MyOpinion

Toyota is the master at slow walking EV production. Oct 3 (Reuters) - Toyota Motors will postpone the start of electric-vehicle production in North America to the first half of 2026 due to design adjustment and slowing EV sales, the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday.

The Japanese automaker recently told suppliers the start date for production of its first battery EV model at its factory in the U.S. state of Kentucky - a three-row SUV - will be delayed by several months, the Nikkei said.

My friend Jørn Grønkjær called me up and said: “Jesper, you have to see this, I’m getting my 1913 Detroit Electric towed to an exhibition at Aalborg Congress & culture center, by a Ford F-150 Lightning!”

My jaw dropped. It’s one thing that I am lucky enough to know the guy who owns one of the very few Detroit Electric vehicles in the world, that I wrote in depth about (with video), but as it turned out, the owner of a local auto shop, Kim Hansen, had recently traveled to New York and purchased a Ford F-150 Lightning Lariat and had it shipped to Denmark in the hope of getting it legally on the road. In which he succeeded, and celebrated by fitting 26-inch wheels on it!

esla Q3 2024 Expectations

After two quarters in a row with deliveries being down year-over-year, a first for Tesla in almost a decade, Wall Street has been expecting Tesla to finally return to year-over-year growth this quarter.

Analysts have a consensus of 463,000 deliveries.

While meeting those expectations would mark a return to year-over-year for Tesla, they would be short of the 485,000 deliveries it needs to stay on track for overall delivery growth in 2024 and short of the 585,000 deliveries it needs to stay on track for its original goal of 2 million deliveries for the year.

Tesla isn’t releasing precise guidance for annual deliveries anymore. Tesla Q3 2024 Production and Delivery Results

Before markets opened today, Tesla released its production and delivery results for the last quarter. The automaker confirmed that it produced 469,796 vehicles and delivered 462,890 vehicles between July and September 2024.

Production	Deliveries	

Model 3/Y 443,668 439,975 Other Models 26,128 22,915 Total 469,796 462,890

This comes literally just about a hundred vehicles under Wall Street expectations.

Tesla had been sitting on about 13,000 vehicles in over production before Q3. Now, it adds about 7,000 vehicles to that tally.

Skoda has taken the wraps off the all-new Elroq, which is billed as the “most affordable EV in its segment, taking into account its battery size and extensive standard equipment.” While pricing varies by market, the model starts at £31,500 in the United Kingdom and will cost around €33,000 in mainland Europe.

The crossover rides on the MEB platform and will be offered with an assortment of different powertrains. The entry-level Elroq 50 has a 55 kWh battery pack and a rear-mounted motor producing 168 hp (125 kW / 170 PS) and 229 lb-ft (310 Nm) of torque. This enables the model to accelerate from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in 9 seconds, hit a top speed of 99 mph (160 km/h), and have a WLTP range of 233 miles (375 km).

The Elroq 60 has a larger 63 kWh battery pack and this increases the range to more than 249 miles (400 km). Buyers will also find a beefier motor producing 201 hp (150 kW / 204 PS) and 229 lb-ft (310 Nm) of torque. While the top speed remains unchanged, the 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) time falls to 8.5 seconds.

Last but not least, there’s the range-topping Elroq 85. The rear-wheel drive variant features an 82 kWh battery pack, which promises to provide a WLTP range of 361 miles (581 km). Its motor produces 282 hp (210 kW / 286 PS) and 402 lb-ft (545 Nm) of torque, allowing for a 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 6.6 seconds and a top speed of 112 mph (180 km/h).

Skoda also confirmed plans for an Elroq 85x, which features a dual-motor all-wheel drive system. However, the company didn’t have much else to say about it at this point.

Charging times and technology vary by model, but the crossover supports DC fast charging rates of 145 kW, 165 kW and 175 kW. The latter can take the 82 kWh battery from a 10-80% charge in as little as 28 minutes.

The U.S. government has issued $2 billion in advance point-of-sale consumer electric vehicle (EV) tax credit payments since Jan. 1 covering more than 300,000 vehicles, the Treasury said on Tuesday.

Since new rules took effect allowing for consumers to take advantage of EV tax credit worth up to $7,500 at the point of sale, more than 250,000 tax credits have been issued for new EVs and around 50,000 for used models. Nearly all involve transferring the credit to a car dealer at the time of purchase resulting in a significant rebate.

