Author: Green Car Online News

Electrify America releases new pricing plans and mobile app

Electrify America DC fast chargers in Gulfport, Mississippi
A new debate is raging in the electric-car and charging communities: Whether electric-car drivers should pay for charging like gas, by the kilowatt-hour; or like parking, by the minute.

Electrify America, which has been firmly in the latter camp, released new pricing plans last week that takes a few steps toward the former.

With chargers getting faster all the time, it may make less sense to charge by the minute. Instead, the company will charge users for the time connected, yet also according to the charge rate, to help off-set the added costs of higher powered charging stations.

DON'T MISS: Electrify America turns on first 350-kw fast charger in California

Electric cars that can charge at rates charge faster than 125 kilowatts—about the speed of a Tesla Supercharger up until now—will pay the highest rates. The next highest will be cars that charge between 76 and 125 kw, and standard rates will apply to cars at 75 kw or less—about the speediest DC fast charges for most existing cars that offer the technology.

Cars that can accept charge rates of 100, and 150 kw are beginning to arrive on the market. The Audi E-tron quattro is the first capable of charging at 150 kw, which equates to 160 miles in about 20 minutes.

Electrify America, a charging-network division of Volkswagen formed under a court decree as part of VW's legal settlement over diesel emissions cheating, is in the vanguard of installing these state-of-the-art fast chargers. All of Electrify America's highway DC fast chargers it has installed have chargers capable of 150 kw, and at least one charger at each of its stations is a 350-kw unit (often two).

Under the decree, the company is required to have 484 charging stations open in 42 states by the end of 2019, when it plans to have 2,000 chargers online, and will continue to open more through 2025.

READ MORE: Electrify America lays out plans for second round of chargers in California

As faster-charging cars roll out, the company plans to reduce its standard per-minute rates as well, from 30 to 35 cents per minute (depending on the location) to 24 to 28 cents per minute, the company announced at an event at its headquarters in Virginia last week.

Drivers will still pay $1 to initiate a charging session and up to 40 cents per minute for parking after their charge is complete.

Those rates will be set according to different membership levels, which the company also announced at an event at its headquarters last week. The corresponding subscription plans mirror those of other charging networks, although Electrify America is required by its court decree to have credit-card readers that will allow any EV driver to initiate a charge.

CHECK OUT: One-step Plug&Charge coming to (Electrify) America

The first plan, called the “Electrify America Pass,” will include the mandatory $1 session fee. Users who sign up for the “Electrify America Pass +” for $4 a month, will get lower charging rates and additional discounts.

To help drivers keep track of that, the company also introduced a new app—as if EV drivers need yet another app to find and keep track of charging on their cell phones. While there are several more universal apps that will help drivers find accessible and compatible charging stations beyond a single network, the Electrify America app provides additional services such as tracking your charging session and notifications when the charge rate slows down (as apps from other networks already do.)

Electrify America calls the point at which the charge rate slows down, because the battery can no longer accept such fast charging without damage, the “bulk charge.”

Electrify America mobile app

Electrify America also says that the app will be able to upload users' payment info to initiate a charging session. In January, the company laid out plans to adopt the ISO's 15118 Plug&Charge standard which will transmit payment data via the car as soon as it's plugged in, but this announcement didn't further those plans.

The company said more specific rate details will be revealed at the end of May.

Electric car hopeful Nio closes California office amid layoffs

Nio ET Preview concept
Chinese electric-car startup Nio announced Thursday that it will close an office in California and lay off 70 workers, according to a report in The Verge.

The layoffs were filed with the California Employment Development Department.

After introducing two new SUVs alongside its high-performance electric sports car, Nio unveiled a new concept for its first sports sedan at the Shanghai auto show two weeks ago.

DON'T MISS: Nio unveils ET Preview electric sedan in Shanghai

The company closed its office in San Francisco where it employed 20 people and the company also laid off 50 workers at its U.S. headquarters in San Jose.

Nio began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in September, where its stock saw an initial spike, but has since dropped back to below its IPO level.

CHECK OUT: NIO aiming to innovate with battery cooling, patents suggest

In March, it revealed new patented battery cooling technology that cools the bus-bars in the battery and the junction box during fast charging.

Currently, Nio is the only company operating a network of electric-car battery swapping stations in China.

READ MORE: Electric carmaker Nio begins trading on NYSE, aims to sell cars in US

Nio had plans to build its own auto factory in China, but announced to investors in March that it had put those plans on hold in the face of “uncertainty” after the Chinese government cut subsidies on Chinese cars. For now, at least, it will continue to have its cars built at a contract-manufacturing facility owned by JAC Motors.

