Industry
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Tomorrow is expected to be the day when President Donald Trump announces the EPA will reopen the comment period for the vehicle emissions standards it finalized in the waning days of the Obama Administration. The event will likely be accompanied by predictable language: Trump will be “highlighting the need to eliminate burdensome regulations that needlessly hinder meaningful job growth," in the words of beleaguered White House press secretary Sean Spicer. But assuming that's the substance of the announcement—and Trump doesn't, say, announce that all emission limits will be...
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Electric-car winds in China shift again: goals to be cut after sales fall?
Eight weeks ago, China seemed to be preparing to loosen its famously strict car-manufacturing rules for foreign makers. The government leaders who direct economic policy had seemingly concluded that Chinese makers could not succeed in selling cars in Europe and North America. So the country...
John Voelcker -
Tesla exec turnover soars as Model 3 pressure builds
Tesla says it will put its mass-priced Model 3 electric car into production by July, and ramp up production extremely quickly from there. CEO Elon Musk hopes to be building 5,000 cars each week by the end of the year; he previously set a goal of producing 500,000 cars across all model lines by the...
Stephen Edelstein -
Industry should standardize electric-car trip data, Ford says
As in other industries, "big data" is an increasingly common buzzword these days in discussions of electric cars. Last November, several research entities presented relevant data sets and advocated for their use at an electric-car "datathon" hosted by the White House. Putting theory into practice...
Stephen Edelstein -
Auto lobby again asks to redo emission rule, to new EPA chief Pruitt this time
Lobbyists for the world's automakers continue to ask the new presidential administration to revisit an EPA decision to finalize emissions standards through 2025. Just days after the November election, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers wrote President-Elect Trump to ask that he reverse the...
Stephen Edelstein -
Speedy growth of electric cars will challenge automakers
Estimates of electric-car market share over the coming decades vary wildly, but certain trends seem to be working in their favor. Battery prices should continue to fall, and tougher global emissions standards may put increasing pressure on automakers to build larger numbers of electric cars. But...
Stephen Edelstein -
Just days after the presidential election, an automaker lobbying group wrote Donald Trump asking him to change or delay an EPA decision that kept planned exhaust-emission standards through 2025. Now executives of 18 automakers have sent a second letter, asking the same thing—and echoing a statement by Ford CEO Mark Fields that "up to 1 million jobs" were at risk from the standards. As before, that estimate is based on a study whose assumptions are so extreme that they "don't make sense," according to one critique. DON'T MISS: Emissions rules could cost 1 million jobs, Ford CEO tells...
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What White House faces if it tries to roll back fuel-economy standards
Donald Trump won the U.S. Electoral College and swept into the White House on a varied platform that included significant promises to cut regulation and reduce government involvement in a wide variety of spheres. The day after his election, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers sent him a letter...
John Voelcker -
Rest of world: Trump may roll back emission rules, but we won't
With auto-industry lobbyists pushing to have the Trump Administration roll back current and future emission and fuel-economy rules, automakers clearly see the new U.S. regime as more friendly to the needs of business. And it's possible that indeed, the EPA's vehicle emission limits, the NHTSA's...
John Voelcker -
China to loosen electric-car rules for foreign makers, because they didn't work
It has long been official Chinese government industrial policy to dominate the world's production of lithium-ion battery cells and to establish a commanding electric-car industry. This would not only position the country in crucial industries of the future but give it a way to start attacking the...
John Voelcker -
Tesla challenge: make money on electric cars when GM, Nissan, VW don't have to
Debate over the profitability of Tesla electric cars has raged for years among its fans and detractors. Tesla supporters point to financial data from the Silicon Valley automaker to support the idea that it makes money on each car it sells. Skeptics point out that save for two marginally profitable...
John Voelcker -
German government worries carmakers vulnerable to electric-car onslaught
The German government believes its car industry may fall behind in the race to build more electric cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Just when it looked like the Volkswagen Group was getting a grip on its diesel emissions cheating scandal that erupted in September 2015, a report has come out claiming the automaker has cars with a different type of “defeat device” used to hide emissions from regulators. Germany’s Bild am Sonntag (via Reuters) on Sunday reported that the California Air Resources Board (CARB) discovered software in an automatic transmission used by Audi to hide emissions, this time in both gasoline and diesel cars. According to the report, the software could determine whether a car was on a...
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Carmakers must cut carbon rapidly to evolve, shareholders say
Investors are calling on automakers to cut carbon emissions more aggressively.
Stephen Edelstein -
China has a plan for all its electric-car startups; they may not like it
It has been an official goal of the Chinese government to encourage the development and sale of plug-in electric cars for several years now. They are intended not only to help fight the choking air pollution in many parts of the country, but also give China's auto industry an edge in future...
John Voelcker -
Nissan moves to take control of Mitsubishi
Nissan confirmed on Thursday it will acquire 34 percent of Mitsubishi in a deal worth 237 billion yen (approximately $2.17 billion). The deal, which still requires shareholder approval, will make Nissan the single largest shareholder in Mitsubishi and provide it with control of the company...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Volvo's ambitious sales plans: 1 million electric & plug-in hybrid cars by 2025
Volvo plans to offer two hybrid versions of every model, and at least one all-electric car.
Stephen Edelstein -
Have battery makers become more important for electric cars than carmakers?
Battery makers are becoming increasingly important in the development of electric cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Every so often, Green Car Reports is asked to take part in panels and industry events discussing the future of advanced auto technologies—particularly electric cars. Two weeks ago, at the New York Auto Show, site editor John Voelcker joined electric-car advocate Chelsea Sexton and Salim Morsy of Bloomberg New Energy Finance to discuss "the EV era" now arriving in fits and starts. The 28-minute segment, broadcast on Autoline TV, was moderated by long-time host John McElroy. DON'T MISS: Finally, auto industry starts to admit: electric vehicles are better (Note that the "2012" on the...
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Tesla Model 3 depositors vs Chevy Bolt EV: sea change or double standard?
More than 325,000 potential buyers have put down $1,000 apiece for a Tesla Model 3 electric car that they won't get for two years, if not considerably longer than that. Which must frustrate the electrification team at General Motors deeply. The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV with more than 200 miles of...
John Voelcker -
Former GM Product Czar Bob Lutz Asks: Is Tesla Doomed?
Former General Motors product czar Bob Lutz, now retired for a few years, is largely respected within the auto industry. He stopped flying his MIG fighter jet when he turned 80, as the story goes, but he remains a larger-than-life persona in an industry with fewer and fewer of them. He's still...
John Voelcker -
LG Chem Adds Tesla To Customer List, Will Supply Cells For Roadster Upgrade
Of the three largest lithium-ion cell suppliers for electric cars, only one can count almost a dozen automakers among its customers. Now that company, LG Chem, has added another name to its roster: Tesla Motors. The Silicon Valley maker of luxury electric cars confirmed yesterday that it would...
John Voelcker -
Old Saab 9-3 To Become Turkish National Car; Electric Version May Be Included
NEVS has licensed the Saab 9-3 to the Turkish government, which plans to use it as the basis for a "national car."
Stephen Edelstein -
VW Diesel Emission Scandal: Five Possible Long-Range Effects
Thus far, it's a been a quiet start to the third week of the Volkswagen diesel-emission cheating scandal. Eight years' worth of VW TDI models, both new and used, have been taken off sale at the company's North American dealerships. We surmise its engineers are working around the clock at their...
John Voelcker