26 Jan 2022 | New GM Battery Factory, $7bn Investment
Episode 1354, Jan 26, 2022, 05:00 PM
Today’s big EV stories:
• General Motors will build a third EV battery factory in the US
• White House to host GM, Ford among CEOs at meeting on spending push
• Plans for second LG plant in Holland coming together, but not 'done deal'
• Tesla (TSLA) Q4 2021 earnings preview
• Tesla Q4 2021 Earnings Q&A – Say.com
• Tesla 'Passenger Play' option prompts NHTSA to open Preliminary Evaluation
• Kia EV6 Pricing Starts At $42,115, Arrives At Dealers In A Few Weeks
• Bentley to invest $3.4 billion to exclusively offer EVs by 2030
• Electric car owners face 'postcode lottery' as just 21 councils offer free charging points
• EV maker Link to invest $265 mln in Mexican plan
• Oshkosh Corp. unveils electric-hybrid military vehicle
• See Camouflaged Volkswagen ID. Buzz Spotted In Norway
Show #1354
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Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily for Wednesday 26th January. 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.
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GENERAL MOTORS WILL BUILD A THIRD EV BATTERY FACTORY IN THE US
General Motors announced a $7 billion investment in growing its electric vehicle manufacturing capabilities in Michigan, calling it “the single largest investment announcement in GM history.”
The company will spend the money on four manufacturing sites, with plans to create 4,000 new jobs and retain another 1,000 in the state. The investment includes construction of a new battery cell plant in Lansing and the conversion of GM’s assembly plant in Orion for production of the Chevy Silverado EV and the electric GMC Sierra.
GM has said it will spend $35 billion by 2025 on electric and autonomous vehicles
It’s also a sign of GM’s continued confidence in the growth of the EV market, despite representing only 3 percent of sales in the US over the last year.
G.M. has battery plants under construction in Ohio and Tennessee, and has retooled a plant in Detroit, where it recently started making an electric Hummer truck. It also plans to make electric vehicles at a plant in Ontario and at another in Mexico.
G.M.’s new Michigan battery plant, like G.M.’s other battery plants, will be a joint venture between the automaker and LG Electric. It will be built on the site of an existing plant in Lansing, at a cost of $2.6 billion to be shared between G.M. and LG.
G.M. will also invest $4 billion to enable a plant in Orion Township
The company expects to add 2,350 jobs at the Orion factory and to retain 1,000 other jobs at the plant when pickup production starts.
G.M. expects the Orion plant and the Detroit plant, known as Factory Zero, to eventually be able to make 600,000 electric full-size trucks a year. The company said that by the end of 2025, it planned to have a total annual manufacturing capacity of one million electric vehicles.
WHITE HOUSE TO HOST GM, FORD AMONG CEOS AT MEETING ON SPENDING PUSH
The White House plans to host the chief executives of major U.S. companies including auto and tech sector firms on Wednesday to discuss President Joe Biden's signature $1.75 trillion Build Back Better legislation.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Ford Motor (F.N) CEO Jim Farley
Biden on Tuesday touted GM's announcement of a new $7 billion investment in Michigan, adding 4,000 jobs and boosting electric vehicle and battery manufacturing.
Biden's proposal would increase the current $7,500 EV tax credit to up to $12,500 for union-made U.S. vehicles as well as creating a credit of up to $4,000 for used vehicles. The bill would also again make GM and Tesla Inc (TSLA.O) eligible for tax credits after they hit the 200,000-vehicle cap on the existing $7,500 credit.
PLANS FOR SECOND LG PLANT IN HOLLAND COMING TOGETHER, BUT NOT 'DONE DEAL'
Despite dirt already moving on the site of a proposed expansion of LG Energy Solution's electric vehicle battery plant in Holland, Holland is still competing for the final blessing to be the site of $1.7 billion in investment from LG.
The state of Michigan is expected to offer substantial incentives to LG Energy Solution for the project, but no official word on what those incentives will amount to is expected until a state board votes on the incentive package in late February.
LG Chem's battery-making subsidiary LG Energy Solution is proposing building a second plant with the primary building, at 1 million square feet, even larger than the existing Holland plant. The total footprint of the proposed project is 1.4 million square feet. According to city documents, LG plans to hire 1,200 employees by 2025 to staff the second plant at an average wage of $50,000.
