MyOpinion

The Tesla Cybertruck is arguably the most controversial new vehicle on the market–five years after it was initially shown to the public in prototype form. Some love it, others hate it, but one thing is clear: you’ll be noticed on the road if you happen to be inside a Cybertruck.

It’s an attention-grabbing machine, and its sales success has so far been undeniable. It managed to climb to the top of the best-selling electric pickups chart in the second quarter in the United States, surpassing the Rivian R1T and Ford F-150 Lightning, both of which have been on sale for longer.

But the initial boost seems to be drying out. Yesterday, workers at Tesla’s Austin factory, which assembles the Cybertruck, were told to stay home for the next three days, according to a memo seen by Business Insider. "On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week (Dec. 3-5), you do not need to report to work," the memo said.

We hop in the car to get groceries or drop kids at school. But while the car is convenient, these short trips add up in terms of emissions, pollution and petrol cost.

Close to half (44%) of all Australian commuter trips are by car – and under 10km. Of Perth’s 4.2 million daily car trips, 2.8 million are for distances of less than 2km.

This is common in wealthier countries. In the United States, a staggering 60% of all car trips cover less than 10km.

So what’s the best solution? You might think switching to an electric vehicle is the natural step. In fact, for short trips, an electric bike or moped might be better for you – and for the planet. That’s because these forms of transport – collectively known as electric micromobility – are cheaper to buy and run.

But it’s more than that – they are actually displacing four times as much demand for oil as all the world’s electric cars at present, due to their staggering uptake in China and other nations where mopeds are a common form of transport.

Fully electric and hybrid vehicles are helping America reduce greenhouse gas emissions to record levels, the Environmental Protection Agency said in a newly published report this week. EVs are not only helping bring down harmful carbon dioxide emissions but are also increasing fleetwide fuel economy rates to record highs.

Transportation accounts for the highest share of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Fifty-seven percent of the transportation sector’s emissions come from light-duty vehicles, as per the EPA. Tailpipe emissions have been labeled as public health hazards and are directly linked to respiratory illnesses and lung diseases.

Every major automaker witnessed a drop in their real-world CO2 emissions among new vehicles sold, except Honda and Toyota. The most significant year-over-year emissions drops came from Mercedes-Benz (-68 g/mi), BMW (-39 g/mi), Kia (-17 g/mile) and Nissan (-17 g/mile). And the largest fuel economy improvements were also from these brands.

The EPA added that SUVs are now cleaner than sedans, as they’re increasingly electrified and automakers sell more of them. The category now accounts for the lowest average new-vehicle CO2 emissions as electric SUVs accounted for 36% of all MY2023 SUVs sold. Their fuel economy also has been increasing the most over the years.

The US Environmental Protection Agency released a big report yesterday, the 50th annual Automotive Trends Report. This report analyzed fuel economy improvements in the US (focusing on 2023 model year vehicles), and it found that, thanks to policies pushing for better and better fuel economy, the country saw its best vehicle fuel economy in history and the lowest greenhouse gas emissions from new vehicles in history as well. But, of course, that’s to be expected. Automobiles should be improving, we should be buying more and more full electric and plugin vehicles (which provide much better fuel economy), and the industry should be focused on cutting emissions. It’s good that there’s progress, but we could certainly do more.

The problem is that we’ve had swings back and forth in the level of fuel economy requirements — Democrats get into power and the fuel economy standards go up, Republicans get into power and they go down, Democrats get into power again and the y go up, Republicans get into power again and they go down. (It’s just one reason of many I don’t want to hear “both parties are the same” nonsense ever again.) The fact is that we have relatively weak requirements, much weaker than China or Europe. Even when Democrats are in power, they are heavily lobbied, pressured, and challenged in various ways (including the courts) to not make the fuel economy requirements too hard.

Frankly, the next piece of good news from the EPA on this matter actually tells me that the requirements aren’t strict enough. “The report also shows that all 14 large automotive manufacturers are in compliance with EPA’s light-duty GHG program requirements through the MY 2023 reporting period,” the EPA writes. If all 14 of these auto manufacturers are in compliance, fine, that’s a good thing, but it probably also means the requirements are too easy to hit.