In a statement to The Verge, a Nio spokesperson said, “After four years of rapid growth, we’ve set up a global organization. However, fast development has also posed issues like repetitive functional departments, undefined work tasks, unclear work responsibilities, and insufficient work for certain people. We would like to solve them by optimizing management efficiency this year.”

Correction: An earlier version misidentified the number and location of the job cuts. Those figures have been corrected.

EVgo launches first curbside fast chargers

EVgo curbside DC fast chargers at Southside Park, Sacramento, California [CREDIT: EVgo]
With wires running along almost every street in America where cars drive, putting EV chargers along the curb would seem a natural enough place to put them.

While several other countries such as Britain have begun efforts to put charging stations on light poles, in America, chargers have been sited almost exclusively in parking lots and garages.

Now EVgo, a network of mainly DC fast chargers, has set up the first public fast chargers along the side of the street in Sacramento.

READ THIS: California utilities commission passes record incentives for chargers

The new installation, on 6th Street alongside the city's Southside park and blocks from the major interchange of Interstate 5 and the I-80 business loop, includes three 50-kilowatt DC fast chargers and three new 150-kw DC fast chargers that can provide up to 150 miles of range in less than 30 minutes.

The first cars capable of charging at that speed are just beginning to arrive on the U.S. market with the rollout of the Audi E-tron quattro this month.

DON'T MISS: EVgo, Chargepoint annual reports show growth in electric-car charging

The park is a popular place for locals to hang out, with a pond, and a certified farmers' market, and lots of neighborhood restaurants and shops.

The new 150-kw chargers will have both 175-kw Combo plugs and 100-kw CHAdeMO plugs, while the 50-kw chargers will have both types of plugs rated at 50-kw. (Teslas can use an adapter.) All six chargers are made by ABB.

CHECK OUT: EVgo launches first public 350-kw fast charger

One challenge was to secure the right of way to reserve parking for EVs at the charging spaces on the street.

“Low-cost and convenient EV charging on our city streets will make it easy for residents and visitors alike to shift to electric vehicles and away from fossil fuels,” said Sacramento Councilmember Steve Hansen. “Now … users will be able get the charge they need and take time to enjoy the park, walk to Insight Coffee, or enjoy the Sunday Farmers Market.”

Polestar will qualify for $7,500 electric-car credit separately from Volvo

Polestar 2
The 2021 Polestar 2 will look and feel a lot like a Volvo, but federal and state regulators won't treat it like one in the U.S. when it comes to qualifying for various green-car incentives.

The biggest incentive is the $7,500 offered as an Internal Revenue Service tax credit for the first 200,000 electric cars sold by an automaker.

READ MORE: 2020 Volvo XC60 T8, 2020 V60 T8 plug-in hybrids get Polestar Engineered performance

“We get the full credit, the $7,500 is there and it's not attached to Volvo,” spokesman J.P. Canton told Green Car Reports at a private media unveiling of the Polestar 2 electric sedan in San Francisco. “We have to sell 200,000 Polestars until it runs out.”

That leaves the door open for Volvo to earn up to 200,000 of the $7,500 federal credits on its own electric cars (minus the few plug-in hybrids the Swedish brand has sold so far) alongside state, and other credits.

The separate, untapped $7,500 incentive pool could give Polestar a big advantage out of the gate compared to General Motors and Tesla, which have both sold more than 200,000 qualifying vehicles in the U.S.

READ ALSO: Tesla Model 3 vs. Polestar 2: How the two electric cars compare

“Polestar Automotive USA is a separate brand,” said Gregor Hembrough, Polestar's head in the U.S., clarifying that the cars will be registered not as Volvos but as Polestars.

The Polestar 2 is a high-riding all-wheel-drive electric sedan that began life as a Volvo concept car intended to replace the S40, but its design was transferred to Polestar. It is fitted with a pair of 150-kilowatt electric motors and a 78-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery stuffed in its driveline tunnel.

The car is expected to go on sale by the end of the second quarter of 2020 in the U.S., initially in West Coast markets. Though select Volvo dealers will actually handle logistics of the Polestar sales, the automaker plans to build gallery-like showrooms staffed with product experts not on commission—similar in concept to those used by Tesla.

Autopilot or not, Tesla adds two more levels of lane assistance

2019 Tesla Model 3 Performance
On its way to rolling out full self-driving, Tesla will use the technology to add two more basic safety features to all its cars, the company announced on Thursday.

