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Electric car fire west of Redmond prompts special firefighter precautions

Lithium-ion batteries were melting in extreme heat

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Vehicle fires are fairly frequent on the High Desert, especially during the summertime. But when electric vehicles catch fire, as did one west of Redmond Monday morning, special precautions have to happen for firefighter safety.

Redmond Fire & Rescue units were dispatched shortly before 9 a.m. to the reported electric car fire in the 8900 block of Cliff Swallow Drive in the Eagle Ridge neighborhood, near Eagle Crest Resort, Battalion Chief Ken Brown said.

The first engine crew to arrive reported that the Jaguar I-Pace electric vehicle was fully involved, with close exposures to a chalet condominium and two large juniper trees, Brown said.

“Crews made a quick initial knockdown, but called for reinforcements, as the severely damaged batteries posed a unique firefighting obstacle,” Brown said in a news release.

Most car fires can be doused with a single fire engine’s water tank. But with this model, the battery that powers the motor and other elements of the car is made of high-energy density lithium-ion pouch cells that span the width of the car and are positioned as low as possible, between the axles front to rear, the battalion chief said.

The batteries were melting in the extreme heat, Brown said, and the flammable metal was difficult to fully extinguish. Several dry-chemical fire extinguishers were used, along with “copious amounts of water to fully douse all flames and heat,” Brown said.

Crews were on the scene for nearly two hours. Brown said the car, fully insured, was a total loss.

There were no injuries reported. Brown said the cause of the fire was under investigation.

Central Oregon / Deschutes County / Environment / Local News / News / Top Stories

Biden Administration electric vehicle mandate faces practical, economic challenges – NY Daily Record

On Aug. 5, President Joe Biden announced that he would sign an Executive Order that sets the ambitious goal of making one-half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 zero emission vehicles, including battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric or fuel cell electric vehicles. While the goals are in line with Biden’s initial Executive Order on …

3 Electric Vehicle Stocks That Fell More Than 15% Last Week

Electric vehicles (EVs) are projected to dominate the automobile market eventually because  governments worldwide are undertaking various initiatives to reduce carbon emissions. However, the global semiconductor chip shortage is likely to stall the industry’s growth because major industry players have plans to cut production significantly.

The chip shortage is projected to reduce global auto output by 7.1 million vehicles in 2021. The rising cost of semiconductor chips is another reason EV manufacturers are scaling down their output. As a result, many EV companies’ revenue and earnings growth forecasts will likely remain  weak in the coming quarters.

Given the bleak outlook for the EV industry, we believe that financially unstable EV stocks Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc. (FFIE), Canoo Inc. (GOEV), and GreenPower Motor Company Inc. (GP) are best avoided now. These stocks have declined more than 15% in price over the past week.

Click here to checkout our Electric Vehicle Industry Report for 2021

Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc. (FFIE)

FFIE develops and produces artificial intelligence-powered electric automobiles. In addition, it offers ownership models, in-vehicle entertainment, and autonomous driving technology. The company serves the technology, automotive, energy, and aerospace industries.

FFIE’s operating loss came in at $442.74 million in the second quarter, ended June 30, 2021. The company reported a $5.73 billion net loss , while its loss per share totaled $0.77 over this period.

A $2.50  consensus EPS estimate for the next year represents a 133.6% decline year-over-year. FFIE’s stock has declined 16% in price since August 16.

FFIE’s POWR ratings are consistent with this bleak outlook. The stock has an overall F rating, which translates to Strong Sell in our proprietary rating system. The POWR Ratings are calculated by considering 118 different factors, with each factor weighted to an optimal degree.

FFIE is rated an F grade for Growth and Value, and a D for Quality. Within the D-rated Auto – Vehicle Manufacturers industry, it is ranked #51 of 62 stocks.

To see additional POWR Ratings for Stability, Sentiment, and Momentum for FFIE, click here.

Click here to check out our Automotive Industry Report for 2021

Canoo Inc. (GOEV)

GOEV designs, engineers, and manufactures electric cars in the United States for the commercial and consumer markets. In addition, using skateboard architectural technology, the company provides B2B delivery cars, multi-purpose delivery vehicles, and lifestyle vehicles.

