EDITOR'S PICK

Car Companies Have Been Screwing Up E-Bikes For Longer Than You Think

03 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

"Despite millions upon millions of e-bikes being produced and sold each year by bicycle companies, automotive companies have spent decades failing to convert their design and manufacturing experience into e-bike success.

"Legendary American automotive visionary Lee Iacocca was all-in on electric bikes as far back as the 1990s...even automotive great Lee Iacocca couldn't make e-bikes work for car companies.

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Buttigieg Schools Fox News Reporter Upset Biden Is Shoving EVs Down Consumers' Throats'

03 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

Fox News' John Roberts...asserted "EV sales are nowhere near what this president wanted or expected, yet the administration continues to shove them down consumers' throats. Why?

Secretary Buttigieg responded "The reality is that the automotive sector is moving toward EVs, and the U.S. can either fall behind China or we can claim the lead...President Biden wants to make sure that those EVs are made in America..."

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What Electric Vehicle Shoppers Want Isn't What's For Sale, And It's Hurting Sales, Says Poll

03 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

"...there's also a wide gap between what car shoppers want and what's for sale, Edmunds' 2024 EV consumer sentiment survey

"The top three things Edmunds says EV shoppers want...47% want one for less than $40,000, and 22% are interested in EVs below $30,000...43% are interested in a car, 42% would consider an SUV/crossover and only 10% would consider a truck...EVs from the most trusted brands...with Tesla and BMW taking the top two spots..."

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Here's Why The Auto Industry Got The EV Adoption Timeline Wrong

03 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

"...last year, EV sales grew by 50%, but that still is below the 70% the industry forecasted...last year, EV sales grew by 50%, but that still is below the 70% the industry forecasted

"It's no secret why. Impassioned EV buyers by now have one. Convincing the early majority is a harder sell.

"To convert the next wave of EV adopters...automakers will have to address key customer requirements...Doing this could lead EVs to account for up to 30% of U.S. sales in the next few years when next-generation EVs are in full production."

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Renault Wants To Become A Leader In Battery Recycling

03 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

"...the use of recycled metals could also help to reduce the price of electric cars, since metals account for 70% of the cost of a battery and batteries account for 40% of the cost of an electric vehicle

"...Renault is betting big on the The Future is Neutral (TFIN) project, with a target of €2.3 billion...no one in Europe can currently claim to recycle used batteries in a closed cycle to extract nickel, cobalt and lithium..."

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China Just Attacked Biden's Electric Vehicle Policy. That's Good For The President

02 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

"To counter [GOPs] anti-EV strategy, the president needs to show that he has the only feasible plan to help American auto manufacturers compete with cheap Chinese cars.

"And if electric cars are so terrible and no one wants them, it wouldn't matter if China made them...Predictably, conservatives are falsely insinuating that the new rules amount to a flat ban on gas-guzzlers."

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Hydrogen Prototypes To Run On Track In Le Mans Build Up

02 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

"...before the start of the 92nd edition of the 24 Hours, several hydrogen-powered prototypes, including the H24 from MissionH24's...using fuel cells and hydrogen combustion engines, will evolve at a sustained pace” between 12 and 1pm

"The ACO and FIA are currently working on a new ruleset for hydrogen technology that will allow manufacturers to compete in the FIA WEC and at the Le Mans 24 Hours in the future."

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Japan Invests $33 Billion For Its New In-House Hydrogen Passenger Jet

02 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

"Building on the challenges that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) encountered, which canceled its long-delayed passenger jet project in 2023, the new public-private consortium strongly emphasizes clean energy.

"If successful, this project will contribute significantly to environmental sustainability and position Japan as an industry leader in a rapidly evolving sector."

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Germany's Thyssenkrupp Launches Fourth-Generation Fuel Cell System

02 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

The fuel cell system was launched after the completion of an extensive test program with more than 70,000 operating hours in the test environment....this is the next big step with huge improvements in availability, redundancy and stealth.

"The FC4G is designed to be a high-availability modular system, composed of redundant components...It relies on the well-proven and exceptionally safe system of metal hydride cylinders for hydrogen...storage"

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Seven Hard Truths about the Climate Crisis

02 Apr 2024 | Synopsis

Climate Wars author Gwynne Dyer pens essay "just as an aide-memoire, these are the inconvenient facts that we must always bear in mind."

"Like soon-to-be bankrupts, we can go on fiddling the books for a while longer, but we cannot stay below the 1.5°C

"...dirty secret about the Paris deal and the <+1.5°C aspirational limit: the target could never have been achieved by cutting emissions alone."

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Detroit Went All-In On Big, Expensive EVs Nobody Wants. Here's What The Data Shows They'd Rather Buy.

31 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"...sudden changes to the electric car shopper demographic mean that for the second time in the last 20 years, Detroit finds itself selling big, expensive cars nobody really wants.

"Edmunds shows that interest in electric pickup trucks only accounts for only 10% of current EV demand...The most desired price range for an EV right now is between $30,000 and $40,000...Only four EVs sell in that range at the moment."

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Electric Vehicles Are Going Mainstream Whether You Like It Or Not

31 Mar 2024 | Synopsis

"In the UK, 'salary sacrifice' schemes have been hugely popular, because they provide the opportunity to save you thousands on owning an EV, and can even make them cheaper to buy than the equivalent internal combustion engine model.

"News articles arguing that the higher fleet sales mean that the public aren’t interested in BEVs are missing the point that a lot of these sales being counted to fleets are salary sacrifice purchases..."

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