Happy Tuesday. I’ve been traveling and it’s been cool seeing the different EVs in SC including a new i7, R1S, and R1T.
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“I find out what the world needs. Then I go ahead and try to invent it.”
-Thomas Edison
Electric Vehicles
India's Ola Electric Mobility Pvt. has unveiled plans to build the world's largest electric vehicle hub, investing a mammoth sum of $920 million to establish a localized supply chain, propelling cleaner transportation. The sprawling 2,000-acre facility in Tamil Nadu will be utilized to manufacture two-wheelers, cars, and battery cells, and will also house a vendor and supplier park, as per a recent statement from Ola. The Indian startup will commence the mass production of cells from the hub later this year, indicating its determination to remain ahead of the curve in the electric vehicle space.
Last year, Ola introduced its first lithium-ion cell, which was developed at its battery innovation center in Bengaluru, which saw a $500 million investment. Ola will focus on developing a local supply chain for materials and components like motors, rare-earth magnets, semiconductors, lithium processing, and electrode production from minerals such as graphite and nickel over the next ten years.
In Other EV News
- Rivian has filed for a patent for an air-conditioned EV charger that could potentially aid charging speeds for its models. The design of the charging stall includes a system that can blow hot or cool air underneath the car, which would help the battery management system work more efficiently.
- Tesla is halting operations at its Shanghai plant to upgrade production lines for the new Model 3 production lines.
- Tesla is planning to add 84 new Supercharger stations in Germany, including one at the Giga Berlin site. This move will increase the number of Supercharger stations in Germany by over 50% with the new charging stations expected to be installed by Q1 2024.
- General Motors has set its sights on overtaking Tesla as the world's foremost EV producer by 2025. The company is slowly but surely making progress toward that goal and has recently confirmed that it will unveil three new fully electric Cadillac models later this year, with the aim of starting production in 2024.
- Ram has revealed that they will soon show a midsize electric pickup truck concept to dealers, filling a gap in their global portfolio.
- Ram Trucks has closed reservations for its first electric truck, the Ram 1500 REV, after revealing the production model during the Super Bowl.
- VinFast, the Vietnamese EV maker, announced on Friday that it has received one of the required environmental permits from North Carolina regulators to construct a $4 billion EV assembly plant in the state. VinFast received an "Air Permit," according to the automaker, and is still awaiting other permits for the Chatham Country factory, but it will initiate a construction tender.