11 Mar 2022 | Rivian Has Bulit Around 2,500 Vehicles So Far

Episode 1401,   Mar 11, 2022, 05:00 PM

On the podcast today:
• Rivian changing battery cells to LFP, following Tesla, and high-nickel
• Rivian says it delivered nearly 1,000 electric trucks in 2021
• Amazon facing $10 billion hit as Rivian's lack of history is hurting its chances with chipmakers
• Biden Restores California’s Power to Set Stringent Tailpipe Rules
• Audi "Spy" Photos Show Facelifted E-Tron S Sportback Playing In Snow
• Tesla is tripling your Model Y delivery time if you don't add on the $12,000 FSD optio
• The British Fixed The Ford Mustang With This Electric Vehicle
• This Is Gogoro's First Solid-State Battery: It Could Be An EV Game-Changer
• DPD orders another 150 eSprinter
• XPENG Opens P5 Reservation Books in Four European Markets

Show #1401

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening wherever you are in the world, welcome to EV News Daily, you trusted source of information. It’s Friday 11th March, it’s Martyn Lee here and I go through every EV story so you don't have to.

RIVIAN CHANGING BATTERY CELLS TO LFP, FOLLOWING TESLA, AND HIGH-NICKEL

- Electric vehicle maker Rivian plans to use new types of battery cells in its electric trucks, delivery vans and SUVs the company said Thursday in a 2021 fourth-quarter shareholder letter. These include cells made with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistry for its standard-level vehicles, and high-nickel chemistry for its longer-range vehicles.

- LFP battery cells do not require any nickel or cobalt, which can be expensive or hard to obtain. They are also generally considered more stable, but less energy-dense, than nickel cobalt aluminum oxide cells, which had been used by Tesla and other automakers in electric vehicles.

- Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe explained on an earnings call after hours on Thursday that the company and its suppliers are facing a variety of constraints due to the Covid pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and their impacts on global supply chains.

- Rivian Commercial Vehicles, such as the EDV-700 it developed for Amazon, should have “similar daily range capabilities with LFP chemistry, and this chemistry provides meaningful cost savings for us,” Rivian wrote in its shareholder letter.

- the R1T pickup and R1S SUV, Rivian expects an estimated range of over 260 miles with the LFP-based standard battery pack.


RIVIAN SAYS IT DELIVERED NEARLY 1,000 ELECTRIC TRUCKS IN 2021

- Rivian, the buzzy electric vehicle company backed by Ford and Amazon, delivered 909 vehicles to customers in the fourth quarter of 2021, the company said in its second earnings report since its historic IPO last year. The company says it has delivered a total of 920 vehicles in 2021.

- That number has increased since the start of new year. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said that as of March 8th, the company has made 2,425 vehicles since the start of production.

- In a shareholder letter, the company said it expects to produce only 25,000 vehicle over the course of 2022, including its R1T truck and its electric delivery vans for Amazon. Without supply chain problems, the company said it would be able to make 50,000 vehicles.

- Rivian said it brought in $55 million in revenue over the course of the year, almost all of which in the last three months. It recorded a net loss of $2.5 billion in the fourth quarter and a net loss of $4.5 billion for the year.

- In the earnings call, Rivian said that it saw an “increased rate” of cancellations after the price increase was made public, but that “more than half” came back after the company reversed itself.


AMAZON FACING $10 BILLION HIT AS RIVIAN'S LACK OF HISTORY IS HURTING ITS CHANCES WITH CHIPMAKERS

- Electric vehicle startup Rivian is losing out to rivals in an ongoing battle to secure microchips, posing potentially massive losses for large shareholder Amazon.

- With supply-chain constraints and microchip shortages now forcing it to effectively slash 2022 production targets by half to 25,000 vehicles, thereby exacerbating its forecast operating loss, Rivian’s ongoing misery now threatens to derail Jeff Bezos’s retail empire as well.

- Amazon owns roughly 18% of the equity in Rivian as part of a deal to procure 100,000 electric delivery vans. The e-commerce giant is presently carrying a value of $15.6 billion on its books, according to company filings.

- Unlike other carmakers that are starting to see light at the end of the tunnel in terms of the semiconductor crisis with supplies steadily improving over time, Rivian said it expects the exact opposite. Problems will actually become more acute as it tries to ramp up production into an ongoing shortage.


