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⚡Electric Boxster & R32 Unleashed!

My 4-year-old son eagerly bounded downstairs the other morning to share some exciting news with me. With bright eyes and full of enthusiasm, he exclaimed, "Dad, I had a dream about an EV!" He makes me proud.

Let’s get into the news.

“When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”

-Henry Ford

Quiz

How much was BYD’s profit in 2022?

$1.4 million
$1.8 billion
$85 million
$2.4 billion

Click for the Answer

Used EV Tax Credit

We talked about buying a new EV, but what about a used EV? As of January 1, 2023, you could be eligible for a used clean vehicle tax credit. To qualify, an individual must:

Be an individual who bought the vehicle for use and not for resale
Not be the original owner
Not be claimed as a dependent on another person’s tax return
Not have claimed another used clean vehicle credit in the 3 years before the purchase date

And the vehicle must:

Be purchased from a licensed dealer
Have a sale price of $25,000 or less
Have a model year at least 2 years earlier than the calendar year when you buy it. For example, a vehicle purchased in 2023 would need a model year of 2021 or older.
Not have already been transferred after August 16, 2022, to a qualified buyer.
Have a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 14,000 pounds
Be an plug-in EV with a battery capacity of least 7 kilowatt hours
Be for use primarily in the United States

This nonrefundable credit equals 30% of the sale price, with a maximum credit of $4,000, and applies only to purchases made in 2023 or later. Additionally, your modified AGI must fall within specific thresholds. Take advantage if you are in the market for a used EV.

Giveaway

Don’t forget about our giveaway. We’ll pick a winner at the end of April. The winner gets to pick out any single item on Rivian’s Gear Shop for up to $50. To be entered, all you have to do is:

Make sure you are subscribed to the newsletter
Forward the newsletter to two friends and have them subscribe

In Other EV News

Kia has unveiled its first three-row electric flagship SUV, the EV9, which offers a targeted all-electric range of over 330 miles. The EV9 features an 800-volt charging system, allowing it to gain approximately 148 miles of range in just 15 minutes. The vehicle also includes technological advancements such as the Highway Driving Pilot system for conditional Level 3 autonomous driving and the Kia Connect Store for purchasing digital features and services on demand. No word on pricing though…
The all-electric Porsche Boxster has been caught in the wild, with several prototypes braving the snowy roads in Sweden for cold weather testing. Word on the street is that this eco-friendly Boxster will be built on the Premium Platform Electric (PPE) architecture and will first launch with a rear-wheel drive version, featuring a single electric motor and an 800-volt battery pack.
Nissan Japan recently teased an electrified R32 Skyline GT-R on Twitter with the hashtag R32EV. Sign me up! Can we also get an electric R34?
The US and Japan have agreed on a trade deal concerning EV battery minerals, aiming to reduce dependence on China and prohibiting export restrictions on crucial minerals like lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and manganese. The deal also grants Japanese automakers increased access to the $7,500 US EV tax credit, requiring collaboration to meet sourcing requirements.
Jeep is set to launch several new fully electric vehicles in the US, including the Recon 4xe and Wagoneer S, as part of its plan to have 50% of sales in the US be all-electric by 2030. The Recon 4xe is expected to begin production in 2024 and the Wagoneer S, with a range of up to 400 miles on a single charge, will also go into production in 2024.
Data from the California DMV reveals that Apple has 67 vehicles and 201 drivers registered for testing autonomous driving features on public roads.
Ford CEO, Jim Farley, revealed that the automaker's next-gen all-electric pickup truck, codenamed Project T3, will be capable of Level 4 autonomous driving under certain conditions when it goes on sale in 2025
Genesis Motors is charging up the United States with the expansion of its EV sales to seven additional states, now reaching a total of 22. The three-model lineup - GV60 SUV, Electrified GV70 SUV, and Electrified G80 executive sedan are now in these states at select retailers.
The Georgia General Assembly passed a bill on Monday introducing new taxes for EVs. It now awaits Governor Brian Kemp's signature.

Ned’s Corner

I am going to point something out for people unfamiliar with the recall that created the big bars on this chart, since this could create some confusion: both the Kona and Bolt recalls are due to LG Chem's defective cells supplied to Hyundai and Chevrolet.

Many people are confused by a single flawed EV model with a large footprint creating a myth that is assumed to be true for all models. That myth that fast charging causes excessive battery degradation came from the first volume EV, the Nissan Leaf. It had no battery cooling at all- none. The batteries cooked, Nissan had a replace a lot of them, the industry learned from it (mostly), and EVs don't have that problem now since they all have thermal management systems to match their charge power rating.

I am worried that some might look at these recall-involved battery replacement rates and not realize that there's a key factor- the vast majority of these replacements stem from a single vendor's process defect, not from an intrinsic issue with EV batteries. None, other than that manufacturing new technology is hard and mistakes happen, and more often with new things.

Predicting if future batteries will need to be replaced is hard. If you're working on this, know that the high failure rate on the Bolt & Kona comes from essentially a single data point (one manufacturer screwing up a lot of cells, with no remedy feasible but pack replacement) and extrapolation from a single data point is impossible. The many models showing low replacement rates are reliable; the high rates from the Kona & Bolt are an outsized outlier. Real, but from one event.

As a Bolt owner, I am happy with my free (and larger) replacement battery back, and its new warranty.

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