This week, we have news on BMW's electric range successes, Uber's electric future, Hertz's new deal with GM, and Kia's plans to manufacture EVs in the US. Here's our Top EV News for the week of September 23, 2022.
Check out the full newsletter for the week, which includes more Electric Vehicle News, and also news about Autonomous Vehicles.
Bio: John is the COO at EPG, a company focused on helping electric and autonomous vehicle companies hire the best talent. In addition to these services, EPG puts out an informative weekly newsletter that is now named Mobility EVo. You can sign up for the newsletter here.
Limiting the Range
BMW expects its Gen6 battery to produce over 600 miles of range, but BMW is going to limit the range, on purpose. The company says consumers won’t need that much range, especially as charging times decrease. The Gen6 batteries they plan to use in their EVs will be able to charge up to 30% faster and will weigh significantly less. BMW also expects the batteries to cost up to 50% less to produce. Expect that to be passed on to the end user.
No EV? Bye Bye Bye
Uber has committed to a completely electric fleet by 2030. Uber’s Comfort Electric option is expanding to 25 cities throughout North America, like Atlanta, Denver, Houston, and Vancouver, B.C. Comfort Electric is Uber’s fully electric service versus Uber Green, which allows both EVs and hybrids. Drivers who don’t switch to an electric vehicle by 2030 won’t be allowed to drive for the company. Drivers who do switch will make an additional $1 per ride. This incentive cuts off at $4,000 annually.
Hertz More
Earlier this week, Hertz announced its order of 175,000 electric vehicles from GM. The company will begin using EVs like the Chevrolet Bolt and the Bolt EUV at the start of 2023. Back in October of last year, Hertz announced an order of 100,000 Teslas, which it expects to have all 100,000 by the end of this year. In April 2022, Hertz also announced adding 65,000 Polestar vehicles over the next five years. We hear a lot about companies’ goals to become greener. Hertz is walking the walk.
Made in America
Based on the Inflation Reduction Act, Kia had to think fast and change plans. In order to qualify for the new EV tax credit, Kia is now planning on producing electric vehicles in the United States starting in 2024. There wasn't much more detail than this, but we’re excited to hear about the Kia tax credit coming back in the future. My business partner was looking at a new Kia EV the week the bill passed, and the tax credit disappeared. He put his Kia plans on hold, for the time being.
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