#EVs

Ford will be scaling down future investments in China, as the company’s chief executive has suggested that there will be “no guarantee” Western automakers can compete with local electric-vehicle rivals. This should have been obvious to American manufacturers who have historically been required to engage in partnerships with Chinese corporations just to sell within the region. But it also speaks to hardships Ford has endured while trying to break into the market.

When rumors first emerged that Renault’s Alpine brand might be coming to North America, driving enthusiasts seemed excited by the prospect of the mid-engine A110 being available. However, subsequent talk from the automaker has confirmed that the French performance marquee might take a while to get here and had opted to focus entirely on all-electric vehicles.

Honda raised the curtain for its second all-electric model for the European market this week. The e:Ny1 is an atrociously named battery-powered crossover that serves as the electrified counterpart to the Euro-spec HR-V. While not a formal debut, the Japanese manufacturer is teasing the EV’s design language and offering up some relevant details — perhaps foreshadowing things to come in North America.

Lucid Group’s report for the first quarter of 2023 was off the mark, with the automaker suffering a $780-million net loss. While any burgeoning carmaker should expect to burn through cash for a while, electric-vehicle firms seem broadly dedicated to the practice. Many EV startups have floundered and some have even bordered on shell games, promising things they shouldn’t in the hopes to draw in more investment capital. However, Lucid has seemed committed to delivering enviable products — making the financial report genuinely disappointing. 

What does it take to get a home EV charger installed?

Well for one Boston man, it took two and a half years, 37 letters, and four endorsements from councilors.

I am almost certain we've asked this question, or a variation of it, relatively recently, but I want to ask it anyway in light of recent stories -- are YOU going to, or at least willing to, buy an EV any time soon?

While the automotive sector is habitually discussing how electric vehicle adoption will be spurred on by the country building a more robust charging infrastructure, nobody seems to be talking about how to make charging profitable enough to sustain itself. As of now, government subsidies are helping to ease the financial burden of installing EV charging stations. But their long-term viability is being undermined by the fact that most people prefer charging at home.

The Ohio-based Lordstown Motors has reportedly resumed assembly and delivery of its all-electric Endurance pickup this month, after having to pause production in February to address quality concerns.

With the guidance having come in on the United States’ updated EV tax credit scheme, outlined in the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, we now have a pretty good idea of which electric vehicles still qualify. Stringent content requirement stipulations have certainly culled the roster, however, and helped explain why the automotive sector didn’t have any issues with the government taking its sweet time in making decisions regarding content quotas.

There are only about a dozen models that qualify for the full $7,500 tax credit after April 18th, with a few more being eligible for a partial credit of $3,750.

Volkswagen has introduced their new APP550 drive unit that’s assumed to be powering the ID.7 we reported on earlier in the week. Though the Chinese specs seem a little modest. We're thinking the electric motor will be reserved for higher-trimmed EVs and/or Western markets.

Word on the street is that the Biden administration is about to propose some of the toughest emission rules the United States has ever seen in a bid to spur electric vehicle adoption. As things currently stand, the U.S. is assumed to be the very last developed nation to fully embrace EVs. But the White House seems to think the premise can be combated via a stringent regulatory framework.

Of course, the government and supportive media outlets are trying to drive home the point that these are not the same as the vehicle mandates being pushed in other countries (and some states like California) that would legally require people to buy electric in the coming years — even if the end result is functionally the same.

On Wednesday, Ford Motor Co. celebrated the fact that its entire electric-vehicle lineup would still be eligible for consumer incentives under the so-called Inflation Reduction Act federal tax credit scheme. But it downplayed that some of those models won’t be eligible for the maximum amount due to stricter EV sourcing requirements pertaining to battery components and critical minerals.

While we already covered the powertrains the 2024 Kia EV9 will receive, its North American premiere at the New York International Auto Show has given us more to chew on.

One of the challenges of EV adoption is range, or lack thereof. But as the technology improves, range gets closer and closer to what's offered by internal-combustion vehicles.

See the 2025 Ram 1500 Rev for evidence.

General Motors has done something that I think might be a bit dumb. It also had me checking the calendar to make sure it was for real.