A group of more than 5,000 car dealers have made public their worries about a lack of demand for electric vehicles. Earlier this year the group lobbied the White House to water down impending federal fuel efficiency regulations that would require automakers to sell many more EVs. Now, they're sounding an alarm over impending EV mandates, particularly in the so-called Zero Emissions Vehicle states.

The ZEV states—California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia—all follow the emissions standards laid out by the California Air Resources Board, which require that by 2035, 100 percent of all new cars and light trucks be zero-emissions vehicles (which includes plug-in hybrid EVs as well as battery EVs).

That goes into effect starting with model-year 2026 (i.e. midway through next calendar year) and would require a third of all new vehicles to be a BEV, claim the car dealers. But there is not enough customer demand for electrified vehicles to buy those cars, the dealers say. Worse yet, it would make gasoline-powered cars more expensive.

In 2022, Chevrolet announced the Equinox EV as its most affordable electric car, with a price tag of only $30,000. That was only slightly higher than the outgoing Chevy Bolt EV, which was heavily discounted following the battery fire scandal. At the time, GM management said that using the Ultium architecture would make the Equinox EV much more efficient to manufacture. However, CEO Mary Barra admitted in June 2023 that it would probably still not be profitable.

That is why not many people were surprised to see the Chevy Equinox EV launching this spring at a higher price, with the most affordable variant starting at $35,000. Even so, the LT base trim would not be available until "later in 2024," so the real price was actually much higher, at $43,295 for the 2LT variant. Thankfully, Chevrolet quietly started shipping the Equinox EV LT vehicles to dealerships for the 2025 model year.

The big surprise is not the fact that the MSRP is still $34,995, including destination charges. It's that you can order one from inventory at an already discounted price. The 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV LT is listed as being "in transit" on the carmaker's website, with some dealers offering up to $2,500 in discounts. This makes the electric crossover retail for $32,495, or just under $25,000, when factoring in the $7,500 federal EV credit.

That's easily the cheapest electric vehicle you can buy in the US right now. However, unlike the Bolt EV, the Equinox EV is a modern vehicle with all the software bells and whistles expected from an Ultium-based electric car. Although it lacks many comfort features of the higher trims, the LT still comes with the 17.7-inch Google-based infotainment system and an 11-inch digital gauge cluster.

What you sacrifice is the AWD powertrain, as the base Equinox EV variant has only one electric motor driving the front axle. It develops 220 horsepower, and the 85-kWh battery provides up to 319 miles of EPA-estimated range. However, an AWD variant in the LT trim is also available for $40,295. The battery can be fast-charged at up to 150 kW, adding up to 77 miles of range in 10 minutes of charging.

The 2025 Chevrolet Equinox EV now has a simplified lineup, with only the LT and RS trims available to configure. This contrasts with the 2024 models, which were available as 2LT, 3LT, 2RS and 3RS trims. Both current 2025 trims can be ordered with either FWD or AWD, and Chevrolet prepared several optional packages to simplify configuration. Whether Chevrolet intends to expand the Equinox EV lineup with more models is unclear, but simplification will allow GM to boost manufacturing efficiency.

The electric vehicle market continues to grow around the world, despite what many would have you think. In fact, even in the United States, the large auto market with the weakest EV policies (well, compared to China and Europe), electric vehicles see their sales increasing year after year. In the second quarter of 2024, compared to the second quarter of 2023, sales of 100% electric vehicles increased by 16% in the US.

Yes, if you compare to Q2 2022, you can see that sales increased much more from 2022 to 2023, but BEV sales still grew by a notable 16% in 2024. The 86% growth from Q2 2022 to Q2 2024 should be looked at as a whole, too. That’s nearly a doubling of sales in two years.

In volume terms, you can see from the next chart that 46,000 more electric vehicles were sold in Q2 2024 than in Q2 2023. And going back to Q2 2022, you can see that the quarterly sales had increased by 156,000.

That’s growth. The issue raised by various automakers is the growth isn’t strong enough, but even that is a little deceiving. The biggest growth hit is at Tesla, which accounts for about half of the US EV market. As you can see in this third chart, below, Tesla sales dropped year over year in Q2, whereas non-Tesla BEV sales continued growing strongly. The narrative that EV sales are not growing fast basically breaks down if you take Tesla out of the equation.

