitting idle.
In Nov. 2022, WDRB-TV reported that TARC's entire fleet of Proterra electric buses had not operated in two years.
The outlet said $9 million had been shelled out for Louisville's e-buses.
Last month, Austin, Texas-based KUT News reported the city's Capital Metro had entered into a $46 million deal with Proterra in 2020 for the company to build 40 buses.
CapMetro only has six of them in operation while they await another 17 that have been built but are sitting in Proterra's South Carolina factory because chargers for them are not yet available.
The outlet also pointed to a filing from attorneys representing Broward County, Florida, regarding Proterra's bankruptcy.
The lawyers told the court Broward County purchased 42 buses from Proterra for $54 million, and the first batch only operated for an average of 600 miles before breaking down, while the second batch averaged 1,800.
For comparison, the county's diesel buses average 4,500 between failures, the filing said.
Some of the cities that have taken multimillion-dollar losses on inoperable e-buses, including Asheville and Colorado Springs, have paused purchasing more all-electric transit vehicles for now, and are instead opting for adding hybrid models to their green fleets until EV technology improves.
In the meantime, Proterra is poised to make a comeback.
The company was split into three parts during bankruptcy and its transit bus division was purchased earlier this month by Phoenix Motorcars, a California-based manufacturer that primarily builds medium-duty electric vehicles like shuttle buses for airports.
Jose Paul, Phoenix Motorcars' chief revenue officer, told FOX Business in an interview that the company has taken ownership of "really world-class technology" in its acquisition of Proterra.
He noted that EVs, like any new technology, have issues but are continuing to evolve and advance.
When Henry Ford rolled out the Model T, it was not perfect, Paul pointed out, and says Proterra's buses have continued to improve with each generation.
Paul acknowledged that some customers, like the city of Asheville, have had challenges with operating Proterra buses, particularly due to the inability to obtain parts since the bankruptcy.
He said one of the first things Phoenix Motorcars plans to do is to focus on restocking spare parts to make them available, explaining that some suppliers refused to sell to Proterra while it was under bankruptcy protection.
Roughly 300 Proterra employees, some of whom have been with the company from its start, have agreed to stay on board with Phoenix.
The new owner is currently working to identify what parts customers need and, if required, to provide service technicians to get inoperable vehicles fixed.
"It's been eight days, and we've already made significant progress," Paul told FOX Business.
"We can now go out there and start ramping up on all fronts, be it honoring…the backlog of orders which Proterra had…ramping up production."
"That's the immediate goal for us."
"So those are all things we're doing right now."
Paul said Phoenix's hope is that a lot of the issues customers have faced due to Proterra's bankruptcy will be handled within the next six to nine months.
He emphasized, "Our goal is to take care of customers…every single customer."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/elect ... 5a55&ei=22
"Electric buses are sitting unused in cities across the US; here's why"
Story by Breck Dumas
29 JANUARY 2024
Between the federal government, states and municipalities, untold billions in taxpayer dollars have been spent adding electric buses to transit fleets across the U.S. in an effort to reduce carbon emissions.
However, cities from coast-to-coast are grappling with broken-down e-buses that cannot be fixed, are too expensive to fix, or they have scrapped their electric fleets altogether.
Officials in Asheville, North Carolina, recently expressed frustration that three of the five e-buses the city purchased for millions in 2018 are now sitting idle due to a combination of software issues, mechanical problems and an inability to obtain replacement parts.
Earlier this month, The Denver Gazette reported two of the four e-buses Colorado Springs' Mountain Metropolitan Transit acquired in 2021 are not running.
They cost $1.2 million a piece, mostly paid for by government grants.
Part of the problem is the manufacturer of the buses, Proterra, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August.
The company, founded in 2004, rose to become the largest e-bus company in the U.S., representing nearly 40% of the market prior to going belly-up.
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm sat on Proterra's board until she joined the Biden administration, and President Biden touted the company while taking a virtual tour of the manufacturer in the spring of 2021.
