Chevy releases a new version of the Chevy Bolt EV and introduces its first all-electric crossover: the Chevy Bolt EUV. Chevy is offering the 2022 Bolt for $31,995 –– a $5,500 drop from the 2021 model. The EUV is only a tad dearer: $33,995. Both cars have a range of roughly 250 miles and can get 90 miles of charge in about a half hour –– better than the $40,000 Nissan Leaf Plus but not nearly as good as Tesla.
A new frontier for Level 2: The Chevy Bolt EUV will feature Super Cruise, GM’s Level 2 autonomous driving software that is currently only available in Cadillacs. The feature is intended mainly for highway driving; it is available only on the roughly 200,000 miles of “compatible” roadways in the U.S. and Canada. The fact that such technology, which was previously only available in fancy luxury vehicles, can now be found in a Chevy, is an important milestone in the history of AVs.
Push for new AV bill in Congress: Legislation establishing new rules for AVs may be one of the few things that a filibuster-proof majority in the U.S. Senate can agree on. Leading members of both parties are eagerly responding to calls from the auto industry to put in place regulations that facilitate the growth of the AV industry. However, whether they can agree on the details, which are likely to prompt scrutiny from industry and consumer advocacy groups alike, is far from clear.
Is Tesla feeling threatened? Is it a coincidence that Tesla reduced prices days after the Bolt was unveiled? Tesla cut the price of the Model 3 by $1,000 (now $38,190) and $2,000 off the Model Y (now $41,190).
…but keep in mind: Consumers will likely pay far less than sticker price for Teslas or Chevy EVs if the GREEN Act passes. Proposed by Democrats in Congress, the bill raises the number of vehicles that qualify for the tax credit to 600,000 per manufacturer, a potentially massive boon to Tesla and GM — both of which have already surpassed the current 200,000 cap.
‘Clean cars’ bill clears major hurdle in Virginia Senate Associated Press | Sarah Rankin A bill that aims to reduce carbon pollution in part by getting more zero-emissions vehicles on the road cleared a key hurdle in the Virginia Senate on Friday. The measure, considered a top priority this year for environmental advocates, would require that starting in 2024 a certain percentage of new passenger vehicles sold by manufacturers be electric or hybrid electric. The bill is advancing along with several related pieces of legislation, including a measure that would invest public money in rebates for electric vehicle purchasers. […] The mechanism for reaching the mandated vehicle sales threshold — which would start at roughly 8% in 2024 and then increase each year — involves adopting California’s vehicle emissions standards, which are stricter than the federal standard Virginia currently follows. California has had the authority to set its own for decades under a waiver from the federal Clean Air Act. The program applies to manufacturers, not car dealers. Manufacturers who aren’t in compliance can buy credits from others who have surpassed the target. Advocates of the bill say some automakers prioritize sending their electric vehicles, or EVs, to states that use California’s standards. They say that’s meant supply isn’t meeting demand, especially outside of northern Virginia. The hope is that the measure will make it easier and more likely that Virginians will choose a zero-emissions vehicle and in turn help reduce pollution from the transportation sector, which federal data shows is Virginia’s largest source of heat-trapping carbon dioxide.
The race to 1,000 km: China’s EV industry is fixated on developing cars that can go 1,000 km (621 miles) on a single charge. Such a range would allow someone to drive from New York to Cincinnati without having to juice up along the way. Nio says its new ET7 sedan will do it, while battery-maker CATL claims its new solid-state battery pack will get you 1,000 km after just 10 minutes of charging! Suffice it to say, the claims have drawn plenty of skepticism…
Out of gas in Europe: Ford says it’s ditching gas-powered vehicles in Europe. By 2026, America’s second largest automaker will only offer European customers electric and plug-in hybrid cars; by 2030 only battery-powered EVs will be available. In some ways, this makes sense. Not only is there greater political pressure in some European countries to phase out ICEs, but gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks are not nearly as important to Ford’s business there as in the U.S.
Now you can pay for transit or parking via Google Maps: In addition to helping you beat traffic, Google Maps will now allow you to pay the meter and buy transit tickets directly through the app. The parking feature will be available in over 400 U.S. cities, while the transit feature will be accessible in roughly 80 cities around the world.
Magyarország 🚆: Hungary announces a new plan to increase transit ridership 80% by 2040, with major investments planned in the Budapest area. If all goes to plan, the 16 new rail stations will save the average user 15 minutes per trip, prompt 12% of the city’s 1 million car commuters to switch to rail and reduce C02 emissions by 60,000 tonnes a year.