BIDEN RESTORES CALIFORNIA’S POWER TO SET STRINGENT TAILPIPE RULES

- The Biden administration on Wednesday restored California’s legal authority to set auto pollution and mileage rules that are tighter than federal standards, a potent climate policy that had been stripped away by former President Donald J. Trump.

- The return of one of California’s most powerful environmental prerogatives could have a significant impact on the type of cars Americans will drive in the coming decade, the amount of gasoline the nation consumes and its ability to reduce the tailpipe emissions that contribute heavily to climate change.

- Seventeen other states and the District of Columbia have adopted the California rules, turning them into de facto national standards. Twelve other states are following California’s mandate to sell only zero-emissions vehicles after 2035.

- California’s leaders say they intend to write an auto pollution rule that will phase out the internal combustion engine and replace it with zero-emission batteries.

- Transportation is the largest single source of greenhouse gases generated by the United States, representing 29 percent of the nation’s total emissions.A recent report by the International Energy Agency found that nations would have to end the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035 to keep average global temperatures from increasing 1.5 Celsius, compared with levels during the Industrial Revolution.


AUDI "SPY" PHOTOS SHOW FACELIFTED E-TRON S SPORTBACK PLAYING IN SNOW

- Audi released an overview of its private winter testing facility located in northern Sweden. The exact location isn't revealed, and Audi refers to it only as KALT 1. The fenced-in area covers nearly 9,000 acres and offers 51 miles of various roads and paths on which to drive.

- he test car featured here wears the same camouflage coverings we've seen before, hiding minor design changes for the mid-cycle refresh.

- the facelift looks to be very minor. We can see some outlines on the front and rear fascias, and everything looks like a match to the current model. The photos also include an interior shot of the prototype, and though we don't see the full greenhouse, what we do see is also a match to the current E-Tron Sportback.

- Reports say that Audi will christen the updated E-Tron with a Q8 badge, thus giving it more symmetry with the rest of the lineup. The Q4 E-Tron is already out there, and the Q6 E-Tron is coming later this year. It certainly makes sense, and when a properly new model arrives in 2026, the Q8 E-Tron name will already have some history behind it.


TESLA IS TRIPLING YOUR MODEL Y DELIVERY TIME IF YOU DON'T ADD ON THE $12,000 FSD OPTIO

- A recent update to Tesla’s website configurator reveals that it is prioritizing reservations that include the $12,000 full self-driving (FSD) option, at least for the Model Y and Model 3. For reservations of the Tesla Model Y in particular, delivery estimates change from six months from today (September), to two months (May), simply by choosing the FSD add-on.

- Model 3 customers currently only see a month’s advantage on delivery times buying FSD vs. not. However, Model Y customers might be more motivated to add the FSD option if they have the money and don’t want to wait until September to drive their new EV. By spending $12,000 more, the Model Y delivery window jumps up to May, just two months from now.


THE BRITISH FIXED THE FORD MUSTANG WITH THIS ELECTRIC VEHICLE

- o you ever look at the original Ford Mustang and find yourself wishing it had a little more — maybe a little spark? Well good news, engineers in the UK have heard your prayers and fixed the Mustang by giving it electric power.

- This magical new creation comes from a small engineering firm called Charge Cars.

- the new EV uses an “official licensed” shell that the firm claims preserves the “classic design and styling of the legendary Ford Mustang.”

- Charge Cars has fitted a 64 kWh battery pack and all-wheel-drive. This means the new electric Mustang has a range of 200 miles and will do zero to 60 in 3.9 seconds thanks to its 400kW of peak power.

- All that electrical tech powering the car is thanks to Charge’s partnership with EV manufacturer Arrival.

- As well as “bespoke” leather seating and interior trim, the new Mustang also features a large screen in place of the center console. Instead of a cluster of gauges, Charge Cars has also added a second screen that shows your speed, range and state of charge.  Charge Cars puts a starting price of £350,000 on the new EV, which is $460,000


THIS IS GOGORO'S FIRST SOLID-STATE BATTERY: IT COULD BE AN EV GAME-CHANGER


DPD ORDERS ANOTHER 150 ESPRINTER


XPENG OPENS P5 RESERVATION BOOKS IN FOUR EUROPEAN MARKETS

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