Electric Vehicles

Honda Motor Co. will introduce its first electric vehicle to the Chinese market next spring, the Japanese automaker said Wednesday.

With the electric-powered sport utility vehicle as a start, Honda will accelerate the electrification of its products sold in China, the world’s largest car market.

The automaker also unveiled a strategy that all new models to be launched in China after 2030 would be EVs or hybrid vehicles.

As Honda said in April that all its cars to be introduced worldwide would be EVs or fuel cell vehicles in 2040, the electric SUV model in China is seen as a groundwork for the automaker’s shift to electrified products.

The SUV model with two types, e:NS1 and e:NP1, will be sold respectively by Dongfeng Honda Automobile Co. based in Wuhan, Hubei Province, and Guangqi Honda Automobile Co. based in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. The two companies are joint ventures of the automaker and local car manufacturers.

Dongfeng Honda and Guangqi Honda, also known as GAC Honda, will also build EV-dedicated plants, aiming for starting operation in 2024. Honda plans to release 10 types of EVs in China over the next five years and also to export them.

Katsushi Inoue, head of Honda’s China operation, said, “(The electric SUV) is a car of high level that sells in the world market.”

“We want to provide value that will not fade in China, the world’s largest market that will continue to grow for 5 to 10 years,” he added.

Regarding batteries, a key in developing EVs, Honda has promoted cooperation with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., a major battery maker that has a capital tie-up with the automaker.

The growth of the electric car industry is one of the hopeful signs Americans are taking the climate threat and this emerging technology seriously. Already electric vehicles and hybrids account for 3.5 percent of cars sold in Florida, the nation’s second highest rate. The sight of a Tesla hardly turns heads, and Elon Musk’s brainchild has company on the road in electric vehicles from Ford, Chevy, Kia, Nissan, Mini and other automakers.

So with climate change bearing down upon us, now is not the time to put the brakes on this momentum by levying fees on electric cars, as some states have done. To the contrary, Florida needs to increase incentives for electric vehicle purchases.

Like other states, Florida relies heavily on gas taxes, registration fees and the like to cover the heavy cost of roads, bridges and other infrastructure and services whose need vehicles generate. As motorists transition to electric vehicles, some states have been looking for ways to replace the gas tax revenues that electric vehicles don’t pay.

BENGALURU, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Indian shares hit record highs on Wednesday as Tata Motors soared on plans to boost electric-vehicle investments, with sentiment lifted by easing domestic inflation and an emergency nod for a COVID-19 vaccine for kids.

The NSE Nifty 50 index (.NSEI) was up 0.66% at 18,110.65, while the S&P BSE Sensex (.BSESN) rose 0.53% to 60,600.70 by 0450 GMT. Both indexes were hovering around fresh records scaled earlier in the session.

Tata Motors surged nearly 20% to its highest level since February 2017 and was the top boost to the Nifty. The Jaguar Land Rover parent said on Tuesday it raised funds from private equity firm TPG and that it would invest over $2 billion in its electric vehicle business over the next five years. read more

“Overall, the EV market is very vibrant in India. With Tata’s move, the commercial space could get interesting, and we could see other auto firms following suit,” said Narendra Solanki, head of equity research (fundamental) at Anand Rathi Investment Services.

Nifty’s auto index (.NIFTYAUTO) extended gains to a fifth session, rising 3.6% to its highest level since January 2018.

“The economy seems to be responding well, and news around the vaccine for kids is also supporting momentum,” Solanki said, referring to India’s drug regulator recommending emergency use of Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for the two to 18 age group. read more

The country’s retail inflation eased to a five-month low in September, data on Tuesday showed, amid rising concerns about soaring global energy prices. read more

Airline stocks also surged, as Interglobe Aviation (INGL.NS) rose 5% and SpiceJet (SPJT.NS) added 6% after India’s civil aviation ministry said domestic flights would fly at full capacity from next week. read more

Investment banking firm Centrum Capital (CENC.NS) jumped nearly 20% after the central bank issued a small finance bank license for its unit.

Reporting by Chandini Monnappa in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

The parking lot at 10th and Jackson streets is one of eight places around the city where you can find a Park Omaha charging station.

These are Phase 2 chargers, meaning it should only take a few hours to get your car to a 100% charge, whereas Phase 1 chargers can take more than a day.

