Ford Updates: F-150 Lightning, Mach-E and E-Transit | 23 Aug 2021

Episode 1188,   Aug 23, 2021, 12:00 AM

Today’s big EV stories:
• GM Idles Bolt EV Plant for Lack of Chips
• Rivian is ready for R1T electric pickup production, waiting for government approval
• GM Wants LG To Pay $1 Billion Battery Fix After $800m Recall
• S.Korea's LG Chem shares dive on GM electric car recall
• Kia reveals new £32,445 Soul EV Maxx
• Ford doubles Lightning production target on strong pre-launch demand -sources
• Ford Mustang Mach-E Production Capacity Could Be 175,000 Vehicles A Year
• Customer trials of Ford E-Transit begin
• New dual-motor Skoda Enyaq iV 80x SportLine revealed with 261bhp
• VinFast partners with Gotion High-Tech on LFP battery cell R&D
• Fisker to Raise $625 Million to Fund Second EV Model
• The Acura NSX Will Return for a Third Generation
• E-mobility: Sixt is investing 50 million euros in charging stations - Market Research Telecast
• Mer to install ultra-rapid charging stations at McDonald's Austria
• Tesla Model Y production in Giga Shanghai hits 1k per day, outpacing Model 3

Show #1188.

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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Monday 23rd August. It’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

Thank you to MYEV.com for helping make this show, they’ve built the first marketplace specifically for Electric Vehicles. It’s a totally free marketplace that simplifies the buying and selling process, and help you learn about EVs along the way too.

GM IDLES BOLT EV PLANT FOR LACK OF CHIPS

- Operations at the General Motors assembly plant in Orion Township, Michigan ground to a halt today and will remained idled until at least Aug. 30.

- The factory produces GM’s two battery-electric vehicles, the Bolt EV and EUV. It’s the first time the facility has been shutdown since the semiconductor shortage began.

- Virtually every automaker has been impacted by the chip crisis … and few models have escaped without production cuts. But analysts note battery-electric vehicles could be particularly vulnerable going forward.

- Silicon chip suppliers were only too happy to provide consumer electronics manufacturers with what they needed because the auto industry slashed semiconductor orders when the pandemic struck. When the massive plunge in car sales didn’t last as long as predicted automakers tried to increase their orders, but they had to go to the back of the line and wait.


RIVIAN IS READY FOR R1T ELECTRIC PICKUP PRODUCTION, WAITING FOR GOVERNMENT APPROVAL

- Rivian says that its R1T electric pickup is basically ready for production and it is now waiting for government approval to start deliveries.

- CEO RJ Scaringe says that the latest R1T production units satisfy Rivian’s standards of quality and now they are waiting for regulatory approval to start deliveries

- “Over the last several months we have been focused on not only ramping our production rate, but also dialing in our quality across each of the five areas of our plant: stamping, body, paint, assembly and propulsion (battery and drive units). This challenging process involves multiple build phases – many of the vehicles from these non-customer build phases have been seen out testing across a range of environments during the last year. These validation, tooling tryout and pilot build vehicles are critical for our ongoing mileage accumulation program that has helped us drive refinements to the product. With all of this, I am excited to report we have started producing vehicles that reflect all of our quality iterations and design refinements. We are currently working with various governing agencies on the final approvals needed for us to make the first deliveries to preorder customers in September”.


GM WANTS LG TO PAY $1 BILLION BATTERY FIX AFTER $800M RECALL

- Bloomberg has a new report on how the optimistic relationship between GM and LG (which supplies GM with its batteries for the Bolt and also did the Volt batteries for it) has soured amid a rash of Bolt fires. GM is trying to get LG to pay for a fix, as Bloomberg explains:

- Four years later, the long-distance relationship between GM and its battery partner, LG Energy Solution, is being tested like never before. At issue: who will pick up a roughly $1 billion tab.GM last week recalled Bolt EVs for the third time in nine months because of risk their batteries could catch fire. The Detroit-based company will replace modules in more than 73,000 additional vehicles and said it’s trying to get LG to pay for the fix. LG, headquartered some 6,600 miles away in Seoul, said the expense will be divvied up depending on the results from a joint investigation into the root cause of the problem.


