Which battery company is looking to expand in the U.S.?

What accolades did the Tesla Model 3 earn this week?

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending July 12, 2019.

Volkswagen and Ford finally reached a long-anticipated agreement for mutual investment in electric cars and self-driving vehicles. Ford will use VW's MEB affordable electric vehicle platform to build a new electric car for Europe.

Something old and something new rounded out the VW news. To celebrate a rededicated design and engineering center in Silicon Valley, it showed a tech-loaded concept based on a vintage Microbus, and demonstrated new artificial-intelligence-based lightweighting technology.

Volkswagen Type 20 Microbus concept

Volkswagen Type 20 Microbus concept

The Tesla Model 3 earned top safety ratings from two agencies this week, in U.S. NHTSA and Euro NCAP testing. Tesla also opened up access to other charging networks for the Model 3 by releasing a new CHAdeMO charging adapter. Meanwhile, CEO Elon Musk tweeted that the older and more expensive Model S and Model X won't get long-anticipated updates. And a ruling on whether Tesla stores act as dealerships is headed to the Connecticut Supreme Court.

2020 Mini Cooper SE Hardtop

2020 Mini Cooper SE Hardtop

Mini revealed its new electric Cooper SE, due to go on sale later this year. And a new report indicates the company may revive its tiny Rocketman city-car concept as an electric vehicle for China.

Toyota announced it is testing a new Prius Prime PHV with advanced solar panels that can deliver an estimated 26 extra miles of EV range per day.

Toyota Prius Prime PHV test vehicle with solar panels in Japan

Toyota Prius Prime PHV test vehicle with solar panels in Japan

As battery supplies get tighter, one of the leading suppliers, LG Chem, is looking for new sites in the U.S., in Kentucky or Tennessee, to open a second battery factory here.

In politics, Congressional Democrats introduced a resolution to declare a "climate emergency" that would, if it had a chance of passing in the Senate, influence decision-making over fuel economy standards. Now the Governors of 23 states have signed on in opposition to Trump administration efforts to freeze increases in those standards and challenge California's right to set cleaner standards. The climate resolution was introduced by many of the same lawmakers who introduced the Green New Deal in February, calling for a transition to 100 percent renewable power. A new report details the cost of such a transition.

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV pre-production

2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV pre-production

General Motors announced progress in cleaning up its factories and beginning its own transition to 100 percent renewable electricity in its latest sustainability report. It also started a new initiative to source tires sustainably.

And Hyundai announced a new emissions-cutting valvetrain development slated for its upcoming 2020 Sonata.

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