Deal between Japanese carmakers involves components and software amid race to catch up with Chinese EV firms
Honda and Nissan have put aside the “traditional approach” of fierce rivalry to join forces and work together on electric vehicle technology as Japan’s carmakers try to catch up with Chinese competitors.
The Japanese manufacturers will work together on technology for EVs, including components and software, after signing a memorandum of understanding on Friday.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Electric car company says Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries is running a ‘concerted public campaign’ by suggesting plan would push up price of popular cars
Tesla has launched a scathing attack on Australia’s main auto industry lobby group, accusing it of attempting to delay climate action by repeatedly making “plainly false” claims to the public about an Albanese government clean car policy.
In a submission to the government about the design of a vehicle efficiency standard, Tesla sharply criticised the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), an organisation in which it holds a board seat and is an active member.
Continue reading...Remarks by head of trade authority come amid fears UK firms could be undercut ‘to extinction’
The head of Britain’s post-Brexit trade watchdog has said it is ready to follow Brussels in launching an investigation into Chinese companies flooding the market for electric cars, but the government has not asked it to do so.
Oliver Griffiths, the chief executive of the UK’s Trade Remedies Authority (TRA), which advises the government on trade defence, said it was keeping lines of communication open with ministers and had been in close contact with the car industry. “We’ll be ready to go if anyone does come to us,” he told the Guardian in an interview.
Continue reading...Minister says scheme to help low-income households and cut emissions is ‘victim of its own success’
The French government has suspended an electric car leasing scheme after only six weeks following a surge in demand that more than doubled the number of vehicles required.
Officials said the scheme, launched in December to help low-income households and cut carbon emissions, would be relaunched next year.
Continue reading...Grants needed towards buying EVs as well as a battery health testing standard to reassure consumers
Ministers need to intervene to boost the secondhand electric vehicle market and allay “uncertainty and concerns” over the health of their batteries, a House of Lords committee has said.
Peers on the environment and climate change committee urged the government to step up efforts to encourage electric vehicle adoption amid consumer jitters over the cost of vehicles, the longevity of their batteries and the availability of charging points.
Continue reading...EV sales are booming and longtime favourite makes and models are being ignored in favour of Tesla and BYD
Newcomer brands and luxury marques are dominating booming electric car sales as mainstream players struggle to match the pace of a fast-evolving EV market.
The top three selling electric vehicles in Australia in 2023 were from Tesla and BYD, between them accounting for two-thirds of the 87,217 electric cars sold, according to figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.
Continue reading...Stalled growth in electric vehicles comes despite government goal to phase out petrol, diesel and hybrid vehicles by 2035
The number of new cars registered in the UK has jumped by nearly 18% but electric vehicle demand is flatlining, prompting the industry to call for a VAT cut to stimulate sales.
Annual figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) on Friday show 1.9m new cars were registered last year, well up on the previous year’s figure of 1.6m and the highest level since the 2.3m registrations of 2019.
Continue reading...Build Your Dreams outsells rival in final quarter of 2023 figures for battery-only vehicles
Elon Musk’s Tesla has been overtaken by its Chinese rival, BYD, as the world’s top selling electric carmaker.
BYD, which has been backed by the US investment billionaire Warren Buffett since 2008, has beaten Tesla’s production for a second consecutive year.
Continue reading...Sales surge as cities and states look to cut pollution from cars and improve options for Americans to get around
After several years of false starts, electric bikes are finally entering the American mainstream, amid booming sales of a multiplying number of models on offer and as more states offer incentives for people to ditch their cars and shift to two, motor-assisted, wheels.
This year could be considered “the year of the ebike”, according to John MacArthur, a transport researcher at Portland State University. Ebike sales in the United States leaped by 269% between 2019 and 2022, with the market size expected to have grown further in 2023, to be worth $2.59bn.
Continue reading...Commission moves to delay 10% sales charge after intense lobbying by EU and UK carmakers
The European Commission looks set to propose a three-year delay to a 10% tariff on sales of electric vehicles between the EU and the UK, in a major boost for car industries across Europe.
Duties were due to kick in on 1 January 2024 but all the major carmakers in the UK and Europe including BMW, Volkswagen and Stellantis have been lobbying for a temporary reprieve.
Continue reading...EU and UK carmakers have secured just 16% of lithium, cobalt and nickel needed to hit 2030 targets, says study
European carmakers have secured less than a sixth of the key raw materials they will need by 2030 to make electric vehicle batteries, according to analysis that highlights the expected scramble for green-tech resources.
