Solid News
Happy Thursday. Our Colorado team has been seeing more and more Rivian R1T’s on the road, including at a car show last weekend. Pretty amazing to see more and more hit the road. Our newsletter this week has highlights on Solid-State Batteries, Ford, Tesla, Chick-fil-A, and much more. Enjoy the newsletter and don’t forget to share.
Have a great rest of your day.
EV News
Camping season is here. Okay, okay, the Cybertruck isn’t out yet, but that didn’t stop Space Campers from dreaming up a camping solution for the Cybertruck. For $24,000, owners can transform their Cybertruck into a camper van by adding a wedge-like camper modification to lay on top of the vehicle. The camper can house a double bed and features a solar roof, interior lighting, four electrical outlets, and much, much more. This is my kind of camping.
In other EV News
- Looking for a used EV? You may want to look at this list, target certain markets, and avoid others. iSeeCars recently completed a study to see where the most expensive cities were for specific EVs compared to the cheapest cities. For example, if you are in the market for a Tesla Model S and you live in St. Louis, MO, you may want to avoid your city and look around Norfolk, VA to save over $30,000.
- Registered electric vehicle numbers are up 43% in Arkansas in the first 5 months of 2022, when compared to the end of 2021. The numbers are up nearly 300% from the end of 2019 to the end of May 2022.
- Colorado-based Solid Power has begun pilot production of its solid-state batteries. Solid Power expects to have batteries ready for vehicle testing with BMW and Ford later this year and possibly be ready for mass production in 2024.
- Ford made a big announcement late last week about plans for a $3.7 billion investment across Michigan, Ohio, and Missouri. $2 billion will be spent in Michigan which includes funds to increase the production of the Lightning.
- North Carolina State University’s Industrial and Systems Engineering Department has developed a model to determine prime spots for EV charging facilities.
- VW is actively looking for sites in the U.S. for assembly and battery facilities. Right now, VW has plants in TN and Mexico. No specific details were shared.
- Canadian company FLO is opening a plant in Auburn Hills, MI. The company builds charging equipment for electric vehicles. The facility is expected to cost $3 million and supply 133 jobs to the area.
- Qiantu unveiled the K20. The two-seater EV has around 300 miles of range, 4wd, and costs between $13,000-22,500, depending on how you have it configured.
EV of the Week
Need something to get around your city, but tired of the rain ruining your e-bike commute? Nimbus has a solution with the One, the ultra-tiny EV that’s like a motorbike, but with a roof. The EV will cost around $9,980, but Nimbus will also offer a subscription service for $200/month. Nimbus expects to start delivering to customers in Q3 2023. I can see myself cruising the streets of Rome in my One and that’s why the Nimbus One is the EV of the Week. - John @ Mobility Evo
- Top Speed of 50 mph
- Range of 93 miles
- Charges in 1.2 hours with a Level 2 charger
- Removable Battery
- No Motorcycle license needed to operate
AV Corner
I wish I lived in Austin. Chick-fil-a is testing autonomous delivery vehicles with Refraction AI in the city. The partnership will have a fleet of AVs downtown that will deliver within a mile of two of their restaurants. After the initial tests, the plans are to expand within Austin, starting later this month. If you live in Austin, check this out and let us know about your experience.
In other AV News
- Waymo and Uber Freight are partnering to allow future customers to deploy autonomous trucks efficiently to reduce shipping costs and reduce miles traveled. A timeline has not been announced.
- Cruise may start charging for autonomous rides in San Francisco. To do so requires a permit in SF, and Cruise could have this permit soon.
- 10.12.2 is out and Tesla said the update is available to 100,000 vehicles. The update is said to produce a much smoother driving experience and improve the decision-making framework. For the future, version 10.13 is said to handle roads with no map data.
- Motional is an autonomous taxi service venture between Hyundai and Aptiv. Motional’s fleet consists of the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and they are operating worldwide, including in Las Vegas. The taxi service is currently operating with a backup driver but plans to remove the backup driver beginning next year.
- Gatik’s self-driving trucks are to deliver Georgia-Pacific products to Sam’s Club stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The trucks will begin delivering in July, while driving up to 300 miles a day.
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.
