EDITOR'S CHOICE

Electric Cars In Canadian Winter: A Hot Topic!

17 Jan 2024 | Synopsis

"...unlike the minus 40 [C] mornings when a combustion engine won't start without a block heater, you won't have that issue with an EV....There is a debate about how much range an electric vehicle loses in cold temperatures...The safest (and most reasonable) number to go with is the same range loss a combustion vehicle experiences in the winter: 25 per cent."

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Sub-£17,500 Volkswagen ID.1 To Debut By 2027

17 Jan 2024 | Synopsis

"The battery-powered city car, which could carry the name ID.1, is slated to be priced below €20,000 or £17,500, slotting under VW's upcoming ID.2 hatchback...the German carmaker is not a stranger to making small electric cars. The discontinued e-Up! was its first foray into the segment

"When it debuts, probably sometime in 2026, the so-called ID.1 will go up against the next-generation Renault Twingo, which also will cost about €20,000."

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IEA Chief Welcomes 'Unstoppable' Growth Of Clean Energy

17 Jan 2024 | Synopsis

When asked by CNBC commentators at 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos about outcome of just concluded COP 28, IEA head Fatih Birol saw two positive developments: more than 200 countries signed on to pledge to move away from fossil fuels and he sees the growth of clean energy all around the world as "strong" and "unstoppable", including deployment of electric vehicles and heat pumps. He pledged that the IEA will track those nations' performance..."

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Renault Unveils Shapeshifting Morphoz Concept Car

17 Jan 2024 | Synopsis

"...the electric car has an extendable body that can be switched between a shorter, city-car form and a longer version for travel...In addition to a fully electric powertrain with a battery-sharing system, the car has level three driving autonomy and a smart system powered by artificial intelligence...

"The city version of the car is 4.40 metres long with a wheelbase length of 2.73 metres. It is powered by a 40 kilowatt hour (kWh) battery kilowatt hour (kWh) battery that has a range of up to 249 miles to suit day-to-day journeys to work or the shops."

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What EV Sales Slump? Commercial EV Deployments Are Soaring!

17 Jan 2024 | Synopsis

"...the numbers paint a narrative of swift expansion in the commercial EV and ZEV (Zero-Emission Vehicle) markets. CALSTART's latest figures reveal a remarkable 250% growth in the zero-emission heavy truck market.

"While electric semis like the ones from Tesla and Freightliner tend to grab the headlines, it's the commercial van segment that's seeing the most rapid rates of EV adoption...significant surge of 11,835 units deployed in the first half of 2023. That is a staggering 461% increase in deployments..."

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EVs Are Cheaper Than Ever. That's Bad For EV Owners

16 Jan 2024 | Synopsis

"Hertz had sold about a third of its fleet to pay its creditors, but then had to bulk back up....Hertz's decision to buy 100,000 Model 3s in October 2021 - its first major policy since exiting bankruptcy earlier that year - look inexplicably foolhardy in retrospect..Depreciation is a key risk for rental companies, which can see a huge slice of their asset base wiped out at the at the stroke of an accountant's pen .

"Price parity now appears to be arriving. That's great news for the electric car industry, and for drivers who've not been able to afford a battery vehicle - but it offers a silver lining for the beleaguered rental companies..."

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We're Overhauling Our Cars In The Name Of Energy Efficiency - Why Not Our Roads?

16 Jan 2024 | Synopsis

"...Bipartisan Infrastructure Law...created a $6.4 billion program to fund carbon reduction strategies and support a range of projects to reduce emissions from on-road highway sources...U.S. Energy Information Agency projects that in 2050, when 60 percent of the new vehicles sold are projected to be electric vehicles, most vehicles on the road will still likely be powered by ICEs

"...investing in a higher-performance road system is a lever within state control that will improve the efficiency and carbon emissions of all vehicles, regardless of how each is powered. See also: "Induced Demand" question.

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EV Automakers Under Pressure To Demonstrate Material Circularity

16 Jan 2024 | Synopsis

"...material circularity...in lay terms...means assessing the share of material that is recycled and fed back into the economy...the automotive industry focuses on rethinking the surrounding built environment with its materials, its construction techniques, and its methods...

"The EU is intensely focused on material circularity in transportation. They say that the value of products, materials, and resources is strengthened by returning them into the product cycle after they have reached the end of their lifecyle."

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German State Secretary Says Fossil Fuels Are A 'Stranded Asset' And Won’t Be Profitable For Long

16 Jan 2024 | Synopsis

In a CNBC video interview from the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Special Envoy Jennifer Morgan observed that world governments that are enacting strong renewable energy laws are benefiting from a wave a investments in renewable energy projects and, most notably, commented that fossil fuel investments are a "stranded asset" and will not be profitable much longer.

Morgan is the former director of Greenpeace International, Amsterdam.

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US Energy Tax Credit Trading Grows To As Much As $9 Billion, Study Finds

16 Jan 2024 | Synopsis

"Developers of renewable energy projects selling unused U.S. tax credits to other companies now account for a market worth between $7 billion and $9 billion, buoyed by legislation in 2022 that made these trades possible..."

"President Joe Biden's climate law aimed to stoke trillions of dollars of investment to wean the economy off planet-warming fossil fuels...That represents more than one third of the roughly $20 billion traditionally raised each yeare through tax equity for such projects in the United States."

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