On average, Park Omaha is getting 130 to 150 charges from drivers per month and they’re hoping that number Increases as more people buy “E-vs”.

Parking and mobility manager Kent Smith explains how much time you need to get yours charged up.

“We charge 25 cents an hour, up to the fourth hour. And then after that we start increasing the fees to get you to move, because you should be fully charged, even if you were at zero to 100%, you should be fully charged at that point,” Smith said.

On its website OPPD has an interactive map of all public charging stations across the metro. OPPD also has incentives for electric vehicle drivers, $2,500 rebates are available if you buy a new electric vehicle and “Charge point” home charging station, and $4,500 rebates are available for some electric-powered pick-up trucks.

To activate one of these charges just download and sign in to the chargepoint mobile app.

WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) – More than 100 U.S. House lawmakers on Tuesday urged Speaker Nancy Pelosi to keep a $4,500 tax credit incentive for union-built electric vehicles (EV) in a massive spending bill.

In a letter seen by Reuters, 107 Democrats urged Pelosi to retain the credit supported by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, the AFL-CIO and U.S. automakers. The $4,500 credit would provide a significant boost to Detroit’s three automakers — General Motors Co (GM.N), Ford Motor Co (F.N) and Chrysler-parent Stellantis .

“We strongly support leveling the playing field between non-union and unionized workforces by including the added $4,500 incentive to support union-made EVs,” the letter said led by Representative Thomas Suozzi.

Suozzi said the incentives “help guarantee that working men and women are an integral part of that success story.”

Pelosi’s office declined to comment.

Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and foreign automakers do not have unions representing assembly workers in the United States and many have fought efforts to organize U.S. plants.

Last month, 12 major foreign automakers, including Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T), Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), Honda Motor (7267.T), Hyundai Motor (005380.KS) and Nissan Motor (7201.T), urged Democrats to reject the proposed $4,500 tax incentive and have been lobbying lawmakers to reject the union incentive.

A House panel last month approved legislation to boost EV credits to up to $12,500 per vehicle, including $4,500 for union-made vehicles and $500 for U.S.-made batteries.

The foreign automakers said the proposal “would unfairly disadvantage American workers who have chosen not to join a union and produce more than half of all vehicles in the United States and the vast majority of American-made EVs.”

The tax credits, which are part of proposed $3.5 trillion spending bill, would cost $15.6 billion over 10 years.

The EV proposal also does away with phasing out tax credits after automakers hit 200,000 electric vehicles sold, which would make GM eligible again, along with Tesla, although Tesla would not receive the $4,500 credit.

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk suggested on Twitter last month the EV proposal was “written by Ford/UAW lobbyists… Not obvious how this serves American taxpayers.”

Reporting by David Shepardson
Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Aurora Ellis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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SEOUL, Oct 12 (Reuters) – South Korean battery firms LG Chem Ltd (051910.KS) and LG Electronics Inc (066570.KS) will be shouldering a combined $1.2 billion for General Motors Co’s (GM.N) Bolt electric vehicle recall – the lion’s share of the expected costs.

GM in August expanded the recall, which will replace LG battery modules due to the risk of fire, to more than 140,000 cars, estimating the cost at $1.8 billion, but that has risen to $2 billion. It previously said battery production resumed on Sept. 20 and replacements would begin in mid-October. read more

As a result of the agreement, GM said its estimated recovery in the third quarter will offset $1.9 billion of the $2 billion in charges associated with the recalls, based on accruals under U.S. accounting standards. GM said LG agreed to cover recall costs and expenses. The final recall costs will depend on the number of battery modules replaced.

“LG is a valued and respected supplier to GM, and we are pleased to reach this agreement,” said GM global purchasing vice Shilpan Amin, vice president, GM global purchasing and supply chain.

GM and LG Energy Solution, the wholly owned battery unit of LG Chem that supplies GM, are building two joint-venture U.S. battery plants.

LG Energy Solution said the three companies conducted joint analysis and found two rare defects as the cause of the fires – a torn anode and a folded separator.

“While the recall measures will (proceed) with complete replacement of battery packs and modules made for the early models of batteries, the more recently manufactured battery modules will be selectively replaced following diagnostic software screening,” LG Energy Solution said in a statement.

The LG firms said on Tuesday that talks over the costs had ended. They booked most of their 1.4 trillion won in costs in the July-September quarter although some was booked in the previous quarter.