Lucid’s SPAC grows near: The luxury EV maker is close to a deal with Churchill Capital IV Corp that would allow the company to go public at a $12 billion valuation. Churchill, overseen by investor Michael Klein, has seen its value triple since word of its talks with Lucid leaked in early January.
CoMotion NEWS has got the views: Get to know Japan’s maglev marvel in “Chuo Shinkansen | Demystified” – a lively video tour of the super fast train set to link Tokyo and Osaka.
Alliance for informal transportation expands: The Global Partnership for Informal Transportation (an initiative of CoMotion, NewCities, and Agile City Partners) welcomes the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities as a partner in an effort to improve and support informal transportation systems around the world. Both groups have extensively researched the informal transport services of major urban areas in the Global South.
An urbanist DOT? Those who long for a less car-dominant future have a lot to love about the direction U.S DOT appears to be moving under President Biden. Not only is Biden a confirmed train fanatic, but Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says roads are “not just for vehicles” and Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg ran the NYC Department of Transportation, where she aggressively reallocated right-of-way from cars to buses and bikes. Speaking at CoMotion LIVE earlier this month, Sarah Kaufman, head of NYU’s Rudin Center for Transportation, said the new administration reflects a “new urbanist perspective” that contrasts with U.S. DOT’s traditional focus on big roads for big cars. ENRweighs in on the subject as well.
| Paying the cost to (not) be the boss: Instacart, the San Francisco-based grocery delivery service, becomes the latest gig economy business to raise prices to pay for new worker benefits approved as part of California’s controversial Prop 22. Customers will now see their service charge increase from 5% to 8%; those with monthly subscriptions won’t be affected. Instacart is one of a number of companies that backed the measure, which freed Uber, Lyft and similar services from treating gig workers as full-fledged employees but committed them to provide an increased minimum wage and certain benefits, such as accident insurance and a stipend to pay for health care. Companies told voters Prop 22 was necessary to avoid price hikes, but with Instacart’s move, every group that bankrolled the proposition has now raised prices. Meanwhile, Instacart also appears to be making moves to downsize their workforce by replacing human shoppers with robot-driven warehouses. UK says Uber drivers are employees: While the TNC and delivery companies may be hoping to replicate their Prop 22 success in new locales, it looks like they’ll have no such luck in the UK. A four-year legal battle ends in defeat as the nation’s Supreme Court rules that drivers are employees entitled to minimum wage and other key labor regulations. This also means that Uber will be subject to a 20% VAT on fares. It’s not yet clear how Uber will react to these added costs, but price hikes are likely in the cards. Plane and simple money for trains: A new policy expands the number of rail projects eligible for funding from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. To qualify for funding from two key FAA programs, roads and rail projects must show they are intended specifically for airport passengers and employees, rather than the general public. Previous administrations interpreted that to mean that a rail line only qualifies for funding if it terminates at an airport. The new guidance says that rail lines are eligible as long as there is an airport somewhere on the line. This is great news for transit connectivity in general and means that proposed projects like Newark’s new airtrain may also serve poor neighborhoods that have long been starved of transit. Unlike, says, the situation you see across the Hudson River, where JFK’s airtrain seemingly taunts South Jamaica with a two-mile long station-free jaunt. The everyman EV? On Valentine’s Day Chevy releases a new version of the Chevy Bolt EV and introduces its first all-electric crossover: the Chevy Bolt EUV. Chevy is offering the 2022 Bolt for $31,995 –– a $5,500 drop from the 2021 model. The EUV is only a tad dearer: $33,995. Both cars have a range of roughly 250 miles and can get 90 miles of charge in about a half hour –– better than the $40,000 Nissan Leaf Plus but not nearly as good as Tesla. Is Tesla feeling threatened? Is it a coincidence that Tesla reduced prices days after the Bolt was unveiled? Tesla cut the price of the Model 3 by $1,000 (now $38,190) and $2,000 off the Model Y (now $41,190). …but keep in mind: Consumers will likely pay far less than sticker price for Teslas or Chevy EVs if the GREEN Act passes. Proposed by Democrats in Congress, the bill raises the number of vehicles that qualify for the tax credit to 600,000 per manufacturer, a potentially massive boon to Tesla and GM — both of which have already surpassed the current 200,000 cap. Why bother selling cars? At least for now, Tesla’s $1.5 billion investment in Bitcoin has likely generated more profit for the company than all of the cars it has ever sold in its history. Contrary to what many on Reddit would like to believe, supportive tweets from Elon Musk do not guarantee that Bitcoin will continue to go up. The race to 1,000 km: China’s EV