09 Sep 2020 | GM To Engineer, Produce and Supply Parts For Nikola Badger
GM To Engineer, Produce and Supply Parts For Nikola Badger | Tesla completes $5 billion stock sale | Model 3 sales in China spike 7% in August | VW CEO Drives The Tesla Model Y | VW confirms ID.4 towing capacity | VW ID.6 SUV spied testing | Audi Q4 E-Tron spotted testing | BYD Starts Operations at Battery Factory in Brazil | Jeep plans to build solar chargers on off-road trails | GM Bolt Deal For Uber Drivers | Lewis Hamilton to enter his own Extreme E race team
On today’s podcast:
- General Motors To Engineer, Produce and Supply Parts For Nikola Badger
- Tesla completes $5 billion stock sale
- Model 3 sales in China spike 7% in August
- VW CEO Drives The Tesla Model Y
- VW confirms ID.4 towing capacity
- VW ID.6 SUV spied testing
- Audi Q4 E-Tron spotted testing
- BYD Starts Operations at its Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery Factory in Brazil
- Jeep plans to build solar-powered chargers on off-road trails
- GM Bolt Deal For Uber Drivers
- Lewis Hamilton to enter his own Extreme E race team
Show #885
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 9th September 2020. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.
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GENERAL MOTORS TO ENGINEER, PRODUCE AND SUPPLY PARTS FOR NIKOLA BADGER
Nikola Corporation (NASDAQ: NKLA) and General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) today announced a strategic partnership that begins with the Nikola Badger and carries cost reductions through Nikola’s programs, including: Nikola Badger, Nikola Tre, Nikola One, Nikola Two and NZT. As part of the agreement, Nikola will utilize General Motors’ Ultium battery system and Hydrotec fuel cell technology, representing a key commercialization milestone for General Motors.
General Motors will engineer, homologate, validate and manufacture the Nikola Badger battery electric and fuel cell versions.
The agreement with Nikola extends General Motors’ utilization of its fuel cell technology to the Class 7/8 semi-truck market and represents a high-volume commercialization of its leading Hydrotec fuel cell system and complements the company’s battery-electric propulsion. Fuel cells will become increasingly important to the semi-truck market because they are more efficient than gas or diesel. General Motors sees additional growth opportunities in multiple transportation, stationary and mobile-power end markets.
General Motors’ battery development work is ongoing. Its Ultium battery technology roadmap includes silicon anodes and lithium metal anodes, which will improve vehicle range, affordability, and reduced dependence on rare and costly metals. It is already demonstrating automotive-grade durability and significantly higher energy density.
Nikola will be responsible for the sales and marketing for the Badger and will retain the Nikola Badger brand.
- General Motors to receive $2 billion equity stake in Nikola in exchange for certain in-kind contributions
- General Motors to engineer, validate, homologate and build the Nikola Badger for both the battery electric vehicle and fuel cell electric vehicle variants as part of the in-kind services
- Nikola anticipates saving over $4 billion in battery and powertrain costs over 10 years and over $1 billion in engineering and validation costs
- General Motors expects to receive in excess of $4 billion of benefits between the equity value of the shares, contract manufacturing of the Badger, supply contracts for batteries and fuel cells, and EV credits retained over the life of the contract
- General Motors to be exclusive supplier of fuel cells globally (outside of Europe) to Nikola for Class 7/8 trucks, providing validation and scale in a multi-billion dollar total addressable market
- Badger is anticipated to enter production by year-end 2022
TESLA QUICKLY COMPLETES $5 BILLION STOCK SALE
"A week ago, Tesla announced it would sell $5 billion worth of stock at market prices "from time to time." Tuesday it announced it had completed that sale as of Friday." says CNN BUsiness: "The exact number of shares sold, and thus the average price of each sale, was not disclosed. Tesla shares have fallen sharply in the recent sell-off of tech stocks. Shares reached a split-adjusted record high close of $498.32 on August 31, but have lost 16% of their value since then through Friday's close. And shares were down another 11% in pre-market trading even before the Tuesday's filing."
As of recording, Tesla was down 21% to $330.71
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/08/business/tesla-stock-sale/index.html
TESLA MODEL 3 SALES IN CHINA SPIKE 7% IN AUGUST
"Tesla Model 3 sales in China spiked 7% in August compared to July. Tesla’s most affordable all-electric sedan sold 11,811 units last month, compared to 11,014 vehicles in July." reports Teslarati: "Tesla’s sale of the Model 3 has significantly contributed to the electric vehicle market in China. According to the EV Sales Blog, Tesla’s sales figures through July accounted for more than 13% of the total Chinese EV market share. According to the Wall Street Journal, new-energy vehicle sales have surged 43.7% in August compared to the same month in 2019. Tesla has sold nearly 71,000 Model 3 sedans in China in 2020, making it the most popular EV in the country by a considerable margin. Tesla has taken advantage of the government subsidies that are offered by adjusting the prices of its Standard Range+ Model 3."
https://www.teslarati.com/tesla-model-3-china-sales-august-2020/
VW CEO HERBERT DIESS TEST DRIVES THE TESLA MODEL Y
"You've likely already heard that Tesla CEO Elon Musk met with Volkswagen boss Herbert Diess during a recent trip to Germany. We learned rather quickly that Musk got to test drive the all-electric VW ID.3 on the airport runway. He also got to check out the upcoming ID.4." says InsideEVs: "Diess shared that he also got to drive the Tesla Model Y, which he calls a reference for Volkswagen in many ways. Diess went on to say that the Model Y, much like the ID.3, has a major advantage since it's built as an EV from the ground up. Unlike other automakers, Tesla and VW aren't building electric vehicles on an ICE platform, though VW did in the past. Diess says other automakers won't be able to produce the best EVs if they continue to rely on gas-car platforms."
