When Jeff Cowie bought his first electric car in 2019, the Tesla Model 3 checked all the boxes: It meshed with his environmental ideals, offered a fun driving experience and the technology aligned with what he was used to as an avid Apple user.
Mr. Cowie admits he was also impressed by the bold ambitions of Tesla Inc.’s space-exploring chief executive officer, Elon Musk.
The Ford Motor Co is recalling 20,484 hybrid crossover SUVs over battery concerns that could potentially lead to a fire, documents lodged with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) set out.
The recall covers 16,480 Escape and 4004 Lincoln Corsair plug-in-hybrid SUVs from model years 2020 to 2024.
Short-sighted policy gave China the upper hand
The Mirafiori car plant is the last surviving automobile factory in Turin, the historical engine of the Italian car industry. At Mirafiori’s post-war peak, Fiat manufactured one million vehicles a year, employing 60 000 people. For much of this past year, so few cars have been produced for Stellantis at the plant that one worker recently remarked that “Mirafiori has already been closed. It’s just that it reopens sometimes”.
It has been a terrible few months for most of the world’s once-leading automobile companies. In September, Volkswagen gave notice of plans to shut at least three of its 10 German factories and cut wages by 10%, breaching a 1994 agreement to protect jobs in its home country until at least 2029, prompting rolling two- and four-hour strikes. As production ground to a halt again at Mirafiori in November, Stellantis made public that the Vauxhall plant at Luton would close in April 2025, cancelling the company’s prior plan to produce Vivaro electric vans there. In the same month, Ford indicated it would cut 3,800 jobs in Europe by 2027, while Nissan announced 9,000 job losses and a 20% cut in worldwide production. A senior official at Nissan is reported to have said that the Japanese company has “12 or 14 months to survive”.
Ford, for five decades the bestselling car brand in the UK, could be the one of the biggest losers from Britain’s attempt to make manufacturers sell more electric cars.
This week the government began a review of the zero emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate brought in by the previous Tory administration.
Unless there is a substantial revision of the targets, however, Ford could be facing an uphill battle to avoid tens of millions of pounds in penalties in future years for failing to deliver enough electric cars.
Industry Minister signals shift in Canada’s EV strategy, as era of chasing big new battery plants comes to an end
The era of Canada putting down big bets on massive new electric-vehicle battery plants is coming to end.
As Industry Minister, François-Philippe Champagne has led the strategy that’s seen Stellantis N.V., Volkswagen Group and Honda Motor Co. commit to new factories in Ontario that represent some of the biggest investments in the history of Canada’s auto sector.
A few months ago, Mr. Champagne was still talking up the possibility of landing one or two more such commitments from global automakers.
If Canada’s electric vehicle transition started out the year with a burst of momentum, one that was riding high amid billions of dollars of public and private investment, then it was also the year when things started to go on the skids.
Some real eyeopeners here.
This link is to an hour long speech on EV Myths – EV Mandates vs. Freedom | Mark P. Mills
Hertz is culling its portfolio of EVs in response to the sharp depreciation affecting some of its most popular models, including the Tesla Model 3. In what appears to be an aggressive effort to offload these vehicles, the rental giant has begun reaching out directly to customers currently renting them, offering an opportunity to purchase the cars outright on the spot.
h/t DS
Advocates calling for return to electric vehicle rebate in Ontario
The city of Toronto has an ambitious goal: by 2030, it wants 30 per cent of all vehicles on the road to be electric. But currently, that number is only between three and four per cent.
So what’s the hold up?
Canadian drivers’ main concerns about electric vehicles include up front purchase price, repairs and maintenance, battery replacement and a lack of charging stations, according to the EY Mobility Consumer Index report released this year.
A new electric vehicle in Canada costs an average of $67,920 — which is about $6,400 more than the average for all new vehicles across the market, according to car valuation service Canadian Black Book
Engineers working for the parent company of Jaguar Land Rover were locked in a Vietnamese factory in a rush to get an “unsafe” car to market, whistleblowers have told The Times.
One worker, who claimed he was sacked by Jaguar Land Rover after raising concerns about the electric cars, said he feared the vehicles had “critical” safety faults.
Teresa Marshall was an early electric vehicle adopter.
In 2019, she was driving about 50,000 kilometres a year. To save on gas and maintenance, and reduce her impact on the environment, she purchased a used 2017 Nissan Leaf for about $20,000.
“It’s been a great vehicle,” she said. “Maintenance wise, it’s cost me a fraction. The oil change on my Acura TL was about 600 bucks. I’ve spent about $600 total on services on my Leaf in the last five years. It’s a big difference.”
The Lion Electric Co. says it expects to seek protection from creditors under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.
The electric school bus maker says it has defaulted on its debt and is in talks with its senior lenders to obtain additional funds for a new debtor-in-possession credit facility.
It says it plans to restructure its business and pursue a formal sales and investment solicitation process.
The left is entirely paradoxical, and nowhere is that more obvious than the “clean” energy narrative, a truth so inconvenient that even Forbes just published a new report exposing the disconnect: “Is Clean Energy Powered By Dirty Batteries?”
Spoiler alert: Yes, that’s exactly what keeps the industry going… along with “dirty” oil, “dirty” mining, and “dirty” human slavery…
Elon Musk can’t be faulted for ingenuity, work ethic and fierce independence — but maybe he should stick to building rockets and his X social media platform instead of battery powered trucks.
Another video has surfaced of a Tesla Cybertruck — possibly the ugliest vehicle ever made — wallowing like an injured moose in the snow – this time in Montreal.