Tesla's Autopilot system can often track lanes better than most other self-driving systems—and occasionally not. But the cars have to be equipped with Autopilot and drivers have to have the Autopilot system engaged for that ability to work.

Now the company is making the active steering features of Autopilot standard on all its cars for safety's sake. Tesla calls the features Lane Departure Avoidance and Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance.

MUST READ: Musk aims to transform Tesla into self-driving robo-taxi company

Unlike Autopilot, the systems are designed to work in the background, while the driver is actively driving the car.

The Lane Departure Avoidance systems add to the standard Lane Departure Warning system already standard on Teslas. If the car's cameras determine it is actively straying from its lane, between 25 and 90 mph, the car can nudge the steering to bring it back in line in addition to warning the driver. The Lane Departure Warning System only vibrated the steering wheel and provided visual warnings.

The difference between Lane Departure Avoidance and Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance is that the first system intervenes earlier and more often, and drivers have to turn it on for it to work. Emergency Lane Departure Avoidance is activated automatically every time the car turns on and intervenes later (and less often) but more forcefully if the driver allows the car to approach a lane-line too closely or quickly without using a turn signal, or if the car's sensors detect an imminent collision. Drivers can also override this system or turn it off, but it resets as soon as the car restarts.

Tesla Lane Departure Avoidance screen

Many other automakers make such active lane control systems standard in varying degrees. Such active lane control systems have been shown to reduce accidents resulting from cars running off the road, which can lead to rollovers and are among the most severe types of crashes.

CONSIDER THIS: Tesla Full Self-Driving will still require drivers when it arrives later this year

Tesla says the systems will be pushed out to existing cars, starting Thursday, via an over the air update, although an update some Tesla owners received Thursday night did not include the system.

In a blog announcing the systems, the company said, “We believe that lane-keeping and hands-on monitoring can be extremely effective to prevent accidents. These features apply some of the best parts of Autopilot to help all of our customers stay engaged and in their lane in order to avoid collisions when Autopilot is not in use.”

CHECK OUT: No more turn-signal affirmation for Tesla Navigate on Autopilot

More broadly, the move represents a branding shift for Tesla away from the term Autopilot toward following the practices of other major automakers, making Level 2 driver assist features standard safety items and saving promises of fully autonomous Level 4 and Level 5 self-driving for the future.

Tesla said last week at an Autonomy Day event that it sees that Full Self-Driving Capability future coming sooner than many other traditional automakers—as soon as the end of this year for the capability, said CEO Elon Musk—though it may still require several years to win legal approval.

Audi E-tron electric SUV gets discounts just as it goes on sale

2019 Audi e-tron first drive – Abu Dhabi UAE, December 2018
Just as the 2019 E-tron SUV starts arriving at dealerships, Audi is already offering big discounts on them.

The biggest incentive so far is 1.9 percent financing on the E-tron for up to 66 months, which is significantly cheaper than most other models in Audi's lineup, according to our partners at CarsDirect.com. The similar-sized, gas-powered Q5 SUV only qualifies for a 3.99 percent annual percentage rate for the same 5.5 years, which is more typical in Audi's lineup.

On top of that, current Audi owners of 2009 models or newer can already receive a $750 owner-loyalty discount.

DON'T MISS: 2019 Audi E-tron first drive: Redrawing the electric-vehicle boundaries

It is unusual for any automaker to offer big discounts on a brand new model. More often, automakers have to offer increasing discounts after a model has been on the market a few years and rival automakers have introduced newer competition.

The E-tron, which stickers for a base price of $75,795 including destination, is saddled with a 204-mile range between charges, while older and cheaper competitors such as the Jaguar I-Pace and Hyundai Kona Electric have between 230 and 260 miles of range. Tesla last week upgraded its competitive Model X SUV to include a minimum of 250 miles and up to 325 miles of range.

READ THIS: 2019 Audi E-tron EPA range revealed: Nothing to brag about, but aiming for the real world?

To offset that shortfall, Audi says the E-tron offers faster charging, up to 150 kilowatts, which can restore up to 160 miles of range in about 20 minutes. But relatively few public fast chargers are available yet that can provide that much power.

Lease rates for the E-tron are not as attractive as the sales incentives. Audi hasn't revealed complete lease terms, including monthly payments. The money factor of 0.0023, however, equates to 5.5 percent annual interest. Lower trim models, which have not yet arrived at dealerships, are likely to be significantly more attractive to lease, with higher residuals as well as lower prices.