This month, Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP, a global securities and consumer rights law firm, started investigating whether some directors and executives of Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp. IV, now known as Canoo Inc., violated their fiduciary obligations to Hennessy Capital IV and its shareholders. This could negatively impact the stock’s price performance in the near term.

During the second quarter, ended June 30, 2021, GOEV’s operating loss increased 426.8% year-over-year to $104.35 billion. Its net loss surged 384.3% year-over-year to $112.55 million. Its loss per share increased 75.6% year-over-year to $0.50. And the company’s cash and cash equivalents declined 19.8% from their year-ago value to $563.57 million.

Analysts expect GOEV’s EPS to decline 1,520% year-over-year to $0.81 next year. GOEV has declined 16.2% in price since August 16 and 57.2% over the past three months.

GOEV’s poor prospects are also apparent in its POWR Ratings. The stock has an overall F rating, which equates to Strong Sell in our proprietary rating system.

It also has an F grade for Sentiment and Growth, and a D for Stability. GOEV is ranked #56 of 62 stocks in the Auto – Vehicle Manufacturers industry.

Click here to see the additional POWR Ratings for GOEV. (Quality, Momentum, and Value).

GreenPower Motor Company Inc. (GP)

GP develops, produces, and sells electric cars for commercial customers in the United States and Canada. The company provides a range of high-floor and low-floor electric medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, including transit buses, school buses, shuttles, cargo vans, double-decker buses, and a cab and chassis.

For the first quarter, ended June 30, 2021, GP’s operating loss increased 137.2% year-over-year to $2.08 billion. Its net loss grew 58.2% year-over-year to $2.26 billion. And its loss per share increased 22.2% year-over-year to $0.11. The company’s net cash used in operating activities surged 46.6% from its year-ago value to $1.21 billion.

GP’s stock has declined 25.5% in price since August 16 and 56.5% over the past six months.

GP’s weak fundamentals are reflected in its POWR ratings. The stock has an overall F rating, which equates to Strong Sell in our POWR Ratings system. The stock also has an F grade for Stability, Quality, and Value. In the Auto – Vehicle Manufacturers industry, it is ranked #59 of 62 stocks.

In addition to the POWR Ratings grades I have just highlighted, you can see the GP rating for Momentum, Sentiment, Growth and Quality here.

Click here to checkout our Electric Vehicle Industry Report for 2021

FFIE shares were trading at $8.98 per share on Monday morning, down $0.24 (-2.60%). Year-to-date, FFIE has declined -10.20%, versus a 20.45% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

About the Author: Pragya Pandey

Pragya is an equity research analyst and financial journalist with a passion for investing. In college she majored in finance and is currently pursuing the CFA program and is a Level II candidate. More…

More Resources for the Stocks in this Article

How BMW will expand EV range

The iX will debut BMW’s new Operating System 8 that the company says is designed for 5G connectivity.

The system has a new generation of displays, controls and software and, after the iX, will be rolled out broadly across all other models, Zipse said.

In 2025 BMW will present its first model on the new Neue Klasse (New Class) platform which is designed to be primarily full-electric but can also accommodate diesel or gasoline engines, including plug-in hybrids.

“Our new vehicle architecture is uncompromisingly electric, whether with battery power or hydrogen,” Zipse said. 

The highly flexible and scalable platform is designed to allow more aerodynamic designs with different proportions and more spacious interiors.  It will be used for all new models in the group’s range, from BMWs to Rolls-Royces, starting in 2025. 

“The Neue Klasse comes with a new IT and software architecture, as well as newly developed high-performance electric drive train and battery generation,” Zipse said. 

BMW expects sales of its full-electric models to grow by more than 50 percent annually on average by 2025, more than ten times the figure for 2020. 

By the end of 2025, the company expects to have delivered about 2 million full-electric vehicles to customers, with a share of at least 25 percent of total sales by 2025, rising to 10 million and at least half of global deliveries by 2030. 

