Happy Thursday. We have news on BMW, Duke Energy, Ford, Kia, Hertz, WeRide, Nvidia, and so much more.
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EV News
Based on the Inflation Reduction Act, Kia had to think fast and change plans. In order to qualify for the EV tax credit, Kia is now planning on producing electric vehicles in the United States starting in 2024. There wasn’t much more detail than this, but we’re excited to hear about the Kia tax credit coming back in the future.
In other EV News
- Earlier this week, Hertz announced its order of 175,000 electric vehicles from GM. The company will begin using EVs like the Chevrolet Bolt and the Bolt EUV at the start of 2023.
- Uber has committed to a completely electric fleet by 2030. Drivers who don’t switch to an electric vehicle by 2030 won’t be allowed to drive for the company. Drivers who do switch will make an additional $1 per ride.
- BMW expects its Gen6 battery to produce over 600 miles of range, but BMW is going to limit the range, on purpose. BMW says consumers won’t need that much range, especially as charging times decrease.
- EVs can rescue the United States power grid through bi-directional charging.
- The Department of Homeland Security became the first federal agency to use a battery electric vehicle in the field. Can you guess the vehicle they’re using?
- Duke Energy will utilize Ford F-150 Lightning electric trucks for bi-directional charging to help power the electric grid during times of peak demand.
EV of the Week
Sometimes you just need to bring the power with you. That’s the plan with the Ford E-Transit Custom. There is no longer a need to bring a diesel generator or plug into a house, bring your workshop with you. Ford also claims some quick charging with a 10-80% SOC in just 34 minutes. Remote work, mobile work, and work can go anywhere. That’s why the Ford e-Transit Custom is the EV of the Week.
- Front-mounted motor with a range of 236 Miles
- 214 Horsepower
- 306 lb.-ft of torque
- 74 kWh Battery pack
- Charge rate of 125 kW
- Optional Ford Propower On Board that provides 2.3 kW of power for tools and equipment
-John @ Mobility EVo
AV Corner
WeRide has launched the first self-driving Robobus test ride this week in Saudi Arabia. Today is the last day to catch a test ride, so if you are in Saudi Arabia, check it out. WeRide has driven nearly 7.5 million autonomous miles and has conducted testing in 25 cities in five countries.
In other AV News
- Nvidia’s new processor, Drive Thor, is designed for futuristic, autonomous computer systems in cars made in 2025 and beyond.
- To improve autonomous technology, MIT engineers have developed technology to detect changes in shadows to determine if an object is coming around a corner.
- Hyundai Motor’s RoboRide will be equipped with Kakao T, a popular taxi-hailing app in South Korea.
- South Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has issued a plan that allows Level 3 autonomous vehicles to be on the road by 2023 and Level 4 AVs within five years.
- Cities in China are broadly integrating experimental autonomous public transport to eventually launch commercial driverless public transportation.
- XPeng launched a rival autonomous feature to Tesla’s Full Self Driving Beta: the City NGP.
- However, Tesla has expanded its Full Self Driving Beta access to 60,000 more Tesla owners. In total, Tesla has 160,000 people in the Beta program.
EPG and Mobility EVo
Mobility EVo is brought to you by EPG. EPG is an electric vehicle and autonomous vehicle recruiting and staffing company. We created Mobility EVo to bring you the latest news on the Electric Vehicle and Autonomous Vehicle industry through our newsletter. Whether it’s Tesla, Ford, Mobileye, Cruise, Waymo, GM, Rivian, we bring it to you. We also have some electric vehicle merch too. Check out our EV hats, EV Shirts, EV Hoodies, etc… We have something for everyone.