Tag: electric vehicles

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Tesla delivers 310,000 vehicles in Q1 2022 amid ‘exceptionally difficult’ quarter

Tesla delivered roughly 310,000 vehicles in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of approximately 20,000 compared to the last quarter in 2021 when the company delivered 308,000 EVs.

As usual, the company sold way more Model Y and Model 3 vehicles (295,324) compared to its more expensive Model S and Model X trims (14,724).

Musk tweeted that the quarter was “exceptionally difficult” due to supply chain issues and the lockdowns at the Shanghai Tesla factory.

That said, the company is still growing quarter over quarter. It also opened a new factory in Berlin recently and has plans to open another in Austin, Texas. These should help increase production and deliveries even more.

Source: @ElonMusk Via: The Verge  

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Hertz orders 65,000 Polestar 2 EVs for its rental fleet

Hertz is purchasing a whopping 65,000 electric vehicles (EV) from Swedish-based automotive company Polestar. The deal struck between the two companies will cover the next five years as Hertz increases its supply of rentable vehicles.

Hertz’s deal with Polestar focuses mainly on the Polestar 2 hatchback sedan. However, Hertz and Polestar agree that it may expand to include other models down the road. The deal sees vehicles available to rent in Europe first. North America and Australia will follow shortly after later this year.

In addition, Hertz has noted that Polestar vehicles will be available for ride-share drivers as well.

This global partnership is one facet of Hertz’s overall plan to beef up its rental vehicle selection. More recently in October 2021, Hertz partnered with Tesla to purchase 100,000 EVs from the company.

The Polestar 2 is one of the available EV models the company provides on the market. Hertz’s deal covers “up to” 65,000 vehicles. However, the rental company can choose to purchase less over the next five years.

In 2021, Polestar sole 29,000 vehicles. That number alone is a drastic increase from what was sold in 2020. Though, the company aims to sell more than double that number by the end of 2022. Hertz may be a major player in that goal being reached.

As of the time of writing, Hertz has not announced pricing details or the availability of the rentals. However, given the structure already established by the Tesla Model 3 rentals, we can assume there will be premium rental rates associated.

Hertz is increasing its investment in EVs by solidifying its deal with Polestar and previously Tesla. This will likely increase and develop as time goes on and the scaling of its rental supply increases.

Via: Engadget

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Ontario government to support $2 billion investment to create full-scale EV manufacturing facilities

The Ontario government has made a new step toward supporting electric vehicles (EV).

Today, the Government of Canada announced that it is supporting a hefty $2 billion investment being made by General Motors of Canada Company. The investment is a part of a bid for Canada’s first full-scale commercial EV facility.

GM aims to transform its Oshawa and CAMI facilities. The plan sees $259 in grant support given by the Government of Ontario. Ontario and Canada as a whole continue to hit new milestones in their investment in the EV industry.

This plan will kickstart production once more at GM’s Oshawa Assembly Plant. Once operational again, it opens up thousands of new “well-paying, high-quality jobs” for those in the area. In 2019, operations ceased at the plant and have remained so to this day.

“This vote of confidence by General Motors in Ontario is more proof that by attracting game-changing investments our government is securing our auto sector for the next generation of workers,” Premier Doug Ford said in a media statement. “This investment will secure 2,600 jobs here in Oshawa and is a huge win for the people of Durham and Ontario’s auto sector. It shows once again that the cars of the future will be made right here in Ontario, by Ontario workers.”

The CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll is transforming as a part of this investment. This transformation is vital and allows the plant to become Ontario’s first full-scale commercial EV production facility.

GM’s EV600, the company’s first commercial EV utilizes BrightDrop technology. By the end of 2022, GM’s technology will be produced by the Ingersoll plant.

“Working with our government partners, we have reopened GM’s Oshawa plant, creating thousands of new jobs and recruiting a record number of women in production roles.” Marissa West, GM Canada President and Managing Director, continued. “This partnership with the governments of Ontario and Canada is helping GM build a more diverse, innovative and sustainable industry and EV supply chain for the future – and we are proud to be doing that right here in Canada.”

In Canada, the automotive industry supports nearly 500,000 Canadian employees. It also contributes $16 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product and is one of the country’s latest exports.