S.Korea’s LG Chem shares dive on GM electric vehicle recall

The logo of LG Chem is seen at its office building in Seoul, South Korea, October 16, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/File Photo//File Photo

SEOUL, Aug 23 (Reuters) – LG Chem Ltd (051910.KS) shares slid nearly 10% after General Motors Co (GM.N) said it would recall about 73,000 Chevrolet Bolt electric cars that use the South Korean firm’s batteries, months after a similar recall by Hyundai Motor Co (005380.KS).

The Detroit carmaker said on Friday its expanded recall of Bolt electric vehicles (EVs) – to address fire risks brought about by what it called battery manufacturing defects – would cost $1 billion and it would seek reimbursement from LG. read more

GM also said it would indefinitely halt sales of the EVs. The latest recall covers vehicles beginning model year 2019.

Shares of LG Electronics Inc (066570.KS), which assembles cells manufactured by LG Chem battery unit LG Energy Solution (LGES) into battery modules, dropped as much as 5.8% in morning trade. The broader market KOSPI (.KS11) was trading up 1% as of 0121 GMT.

LG Chem said on Saturday it was working to ensure that the recall measures were carried out smoothly.

“The reserves and ratio of cost to the recall will be decided depending on the result of the joint investigation looking into the root cause, currently being held by GM, LG Electronics and LG Energy Solution,” LG Chem said in a statement.

The company, which is preparing an initial public offering (IPO) for LGES, saw some $5 billion shaved off its market value. The stock was set for its biggest intraday percentage loss since March 2020.

“Market expected that LGES would launch its IPO in September, but with GM’s expanded recall, LGES IPO is likely to be delayed for a month or two, because the company needs to reflect the recall cost before finalising the IPO paperwork,” said analyst Cho Hyun-ryul at Samsung Securities.

“If LG does not manage to solve its battery defect issues, it will eventually hit its future orders from carmakers. If more fire risks/accidents arise, LG’s position in the global EV market would be weakened,” Cho said.

LG Chem, which also counts Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE) as customers, got 815 billion won ($695 million)or 40% of its operating profit from the battery business – including EV batteries – in the April-June quarter. Last year, LGES reported an operating loss.

GM’s expanded Bolt recall comes six months after Hyundai said it would recall some 82,000 EVs globally over fire risks, including the Kona EV, with an estimated cost of about 1 trillion won ($851.90 million). read more

Neither Hyundai nor LG have disclosed how the two companies will split the recall cost but analysts estimate that LG will assume about 60% of expenses to replace battery systems.

Earlier this month, LG Electronics cut its second-quarter operating profit by more than a fifth to reflect costs for the GM recalls. read more

($1 = 1,172.5900 won)

Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Jihoon Lee; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Christopher Cushing

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Georgia Power unveils Lee County electric vehicle chargers | Local

Australia on verge of EV boom amid sharp jump in sales figures

He said a suite of new state-based policies to accelerate the uptake of zero emissions vehicles, particularly the $500 million package from NSW, had the whole industry “buoyant” about the effect it will have on electric vehicle availability and sales.

“The movement across most states and territories is now generally positive and that’s providing greater confidence to private sector investors, which will pave the way for more places to charge and better services to support e-mobility,” he said.

Victoria has set a sales target of 50 per cent new vehicles to be zero emissions by 2030 while NSW announced an electric vehicle strategy to increase sales to 53 per cent by 2030-2031. Both states and several others have also introduced financial rebates of up to $3000 for new electric vehicle purchases while some jurisdictions will waive stamp duty and registration fees.

The federal government has been heavily criticised by carmakers and advocacy groups for its refusal to set targets in the sector and previous public ridicule of the technology. It last year ruled out subsidising new cars to incentivise widespread uptake.

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Government modelling found subsidies for battery electric vehicles was not value-for-money for taxpayers and was an expensive form of abatement and is optimistic that the total cost of ownership gap between EVs and internal combustion engine vehicles will close in the coming years.

Prices continue to drop, with Hyundai introducing three models under $48,000 in the past year, and MG and Nissan offering another three models under $50,000.

The latest data reflects the global trend as electric car sales rose by around 140 per cent in the first quarter compared to the same period in 2020, driven by sales in China of around 500,000 vehicles and in Europe of around 450,000. US sales more than doubled relative to the first-quarter of 2020.