Anyway, the good news is that we are seeing lower greenhouse gas emissions due to the vehicle fleet getting more and more efficient. “Today, the new MY 2023 electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on the road have led to 11% lower CO2 emissions.” However, the EPA itself says this really isn’t enough and we have a long ways to go. “Despite these significant improvements in local air pollution that have benefited Americans, passenger cars and light trucks still accounted for nearly 17% of total US GHG emissions in 2022, indicating the importance of further reductions in GHG emissions and improvements in fuel economy.”

I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you. Shocked to learn that dealers are ignoring Volkswagen's now-former CEO's strongly-worded caution for dealerships not to add additional dealer markup the already expensive ID Buzz.

Okay, well, maybe not that shocked. But it's happening—dealerships are doubling down on Volkswagen's egregiously-priced electric people hauler by adding markups as high as $15,000, effectively locking out consumers who were already stretched thin on their budget following the German automaker's surprisingly high price announcement earlier this year.

Despite several new EV models facing delays, Volkswagen’s cheapest model yet, the ID.2, is still on track to launch. The company confirmed the entry-level EV will launch as early as late 2025, marking a new “starting point” for the German auto giant. Volkswagen unveiled the ID.2all concept last March, a new entry-level EV that will start under $27,000 (€25,000).

Volkswagen’s ID.2 will be the first EV based on its new MEB Entry Platform, while the SUV will follow. The ID.2all concept features up to 279 miles range (450 km).

The company describes the entry-level EV as “as spacious as a Golf” yet “as inexpensive as a Polo.” Although smaller than the Polo, it includes more interior space thanks to an extended wheelbase.

Now that we have combined the EV groups. It would be nice if we could update the graphics for this community. It is a bit plain right now. Not sure if we have any artist that would like to help out.

It would seem that Renault has some of its va-va-voom back, that early investment in EVs with Zoes and the like really paying dividends now people are more interested. The battery-powered Megane and Scenic have been well received, the reborn 4 looks cool, and now it’s been confirmed how much the most interesting car of the Renaulution - the 5 E-Tech - will cost when orders open in January.

£22,995 is the headline figure, or ‘lower than many people imagine’ according to Renault. That buys a 5 with 120hp, the urban range 40kWh battery (provisionally rated at 190 miles), and evolution spec. That means standard kit like 18–inch wheels, the 10.1-inch OpenR Link infotainment screen, rear parking sensors, LED lights all round and wireless smartphone mirroring. Most of the stuff you need, basically. And £23k compares pretty favourably with the £30k asked for an Allure-spec of Peugeot e-208, which boasts 136hp and a 50kWh battery. Probably the Citroen e-C3 will line up as the closest rival to an evolution-spec 5, with prices from £21,900 for a 44kWh, 199 WLTP miles Plus model.

The next step up for the Renault is to £24,995 and the techno model, still with the 40kWh battery and 120hp. That gets Google built into the infotainment (including DC charge preconditioning), a larger digital dash, the funky ‘5’ bonnet charging indicator, a rear-view camera and ambient lighting, plus it opens up the option to have two-tone paint. Easy to imagine a lot of customers skipping straight to techno, however appealing that entry price looks.

That's because the more powerful 150hp motor is only available from techno spec, and exclusively with the 52kWh ‘comfort range’ battery expected to return 248 miles on the WLTP test. That’s £26,995, or the kick-off point for the MG 4 range in fact, for some idea of the current breadth of the sub-£30k EV space.

Top of the 5 E-Tech 100% electric range (good job it doesn’t need a boot badge) are the iconic models. Over techno they get the ‘chrono’ 18-inch wheels, heated wheel, heated seats, then lots of stuff that seems a bit much for a car of the 5’s ilk: hands-free parking, blind-spot warning, active driver assist and so on. The iconic costs £26,995 for a 120hp car with the 40kWh battery, or £28,995 as a 150hp, 52kWh variant. While options are likely to be a big deal when it comes to speccing a 5, what with the jazzy paint colours and two-tone possibilities, no prices for extras have yet been confirmed.

What has been formally announced, however, is availability: orders for the 5 E-Tech will be open from January, with demonstrators expected at Renault dealers from March, and first deliveries ‘expected shortly afterwards’. So don’t go getting that electric Mini just yet.