For customers still unsure whether they’re ready to make the switch to an all-electric vehicle, Ford is sweetening the pot.

Today, the company launched a new initiative called the “Ford Power Promise,” in which it will provide a suite of benefits to customers who buy or lease a new EV. And chief among them is a complimentary home charger for all new customers, as well as the costs of standard installation.

The charger that’s being offered is the company’s Ford Charge Station Pro, a $1,310 Level 2 charger that comes with a standard CCS1 connector. Ford declined to put a monetary value on the installation but said it would cover costs up to 60 amps of power and 80 feet of wire run. Customers who need to upgrade their home electrical panel before the installation, however, will need to cover those costs themselves.

Taxi driver Surendra Parajuli’s decision to buy an electric cab would have been unthinkable a decade ago, when chronic power cuts left Nepalis unable to light their homes at night.

But a dam-building spree has led to dirt-cheap energy prices in a landlocked Himalayan republic otherwise entirely dependent on fossil fuel imports, meaning the switch has put more money in his pocket.

“It has meant huge savings for me,” Parajuli, the proud new owner of a battery-powered and Chinese-made BYD Atto 3, said in the capital Kathmandu.

“It gives 300km in a single charge and costs me a tenth of what petrol does. And it’s environmentally friendly.”

Kathmandu is ground zero of an incipient transport revolution set to see the clapped out cars that clog its traffic-snarled streets make way for emissions-free alternatives.

More than 40,000 electric vehicles are on the roads around the mountainous country, according to official estimates – a small fraction of the 6.2 million motor vehicles currently in service.

But demand is insatiable: more than a quarter of those vehicles were imported in the 12 months to July, a near-threefold increase from the previous year.

Neighbouring China, now the dominant player in electric vehicles globally, is supplying nearly 70 per cent of the market.

“EVs are genuinely suitable for Nepalis,” Yajya Raj Bhatt, a prospective buyer at an electric vehicle motor show, said.

“Before, we had to rely on petrol cars, but now we can drive independently.”

More than four in five Nepalis did not have access to electricity at the turn of the century, according to the International Energy Agency.

But rapid investment in dams, which generate 99 per cent of Nepal’s baseload power, has transformed the energy grid since.

Hydropower output has increased fourfold in the past eight years, according to government figures, while 95 per cent of the population now has access to electricity.

Mazda officially opened the order books on its new Mazda EZ-6 EV and EREV versions of the car in China yesterday. And the starting price? It’s under $25,000.

Co-developed by Mazda and Chinese state-owned Changan Auto, the EZ-6 was one of two new electric offerings that debuted back in April. The other was a CX-5/0-sized crossover called the Arata, but the EZ-6 seemed closer to production, with a promised on-sale date later this year.

Kia said Friday it has completed building Hyundai Motor Group's first manufacturing facility dedicated solely to electric vehicles, which boasts an annual capacity of producing 150,000 units.

Kia held a ceremony for the Kia Gwangmyeong EVO Plant, located at Kia Autoland in Gwangmyeong, just south of Seoul, which is tasked with mass producing Kia's new EV3 model and the upcoming EV4 model.

Kia invested 401.6 billion won ($304.4 million) in the 60,000 square-meter facility, completely rebuilding it on an existing plant site to facilitate the company's next-generation vehicle production.

The event was attended by around 150 guests, including Choi Jun-Young, executive vice president and head of domestic production at Kia, and Gwangmyeong Mayor Park Seung-won.

The EVO Plant is characterized under the theme of pursuing maximum change through minimal expansion, taking into consideration its location in the city center and other environmental factors, such as the protection of green spaces.

In addition, the plant has been constructed with a full-scale conversion to electrification in mind, focusing on eco-friendly and worker-friendly elements.

Mass production of the EV3, the brand's compact all-electric SUV, began in the first half of this year. In the first half of 2025, Kia plans to introduce the EV4, the brand's upcoming mid-sized electric sedan.

Choi said in a welcoming speech that the completion of the plant "solidifies Kia's first step as an EV leader following the company's brand relaunch in 2021."

"With the goal of providing sustainable mobility solutions, we will lead innovation in the EV market and fulfill our responsibilities in helping to deliver a sustainable future," he added.