Author: Green Car Online News

GM president dashes hopes of future Volt, says no more hybrids

2019 Buick Velite 6 Electric
Following news in late November that General Motors would kill off the Chevrolet Volt, one of the pioneers of modern plug-in cars, a senior GM executive has hinted—strongly—that it won't be back.

On Friday, in the Q&A session after the company's investor conference, incoming company president Mark Reuss doused those hopes. In response to a question about building future hybrids, Reuss said, “Hybrids are just countermeasures to an ICE,” referring to an internal combustion engine.

DON'T MISS: Cadillac to become “lead electric vehicle brand” for GM to rival Tesla (Updated)

Following a wide-ranging conference call focused on the company's investment priorities, Reuss continued, “You can't spend money to force the customer to carry around extra stuff they may not need.”

That sounds like a direct reference to a range-extending engine, when electric power and faster charging could accomplish the same.

“Or, you can spend your money on getting the real answer, which is providing the customer a zero emissions, sustainable, affordable solution,” Reuss added.

READ THIS: GM to kill Chevy Volt production in 2019 (Updated)

Fans were hopeful that the company planned to replace it with another plug-in hybrid with similar technology based on GM's Voltec system, in which it invested most of a billion dollars a dozen or so years ago.

However the message could hardly be clearer, that GM plans on focusing on pure battery electric cars in the future, and not “waste” resources building plug-in hybrids.
Hopes for a replacement for the Volt that might be somewhat larger—perhaps a crossover or something with more rear-seat room—sound likely to go unfulfilled, despite the fact that GM is planning to introduce exactly such a car in China this year: the Buick Velite 6 plug-in hybrid. The Velite 6 is also expected to have a fully-electric option when it goes on sale.

CHECK OUT: Buick Velite 6 for China previews new GM approach to electric cars

GM's new strategy was supported by the headline announcement that the company will focus its next electric efforts under the much more expensive Cadillac brand. Clearly, GM is feeling the heat from Tesla, which started with a strategy of amortizing its investments in building new battery supplies by selling cutting-edge luxury cars, not by relying on tax credits to try and sell a greater number of affordable cars to the masses.

The questions now are whether GM's move upmarket for its electric models will come just as more mainstream buyers, with lower budgets, begin shopping for electric cars, and whether electric-car charging infrastructure has reached a state in which those mainstream buyers don't need to be worried about range—and comforted by having an “extra” gas engine, just in case.

Cadillac to become “lead electric vehicle brand” for GM to rival Tesla (Updated)

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2014 Cadillac ELR
General Motors’ Cadillac brand has fought to restore its luster as a brand for technology and innovation, with repeated attempts that fell short of a resounding success. Finally, it appears that Cadillac might be turning toward a future that may have a better chance of restoring the brand’s glory days: electric luxury cars.

In an investor conference call on Friday, GM announced that Cadillac will be the first of GM’s brands to get a vehicle based on the automaker’s so-called BEV3 platform—the global electric vehicle platform that is expected to launch starting in 2021 and be the basis for 10 or more vehicles.

DON’T MISS: Electric cars “not going to work,” Trump says of GM's plan

This reaffirms what Cadillac’s former president, Johan de Nysschen, said—that electric vehicles would be “at the forefront for the brand in both the U.S. and China. After his departure and Cadillac’s move-in-progress from Manhattan back to Warren, Michigan, it’s good to hear that Cadillac still plans to keep to that goal.

GM CEO Mary Barra said the company has determined that the sweet spot for range is 300 miles, and company president Mark Reuss, who most recently headed product development, said that is the target for all the company's upcoming electric vehicles.

2014 Cadillac ELR revealed at 2013 Detroit Auto Show

The new BEV3 platform will support front-, rear- and electronic all-wheel drive, and will support a variety of battery sizes through an “ice-tray” like battery pack that can be filled with as many of as few battery cells as the automaker wants.