Despite the jump domestically, representing 1.57 per cent of the total light vehicle market, Australia sits significantly behind the rest of the world in electric vehicle adoption.

Greenhouse gas emissions within the transport sector represent almost 20 per cent of Australia’s annual totals with carbon levels from the automotive sector around half of that figure. Drastically reducing emissions in the sector is viewed as critical if the nation is to achieve a 26 to 28 per cent decrease from 2005 levels by 2030.

Mr Jafari said the nation needed to see more electric vehicle models available domestically, particularly at lower price points.

“That’s happening slowly, but if we want to accelerate the process and attract the globally limited electric vehicle supply, we need policies enacted at the national level, like fuel efficiency standards.”

Federal Energy and Emissions Reduction Minister Angus Taylor said the government had committed more than $1.4 billion to help increase the uptake of low and zero emissions vehicle technologies.

“These increasing EV and hybrids sales shows Australians are already making the choice to embrace future fuel technologies,” Mr Taylor said.

“While industry works to make more electric vehicle models available and more affordable, the Morrison government is getting on with the important work of delivering the infrastructure that’s needed to support Australians who want to buy and drive an EV.”

Most global carmakers, including Mazda, Nissan, General Motors and Ford in Europe have now set timelines to phase out petrol and diesel cars and become 100 per cent electric starting from 2030 out to 2035.

The report forecasts that by 2025, Audi will have 30 electric vehicle models available in Australia, Hyundai will have 23 models, the Renault group will have 24 models, and GM will have 30 models. Volkswagen will have 70 new electric models available by 2028, it said.

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Auto-Parts Billionaire Baba Kalyani Enters India’s Hotly Contested EV Race

Billionaire Baba Kalyani’s flagship Bharat Forge recently revealed its plans to jump onto India’s electric vehicle (EV) bandwagon. The $500 million (revenue) company, which is best known for making auto parts that are exported around the world, said it’s getting into the business of producing electric two- and three-wheelers through its associate company Tork Motors.The first model is expected in the market in 2022 

Tork Motors positions itself as India’s first premium electric motorcycle company, having developed two-wheeler powertrains since 2009. Bharat Forge first acquired a 45% stake in Tork Motors in 2018 that was later increased to 49%. Tork Motors develops high-performance electric motorcycle and electric powertrains for cargo and passenger three-wheelers.

Last week, Bharat Forge said Tork Motors had met the subsidy requirements of the government’s Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles Phase II (FAME-II) scheme, a program aimed at boosting the purchases of EVs with subsidies for buyers.

Bharat Forge’s website features details of Tork Motors T6X model, which is said to be still under development. Powered by lithium-ion batteries, Tork claims the T6X can reach a top speed of 100 kmph and can travel 100 km on a single charge. It also comes with a quick charge feature that promises to charge up to 80% of the battery in an hour.

Bharat Forge will be joining an increasingly crowded field of competitors made up of startups like Ola Electric and Ather Energy alongside many well-established auto companies, such as Hero MotoCorp, Bajaj Auto, TVS Motor Company, Hero Electric, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Hyundai Motor India.

The pandemic took a heavy toll on Bharat Forge and the company’s revenue fell by 20% to 36.5 billion rupees ($492 million) in fiscal year 2021, but it began to show signs of recovering more recently. Last week, the Pune-based company beat analyst expectations for the first quarter when it reported a net income of 1.67 billion rupees on revenue of 13.7 billion rupees.

Bharat Forge said India’s auto industry continued to be under pressure last year. the production of passenger vehicles as well as medium and heavy commercial vehicles in the country declined by 47% and 24%, respectively, between the fiscal years 2018 and 2021. Beside auto, the company also produces components for the defense, aerospace, power, construction and mining, oil and gas, and rail and marine sectors.

“We are hungry for growth, we have a strong balance sheet, we have a lot of cash on our balance sheet, we have a pretty strong performance going on,” Baba Kalyani said to CNBC TV18 last week following the release of the company’s latest earnings results.