DETROIT, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Stellantis (STLAM.MI) , opens new tab said on Tuesday it will deploy a new vehicle system that will support assembly of gasoline, hybrid and electric models, but in a sign of how turbulent the electric-vehicle transition is, the automaker also delayed production of Ram electric pickup trucks. The Franco-Italian company revealed details about its STLA Frame platform, which will support full-size trucks and SUVs. Platforms are thought of as a skateboard on which many different types of vehicles can be built, and include important electrical and mechanical components of the car.

"We are very focused on the execution of our plan, despite all the difficult challenges that the industry is facing," said CEO Carlos Tavares on a call with reporters. Tavares said the automaker is delaying production of its electric Ram pickups until the first half of 2025 from this year, citing the need to ensure quality. "We are just facing a very significant amount of workload," he said. Automakers in Detroit and elsewhere rushed into building EV-manufacturing capacity over the last two years, only for demand to grow more slowly than anticipated.

The decision of whether to focus on platforms that support EVs versus those that include flexibility for hybrids or gasoline-powered vehicles has split automakers. Ford Motor (F.N), opens new tab has leaned into selling hybrid vehicles, while General Motors (GM.N), opens new tab has focused on battery-powered models after investing more up front into building its own EV platform. GM will start offering plug-in hybrids in 2027, it said.

Those who thought California’s love affair with cars wouldn’t extend to electric vehicles thought wrong. Now the state leads the nation in EV ownership, both in sheer numbers and number per capita by an ever-widening margin. With a mandate to ban the sale of new gas-powered vehicles by 2035 here, one question remains: Is there an infrastructure in place to charge up these power suckers?

The answer: It’s a work in progress, according to both state agencies and actual drivers. One thing is for certain, however, for California’s EV converts — the trend is now the norm, and it’s not going away.

On an early November morning, Daeho Hwang sat patiently in the cockpit of his new Lucid Air. The super sleek luxury sedan looks like a bullet even when it’s not moving. Appointed with leather seats, wood on the center console and dash and screens that seem to blend seamlessly, this car — one the manufacturer says takes only 12 minutes to charge up 200 miles and goes 0 to 60 in 1.89 seconds — is among the most enviable of rides on Interstate 5.

Hwang, traveling to Los Angeles from his home in San Francisco on the front end of a three-day weekend, was busy checking his phone behind the Chalio’s, a road stop in Kettleman City known for its 24-hour service of Mexican cuisine and hearty portions.

There, behind the restaurant, are about a half dozen individual non-Tesla EV chargers. It’s a slightly hidden spot that Hwang said he discovered about a year and a half ago.

“I usually charge it at my home. It’s a little tough [on the road],” he said as he exited the cockpit of the Lucid, explaining that finding a working non-Tesla EV charger out on the interstate can sometimes be a bit of a challenge. “It’s not because of the car, but because of the chargers. There are a lot of broken chargers.”

A self-proclaimed EV evangelist, he said he was one of the first to buy a Tesla and still owns one, along with a Rivian truck, his current favorite. He sees virtues in all of his electric motor pool. “The Tesla’s too bumpy to be honest, like a kid’s car. I’m 50 years old, so I like the smoother ride a lot better,” he laughed, while explaining that the Lucid also only needs one quick charge, max, to get from SF to LA whereas with his Tesla, it can take up to three stops.

Hwang feels the state’s getting better about installing chargers, both Tesla and non-Tesla, but at the same time, there’s still a way to go with the latter. “It’s OK,” he said of finding a place to charge his non-Tesla EV. “It’s getting a lot better now. They’re popping up here and there.”

When asked whether he thinks the state is delivering on its promise to create the comprehensive EV infrastructure needed to power his three different makes of cars now and into the future, Hwang paused for a moment. “Yeah, I think so,” he said. “I’m committed to EVs, so part of it has always been waiting for everything else to catch up.”

We’ve written a couple of articles now about the US EV tax credit probably being killed by the Trump administration, and also other elements of the Inflation Reduction Act. In those articles, we’ve noted that this is bad for future US economic competitiveness. Some people don’t know the reason for that, so we’re going to tease it out more her with the help of some CleanTechnica commenters.

Let’s start with this extended comment from Username Taycan:

“If you are looking predominantly at the US market then you will have an unduly negative view of BEV’s future.

“China is the biggest car market on the planet and has no substantial oil interests, they are going electric come hell or high water.

“The EU is petrified of a thing called climate change and is also going electric.

“That’s over half the world market on it’s own, and China is developing a significant sphere of economic influence.