Meanwhile, Jaguar is offering 0 percent financing on the I-Pace.

Tesla faces lawsuit in fatal Model X crash on Autopilot

Tesla Model X crash, Hwy 101 Mountainview, California
The family of a driver killed in the crash of a Tesla Model X driving on Autopilot filed a lawsuit April 26 against Tesla over the crash, Bloomberg reported.

Software engineer Walter Huang, 38, was killed March 23, 2018, when his 2017 Model X drifted out of the left lane of Highway 101 in Mountain View, California and struck a concrete median divider.

The NTSB investigated the crash and issued a preliminary report June 7 and noted that Huang had the car's Autopilot system engaged and set to a cruise speed of 75 mph on the highway. The report showed that Huang had his hands off the steering wheel for the last six seconds prior to the crash and had held the wheel for 34 of the 60 seconds prior to the crash. The system gave Huang three warnings in the 15 minutes prior to the crash.

READ THIS: Investigators: Autopilot sped up before fatal Tesla Model X crash

According to the report, the car slowed down to 65 mph behind a lead vehicle and steered left toward the barrier, disengaged from following the lead vehicle and accelerated (toward its preset 75 mph) before it struck the barrier. The crash attenuator at the end of the barrier was previously damaged by another accident a week earlier.

The lawsuit also names the state of California as a defendant for not repairing the crash attenuator before Huang hit the barrier.

The lawsuit alleges that Tesla knew or should have known that the car could leave travel lanes and strike fixed objects, likely causing injury to its occupants “when used in a reasonably foreseeable manner.”

It says that Tesla should have recalled the cars or provided a warning in light of this risk.

CHECK OUT: Report: Tesla kicked out from official investigation over fatal Model X crash

In response to the initial crash, Tesla issued a statement and said, “Tesla is extremely clear that Autopilot requires the driver to be alert and have hands on the wheel. This reminder is made every single time Autopilot is engaged.”

In a statement announcing the lawsuit, the family's lawyer, B. Mark Fong accused Tesla of “beta testing its Autopilot software on live drivers.

“The Huang family wants to help prevent this tragedy from happening to other drivers using Tesla vehicles or any semi-autonomous vehicles,” Fong said.

Tesla has since released extensive updates to its Autopilot system, expanding its capabilities, installing a more capable processor chip, and rebranded its self-driving as Full Self-Driving Capability. Last month, the company detailed the system's updated capabilities and features, and announced that by the end of this year it expects the system to be “feature complete” for self-driving, although self-driving cars aren't yet allowed by law.

GM CEO confirms plans to build Chevy or GMC electric pickup truck

2019 GMC Sierra
General Motors CEO Mary Barra confirmed Tuesday in a call with investors what rumors had long predicted: The automaker will build an electric pickup. Barra didn't specify when the pickup would appear, or whether it would be branded as a GMC or Chevrolet.

Rumors swirled earlier this year that GM may invest in EV startup Rivian, but that never materialized. Instead, Amazon invested up to $700 million in Rivian earlier this year. Then, last week Ford announced that it will invest $500 million in Rivian, which could preclude a deal with GM.

Barra's announcement Tuesday makes it clear that GM is committed to building an electric pickup, even without Rivian.

DON'T MISS: GMC could join electric-pickup tailgate party

In January, Duncan Aldred, vice president of General Motors' GMC brand, told attendees at a conference following the Detroit auto show that the brand was considering an electric truck, but didn't offer any details.

Barra had already said, multiple times, that the automaker is working toward an all-electric future, which includes pickups.

READ MORE: Chevrolet Bolt EV to get electric sibling, with Michigan plant investment

In March, GM announced it will invest $300 million in its Orion Township, Michigan factory to build a second electric model based on the Chevrolet Bolt EV, which Barra also confirmed Tuesday. The second car is expected to be an electric SUV, possibly called the Bolt EUV.

Beyond that, GM announced at the Detroit auto show that Cadillac will become its lead brand for electric vehicles, starting with an electric SUV in 2022.

CHECK OUT: Long-range Cadillac SUV to lead GM's next electric-car push, in 3 years

With Cadillac taking the lead to sell GM electric cars—for higher prices and profit margins—it makes sense that the premium GMC brand could be the automakers' primary outlet for electric pickups.

Electric pickups have gained in mind-share in recent months after Rivian revealed its long-range electric pickup at the LA auto show in November. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said this year that the company will reveal more details about its pickup in the summer, which is expected to follow the Model Y and the Semi, though an actual production timeline is still unclear.

