Happy Thursday and last newsletter of the year! We've got a lot to cover, including updates on Canada, Rivian, Tesla, a year-end recap, Wuhan, and much more.
We want to take a moment to thank you for your support throughout 2022. We hope you had a great year and we look forward to bringing you even more exciting news and updates in 2023.
Happy New Year!
EV News
Canada has announced new regulations requiring 20% of all passenger cars, SUVs, and trucks sold in the country to be electric by 2026. The mandate will increase to 60% of all sales by 2030 and 100% of passenger vehicles by 2035. Penalties for manufacturers and importers who fail to meet the targets will be enforced through the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. The regulations are part of Canada's plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030. The targets will apply nationwide, although some provinces, such as Quebec and British Columbia, already have their own electric vehicle sales mandates.
- Interstate highways in Arizona are welcoming more chargers over the next couple of years thanks to $76.5 million from the Infrastructure Law.
- Rivian’s Dual-Motor system will begin production in a few months. The system will offer around 600 hp with the option for an enhanced version producing 700 hp.
- The Ballycroft Vineyard has become the first business in Australia to be powered by stored energy in an electric vehicle. The V2G system operates through a set of solar panels on the roof that charge the EV’s battery, the EV then powers the winery at night.
- Sony-Honda Mobility will unveil its first EV at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January. The car will be capable of autonomous driving at levels 2+ and 3.
- Vinfast returns to CES with 4 electric SUV models, 4 electric bikes, and VF 8 test drives, an immersive experience.
A Look Back
It's been a great year for the electric and autonomous vehicle industries, with many exciting developments and new models being released. We saw the EV market share in the US surpass 6%, and Tesla reached the milestone of producing 3 million cars. The Rimac Nevera set a new record as the world's fastest electric production car at 258 mph, and we saw the first shipment of Vinfast VF 8s arrive in the US. The government also announced plans to invest $5 billion in improving EV infrastructure over the next five years.
At Mobility EVo, we had the chance to test drive a range of exciting vehicles, including a Porsche Taycan, Kia Niro, Kia EV6, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Chevy Bolt, multiple Tesla models, Rivian R1T and R1S, BMW iX and i4M50, and our very own Ford F-150 Lightning. Each vehicle had its own standout features, but I was particularly impressed by the Rivian R1S. It's a versatile and powerful vehicle that would be perfect for tackling the roads of Colorado, and it's always nice to have the option of leaving a Ferrari in the dust.
Overall, it's been a fantastic year for the EV and AV industries, and we're looking forward to what 2023 has in store. Happy New Year!
-John @ Mobility EVo
Ned's Corner
Hot take: Drivers want simple energy pricing but it's just not that simple. A kWh is not a kWh with public charging- it's about access to infrastructure. If it really was true that a public fast charge kWh was the same as every charging kWh, then 1kW charging from a domestic socket could be priced the same as 360kW charging. But no, of course they are different things.
A 360kW EVSE has dramatically different capital and operations costs and radically different operational complexity from a domestic socket. Those costs go into the price. This is the same reason that coffee you pour from a pot at a convenience store costs less than coffee from a full-service coffee shop, and both are more than coffee at home. There are aspects of fast charging that are service and convenience, not just product, and they are in the price.
If consumers demand flat energy pricing…
About Ned
Ned is an EV professional with experience with chargers from 1 to 500kW and EVs ranging from unicycles to buses and class 8 trucks. An EV owner since 2014, he is currently a Technical Solutions Manager with Electrada where he develops and refines charging solutions for fleets using his engineering experience to drive for high uptime, reliability, and efficiency.
AV Corner
A new law in California will prohibit Tesla and other automakers from advertising Level 2 driver assist systems as full self-driving systems. The bill, signed by California Governor Gavin Newsom, covers both dealers and manufacturers and prevents them from "deceptively naming or marketing" vehicles with autonomous technology. It also requires dealers or manufacturers to explain the limitations of any such system equipped on a vehicle. The state's Department of Motor Vehicles already had rules for autonomous vehicle regulation and self-driving tech advertising, but Rep. Lena Gonzalez felt that more needed to be done since the DMV didn't seem to enforce its own rules.
In other AV News
- Baidu will deploy its driverless robotaxi in Wuhan. Its operation area will now be 130 square kilometers.
- Stellantis has acquired aiMotive.
- An alumnus wants to introduce self-driving shuttles for students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.
- Point One Navigation has launched a positioning engine for AVs. The technology will ensure accurate data for autonomous vehicles.
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute introduced its new Autonomous Vehicle Mobility Institute. The program will focus on producing technology for autonomous off-roading vehicles.
- Recogni has claimed its Recogni Scorpio as the world’s fastest AV technology ever. It can detect up to 300 m in real-time under various road and environmental conditions.
- LOXO’s last-mile autonomous delivery vehicle will launch in 2023 in Europe.
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.