• Energy

Tesla Has Q1 Profit, Ford and Rivian Scrap Plans to Build EVs

• #conservationist
• electric vehicles
• environment
• EVs
• Hummer
• Rivian
• Tesla

CNBC reported yesterday that despite factory closures in China and the U.S., Tesla managed to eke out $16M in profit in the first quarter of the year, but it remains unclear how quickly its U.S. car plant and suppliers can ramp up production once it re-opens from Covid-19 restrictions. 

Why This Matters: The COVID pandemic is a setback for many industries — but particularly ones working to get off the ground like electric vehicle manufacturing.

• Climate Change

China Building To Dominate 21st Century’s Renewable Energy Sector And Fight Climate Change

• batteries
• China
• climate change
• electric vehicles
• EVs
• oil and gas
• solar panels

The U.S., Russia and Saudi Arabia may have dominated the 20th-century energy market, but according to an in-depth article in yesterday’s Houston Chronicle, China is now determined to dominate the 21st-century market in which energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions have become paramount for nations contending with climate change.

Why This Matters:  The United States, thanks to President Trump and his desire to prop up the dying coal, gas, and oil industries, is falling behind in this competition for the future energy market.

• Energy

General Motors Announces Huge Investment In EV Plant in Michigan

• electric vehicles
• General Motors
• Hummer
• SUVs

General Motors announced big plans to invest $2.2 Billion in a plant in Detroit in a plant that will build only electric vehicles including the company’s first all-electric pickup truck and the first of multiple electric truck models (reportedly including a Hummer) and an autonomous vehicle they will build the plant in the coming years.

Why This Matters:  They are not wasting any time — GM’s first all-electric pickup is expected to begin in late 2021.

• Sustainability

Volkswagen Will Lead BEV Market By 2030

• BEVs
• electric vehicles
• Kia
• Tesla
• volkswagen

A new analysis by energy industry experts predicts that Volkswagen will produce 14 million electric vehicles by 2028 and will leap from 10th place to the largest producer of BEVs, grabbing more than a quarter of all sales globally. 

Why This Matters:  Making the switch globally to BEVs is one of the key ways to drive down CO2 emissions in the next 10 years.

• Politics

Climate Change and Debating Democrats — Where Do They Stand?

• #DemocraticDebate
• climate change
• democrats
• electric vehicles

Of the 6 candidates on the stage tomorrow night, Senator Sanders has the most aggressive plans to address climate change and the environment — he backs $16 Trillion in federal government spending and the whole of the Green New Deal, whereas Amy Klobuchar has the most modest plans with spending at about $1 Trillion, and the other four are clumped together in the $1.5-3 Trillion range with an alphabet soup of program ideas.

Why This Matters: As the field winnows and the time spent with each candidate on specific issues during debates can expand, it will be interesting to see if climate change gets more air time.

• Energy

New Poll Explains Consumer Reluctance To Buy EVs

• electric vehicles
• EVs
• range anxiety

According to a new Ipsos poll, Americans want to take individual actions to combat climate change, but only 30% were willing to buy an electric vehicle.  According to a larger global survey on battery electric vehicles (BEVs), the reasons for the lack of consumer uptake were concerns about the higher cost of BEVs, their limited […]

• Air

PTI – In 2020, Let’s Talk More About Air Pollution

• air pollution
• clean air
• Clean Air Act
• electric vehicles
• Tesla

By Miro Korenha and Monica Medina Pardon the interruption from the constant conversation about the stock market, impeachment and conflict in the Middle East.  We’d like to talk about something completely different.  2020 is the 50th anniversary of the passage of one of our nation’s bedrock environmental laws — the Clean Air Act.  This week […]

• Energy

Oil Prices Rise — Could This Be the Last Decade of Oil and Gas Industry Growth?

• electric vehicles
• oil and gas
• renewable energy

Oil prices spiked last Friday after the U.S. airstrike last week, finishing the week up 3.6% globally according to MarketWatch, and sparking fears that it could reach $80 a barrel (currently it is at $69/barrel).  But even before this latest price increase, industry experts were beginning to wonder whether “the oncoming 2020s may well go down in history as the decade when the world’s demand for crude peaked for good,” the Houston Chronicle reported.

Why This Matters:  Energy analysts see the handwriting on the wall — that, as one put it, “[y]ou can paint a pretty bearish picture that oil demand is going to plateau before 2030.”

• Air

Top Stories of 2019: Car Wars and Federalism

• air pollution
• California cars
• carbon emissions
• electric vehicles

News about electric vehicles — both cars and trucks — and particularly the efforts of California and other states to elevate their standards on tailpipe emissions to both reduce carbon and toxic air emissions made headlines throughout the year in Our Daily Planet.

Why This Matters: The future of cars is electric — if only we can get out of our own way to speed them to the finish line.

• Air

Electric Cars Racing Ahead

• electric vehicles
• Ford
• Formula One Racing
• Mustang

This week, in the good news category, electric cars just got a lot sexier — Ford unveiled its Mustang Mach-E, an all-electric SUV at a starting price of less than $50,000, and Ford’s CEO expects it will be profitable from the starting line, as well as zero-emission.   And for auto racing fans, CNN reported that […]

• People

Yes, We Need More Electric Vehicles, But We Also Need to Drive Less

• decarbonization
• electric vehicles
• EVs
• green infrastructure

Throughout the Democratic presidential debates, and even at our own Climate Forum 2020, candidates emphasized the need for America to transition to more electric vehicle use. In fact, many of the Democratic candidates’ climate plans include sizeable investments for electric vehicle infrastructure, even offering “cash for clunkers” programs. However, as City Lab recently argued, before […]

• Air

Ford and VW Team Up To Develop Electric and Self-Driving Cars

• autonomous vehicles
• cars
• electric vehicles
• Ford
• General Motors
• volkswagen

Ford Motors and Volkswagen announced Friday that they will partner to jointly develop electric and self-driving cars — in a union that plays to the strength of each company, Ford having an advantage on self-driving cars and Volkswagon on electric cars.  Volkswagen, since its settlement for fraud violations concerning pollution control systems on their diesel-fueled cars, has been working to bring to market next year a fully electric model called the ID.3, that it will sell for $34,000, making it affordable for middle-income buyers.  As a result, Ford will introduce a vehicle in Europe made from VW components in 2023, and plans to sell 600,000 electric cars over six years.