Rivian Raises Another $2.5B Before A Vehicle Is Delivered | 25 July 2021

Episode 1154,   Jul 25, 2021, 12:00 AM

Today’s big EV stories:
• Rivian raises another $2.5B, pushing its EV war chest up to $10.5B
• Volkswagen expects China EV sales to soar in H2
• Tesla Powerwall Owners in CA Can Feed Energy Back Into Grid
• Tesla Model S steering yoke is mandatory
• Mobile electric vehicle charging rolls out in Moscow
• A thousand charging stations to be installed at UBS Arena
• The First Batch Of NIO ES8 Reaches Norway
• New Audi RS Q E-tron is 671bhp range-extender Dakar weapon
• GM issues 2nd Bolt recall
• Looking to Buy a Tesla Car? You May Want to Price Insurance First

Show #1154.

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Sunday 25thJuly. It’s  Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

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RIVIAN RAISES ANOTHER $2.5B, PUSHING ITS EV WAR CHEST UP TO $10.5B

- Rivian announced Friday that it has closed a $2.5 billion private funding round led by Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, D1 Capital Partners, Ford Motor and funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates Inc.

- “As we near the start of vehicle production, it’s vital that we keep looking forward and pushing through to Rivian’s next phase of growth,” Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement. “This infusion of funds from trusted partners allows Rivian to scale new vehicle programs, expand our domestic facility footprint, and fuel international product rollout.”

- Rivian has raised roughly $10.5 billion to date. The company did not share a post-money valuation.


RIVIAN RAISES $2.5 BILLION IN NEW FUNDING ROUND LED BY AMAZON, FORD

- The company said it has raised about $10.5 billion to date. Rivian closed a $2.65 billion investment round in January and another $2.5 billion round last July. It raised $1.3 billion in December 2019 and at least $1.5 billion before that.

- The funding announcement comes after Rivian on Thursday said it plans to open a second manufacturing plant in the U.S. Multiple U.S. states have submitted bids for the facility, referred to internally as “Project Tera.” Rivian is slated to announce the plant in the coming months and break ground early next year, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with the situation.


VOLKSWAGEN EXPECTS CHINA EV SALES TO SOAR IN H2

- Volkswagen expects sales of its ID series of electric vehicles in China -- the world's largest car market -- to pick up significantly in the second half of the year, Chief Executive Herbert Diess said on Thursday.

- Volkswagen wants to sell between 80,000 and 100,000 of the series in China,

- In the first half, deliveries of battery electric vehicles (BEV) in China more than doubled to 18,285


TESLA POWERWALL OWNERS IN CA CAN FEED ENERGY BACK INTO GRID

- Tesla will let Californian owners of its Powerwall battery feed electricity back into the power grid during periods of high energy demand to prevent blackouts in the state.

- Tesla announced its plan to create a "virtual power plant" last week, and on Thursday launched a support page for the beta test telling Californians how it would work and where they can sign up.

- participants who opt in will receive a push notification on their phone a few hours before a period of high demand. They'll receive another notification as it begins, but won't need to do anything.

- Tesla Virtual Power Plant is a public good program to support the California grid, and there is no compensation for Tesla or customers," the company said, although it added that customers getting paid for their energy was a "possibility in the future."


TESLA MODEL S STEERING YOKE IS MANDATORY

- Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted Friday, which was reported on by Electrek. That's right; there will be no option for a regular wheel,

- We also suspect that retrofitting one from an earlier S or X will be difficult, if not impossible.

- either deal with the weird and nonsensical steering wheel or go and buy a Porsche Taycan


MOBILE ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING ROLLS OUT IN MOSCOW

- Electric vehicles (EV) charger manufactuer L-Charge has rolled out a mobile service on the streets of Moscow to provide on-demand charging.

There are also plans to deploy similar mobile units in Paris, Berlin, New York, Amsterdam and London.

- The company said there are already a number of companies in the world offering the opportunity to summon an electric car charger, but the chargers all operate on the power bank principle and themselves need to be recharged. It claims its service differs in that it is a mobile mini power station which itself generates energy, stores it and enables other vehicles to recharge without needing to be connected to the grid.

- The energy is generated from liquefied natural gas

- Moscow has already implemented the list of measures aimed at supporting EV development, making parking for EVs free-of-charge, as well as providing free charging at public chargers.


A THOUSAND CHARGING STATIONS TO BE INSTALLED AT UBS ARENA

- Charging stations for electric vehicles are set to arrive in Elmont this fall with the opening of the UBS Arena at Belmont Park

- In March, UBS Arena developers partnered with Boston, Mass.-based XL Fleet to build 1,000 electric vehicle charging stations at the site and deploy fleets of electric vehicles for use by New York Islanders fans and concert-goers attending events at the new 19,000-seat arena. It will be one of the largest electric vehicle stations in the United States, and will help meet New York’s growing demand for electric vehicle charging stations.


THE FIRST BATCH OF NIO ES8 REACHES NORWAY

- NIO announced that the first batch of NIO ES8 cars were shipped from Shanghai to Norway on July 20, which opens a new chapter in the company's history. Customer deliveries of the ES8 SUVs are expected to commence in September.

- NIO's electric cars in Norway will be accompanied by the entire package of services, including NIO House, the chargeable, swappable and upgradable NIO Power system, NIO Service and Delivery Center, as well as NIO App and NIO Life.

- BYD will start sales of its electric cars (BYD Tang EV) in Norway, while the Xpeng and SAIC's MG are already there.


NEW AUDI RS Q E-TRON IS 671BHP RANGE-EXTENDER DAKAR WEAPON

- Audi will enter the notorious Dakar Rally in January 2022 with its all-new RS Q E-tron rally-raider, which it refers to as an "electrifying high-tech test laboratory".

- With up to 500 miles to cover every day for two weeks, the RS Q E-tron needs to have an onboard charging solution, for which Audi has chosen the 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine used in its now-retired RS5 DTM racer, which is unconnected to the wheels and serves as a generator for a 50kWh, 370kg battery pack, developed with an unnamed technical partner.

- The petrol engine will spin at “particularly efficient” speeds of between 4500-6000rpm

- An electric motor taken from Audi's 2021 Formula E car, features on each axle, while a third unit serves as an energy converter between the battery and combustion engine.


GM ISSUES 2ND BOLT RECALL



LOOKING TO BUY A TESLA CAR? YOU MAY WANT TO PRICE INSURANCE FIRST



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