That could indicate that the company could offer 300 mile versions of each of its cars, but could also offer shorter-range options in the same models.

CHECK OUT: Sources: GM manufacturing revamp could signal faster lane-change to EVs

In recent months, GM has been caught in the middle of several politically charged topics relating to electric vehicles. Last fall, GM became a vocal proponent of extending the federal EV tax credit. Then, after the company announced sweeping production cuts including axing the Chevy Volt and idling several U.S. factories, President Trump threatened to end federal subsidies for GM's electric cars and said that the company's plan to eventually go all-electric was not going to work.

Globally, GM plans to launch 20 new hybrid, plug-in, and electric vehicles by 2023. It also aims to launch 10 vehicles on its dedicated EV platform—including a three-row SUV, a low-roof model, and a van.

GM CEO Mary Barra with 2016 Chevrolet Volt – Detroit Auto Show

At the end of 2017, Barra called GM's investment in electric and autonomous vehicle development the “biggest business opportunity since the creation of the internet.” She said that the company aims to create profitable, affordable 300-mile (range) electric vehicles by 2021.

READ MORE: GM wants Trump administration to consider national electric-vehicle mandate

Both of Cadillac’s other recent plug-in vehicles, the 2014-2016 ELR coupe and the 2018 CT6 Plug-In, have been discontinued in the U.S. The ELR was very stylish but felt compromised in many ways, including a cramped interior and an all-electric driving range that was lower than that of the closely related Chevy Volt.

While those models arguably did very little to turn the brand’s image around, a fully electric (U.S.-built) Cadillac electric vehicle, if it arrives soon enough, could be the key to keeping the luxury brand relevant.

Audi e-tron electric SUV buyers can leave the charger installation to Amazon

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2019 Audi e-tron first drive – Abu Dhabi UAE, December 2018
Given how often automakers expect electric-car drivers to charge at home—80 to 90 percent of the time, by most estimates—it’s surprising that more attention isn’t paid to making sure that those drivers can get the most out of home charging.

With its e-tron electric SUV arriving in dealerships this spring, Audi is one of the first automakers to partner with a retailer consumers probably already trust to keep it all organized and on a tight timeline: Amazon.

At an Amazon and Audi Charging Solutions page, drivers and shoppers can see three levels of home charging for the e-tron: Standard, Better, and Best.

DON’T MISS: How to recharge an electric car in the middle of nowhere: Amazon drone?

Standard means using the mobile charger that comes with the e-tron to plug into a standard U.S. 120-volt outlet—with a full charge taking up to a whopping 90 hours. (In this case, there's nothing to buy.) The Better solution involves plugging the e-tron’s 240-volt mobile charger into a NEMA 14-50 outlet that’s been installed through Amazon. And the Best solution involves using a dedicated wi-fi equipped smart charger, while keeping the mobile charger in the vehicle so it’s there when needed.

Amazon Audi charger installation

Both the Better and Best solutions, utilizing a 240-volt outlet, allow a full charge in 9 to 12 hours.

Partnership for installing the ‘Best’

While the service wants to win customers over with the Audi co-branding, it doesn’t want to lock itself to a particular brand of charger. “Customers will shop by price, by the features they need,” said Pat Bigatel, the general manager of Amazon Home Services, at the e-tron's reveal event last year. “That’s one of the reasons we don’t typically pick a brand in anything we do; we want to give customers choice.”

Through the Audi program there are two chargers: a 32-amp ChargePoint Home, or a JuiceBox Pro offered in 40-amp or 32-amp versions. Both offer voice control via Amazon Alexa and are UL-listed and Energy Star Certified.

CHECK OUT: Electric cars from Audi, Porsche: Explaining platform magic

Amazon, which has been selling Level 2 home chargers for many years—we first reported on it in 2011—bases pricing on a series of simple questions such as whether the charger will be installed in a basement or garage, whether the panel has been upgraded or not, and whether the building was built before or after 1990. It also asks for the estimated length of conduit needed between the electrical panel and the preferred location. A full service-panel upgrade is one of the top options if you find you’ll need to juggle between your central A/C, car charger, and dryer.