S.KOREA'S LG CHEM SHARES DIVE ON GM ELECTRIC CAR RECALL
- LG Chem Ltd (051910.KS) shares closed down 11.1% on Monday after General Motors Co (GM.N) said it would recall an extra 73,000 Chevrolet Bolt cars that use the South Korean firm's batteries, months after a similar recall by Hyundai Motor Co

- LG Chem, which is preparing an initial public offering (IPO) for battery unit LG Energy Solution (LGES), lost more than $6 billion in market value, marking its biggest intraday percentage loss since March 2020.


KIA REVEALS NEW £32,445 SOUL EV MAXX

- Kia has announced changes to the Soul EV electric SUV range that see the existing First Edition model replaced with the new Maxx version. Priced from £32,445 once the government’s Plug-In Car Grant (PICG) has been applied, the new model will be the sole option for Soul EV customers.

- 17-inch aluminium alloy wheels, black leather upholstery and heated front seats. The car also comes with LED headlights, a heated steering wheel and a 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system with the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone integration systems.


FORD DOUBLES LIGHTNING PRODUCTION TARGET ON STRONG PRE-LAUNCH DEMAND -SOURCES

- Ford Motor Co(F.N) has doubled its production target for the F-150 Lightning because of strong early demand for the full-sized electric pickup truck ahead of its 2022 launch, and the company plans to spend an additional $850 million to meet that target, several people and suppliers familiar with the plans said.

- The No. 2 U.S. automaker is targeting annual production of more than 80,000 in 2024, up from its prior target of more than 40,000

- Industry observers have questioned whether individual buyers will give up their gas-powered pickups for electric models, but commercial customers are pushing for electric trucks and vans to reduce their carbon footprints.

- Following the launch of the second generation Lightning in late 2025, the annual target is just shy of 160,000.


FORD MUSTANG MACH-E PRODUCTION CAPACITY COULD BE 175,000 VEHICLES A YEAR

- LG Energy Solution is now producing ~5000 Ford Mustang Mach-E battery modules a day. That’s enough for 500 battery packs a day (there are 10 modules in a pack).

- 500 battery packs a day across 350 days a year (leaving 15 days of break due to various factors that can stop production for a while) would mean enough battery packs for 175,000 Mustang Mach-Es a year!

- It’s possible that battery production could be planned in spurts over the long term. Battery production could be getting ahead of vehicle production for a while due to potential disruptions later in the year or in 2022.


CUSTOMER TRIALS OF FORD E-TRANSIT BEGIN

- Ford has commenced customer trials of its all-electric Transit ahead of the van’s official sales launch in spring 2022.
A total of ten E-Transit prototypes are currently being used across a variety of intensive real-world operating scenarios in the postal, municipal and utilities, last mile and grocery delivery sectors in the UK, Germany and Norway.

- The trials fleet features a range of E-Transit variants including van, double-cab-in-van and chassis cab derivatives with gross vehicle masses from 3.5 to 4.25 tonnes, as well as a variety of specialised vehicle conversions.


NEW DUAL-MOTOR SKODA ENYAQ IV 80X SPORTLINE REVEALED WITH 261BHP


VINFAST PARTNERS WITH GOTION HIGH-TECH ON LFP BATTERY CELL R&D


FISKER TO RAISE $625 MILLION TO FUND SECOND EV MODEL


THE ACURA NSX WILL RETURN FOR A THIRD GENERATION


E-MOBILITY: SIXT IS INVESTING 50 MILLION EUROS IN CHARGING STATIONS - MARKET RESEARCH TELECAST


MER TO INSTALL ULTRA-RAPID CHARGING STATIONS AT MCDONALD'S AUSTRIA


TESLA MODEL Y PRODUCTION IN GIGA SHANGHAI HITS 1K PER DAY, OUTPACING MODEL 3



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