Briefly | 01 Mar 2023
04:16 Share

It’s EV News Briefly for Wednesday 1st March. I’ll be back as usual at 5pm UK time, that’s Midday Eastern, for the full podcast.  Patreon supporters get the episodes as soon as they’re ready AND ad free. You can be like them by clicking here).

Tesla has finally opened its Superchargers to non-Tesla EV owners in the US. Non-Tesla EV owners can access the Superchargers using the Tesla app. Check the map to see the latest open sites. Social media posts have shown the Magic Dock connector in use.

Tesla has announced the price for their CCS adapter retrofit, which allows Tesla owners to use public charging stations that use the CCS standard for $500.

Tesla is planning to build a new factory in Monterrey, Mexico, representing an initial investment of $1bn, which could grow to be $10bn over time, and is expected to produce around one million vehicles per year. This comes as electric car demand is set to grow, and as other car manufacturers such as BMW and Ford invest in Mexican factories to reduce costs.

Toyota engineers have conducted a teardown study of the Tesla Model Y calling it a "work of art", leading to a new "EV-first" mindset and a wholly reengineered, next-generation platform dedicated to battery electric vehicles arriving in 2026. Toyota is preparing for the EV era with a new leadership team and a focus on incorporating breakthroughs from Tesla while retaining Toyota's focus on safety, quality and reliability.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is purchasing over 9,000 battery-powered delivery vans from Ford Motor Co. as part of a $10 billion plan to electrify its aging fleet and aims to electrify 75% of its service trucks over the next five years, marking a significant shift towards reducing the agency's carbon footprint and improving the sustainability of its operations.

Shell has acquired Evpass, Switzerland's largest electric vehicle (EV) charging network, with 3,000 charging points, to expand its charging network and achieve its goal of operating over 500,000 EV charge points globally by 2025. The acquisition will enable Shell to rapidly expand the number of EV charge points offered at its stations and other destinations in Switzerland.

Rivian reported a loss of $1.7bn in Q4 2022, with total losses for the year at $6.8bn, despite revenue of $663m and deliveries of 8,054 vehicles in the quarter. The company expects to produce 50,000 vehicles in 2023, with supply chain problems expected to continue but become easier to anticipate.

Vietnamese automaker VinFast cuts lease prices by 50% for its electric vehicle range ahead of its official launch to compete with global rivals like Tesla.

Smart Cars, a division of Mercedes-Benz, has announced the discontinuation of its all-electric EQ Fortwo model as it shifts its focus towards producing more electric SUVs and crossovers.

A new electric logging vehicle is set to be trialed in South Australia's Green Triangle region in an effort to reduce carbon emissions and improve sustainability in the forestry industry. The electric vehicle, which is being developed by Australian company Logset, is powered by lithium-ion batteries and has the capacity to work for a full day on a single charge.

SonnenVPP has integrated electric vehicles (EVs) to stabilize the German grid managed by Tennet, allowing greater flexibility in balancing supply and demand, and providing additional frequency regulation services. This integration is part of a larger effort to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the grid.

Electric car owners are more satisfied with their vehicles than ever before, according to a J.D. Power study of over 9,000 electric car owners, with range and charging experience as the biggest drivers of satisfaction. In the premium segment Rivian R1T came top of the ranking followed by Model 3, Model Y, Audi e-tron and Polestar 

Edmunds has launched a new feature called "Battery Insights" to improve transparency for used EV car shoppers by providing detailed information on battery health, range, and charging history. The goal is to promote adoption rates and reduce carbon footprints of transportation.