industry is fixated on developing cars that can go 1,000 km (621 miles) on a single charge. Such a range would allow someone to drive from New York to Cincinnati without having to juice up along the way. Nio says its new ET7 sedan will do it, while battery-maker CATL claims its new solid-state battery pack will get you 1,000 km after just 10 minutes of charging! Suffice it to say, the claims have drawn plenty of skepticism… Out of gas in Europe: Ford says it’s ditching gas-powered vehicles in Europe. By 2026, America’s second largest automaker will only offer European customers electric and plug-in hybrid cars; by 2030 only battery-powered EVs will be available. In some ways, this makes sense. Not only is there greater political pressure in some European countries to phase out ICEs, but gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks are not nearly as important to Ford’s business there as in the U.S. Now you can pay for transit or parking via Google Maps: In addition to helping you beat traffic, Google Maps will now allow you to pay the meter and buy transit tickets directly through the app. The parking feature will be available in over 400 U.S. cities, while the transit feature will be accessible in roughly 80 cities around the world. Magyarország 🚆: Hungary announces a new plan to increase transit ridership 80% by 2040, with major investments planned in the Budapest area. If all goes to plan, the 16 new rail stations will save the average user 15 minutes per trip, prompt 12% of the city’s 1 million car commuters to switch to rail and reduce C02 emissions by 60,000 tonnes a year. Lucid’s SPAC grows near: The luxury EV maker is close to a deal with Churchill Capital IV Corp that would allow the company to go public at a $12 billion valuation. Churchill, overseen by investor Michael Klein, has seen its value triple since word of its talks with Lucid leaked in early January. CoMotion NEWS has got the views: Get to know Japan’s maglev marvel in “Chuo Shinkansen | Demystified” – a lively video tour of the super fast train set to link Tokyo and Osaka. Alliance for informal transportation expands: The Global Partnership for Informal Transportation (an initiative of CoMotion, NewCities, and Agile City Partners) welcomes the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities as a partner in an effort to improve and support informal transportation systems around the world. Both groups have extensively researched the informal transport services of major urban areas in the Global South. An urbanist DOT? Those who long for a less car-dominant future have a lot to love about the direction U.S DOT appears to be moving under President Biden. Not only is Biden a confirmed train fanatic, but Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says roads are “not just for vehicles” and Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg ran the NYC Department of Transportation, where she aggressively reallocated right-of-way from cars to buses and bikes. Speaking at CoMotion LIVE earlier this month, Sarah Kaufman, head of NYU’s Rudin Center for Transportation, said the new administration reflects a “new urbanist perspective” that contrasts with U.S. DOT’s traditional focus on big roads for big cars. ENR weighs in on the subject as well. |
Buttigieg sets goals for electric, automated freight vehicles
The Hill | Alex Gangitano Newly sworn-in Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is planning to embark on ambitious priorities for electric and automated freight fleet vehicles as part of the Biden administration’s overall goals for combating climate change. Buttigieg said at his recent confirmation hearing that American workers should be leading the way in producing autonomous vehicles, while stressing the need for public infrastructure to power electric vehicles with clean energy. In doing so, he fully embraced President Biden’s goal to have 500,000 electric charging stations across the country by 2030. Buttigieg’s plans for automated and electric commercial vehicles come on the heels of a report from his predecessor, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, who released a National Freight Strategic Plan in September that included supporting the development and adoption of automation and connectivity… Freight shipments are expected to increase by 22.4 percent over the next 20 years, according to government estimates, and experts say the amount of human error in long-haul freight with automation will eventually lead to fewer injuries and deaths… The Biden administration’s agenda includes replacing the government’s fleet with U.S.-made electric vehicles. “The federal government also owns an enormous fleet of vehicles, which we’re going to replace with clean electric vehicles made right here in America, by American workers,” Biden said late last month. Transportation policy experts are optimistic that Buttigieg, 39, can help facilitate advancements in both electrification and automation. “The commitment of the administration towards electric vehicles, I think, will be a big boost not only to electric vehicles but to advancing autonomous vehicles. I think Secretary Buttigieg, being somewhat of a younger generation … I think he’s the right person at the department to advance these ideas and this technology,” said Eric Tanenblatt, global chair of public policy and regulation and leader of Autonomous Vehicles practice at Dentons, an international law firm.
