Volvo to stop producing gasoline-only engines in 2019, moving to electric vehicles, hybrids
Volvo says no more internal combustion engines-only cars by 2019
On Wednesday, Volvo said it will stop producing gasoline-only engines beginning in 2019 and will shift to hybrids and all-electric vehicles.
“This announcement marks the end of the solely combustion engine-powered car,” said Volvo president and chief executive of Volvo Cars Håkan Samuelsson.
According to the Swedish-based automaker, between 2019 and 2021 it will introduce five new EVs. Three of the EVs will be badged as Volvos while the other two will be high-performance Polestars EVs.
As well, Volvo announced that every other new Volvo from 2019 on will feature some form of hybridization, like a plug-in hybrid or “mild hybrid” system.
“Volvo Cars has stated that it plans to have sold a total of 1 million electrified cars by 2025. When we said it we meant it. This is how we are going to do it,” said Samuelsson.
Innogy enters EV charging market in California
Innogy, Germany’s largest energy company, is setting charging points for electric vehicles in the state where ChargePoint is its largest competitor.
The subsidiary will be known as Innogy E-Mobility US LLC and will make, market and operate the charging stations.
In a press release, Peter Terium, CEO of Innogy SE said “We are firm believers in the future of electric mobility.” He added “For this reason, innogy is working constantly to drive forward the expansion of clean, climate-friendly mobility.”
Terium says the company wants to bring its successful model to the United States. “For there too, electric mobility and climate protection are a mega-topic for many states and big cities – and we have the innovative solutions for tomorrow’s traffic.”
France to end sale of diesel and gasoline vehicles by 2040
France’s Ecology Minister Nicolas Hulot said on Thursday that France aims to end the sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles by 2040 and become carbon neutral by 2050. Hulot said the measures are necessary to keep the momentum of the Paris climate agreement going.
Newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron says he is committed to implementing the pact even after US President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement last month.
“One of the symbolic acts of the plan is that France, which previously had made the promise to divide its greenhouse gas emissions by four by 2050, has decided to become carbon neutral by 2050 following the U.S. decision,” Hulot said.
“The carbon neutral objective will force us to make the necessary investments,” he added.
Tesla Model S fails to ace some safety tests
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says the seat belt in the Tesla Model S was not effective. According to the IIHS, in a collision, the faulty seat belt could result in the driver’s head hitting the steering wheel, hard, through the airbag.
A Tesla spokesperson told Reuters that on every other category, the Model S received the highest rating in IIHS’s crash testing in every category but one, the small overlap front crash test, where it received the second-highest rating available.
According to the California-based company, the most objective and accurate independent vehicle safety test is done by the US government. In tests by the government, the Model S and Model X were found to have the lowest probability of injury of any cars it has ever tested.
IIHS is a research arm of the insurance industry and its crash tests are becoming more influential in guiding vehicle safety design.
Tesla shares drift lower, GM overtakes EV startup’s market capitalization
This week, Tesla shares fell about 13 per cent and have wiped off nearly $8 billion from the company’s market capitalization. The drop came after Tesla’s lower-than-expected number of deliveries due to battery shortfalls and rising competition in the EV market.
On Thursday, company stocks fell by 5 per cent, putting the stock on course for its worst weekly performance since February, 2016.
Currently, GM has a market capitalization of $52.71 billion, and Tesla was valued at about $51.8 billion.
EV makers rush to expand battery manufacturing
On Monday, Tesla reported it fell short in deliveries due to a shortage of new battery packs. Following up on Wednesday, Goldman Sachs cut its six-month price target to $180 from $190.
Andrew Left of Citron Research told CNBC that he believes the move is fair in the short term.
As a result of the battery pack shortage, a number of automakers are racing to increase their battery supplies.
On Thursday, Reuters reported that Glencore had signed a deal to sell up to 20,000 tonnes of cobalt products to a Chinese firm. The sale will help Volkswagen secure car batteries as it moves to EV production.
Surely the headline that the Tesla failed a safety test is misleading, though technically accurate. The article states that it passed other tests by the highest margins ever. Isn’t that the real headline?