For the latest quarter, LG Chem will take a charge of 620 billion won while LG Electronics, which assembles the cells into battery modules and packs, will book 480 billion won in costs.

Shares of LG Chem and LG Electronics closed up 4.2% and 3.3% respectively, with investors relieved there was less uncertainty over the recall costs. GM shares were up 0.6% in premarket U.S. trading.

LG Energy Solution added it plans to resume working on its initial public offering, which had been suspended in August due to the lack of clarity over the recall costs.

($1 = 1,199.2900 won)

Reporting by Heekyong Yang; Additional reporting by Jihoon Lee and Ben Klayman; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Bernadette Baum

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Electric vehicles are here, and they are essential for decarbonizing transport. The United Kingdom, California, the European Union, Canada and others plan to phase out the sale of fossil-fuelled vehicles as early as 2030 — Norway plans to do it sooner. Consumers are interested. In May, the Ford Motor Company unveiled an all-electric version of its best-selling pick-up truck, the F-150 Lightning. By August, so many customers had reserved one that Ford doubled its initial production target. On 27 September, the company announced that it will spend billions of dollars to build battery factories and an electric-truck plant in the United States. Other companies are expanding their production, too.

Major investments in electric vehicles are welcome news. The sector has come a long way, but many challenges lie ahead. One issue that has received too little attention, in our view, is the increasing weight of vehicles. Pick-up trucks and sport utility vehicles (SUVs) now account for 57% of US sales, compared with 30% in 1990. The mass of a new vehicle sold in the United States has also risen — cars, SUVs and pick-up trucks have gained 12% (173 kilograms), 7% (136 kg) and 32% (573 kg), respectively, since 1990. That’s equivalent to hauling around a grand piano and pianist. Similar trends are seen elsewhere in the world.

Electrifying vehicles adds yet more weight. Combustible, energy-dense petroleum is replaced by bulky batteries. And the rest of the vehicle must get heavier to provide the necessary structural support¹. The electric F-150 weighs 700 kg more than its petrol-powered predecessor. Smaller electric cars are heavier than their petrol equivalents, too (see ‘Heavier electric fleet’).

Why does this matter? First and foremost is safety. The likelihood of passengers being killed in a collision with another vehicle increases by 12% for every 500-kg difference between vehicles². This added risk wouldn’t apply if everyone drove cars of similar heft. But until they do, the number of casualties in crashes is likely to increase as heavy electric vehicles join lighter existing fleets. Pedestrians will also be at risk. If US residents who switched to SUVs over the past 20 years had stuck with smaller cars, more than 1,000 pedestrian deaths might have been averted, according to one study³.

Heavier vehicles also generate more particulate pollution from tyre wear. They require more materials and energy to build and propel them, adding to emissions and energy use.

How big a problem is this extra weight? A rough comparison between mortality costs and climate benefits shows that it is significant. Under the energy systems operating in most countries today, the cost of extra lives lost from a 700-kg increase in the weight of an electrified truck rivals the climate benefits of avoided greenhouse-gas emissions.

Two main factors are at play: the battery’s weight and supports as well as the cleanliness of the electricity grids it is charged from. In calculating the cost of the extra weight, we used the US Department of Transport’s value of US$11.6 million per avoided fatality. The cost–benefit trade-off holds even if we assume that the social cost of emitting one tonne of carbon dioxide is high, around $150; lower values, such as $50, reduce the estimates for climate benefits. Admittedly, it’s an oversimplification. Realistic cost–benefit analyses for electric vehicles require the evaluation of many other factors. These include the costs from injuries in collisions, the health benefits from cleaner air and the life-cycle impacts of different car designs.

As time goes on, cleaner grids will strengthen the case for electric vehicles. Some countries with lots of clean electricity sources, such as Norway, are already at a point at which electrifying a truck has more climate benefits than safety costs. Others, including the United States, must keep on the path to net-zero electricity systems (see ‘Cost–benefit calculus’). Yet without addressing the weight issue, the benefits for society of going electric will be smaller than they could be in the next decade. Here’s what we think researchers, policymakers and manufacturers need to do to address the issue.

Tax heavy cars

Basic economics tells us that activities that impose costs on others should be taxed. Setting registration charges on the basis of vehicle weight can discourage heavy vehicles and encourage light ones. Collecting weight-based charges also addresses another looming problem for governments — lost revenue from forgone petrol and diesel taxes as more electric vehicles hit the roads.