Carmakers have secured contracts for 16% of the lithium, cobalt and nickel required to hit their 2030 electric car sales targets, according to public disclosures analysed by Transport & Environment (T&E), a Brussels-based campaign group.
Continue reading...Lack of public chargers blamed for decision to be only ‘zero-emissions capable’ by April 2024
London’s biggest minicab company has U-turned on plans for all its cars to produce zero emissions this year, blaming a lack of public chargers in the capital.
Addison Lee said it had spent £30m on new Volkswagen Multivans, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which combine a small battery with a polluting internal combustion engine, and admitted that the switch to electric cars had been harder than it had expected.
Continue reading...Exclusive: ‘Cushion’ for carmakers facing looming tariff under deal for vehicles traded between EU and UK from start of 2024
The European Commission has hatched confidential Plan B proposals to “cushion” the impact of a looming 10% tariff on imports and exports of electric vehicles, the Guardian has learned.
The proposal was presented to member states on Monday in response to pressure from carmakers to amend some of the conditions imposed when the UK left the EU in January 2021.
Continue reading...Northvolt says new lithium-free sodium-ion battery is cheaper, more sustainable and doesn’t rely on scarce raw materials
Europe’s energy and electric vehicle industries could reduce their dependency on scarce raw materials from China after the launch of a “breakthrough” sodium-ion battery, according to its Swedish developer.
Northvolt, Europe’s only large homegrown electric battery maker, has said it has made a lower cost, more sustainable battery designed to store electricity which does not use lithium, nickel, graphite and cobalt.
Continue reading...Nancy Mace and Marjorie Taylor Greene among those accused of hypocrisy over efforts to gut landmark Inflation Reduction Act
At least a dozen Republican members of Congress have welcomed clean energy investment flowing to their electorates following Joe Biden’s landmark climate bill, even as they launch fresh attempts to dismantle the legislation.
The group of conservative lawmakers, including the House of Representatives members Nancy Mace, Clay Higgins and Marjorie Taylor Greene, have all recently praised the arrival of new renewable energy, battery or electric vehicle jobs in their districts even after voting against last year’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which was loaded with incentives for clean energy projects.
Continue reading...Motorists locked inside their cars, while an NHS doctor said her BMW iX accelerated to 65mph and then crashed
An electric car owner has claimed her vehicle’s autopilot engaged without warning and accelerated to 65mph, zigzagged across the road and caused a serious crash, the Guardian can reveal.
The alleged incident involved a doctor, Ravpreet Kaur, who was travelling in Buckinghamshire with her son in the family’s £80,000 BMW iX. Her husband said they were lucky to escape unhurt.
Continue reading...Brexit trade deal gave UK and EU carmakers until 1 January 2024 to source batteries from within Europe or face 10% tariffs
The UK car industry has said incoming tariffs between the UK and the EU could raise the price of imported electric cars by as much as £3,400 unless a solution is found by the end of the year.
The Brexit trade deal between the UK and EU gave carmakers until 1 January 2024 to source batteries from within Europe or face 10% tariffs when exporting to each other. However, the supply of European-made batteries has failed to meet demand, meaning carmakers face the new tariffs from next year under these “rules of origin”.
Continue reading...Green campaigners relieved after last week’s decision to delay ban on petrol and diesel cars
The government has confirmed the majority of new cars sold in Britain will have to be electric by 2030 despite Rishi Sunak’s decision last week to delay a ban on petrol and diesel cars by five years.
Under the long-awaited zero emissions vehicle (ZEV) mandate, 80% of sales must be fully electric, or another alternative, within seven years. Carmakers would have to pay £15,000 for each petrol or diesel engine above that threshold, the Department for Transport said on Thursday.
Continue reading...Manufacturers expect levy agreed in Brexit deal to hand chunk of market to global firms, including China
Car giants including Renault, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have called on EU leaders to “act now” and delay plans for a 10% tariff on electric car exports from Europe.
Renault’s chief, Luca de Meo, led the calls, saying that if the EU did not take action then policymakers would simply be “handing a chunk of the market to global manufacturers” including Chinese companies, which are making significant inroads.
Continue reading...UK prime minister delays ban on sale of new petrol and diesel cars as he pushes back net zero goals
Rishi Sunak has announced a major U-turn on the government’s climate commitments as he promised to put his party on a more radical path in an attempt to close the gap with Labour before the next general election.
In one of his biggest policy changes since taking office, Sunak confirmed the UK would push back the deadline for selling new petrol and diesel cars and the phasing out of gas boilers, prompting furious condemnation from the automobile and energy industries.
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