“The scale advantage is going to flip in favour of electric, and consumer electric cars aren’t at the end of over a century of continuous improvement unlike ff vehicles.

“90% of US consumers may not be idiots, but they aren’t going to get to decide BEV’s viability either.”

China is going electric. Europe is going electric. More and more small to midsize countries are going electric. If you want to be a notable player in the rest of the world auto market, you need to have highly compelling, competitive electric options soon.

Of course, as you build up sales and production capacity, you drive down costs and build up competencies that can make you competitive with or better than other automakers.

For US-based companies, companies where the US is their biggest market, the opportunity for those economies of scale, manufacturing and product innovations, and improvements in cost competitiveness is biggest in the US. If they can develop and sell more popular EVs in the US, their ability to sell high volumes of them in other markets around the world increases.

Here’s commenter super390 explaining it well:

“Because he who subsidizes today, creates the infrastructure to lower prices in the future. “Economies of scale are wonderful, but they face a paradox; you need them before you can have them. So China created those economies of scale by not waiting for private investors (who don’t give a damn about the big picture) to pay for the infrastructure. Jumping the roadblock.

“Maybe the time has passed when private investors anywhere can be relied on to pay for big engineering projects. Because they’ve spent the last generation learning how to engage in financial engineering instead, and that’s where they’re more comfortable.

“It’s like saying in 1800 that the Midwest was the ‘future’, or in 1945 that freeways were the ‘future’. The government stepped in to pay for the infrastructure required for that to actually happen. Investors were already too obsessed with short-term gain to pay for those.”

Well said! But super390 always says stuff well and has a deep, detailed view of matters. (And, yes, I do wish I knew his/her real name.)

Mike Shurtleff puts it even more succinctly and cuts to the chase: “Incentives help new industries build faster. Very much needed in this case to allow USA companies compete with heavily subsidized Chinese companies … and to allow USA battery and EV companies to catchup to China where our oil/ICEV bias has put us too far behind.”

That’s the essence of it. You stimulate R&D, production, and sales of a “technology of the future” so that companies from your country lead in the economy of the future. Or you wait, sit back, let others lead, and buy more and more of their products as your country and economy fall more and more behind. Well, if we’re dumb enough to elect a career con man who was extremely talented at bankrupting companies while committing crimes, maybe that’s what we deserve. (Not to mention whether or not we’re forward-thinking enough to work on stopping climate catastrophe.)

In a sea of electric crossovers and SUVs, a good ol' sedan is a nice change of pace. However, there’s still a problem. Nissan’s new EV will be made in China exclusively for the local market. The N7 was developed with local partner Dongfeng through their 50:50 joint venture. If it weren’t for the badge, I’d honestly be hard-pressed to identify this car as a Nissan.

If the N7 already looks familiar, Dongfeng Nissan previewed the production model in April with the Epoch concept. It’s a sleek sedan that ticks all the design trend boxes in 2024: split headlights, a rear light bar, an illuminated logo, two-tone wheels, and a swoopy roofline. The LED daytime running lights send a bit of a Hyundai vibe, but the boomerang-shaped lights below give the car a unique front fascia.

Some would be tempted to say this is Nissan’s first-ever electric sedan. However, that’s not the case. The Leaf-based Sylphy Zero Emission was launched in 2018 as the company’s first EV made for the Chinese market. Just how big is the N7? At 194 inches (4930 millimeters) long and 74.6 inches (1895 millimeters) wide, it’s roughly the same size as a Volkswagen ID.7. However, it sits closer to the road, at 58.5 inches (1487 millimeters) tall. It measures 114.7 inches (2915 millimeters) between the axles, so the wheelbase is a tad shorter than the VW’s.

Nissan isn’t willing to show the interior just yet, nor is it ready to divulge technical specifications beyond the car’s measurements. We do know it sits on a locally developed modular electric architecture and will be offered with a “Navigate on Autopilot” advanced driver-assist system. Inside, the touchscreen should run smoothly courtesy of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295P processor.

The N7 will go on sale in China during the first half of 2025. It’s one of several models included in Nissan’s “The Arc” midterm plan, which will allow the Dongfeng Nissan joint venture to accelerate the launch of hybrid and electric vehicles in China. This strategy calls for a total of 30 models globally by 2027, including seven vehicles for the United States.