assembly plants
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Electric-car maker Tesla is known for troubled launches, at least for the four products it's offered since the first Roadster in 2008. But the launch of the Tesla Model 3, its lower-priced electric sedan, may be the most challenging yet—and it may be the Tesla with the highest expectations. The first 30 cars, now accepted to be largely hand-built, were delivered to their buyers at the end of July 2017. CHECK OUT: 2018 Tesla Model 3 - full review At that point, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said he expected to be building 5,000 electric cars a week by the end of December—a target now pushed...
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Could Tennessee top Michigan in U.S. electric-car production (if not California)?Today, battery-electric cars are built in volume at only three locations across the entire United States. Tesla builds its three different electric models in Fremont, California; the new 2018 Nissan Leaf has just gone into production in Smyrna, Tennessee; and the Chevrolet Bolt EV is built at the...
John Voelcker -
2018 Nissan Leaf electric car now rolling off lines in Tennessee
The 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car will start to appear at Nissan dealers in January, the company said Monday. That availability came in an announcement that the second-generation electric car officially went into production the same day at Nissan's sprawling assembly plant in Smyrna, Tennessee...
John Voelcker -
Just 260 Tesla Model 3s built in three months, volume production delayed: Q3 results and call
Only one topic really mattered in the Tesla third-quarter financial results call for analysts held Wednesday afternoon: Model 3. In light of far lower September deliveries than promised as late as July by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, all interest focused on the more-affordable, higher-volume electric car...
John Voelcker -
Mercedes to invest $1 billion to build electric SUVs, batteries in Alabama
Daimler, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, announced that it will invest up to $1 billion to build electric SUVs and batteries in and around its assembly plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The plans, first reported reported Thursday in The Wall Street Journal (paywalled), represent a major expansion...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Bolt EV, Sonic, Bolt, Sonic: GM mingles gas, electric cars on same assembly line
General Motors didn't have to construct an all-new assembly plant to build its affordable, mass-market Chevrolet Bolt EV electric car. In fact, it produces the electric car at the existing Orion assembly plant in Michigan, which opened in 1983. That's not the most interesting aspect of Bolt EV...
Sean Szymkowski -
The question of where consumer goods are made has become more prominent in our political discourse of late, cars among them. Every automobile sold in the U.S. carries a listing of content sources, specifying what percentage by value of its overall content comes from which countries or regions. Electric cars, it turns out, have some anomalies. DON'T MISS: 2014 Nissan Leaf Domestic Content: Now Closer To Volt, Focus Electric (Mar 2014) Three years ago, digging into the domestic content of the Nissan Leaf, which is assembled in Smyrna, Tennessee, with lithium-ion battery cells from the same...
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Toyota, Mazda plan joint plant in U.S., electric-car cooperation: updated
Toyota is one of the largest global automakers, while Mazda is one of the smallest. This morning, the two Japanese makers announced a capital-investment deal under which Toyota would take a small shareholding in Mazda, the smaller maker would invest in Toyota as well, and the two would set up a...
John Voelcker -
China has licensed 9 electric-car plants, more than U.S. has today
Quick trivia question: how many plants are there in the United States currently building electric cars? To be generous, we'll allow both battery-electric and plug-in hybrid models. Any idea? The answer turns out to be four. DON'T MISS: Shanghai auto show: China plugs into electric cars in a big way...
John Voelcker -
Electric cars lead to carmaker job cuts: new flashpoint?
It takes people to make cars: to lift and install parts, check quality, test-drive them after assembly, and so forth. Automation has eliminated many of the jobs performed by humans a century ago on the Ford Model T line, and made the rest much less physically punishing for line workers. But...
John Voelcker -
VW Dresden 'glass house' factory to build e-Golf electric car
The "Transparent Factory" that previously built the Volkswagen Phaeton luxury sedan will now build the e-Golf electric car.
Stephen Edelstein -
Does Tesla have plant, permits to build 500,000 electric cars a year?
The 2017 Chevy Bolt EV is due at dealers within a couple of months, and little is known about the next Nissan Leaf. That leaves the Tesla Model 3 as the biggest question mark among electric cars. We know what the car is, since Tesla unveiled prototypes this spring. It's whether the company can get...
John Voelcker -
Electric-car maker Tesla Motors has had many interesting and unexpected effects in its decade of existence. It's launched a series of electric cars with 200 miles or more of range, which remain—eight years after its first Roadster—the only such cars sold today that can make that claim. Perhaps one of its more unexpected impacts has been on automaking in an unlikely place. DON'T MISS: How Many Electric Cars Does California Buy? One-Third To One-Half Of All Of 'Em Back in 2009, when the company was evaluating locations in which to build its first mass-produced vehicle, it looked at...
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Buick Verano to die as yet another small sedan gives way to SUVs
The Buick Verano compact sedan will end production in October.
Stephen Edelstein -
50,000th Nissan Leaf electric car built in U.K. plant
Nissan's Sunderland plant recently built its 50,000th Leaf electric car.
Stephen Edelstein -
Here's What The Tesla Model X Assembly Line Looks Like
See the Tesla Model X assembly line in a new video.
Stephen Edelstein -
Honda Accord Hybrid Production Relocates From Ohio To Japan
The topic of the press release issued late last Wednesday was not the sort of thing to set green-car fans' hearts racing: "Statement...Re: North American Production Portfolio". But buried in several paragraphs of detail from John Mendel, executive vice president of American Honda, was one...
John Voelcker -
Tesla Factory Retooling Completed Ahead Of Planned Production Boost
Tesla completes a retooling of its Fremont, California, factory.
Stephen Edelstein -
Every time a new environmental regulation is proposed in the United States, there's a predictable chorus of doom-and-gloom predictions that it will kill jobs, cause manufacturers to move their operations out of the country, and destroy the economy. Those predictions tend to be a bit, shall we say, overstated. DON'T MISS: EPA's Coal-Plant Emissions Rules: This Will Be The Big Fight We're hearing the same chorus now that the EPA has issued its regulations to reduce the carbon emissions of existing powerplants, which will likely lead to a gradual phaseout of most coal generation capability in...
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Mother-Daughter Team Installs Battery Packs In Chevy Volt Electric Cars
A mother and daughter work side by side to install Chevy Volt battery packs at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck plant.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla Hiring At Second California Facility, Ex-Chrysler Plant
Tesla is seeking workers for a new facility, a former Chrysler parts-distribution plant in Lathrop, California.
Stephen Edelstein -
GM To Add Plant Jobs, Invest $450 Million For 2016 Chevy Volt
New jobs and plant updates by carmakers often get little attention outside the towns involved, but sometimes they telegraph information about future models. The Detroit News said Saturday that GM is expected to announce it will update its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant, spending $450 million and...
John Voelcker -
2014 Nissan Leaf Domestic Content: Now Closer To Volt, Focus Electric
Last fall, we learned that the first year of U.S. production of the Nissan Leaf electric cars, built in Smyrna, Tennessee, had only 15 percent North American content. This year, the numbers are somewhat better--and they bring the Leaf closer to the domestic-content percentage of other plug-in...
John Voelcker -
Ford Focus & Ford C-Max Hybrid: Is Now The Best Time To Buy?
Dry announcements about temporary auto-plant shutdowns can sometimes offer hints to possible bargains on new cars. In this case, Ford said it will close the plant that makes the Ford C-Max Hybrid (and Energi plug-in hybrid) and the Ford Focus compact sedan and hatchback for two separate weeks in...
John Voelcker
