We announce the shortlist for Green Car Reports’ Best Car To Buy 2021. Ford is planning to build an EV in Germany, and it confirmed its Mach-E GT Performance Edition might be as quick as a Model Y Performance. And GM and Nikola release a very different agreement. This and more!

General Motors and Nikola have finalized a partnership they first announced in September, but it’s nothing close to what was announced then. The new memorandum of understanding sets the stage for a “cost plus” supply agreement through which Nikola will pay for GM fuel-cell components and battery systems. The effectively cancels the Badger fuel-cell-supplemented electric truck. And the idea of GM taking a $2 billion stake in the startup, which was unraveling even in September? Not mentioned.

Ford has previously confirmed that an electric vehicle based on Volkswagen’s MEB platform would be built in Europe. The EV, due in 2023, has now been confirmed for Ford’s plant in Cologne, Germany, as part of a $1.2 billion investment, according to a report. 

A few more details have been released about the Mustang Mach-E GT Performance Edition arriving in late summer 2021 and for order next spring. Ford says the Performance Edition can get to 60 mph in 3.5 seconds—the same as the Tesla Model Y Performance. Matching the Tesla on driving range could be more of a work in progress, however. 

In just a few weeks we’ll be choosing our Best Car To Buy 2021 from a shortlist of 5 very plug-in vehicles—all very efficient, capable, and compelling. 

And over at Motor Authority: Audi confirmed Monday that it will exit Formula E at the end of the current season, leaving Porsche to represent the VW Group. Meanwhile, Audi will enter the Dakar Rally with a range-extended electric SUV.

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