Ever since LG Chem chose to build its first battery plant in Holland in 2010, city officials have known there was a chance for a second major investment in the city on land LG owns directly to the north of the current plant
TESLA (TSLA) Q4 2021 EARNINGS PREVIEW
Tesla (TSLA) is set to announce its fourth-quarter and full-year 2021 financial results tomorrow, January 26, after the markets close. As usual, a conference call and Q&A with Tesla’s management is scheduled after the results.
Earlier this month, Tesla confirmed that it delivered 308,600 electric vehicles during the last quarter.
The Wall Street consensus for this quarter is $17.112 billion, and Estimize, the financial estimate crowdsourcing website, predicts a higher revenue of $17.416 billion.
The earnings are more of a hit-or-miss since it depends on how much Tesla is spending that quarter, and with supply chain issues and cost increasing at new factories being brought online, it could be not as profitable despite record revenues.
TESLA Q4 2021 EARNINGS Q&A – SAY.COM
What’s the current volume of 4680 cells? Please update us on progress of in-house battery cell and structural battery pack production.
How is the progress of the 25k compact car? Can you give any update.?
As Free Cash Flow grows well in excess of Capital Expenditures, what will you do with the pile of cash?
Tesla is growing rapidly, is Tesla growing the customer service at the same pace? How do you plan to make better car service with this rate of growth?
TESLA 'PASSENGER PLAY' OPTION PROMPTS NHTSA TO OPEN PRELIMINARY EVALUATION
Tesla’s Passenger Play feature has prompted the NHTSA to open a “Preliminary Evaluation” into the capabilities of the option, which will require the automaker to submit certain information to the agency by March 4.
“Following the opening of a preliminary evaluation of Tesla’s “Passenger Play,” Tesla informed the agency that it is changing the functionality of this feature. In a new software update, “Passenger Play” will now be locked and unusable when the vehicle is in motion. The Agency maintains regular discussions with all manufacturers to discuss potential safety concerns of these systems, including Tesla’s response to our concerns about this feature,” the NHTSA told Teslarati in a statement.
KIA EV6 PRICING STARTS AT $42,115, ARRIVES AT DEALERS IN A FEW WEEKS
The Kia EV6 will start at $42,115 after the $1,215 destination. Although, the federal tax credit for EVs will drop the base cost down to $34,615. These prices are for the vehicle with the standard 58-kilowatt-hour battery pack. Upgrading to a trim level with the 77.4-kWh unit will take the starting cost to $48,215. The first examples of the EV6 should be in showrooms in the coming weeks.
In late 2022, Kia will add the EV6 GT to the lineup. It will use a dual-motor powertrain making 215 horsepower (160 kilowatts) at the front and 362 hp (270 kW) at the rear. The total system output is 576 hp (430 kW). This grade will be able to hit 60 miles per hour (96 kilometers per hour) in less than 3.5 seconds
BENTLEY TO INVEST $3.4 BILLION TO EXCLUSIVELY OFFER EVS BY 2030
Bentley Motors plans to spend 2.5 billion pounds (about $3.4 billion) over the next decade to become a fully electric luxury brand by 2030. The investment will include research and . development and significant upgrades to Bentley’s historic plant manufacturing campus in Crewe
Bentley’s first electric vehicle is scheduled to roll off the production line in 2025, according to the company.
The change is a major move for the automaker, which is best known for its uber-luxurious vehicles with eight- and 12-cylinder engines
Bentley currently offers a $160,000 plug-in hybrid version of its Bentayga SUV.
Bentley’s plans follow its second consecutive year of record sales. It reported sales of 14,659 vehicles last year, a 31% increase over the company’s previous sales record of 11,206 cars and SUVs in 2020.
EV OWNERS FACE 'POSTCODE LOTTERY' AS JUST 21 COUNCILS OFFER FREE CHARGING POINTS
EV MAKER LINK TO INVEST $265 MLN IN MEXICAN PLAN
OSHKOSH CORP. UNVEILS ELECTRIC-HYBRID MILITARY VEHICLE
SEE CAMOUFLAGED VOLKSWAGEN ID. BUZZ SPOTTED IN NORWAY
NEW QUESTION OF THE WEEK WITH EMOBILITYNORWAY.COM
Tom Moloughney’s Lucid Air 70mph range test yielded a real world highway range of 500 miles. That raises the bar by a huge amount and make the Lucid Air easily the longest range EV ever tested. But…do EV’s ever need a range of 500 miles?
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