That’s potentially a lot of money. In 2019, US federal, state and local governments collected more than $112 billion in fuel taxes. Several states have already started levying fees on electric-vehicle owners, in the range of $50–200 per year, to recoup some of that lost tax. It’s fair, they argue, because fuel taxes cover part of the costs of road infrastructure, which electric-vehicle drivers use, too.

Varying such charges by weight would maintain revenue while incentivizing people to choose vehicles that are more energy efficient and impose fewer social costs⁴. It would also reduce other emissions from materials production and manufacturing.

A few places have such taxes. In Iowa, for example, the registration fee increases by $0.40 for every 45 kg of vehicle weight. In New York state, the rate is $1.50 per 45 kg for weights above 750 kg; above 1,600 kg, it rises to $2.50. France will go even further next year, charging a whopping €10 (US$11.60) for every kg that exceeds an 1,800 kg threshold. If that law didn’t already exempt electric and hybrid vehicles, it would have added €12,000 to the price of an electric truck, such as the F-150.

Adding travel distance to the fee would also incentivize people to drive less. Oregon is piloting such a programme, giving owners the option to base their registration fees on the distance they drive in a year (at a rate of roughly 1.1 cents per kilometre) in lieu of fixed annual fees. Travel data can be collected by on-board devices; some insurance companies already offer policies that are based on total mileage and other driving habits.

Shrink batteries

Batteries now cost 90% less than they did ten years ago. And their energy density has more than tripled⁵ since lithium-ion batteries were introduced in 1991. Yet most of the gains in battery technology have gone to increase the distance an electric car can travel in a single charge, and to boost the car’s power. Over the past decade, for example, Nissan has brought to market a long-range version of its flagship Leaf electrical vehicle, with triple the range (364 kilometres) and double the horsepower (214 hp). But its weight has grown, too, by 14%, to 1,749 kg.

Driving range is important for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles. Most consumers buy cars on the basis of reach because they worry about losing power or being unable to recharge on a long trip. Yet, most car journeys are short — to the shops or school. In the United States, for example, on average, drivers travel 56 kilometres per day, far short of the maximum range for electric vehicles.

Extending that reach by another 100 kilometres or so every few years will make electric vehicles more practical for people who need to travel long distances regularly, for work for example. But even now, it has diminishing returns for the average driver. Fast-charging infrastructure is being deployed more widely. Producing lightweight batteries will reap rewards immediately.

Ways to lighten batteries include using materials that are more energy-dense, and removing heavier components. For example, solid-state batteries that don’t use liquid electrolytes and have the latest anode chemistries are more compact and could offer higher energy densities than is possible for lithium-ion cells. Lithium–silicon batteries can achieve higher energy densities if manufacturers use more silicon in anodes rather than graphite. Improvements can also be digital — wireless battery management systems can shed up to 90% of the web of wires. Using fewer materials helps manufacturers to save money.

But cutting-edge technologies are expensive to incorporate, raising the costs of electric cars. Government support, from the laboratory to the factory to the consumer, is thus essential to spur innovation and development. Weight-based registration charges could supply some of that money. US subsidies for electric vehicles currently increase with the storage capacity of the battery. Basing electric-vehicle subsidies instead on energy storage per kg (kWh kg⁻¹) would incentivize advances in lighter batteries.

Further developments in battery technology are needed to reduce pollution from manufacturing and to consume less cobalt and other rare metals and minerals. Schemes for recycling and reusing battery and other materials need to be put in place⁶, before tens of millions of electric vehicles arrive on and then leave the roads.

Lighten frames

Tesla, Volvo, GM and other car makers are exploring using battery packaging to support part of the vehicle’s chassis. On the horizon is making the vehicle frame itself the medium to store energy. Research and development is needed to improve conductivity, strength and how structural batteries handle crashes⁷.

About one-third of a vehicle’s mass is conventional steel, down from 44% in 1995. Vehicle structures can be made stronger and lighter by using advanced forms of steel, more aluminium and magnesium, and polymers reinforced with carbon fibre. Each material brings its own cost and technical challenges as well as emissions impacts from production and supply chains. Researchers need to assess these trade-offs to find safe, clean and affordable solutions.

Substituting aluminium for steel reduces vehicle weight and improves energy efficiency. But aluminium production can have nearly five times the embodied carbon emissions of steel⁸. Switching to recycled aluminium with a low-carbon grid can lower life-cycle emissions to below those of steel.