Granholm made $1.6 million selling her stock in the company shortly after that, following criticisms that her holdings in the firm were a conflict of interest.
Asheville's interim transportation director, Jessica Morriss, told local outlet WLOS-TV it has been impossible to get parts since Proterra filed for bankruptcy last summer.
However, Asheville – and several other cities – had problems with the company's buses long before then.
In 2020, The Philadelphia Tribune reported SEPTA's entire $24 million fleet of Proterras had been pulled out of commission.
A spokesperson for the transit agency would not get into the specifics of why the 25 buses – the third-largest fleet of all-electric buses in the U.S. at the time – were put on ice, but suggested the issues might be covered under the manufacturer's warranty.
Then in Sept. 2021, the Daily Bulletin out of California reported that "As of August, Foothill Transit, based in West Covina and serving the San Gabriel Valley, parts of Los Angeles and Pomona Valley, had 13 idled battery-electric buses out of 32 in its fleet."
"At one point, the agency indicated up to 67% of its electric buses were not operating during 2019 and 2020."
The outlet noted San Joaquin Regional Transit District in Stockton, California, the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County in Reno, Nevada, and the Transit Authority of River City (TARC) in Louisville, Kentucky, were also struggling with Proterra buses sitting idle.
In Nov. 2022, WDRB-TV reported that TARC's entire fleet of Proterra electric buses had not operated in two years.
The outlet said $9 million had been shelled out for Louisville's e-buses.
Last month, Austin, Texas-based KUT News reported the city's Capital Metro had entered into a $46 million deal with Proterra in 2020 for the company to build 40 buses.
CapMetro only has six of them in operation while they await another 17 that have been built but are sitting in Proterra's South Carolina factory because chargers for them are not yet available.
The outlet also pointed to a filing from attorneys representing Broward County, Florida, regarding Proterra's bankruptcy.
The lawyers told the court Broward County purchased 42 buses from Proterra for $54 million, and the first batch only operated for an average of 600 miles before breaking down, while the second batch averaged 1,800.
For comparison, the county's diesel buses average 4,500 between failures, the filing said.
Some of the cities that have taken multimillion-dollar losses on inoperable e-buses, including Asheville and Colorado Springs, have paused purchasing more all-electric transit vehicles for now, and are instead opting for adding hybrid models to their green fleets until EV technology improves.
In the meantime, Proterra is poised to make a comeback.
The company was split into three parts during bankruptcy and its transit bus division was purchased earlier this month by Phoenix Motorcars, a California-based manufacturer that primarily builds medium-duty electric vehicles like shuttle buses for airports.
Jose Paul, Phoenix Motorcars' chief revenue officer, told FOX Business in an interview that the company has taken ownership of "really world-class technology" in its acquisition of Proterra.
He noted that EVs, like any new technology, have issues but are continuing to evolve and advance.
When Henry Ford rolled out the Model T, it was not perfect, Paul pointed out, and says Proterra's buses have continued to improve with each generation.
Paul acknowledged that some customers, like the city of Asheville, have had challenges with operating Proterra buses, particularly due to the inability to obtain parts since the bankruptcy.
He said one of the first things Phoenix Motorcars plans to do is to focus on restocking spare parts to make them available, explaining that some suppliers refused to sell to Proterra while it was under bankruptcy protection.
Roughly 300 Proterra employees, some of whom have been with the company from its start, have agreed to stay on board with Phoenix.
The new owner is currently working to identify what parts customers need and, if required, to provide service technicians to get inoperable vehicles fixed.
"It's been eight days, and we've already made significant progress," Paul told FOX Business.
"We can now go out there and start ramping up on all fronts, be it honoring…the backlog of orders which Proterra had…ramping up production."
"That's the immediate goal for us."
"So those are all things we're doing right now."
Paul said Phoenix's hope is that a lot of the issues customers have faced due to Proterra's bankruptcy will be handled within the next six to nine months.
He emphasized, "Our goal is to take care of customers…every single customer."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/elect ... 5a55&ei=22