Image credit: General Motors

Source: Government of Canada

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Uber partners with Flo to incentivize driver to go electric

Uber Canada shared several key statistics and its focus going forward on its 10th Canadian anniversary last week. One of its major goals moving forward is to focus on sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint.

The mobility as a service and food delivery provider has already partnered with non-profit organization Plug’n Drive to support its drivers in making the switch to electric vehicles (EV), and now, Uber is partnering with Flo to help increase EV adoption in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

“FLO’s collaboration with a major ridesharing platform like Uber Canada is significant, as it brings together two major players in the transportation sector in Canada,” said Chris Thorson, FLO’s VP and chief marketing officer. This will “encourage drivers to switch from gas vehicles to electric ones, and reduce transportation’s carbon footprint in Canada’s biggest hubs.”

As a part of the partnership, both Uber and Flo employees and users will benefit. Flo members in the above-mentioned cities will receive a 50 percent discount, up to $10, on their first trip with Uber Green, Uber’s electric/hybrid ride option, whereas Uber drivers can claim a $100 discount on Flo’s Home Residential Chargers.

The partnership will also likely help Uber drivers transition to electric vehicles, furthering the company’s aim to operate as a zero-emission platform globally by 2040. In Canadian cities like Montreal and Vancouver, the company aims to achieve the same goal by 2030.

Read more about the partnership here.

Source: Uber

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Honda will spend $1.4 billion to upgrade plants for EV production in Ontario

Alliston, Ontario, Canada – August 4, 2019: Honda of Canada Manufacturing plant 2 in Alliston, Ontario, Canada. Honda Motor Company, Ltd is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate corporation.

The governments of Canada and Ontario are investing millions to help fuel domestic hybrid car production.

Each government is investing $131.6 million towards Honda Canada’s plans to upgrade its facilities in Alliston, Ontario.

“As we build a cleaner future, the automotive sector is a key partner in powering the way forward,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at a news conference Wednesday.

Honda is investing $1.38 billion on upgrades over the next six years, including the collective $263.2 million from the two levels of government. The plants will eventually build a hybrid CR-V compact SUV.

“We are so pleased that Honda has made this investment in Ontario and know that the cars of the future will be built here in Alliston and all across Ontario for decades to come,” Ontario Premier Doug Ford said in a statement.

But it’s important to note neither political leader answered questions relating to Ontario’s rebate on electric vehicles, which was pulled in 2018.

“Since we’ve been in office, electric vehicles have tripled in sales, so I guess that was a good decision,” Ford said without answering the question directly.

Trudeau also dodged the question, stating the federal government was happy to collaborate with Ontario on the announcement.

Image credit: Shutterstock

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Tesla fires employee after he uploads video showing flaws in Full-Self Driving Beta

A Tesla employee has been fired after they uploaded a video on YouTube that showed the company’s Full-Self Driving (FSD) software in action, as reported by CNBC.

John Bernal, now a former Tesla employee, owns and operates the AI Addict YouTube channel, with his oldest FSD video dating back to February 10th, 2021.

According to CNBC, Bernal says that he had been verbally warned by his managers about his videos in the past, and that he was breaking Tesla’s policies and his YouTube channel was a major conflict of interest.

“Tesla relies on the common sense and good judgment of its employees to engage in responsible social media activity,” reads Tesla’s employee social media policy, while not mentioning anything about employees being critical about the company’s products.

One of Bernal’s older video, titled ‘[FSD Beta 8.2] Oakland – Close Calls, Pedestrians, Bicycles!,’ uploaded on March 15th, 2021 shows, as the title suggest, close calls with pedestrians and bicycles. After the video gained traction (It has 261k views), “A manager from my Autopilot team tried to dissuade me from posting any negative or critical content in the future that involved FSD Beta. They held a video conference with me but never put anything in writing,” said Bernal in a statement given to CNBC.

The video he got in trouble for however is this one, which shows his Tesla being unable to detect a green bollard, and banging into one.

Since then, Bernal has been fired from his job. He says that his separation notice does not include the reason for him being laid off, but that he still wishes to continue posting independent research and reviews of the software. Bernal would now have to go the extra mile and borrow a friend’s Tesla since his access to beta software was revoked when he was fired.

“I still care about Tesla, vehicle safety and finding and fixing bugs,” said Bernal in his statement to CNBC.

Source: CNBC

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The DeLorean is back, but this time it’s an EV

There truly are no original ideas, but at least this one is tied to a pretty cool looking roughly 40-year-old car.