VW CONFIRMS ID.4 TOWING CAPACITY, SHOWS UTILITY PERFORMANCE IN NEW VIDEO
"VW has confirmed the upcoming ID.4 electric SUV’s towing capacity in a new video showing the utility performance of the vehicle. Over the last month, VW has been hyping the launch of the ID.4 electric SUV by gradually releasing more information about the vehicle. Most recently, we got our first look at the ID.4’s interior and VW started production in Germany." says electrek: "Now the German automaker is out with a new video of the ID.4 electric SUV showcasing its utility capacity with different maneuvers — including towing a trailer.The automaker confirmed that the electric SUV is going to have a towing capacity of up to 1,900 kg (4,200 lbs), which is reasonable for an SUV of this size."
https://electrek.co/2020/09/07/vw-id4-towing-capacity-utility-performance-video/
PURE-ELECTRIC VOLKSWAGEN ID.6 SUV SPIED TESTING IN THE ALPS
"Our spy photographers have snapped a near-production ready version of the pure-electric Volkswagen ID.6 SUV, ahead of its expected Chinese-market release next year. There’s still no official word yet on whether the new model will be sold in Europe – but the fact that this test mule was spotted undergoing development in the Alps could mean it’s more likely." writes Luke Wilkinson for AutoExpress: "The ID.6 will also adopt the same “face” as the rest of Volkswagen’s pure-electric ID. range, with similar headlamps and C-shaped grille surrounds. The rear of the vehicle looks almost identical to the imminent ID.4 SUV – albeit scaled up to luxury SUV proportions. Volkswagen has used a similar lighting design and tailgate layout, while the rear spoiler appears to be a larger facsimile of its smaller sibling’s. There’s no official word on range for the flagship model yet, but the ID. Roomzz concept was powered by and 82kWh battery pack, which Volkswagen said offered a range of 280 miles according to the WLTP cycle. A 150kW fast-charging system will also likely be provided"
https://www.autoexpress.co.uk/volkswagen/106589/pure-electric-volkswagen-id6-suv-spied-testing-alps
2021 AUDI Q4 E-TRON SPIED
"It hasn't been a week since we've seen the Skoda Enyaq iV – the electric crossover to use Volkswagen's MEB platform dedicated exclusively to zero-emissions vehicles. It's one of the three full-electric SUV siblings in this range to use the platform, the other two being the VW ID.4 and the Audi Q4 E-Tron." says Motor1.com: "the Q4 E-Tron prototypes here are still covered in swirls, though it won't be hard to imagine the production design. Of note, the prototypes seen here seem to inherit the concept version's styling and proportions, sans the huge wheels and bigger side mirrors. It won't be long until we see the Q4 E-Tron completely rid of its wraps since Audi confirmed that it will debut this year together with the E-Tron GT electric sedan."
https://www.motor1.com/news/442884/2021-audi-q4-e-tron-spied/
BYD STARTS OPERATIONS AT ITS LITHIUM IRON PHOSPHATE BATTERY FACTORY IN BRAZIL
BYD recently began operations at its third plant in Brazil, which is also the South American country's very first factory for lithium iron phosphate batteries, at the Manaus Industrial Zone (PIM). The manufacturing plant, located in the northern state of Amazonas, is dedicated to the production of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries, and is primarily focused on installing these onto electric bus chassis. With an initial investment of R$15 million (USD 2.7 million), the factory, covering 5,000 square meters, will foster the electric mobility market in Brazil and allow for future expansions if necessary.
The new plant has a production capacity of up to 18 thousand battery modules per year, and it is expected to deliver 1,000 battery modules by September this year.
FOR WRANGLER 4XE, JEEP PLANS TO BUILD SOLAR-POWERED CHARGERS ON OFF-ROAD TRAILS
"The 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid combines limited zero-emission driving with rugged off-road capability. But there aren't many places to plug in out in the wilderness. It appears Jeep has thought of that. The automaker plans to build solar-powered charging stations on off-road trails in California and Utah, Jeep North American boss Jim Morrison said in an interview with CNET" says Green Car Reports: "Locations will include Rubicon Springs, the halfway point of the famous Rubicon Trail (which lends its name to a Wrangler trim level), as well as select trails in Moab, Utah, a popular location for off-roading where Jeep enthusiasts host an annual Easter Safari."
GM TO UBER DRIVERS: WOULD YOU LIKE A BOLT?
"General Motors is partnering with Uber to put more people into electric vehicles. GM said Tuesday it is offering the ride-sharing company's drivers a discount on the purchase of a new Chevrolet Bolt. The drivers will get employee pricing on the Bolt and 20% off on Bolt charging accessories." according to Detroit Free Press: "The employee discount is available for current eligible Uber drivers in the United States and Canada, GM said. The Bolt starts at $37,495, including the delivery charge. That means with the employee discount the average Uber driver could see a savings of $2,500-$2,900 off the suggested retail price, depending on the plan chose. GM said its data suggests ride-share drivers will have "significantly lower maintenance costs" when using a Bolt compared with traditional gas-powered vehicles."
LEWIS HAMILTON TO ENTER ITS OWN EXTREME E RACE TEAM
Six-Time Formula One World Champion, Lewis Hamilton today the creation of his very own race team, X44, which will make its debut in Extreme E, the groundbreaking new electric off-road racing series.
Named with reference to Lewis’s own racing number, X44 will enter Season 1 of the Extreme E Championship, with its first X Prix race scheduled to take place in early 2021.
As the team’s founder, he will not be behind the wheel or involved on a day to day basis but he will put the learnings of his motorsport career into practice to help guide the creation of a dedicated and competitive team.
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