• Air

Tesla and other US Car Companies Suspend EV Plants — GM Will Make Ventilators and Masks

• Defense Production Act
• Ford
• General Motors
• masks
• Tesla
• ventilators

The President late on Friday finally used his Defense Production Act authority to order General Motors to begin to make ventilators, and the CEO Elon Musk of Tesla said the company’s New York electric vehicle factory will reopen in order to make ventilators and will also purchase and donate devices to the New York hospitals.

Why This Matters:  EV manufacturing shutdowns particularly impact the next wave of EVs that were about to start to roll off the assembly line – such as Volkswagen’s ID.3 and Tesla’s Model Y.

• Sustainability

GM Wants to Dominate EV Market, Takes Aim At “Pain Points”

• batteries
• cobalt
• Detroit
• EVs
• General Motors
• Tesla

Last week, the CEO of General Motors rolled out the company’s extensive plans to manufacture electric vehicles across all its brands and vehicle models and it even hopes to rejuvenate its luxury Cadillac brand by offering high-end EVs that will compete with Tesla, according to The New York Times.

Why This Matters:  GM is making a big bet on EVs and looking to leapfrog all the other conventional vehicle companies – and make money on these EVs right from the start.

• 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.

• Air

GM, Chrysler and Toyota Take Trump’s Side on Federal Standards on Clean Cars

• California
• Chrysler
• Clean Air Act
• clean cars
• General Motors

Three major automakers announced late Monday that they join the ongoing litigation on clean cars in support of the federal government’s authority to decide whether there should be a single, federally mandated standard fuel economy standard, although the companies stopped short of endorsing the administration’s proposal to roll back fuel efficiency standards for cars.  

Why This Matters:  The car companies need certainty so that they can plan ahead, cut the cost of regulatory compliance and avoid having to meet numerous different standards for different states. The California clean-car standard is essential for the U.S. to cut carbon emissions.  These companies know that California is within its rights under the Clean Air Act to set a tougher standard and they should be working to electrify the fleet not double down on continuing with fossil fuels.

• 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.

• Politics

Ford and GM to Add Jobs In MI to Build EVs

• cars
• Clean Car Rule
• electric vehicles
• EVs
• Ford
• General Motors
• jobs
• tax credit

Last week, both Ford and General Motors (GM), the largest American car manufacturers, announced plans to add jobs in Michigan to build electric vehicles, as both companies plan to substantially expand their lineup of electric vehicles to meet expected growing demand in the U.S. and in an effort to chip away at Tesla’s market share of EVs.