Ford also announced that it will built an all-electric F-150 and a Mustang-inspired crossover.

Faraday Future revealed: Company gets funding to produce FF91

Faraday Future completes first pre-production FF91 on August 28, 2018
On-again, off-again electric-car startup Faraday may have a future after all.

The company announced two new rounds of financing Monday, a $1.25 billion stock sale expected to be completed by the end of the year, and a $225 million bridge loan to make it to the end of the year.

In a statement, Faraday Future said the money will pay for the production of the long-awaited FF91, and pay for continued on its second model, the FF81, for launch in 2021.

DON'T MISS: Faraday Future gets a $2 billion lifeline to build expensive crossover

The new financing round is being led by Stifel Nicolaus & Co., a St. Louis-based “diversified global wealth management and investment banking company.”

The bridge loan comes from Birch Lake Associates, a Chicago investment firm, which bills itself as deploying “intellectual and financial capital in stressed and transitional businesses by advising corporations and investors on mergers and acquisitions, financial restructurings and complex situations.”

MUST READ: With cease-fire agreement, spark flickers toward Faraday's Future

Faraday Future's situation certainly has been complex.

Backed by a Chinese investor who founded the company along with several big-name automotive engineers, the company brought its FF91 ultra-luxury EV prototype to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in 2017 and announced that it would break ground on a giant factory there to build the car and a more affordable subsequent model, the FF81. Financing for the project fell through and the company abandoned the factory, and for a while the car as well, before leasing a smaller factory in California's Central Valley.

CHECK OUT: Faraday Future funder writes its own Saab story

After receiving a new round of financing last summer from a Hong Kong conglomerate, Evergrande Health, with a desire to get into the electric-car business, Faraday built more FF91 prototypes and hired more workers.

When that deal fell apart, amid back-and-forth finger pointing over spending and missed investment targets, the company laid off or furloughed about 80 percent of its workforce, and the five founders with automotive engineering experience left. A barrage of lawsuits and countersuits was settled in January in what amounts to a cease-fire agreement that allowed Faraday Future to seek additional sources of financing.

READ MORE: Faraday Future joint venture to create electric MPV based on FF91

Earlier this month, the company mortgaged its Los Angeles-area headquarters and reached a new agreement with Chinese gaming company The9 to build 300,000 copies of a new, lower-priced electric vehicle called the V9 for the Chinese market. That deal brought Faraday Future another $600 million.

The senior bridge financing note includes $150 million to maintain Faraday Future's supply chain for the FF91.

Working with another investment adviser, Faraday Future has valued its assets at $1.25 billion.

The larger $1.25 billion round of equity financing is expected to be completed early in the third quarter this year, the company said.

2018 Karma Reveros recalled for side curtain airbag issue

2019 Karma Revero Aliso Edition
Karma issued a stop sale on 2018 Karma Revero models following a recall for an airbag issue.

The side curtain airbags have a defective rollover sensor, the company said, and may not deploy in a rollover accident. Side curtain airbags are a key safety feature in a rollover, because when they deploy, they can keep occupants heads from hitting the roof frame and even prevent occupants from being ejected.

CHECK OUT: Karma presents its electric-car vision to China and vies for partners

According to the recall, the 2018 Revero's rollover sensors were inoperable, which would prevent the airbags from deploying in a rollover.

The recall notice reads: “In the event of a roll over crash, the side curtain/head protection airbags may not deploy as intended due to a rollover sensor system that is not enabled.”

READ MORE: Karma gets hit with Fisker recall over airbags

Karma will replace the airbag control unit with one that has rollover sensing enabled and, to bring the cars into compliance with federal safety laws, will also add an airbag warning light and new text in the owners' manual to describe the system.

The recall affects just 231 cars. The company will send out recall notifications to existing owners, and Karma's dealers, in 15 U.S. cities, will perform the recall work.

DON'T MISS: Karma Revero gets more power, BMW 3-cylinder

Karma just revealed the updated 2020 Revero GT at the Shanghai auto show last week, After just revealing the updated 2020 Revero GT with a new engine from BMW, new batteries, motors, and electronics at the Shanghai auto show last week.

The latest recall follows two others last year for the 2018 Revero: One for driver's side mirrors with the wrong glass, and another for side curtain airbags that could detach after inflation. The company also recalled 2012 Fisker Karmas in 2017 as part of the (much) larger Takata airbag recall.