In a new brief teaser, the DeLorean Motor Company showed off a glimpse of the return of its iconic car, stating that “The future was never promised” and “Reimagine today.”

The approximately 15-second video also offers a glimpse of the DeLorean’s iconic gull-wing doors and includes several search-friendly hashtags, but beyond this, nothing else is revealed about the car. It’s unclear how close the new electric vehicle (EV) DeLorean will stick to the original car’s design, but based on this short teaser, it seems to be a more modern take on the iconic car’s blocky design.

The new DeLorean is set to be revealed at some point in 2022.

The original DeLorean was sold between 1981 and 1982. Along with its unique design, the $25,000 USD (roughly $31,000 CAD) — equivalent to $71,000 USD (about $90,000 CAD) as of 2020 — car is best known for being a very underpowered vehicle. The original DeLorean Motor Company shuttered operations back in 1982.

Most likely know the original DeLorean from Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future film franchise, which released several years after the car’s demise in 1985.

It’s unclear if Back to the Future is also getting a remake to go alongside the new DeLorean EV.

Image credit: @deloreanmotorco

Source: @deloreanmotorco

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Tesla recalls thousands of vehicles in U.S. over Boombox feature

Concha Zaspa, Ukraine – July 20, 2018: Tesla sign on the building on car sales

Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has recalled 578,607 vehicles in the U.S., marking its tenth recall in the country over the past four months.

The latest recall stems from pedestrians being unable to hear a warning sound when a vehicle’s approaching because of loud music played from the vehicle’s external “Boombox” feature.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) notes this as a violation of federal safety standards. Given EVs make little noise when in motion, warning signals must be emitted through the Pedestrian Warning System (PWS).

The recall includes 2020-2022 Model S, Model X, Model Y and 2017-2022 Model 3 vehicles.

“While Boombox can enhance the conspicuity of the vehicle to pedestrians, a vehicle that uses Boombox when in motion may cause the PWS to be noncompliant with [regulations], which could increase the risk of a collision,” the NHSTA notes in a document posted to its website. Tesla is not aware of any crashes, injuries or fatalities related to this.”

It’s unclear how this recall affects the Canadian market.

Image credit: ShutterStock

Source: NHTSA

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Beware, Vancouver: Nickelback is planning a concert to promote electric vehicles

Nickelback is threatening Vancouver with its music.

The Canadian band will headline an outdoor concert on July 1st as part of Canadian E-Fest, a motorsports racing event aimed at promoting electric vehicles.

The show runs from June 30th to July 2nd and will mark Nickelback’s first Canadian concert since 2019, following cancellations amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tickets for both the concert and the broader E-Fest event will go live on Friday, February 11th at 10am PT/1pm ET on the official E-Fest website.

What better way to celebrate Canada Day than with an iconic Canadian band?

Image credit: Nickelback

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Ford possibly working with China’s CATL on EV battery tech in Ontario

As Ford gears up to expand its electric vehicle (EV) strategy in Canada, the legacy automaker is reportedly in talks with Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) in China to supply batteries to its new plant in Oakville, Ontario.

These discussions haven’t been made public yet by CATL or Ford. That said, a source who spoke with The Logic said that Canadian officials are raising concerns about China becoming a significant EV battery supplier since it has a reputation for using its market power to advance its political mandates in the past.

In the tech space, this has been most recently evident in the ongoing Huawei scandal.

CATL is already the world’s largest power battery builder, but even U.S. officials and Ford’s American offices are also aware of the meetings. Part of the hesitancy also comes from wanting to wait and see the results of President Biden’s Build Back Better bill in the United States.

This bill could change things for EV manufacturers in the U.S. and the surrounding industries, including EV battery manufacturing. With this in mind, several major investments in the space in North America have been put on hold to see if the Build Back Better bill outcome leans in their favour, according to the Finacial Post report.

If the deal does go through, CATL likely won’t build a battery factory in Ontario or even Canada for that matter. Instead, it will supply batteries to Ford’s perspective EV plants in Oakville. Sources say that the talks are still early and not close to being finalized.

When Ford first announced it was retooling the Oakville plant it was looking to assemble a new battery pack design by 2025

Ford’s Chinese division already uses batteries from CATL.

Source: The Logic, Financial Post