28 May 2020 | Rivian Could Follow Tesla Into Insurance
VW Moves Forward With Ford EV Deal | Volkswagen becomes biggest shareholder of China's EV battery maker Guoxuan | Rivian Could Follow Tesla Into Insurance | Elon Musk and Jay Leno drive the Cybertruck through a Boring Company tunnel | Uber sends thousands of Jump e-bikes to the recycling heap | Nissan Loses LEAF and adds one new EV in the US | Pasadena opens EV fast-charging plaza
Show #792
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Thursday 28th May 2020. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.
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VW MOVES FORWARD WITH FORD EV DEAL
"Volkswagen said on Thursday its supervisory board had approved several projects in a multibillion-dollar alliance with Ford that was first announced last July. The German carmaker said various contracts between the two companies were nearing completion and would be signed soon." reports Autoblog: "Among the shared projects specified by VW are a midsize pickup to be developed by Ford; a city delivery van to be developed by VW; a larger commercial van to be developed by Ford, and a new electric vehicle for Ford of Europe, to be built on VW's electric vehicle architecture."
https://www.autoblog.com/2020/05/28/vw-ford-alliance-board-approval/
VOLKSWAGEN BECOMES BIGGEST SHAREHOLDER OF CHINA'S EV BATTERY MAKER GUOXUAN
"Volkswagen AG has become the biggest shareholder of China's electric vehicle battery maker Guoxuan High-Tech Co Ltd with a 26.5% stake, Guoxuan said in stock exchange filings on Thursday. Reuters reported the Volkswagen is in final talks to invest in the Hefei-based battery company on Wednesday." according to Economic Times: "Volkswagen is also poised to buy 50% of Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Holding, the parent of EV partner JAC Motors, for at least 3.5 billion yuan ($491 million), the people said on condition of anonymity as the matter was private. Volkswagen is spending 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) to expand its presence in China's electric car industry in the biggest foreign investment announced since the country's economy began to reopen following the coronavirus pandemic. The ruling Communist Party scrapped limits on foreign ownership of electric vehicle makers in 2018 to promote industry development. Beijing sees electric cars as a profitable technology where China can become a global leader.
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RIVIAN COULD FOLLOW TESLA INTO INSURANCE
"There are reports that Rivian could offer their own insurance like Tesla does. Rivian has two job postings one is for a data manager for the "Rivian Insurance Agency" with a job requirement being to "set up and lead Rivian's P&C Insurance agency." The person will also have to train and manage "Rivian-employed licensed sales agents and the customer care team." The second job position is for a program manager for "Rivian's Global Collision Repair Program." according to Rivian Forum.
https://www.rivianownersforum.com/threads/rivian-r1s-insurance.123/#post-1811
From the job spec:
The Rivian Insurance team is seeking an extraordinary sales leader with a track record of success to set up and lead Rivian’s P&C insurance agency. You will be joining a passionate group of professionals on an adventure to transform consumer experiences.
This is what you’ll do:
- Recruit, train, coach and manage Rivian employed licensed sales agents and insurance customer care team
- Sell insurance products and provide feedback to partners on opportunities
- Lead the licensed sales team responsible for sales and distribution of Rivian insurance products
- Manage licensed sales agent licensing compliance
- Define and implement all aspects of the P&C insurance sales & service processes, metrics and reporting
- Collaborate on the strategic vision for Rivian insurance sales globally
- Manage sales relationships with insurance partners through KPI analysis and review
- Develop insurance quotes, close sales, and foster strong business relationships with customers to ensure a high level of client retention and
https://jobs.lever.co/rivian.com/d413e186-7db2-48ea-92a2-f9dd47bc3cce
ELON MUSK AND JAY LENO DRIVE THE CYBERTRUCK THROUGH A BORING COMPANY TUNNEL
"Musk and Tesla's chief designer Franz von Holzhausen chit-chat about the design, and show off the motorized bed cover Tesla has named "the vault." It reveals the Cybertruck's bed and Musk even walks on the cover to show off how strong the material is. " reports CNET: "Musk directs Leno to take the Cybertruck into a Boring Company tunnel. Apparently, this was the first time the hulking pickup made its way into the test tunnel, and luckily, it fit. After driving underneath Los Angeles, the elevator snags the Cybertruck and puts both gentlemen back on the surface without a single nick or ding. In the segment, he mentions the Cybertruck will probably shrink 5% for production to fit in a standard garage. The CEO tweeted this week, however, saying that won't be the case. Instead, Tesla might build a different, smaller truck."
NBC.com - Season 5, E510
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/elon-musk-leno-drive-cybertruck-boring-company-tunnel/
UBER SENDS THOUSANDS OF JUMP E-BIKES TO THE RECYCLING HEAP
"Uber has sent thousands of electric bikes to be recycled for scrap as part of handing operations of their Jump e-bike division to scooter-sharing company Lime. The rideshare giant said it would be too difficult to donate these bikes because of safety and liability concerns. A spokesman told CNBC “the best approach was to responsibly recycle them,” while video posted on Twitter from a North Carolina recycling center shows the candy red bikes being crushed as scrap metal." writes Engadget: "An Uber spokesperson told CNBC: “We explored donating the remaining, older-model bikes, but given many significan t issues -- including maintenance, liability, safety concerns, and a lack of consumer-grade charging equipment -- we decided the best approach was to responsibly recycle them.” An e-bike without a battery is simply a regular analog bicycle; these bikes could be ridden as normal, even with the electronics still in place. "
https://www.engadget.com/uber-scraps-thousands-of-jump-bikes-193541447.html
NISSAN LOSES LEAF AND ADDS ONE NEW EV IN THE US
"Nissan yesterday unveiled its four-year growth plan. The Japanese automaker will “right-size” its production capacity and streamline unprofitable parts of its business. Nissan will introduce the Ariya EV to the US in 2021, while most of its EVs will be sold in China. The company said that by 2023, it will launch eight pure EVs while expanding its hybrid technology dubbed e-Power." says electrek. "In the short term, only two of Nissan’s seven EVs will be sold in the United States: the Leaf and the upcoming Ariya. The Ariya is a high-performance, all-wheel-drive big brother to the Leaf, but there are few details and no firm commitments for a production date. We expect the Ariya to hit Japan in 2021 before arriving in other global markets. It will have a range of around 300 miles and will look like a toned-down version of the Ariya Concept unveiled at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show. Nissan is expected to officially unveil the production version of the Nissan Ariya in July 2020."
https://electrek.co/2020/05/28/nissan-will-add-only-one-new-ev-in-the-us-through-2023/
PASADENA OPENS EV FAST-CHARGING PLAZA
"The Californian city of Pasadena is opening the Marengo Charging Plaza at 155 E. Green Street. The Plaza is now home to a total of 44 chargers including 24 Superchargers installed by Tesla and 20 fast chargers installed by the City of Pasadena." says electrive: "Over the past year and a half, the city’s utility company Pasadena Water and Power (PWP) has more than doubled the number of public EV charging points within the city. This represents the highest percentage of EV drivers among southern Californian utilities. In order to support the opening of the Plaza as well as take-away food services during the pandemic, the city’s 20 fast chargers are available to drivers stopping at the Plaza for 20 minutes for free. "
https://www.electrive.com/2020/05/28/pasadena-opens-fast-charging-plaza/
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