Reduce crashes

With heavier vehicles on the road, safety becomes even more important. Some vehicles already use cameras, radar and other sensors to avoid collisions by monitoring blind spots and driver alertness. These devices keep vehicles in lanes, adjust speeds, control headlights and apply the brakes if there’s a threat of a crash. Deploying such technologies across the entire US vehicle fleet could avoid thousands of fatalities, more than one million crashes and billions of dollars in social costs annually⁹.

Old ideas to improve street safety should still be encouraged — speed limits, traffic calming road designs and pedestrian-focused infrastructure. Paris, Brussels, Bilbao and other cities have limited speeds on most roads to 30 kilometres per hour.

Drive less

Reducing the distance driven can help in meeting climate targets as electric and, eventually, automated vehicles become widely available¹⁰. Policies should ensure that alternatives such as walking, biking and public transport are safer, more convenient, accessible, affordable and reliable.

Urban designers should consider the impacts of zoning and development on driving patterns to minimize average distances travelled and air-pollution impacts that disproportionately burden vulnerable communities. One legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic is a realization of how much work can be done remotely, with less commuting. Solving these challenges will save lives and protect the climate.

Ultimately, to manage climate change, the world needs to stop emitting greenhouse gases from vehicles and power plants. Electric vehicles powered from a clean grid are an essential step in the right direction. A focus on driving lighter, safer, cleaner and less can ensure a better future for everyone.

BEIJING, Oct 12 (Reuters) – Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (300750.SZ) plans to build a battery material recycling facility in the central Chinese province of Hubei with an investment of up to 32 billion yuan ($4.96 billion), the electric-vehicle battery maker said on Tuesday.

The company’s announcement comes at a time when global demand for electric vehicles has surged, which makes securing battery materials a key task for the industry.

China, the world’s biggest car market, has also set standards and policies to promote battery recycling and save materials.

A CATL unit will form a joint venture with Hubei Yihua Chemical Industry Co Ltd (000422.SZ) to recycle used EV batteries for chemicals such as cobalt and lithium, the company said in a filing.

Last month, CATL said it had agreed to acquire Canada’s Millennial Lithium Corp (ML.V), as it looks to shore up the supply of key ingredients for EV batteries.

The leading EV battery maker in China, CATL’s list of customers include a swathe of automakers such as Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) and Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE).

($1 = 6.4526 Chinese yuan)

Reporting by Yilei Sun and Brenda Goh; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – Ford’s recent announcement of a new battery plant being built in Hardin County removed any doubt from the claim that electric vehicles (EVs) are the future of transportation. EV owners are concerned that the future will arrive and the state will not be ready by not investing in critical infrastructure.

“Right now, if you’re driving an electric car in and around Kentucky,” Kentuckians for Better Transportation executive director Jennifer Kirchner said, “there are certain places where you’re not going to be able to go.”

A map published by a group of EV owners and enthusiasts called Evolve Kentucky shows the problem. There is a cluster of charging stations in Louisville Metro but few to none everywhere else in the state.

Ford building a battery plant in Hardin County with plans to step up electric vehicle production brings to light how the state’s EV infrastructure is lagging.

Observers describe current times as like the days before the first Model-T rolled off the assembly line. Back then, newly purchased cars precipitated the need for better roads and more gasoline stations. Today, the need is for charging stations.

“I think we’re really hitting it right now,” Stuart Ungar, the co-founder of Evolve KY, said. “I think it’s the beginning of exponential growth.”

Current EV owners describe a problem called “range anxiety,” the worry of taking a road trip and being unable to find a charging station to re-charge for the trip home.

“I got in a situation not too long ago where my reliable charger in Lexington was out of service for a little bit,” EV owner Andy Barber said.

Barber said it is the only reason he might miss driving his old internal combustion car.

“The range,” he said. “It was nice being able to take it and drive down to Florida and back.”

On Monday, it was with some fanfare that Louisville government officials announced the arrival of a new charging station in Jefferson Memorial Forest, the city’s most remote charging station.

“On the other side of that hill about 25 miles away, we’re going to feel the impact of those 58-hundred jobs as this technology evolves,” Metro Councilman Mark Fox (D-District 13) said. “And following Ford will be General Motors, Volkswagen behind that, and the tide rolls on.”

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