He said they’re looking at opportunities to grow businesses that have relevance for the future, adding “we have done a lot of string of pearls type investments in technology space connected with electric vehicles and mobility.”

Bharat Forge also has a 35% stake in U.K.-based Tevva Motors, which develops powertrain solutions for commercial vehicles with rights to use its technologies in India. Another notable investment is the 50-50 joint venture Bharat Forge formed with Refu Electronik GmbH of Germany for developing, manufacturing and selling on-board controllers and components for hybrid and electric vehicles.

Ask Us: EV owners are not complete highway-repair sponges | Local News

Q: I use unleaded gas to fill my combustion-engine car. When I do, I pay a tax to maintain and build new roads. The electric cars use the same roads that I do but pay zero gas tax. If electric car sales increase, the tax base will certainly decrease. Does Governor Walz have any plans to solve this upcoming problem?

A: If he does, he’s not telling Ask Us Guy.

This question was forwarded to the communications department in the governor’s office, but the response didn’t come from there.

While it wouldn’t have been surprising if the hot-potato topic had been shunted to the Department of Transportation, it actually ended up in the hands of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Ask Us Guy doesn’t know exactly why MPCA got stuck with it, but he ended up learning something he didn’t know about transportation funding from the MPCA’s communications director. Ask Us Guy assumed the state fuel tax of just under 29 cents per gallon was the primary source of road revenue in Minnesota and that electric vehicle drivers were no-shows when it came to contributing to the wellspring of highway repair dollars.

Not so, according to Darin Broton of the MPCA. Proceeds from the fuel tax make up only about a third of the highway fund.

“A vast majority of the funding comes from vehicle sales tax and registration fees,” Broton said. “EV owners pay a little more in these fees than people buying standard cars and trucks because of the cost of the vehicles. … There is also a $75 annual surcharge that EV owners pay for their vehicles.”

So electric vehicle drivers are not complete freeloaders by any means. Nonetheless, replacement funding for the gas tax will need to be found as more and more people switch to electric vehicles.

“As our transportation system continues to transition to electric vehicles, federal, state and local policymakers will have to revisit the long-term funding options for infrastructure,” he said.

Q: To my knowledge roads are not sealed on an annual basis. Is there a reason why they aren’t?

It sounds like both asphalt and concrete driveways should have this practice done to extend the life of the driveway, so it would seem logical that our roads and highways would follow the same logic.

A: The basis of this question is probably the “on an annual basis” part because area towns, counties and even the Minnesota Department of Transportation definitely chip-seal streets and roads. Everyone driving in the area this month at some point probably found themselves on a street or road freshly treated — the tarlike stuff put down as sealant and the thick layer of pea rock or rock chips spread on top. After traffic has compressed the rocks into the tar for a few days, the loose rocks are swept up and the roads are restriped. (The little rocks, by the way, aren’t there just to keep cars from getting splattered by tar. They’re necessary to ensure the sealed road still provides good traction for drivers.)

As for how often the roads get seal-coated, Ask Us Guy tossed the question at Blue Earth Public Works Director Ryan Thilges, who’s responsible for well over 400 miles of paved roads in the county, along with a couple of hundred miles of gravel roads. All of those paved roads have at least two lanes, many have three or four. So that’s a lot of asphalt and concrete.

“We do about 45 miles of seal coats a year,” Thilges said.

That allows all of the bituminous paved roads to be coated every seven to 10 years.

The process delays oxidation of the road surface, which otherwise would become brittle and more susceptible to damage from vehicles and weather.

“That’s a critical pavement-preservation activity,” he said.

So why not do all the roads every year, just like some homeowners do with their driveways?.

“It’s not practical or really necessary to do it every year on the roads,” Thilges said, adding that the sealant the county uses is both more durable and more costly than what people purchase at the home-improvement store. “The stuff we put on our roads is a little more expensive than the black goop you see people spreading on their driveways.”

Contact Ask Us at The Free Press, 418 S. Second St., Mankato, MN 56001. Call Mark Fischenich at 344-6321 or email your question to mfischenich@mankatofreepress.com; put Ask Us in the subject line.