The Amazon service includes the installation of the charger and of a dual-pole 50-amp circuit breaker (40-amp if required/desired, for the 32-amp unit), as well as the installation of a junction box if required by local code. It doesn’t include projects that involve trenching, drywall work, or other rewiring, and permitting and inspection costs aren’t included.

READ MORE: 2019 Audi e-tron first drive: Redrawing the electric-vehicle boundaries

The charging program, installation and all, is being phased in now for some cities—with many more soon, before the vehicle's April launch. It's backed by what Amazon calls its Happiness Guarantee, meaning essentially that Amazon with be the go-between to help resolve anything between you and the professional—an aspect that could be quite useful in big-city markets (on the West Coast especially) that are short on electricians, among other skilled trades.

Another big bonus of the Amazon program: Under its terms, the service provider must call you within one business day of placing the order to schedule the installation. Amazon works primarily with third parties, which means a background check and approval process.

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Jeep and Ram diesels, Cadillac electrics, MyChevy updates, Audi chargers: Today’s Car News

Sketch for proposed Volkswagen electric off-road SUV
GM announced a major restructuring that will result in more electric cars, with Cadillac as its focus. Fiat Chrysler will fix its dirty Ram pickup and Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesels. And Audi has partnered with Amazon to get home chargers installed for its e-tron customers. All this and more on Green Car Reports.

In a settlement reminiscent of Volkswagen's, owners of EcoDiesel Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram pickups will be offered cash along with a free software update to bring their vehicles into compliance with emissions laws.

GM made a major announcement that it plans to expand its electric vehicle lineup and convert Cadillac to an electric brand.

In the meantime, the company is trying to make life easier for Chevy Bolt EV owners by bringing live information on charger availability from ChargePoint, EVgo, and Greenlots to the MyChevy app.

And Audi plans to have Amazon sell and coordinate installation of chargers for its line of e-tron electric vehicles.

Volkswagen poached an engineer from Apple's Titan self-driving-car effort to head its own commercial self-driving and mobility services programs.

Finally, VW may be planning to build an electric off-road SUV as part of its new ID lineup of electric vehicles.

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No buybacks: FCA settlement for Ram pickup, Jeep Grand Cherokee Ecodiesel owners

2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel, Bear Mountain, May 2014
In a case involving diesel-powered Jeep Grand Cherokees and Ram pickups from 2014 to 2016, Fiat-Chrysler has entered into a settlement remarkably similar to the Volkswagen diesel settlement.

The big difference is that Fiat-Chrysler won't buy back any trucks or SUVs, because all the vehicles are capable of being brought into compliance with emissions requirements by updating their software, says class-action settlement administrator Elizabeth Cabraser.

In the class action settlement, owners, of 2014 to 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee and Ram EcoDiesels will receive up to $3,075 in compensation for buying the trucks that did not live up to their “EcoDiesel” labels. Lessees and former owners can receive payments of up to $990.

2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee EcoDiesel, New York City, Jan 2014

The settlement amounts are designed to compensate owners for the cost of the “diesel premium” they paid for their cars above what a comparably equipped gas-powered model would have cost.

Owners will also receive limited extended warranties of up to 10 years/120,000 miles from the original date of purchase of 4 years/48,000 miles from the date they get their car's emissions software updated.

To receive the settlement, owners will have to take their vehicles back to a Jeep or Ram dealer to have the software updated to clean up their emissions of nitrogen oxides, a major contributor to smog.

DON'T MISS: Fiat Chrysler to end diesel engines in cars by 2022 (but not trucks): report

Former owners and lessees will be eligible for lower settlement amounts.

Cabraser, says the software update is not expected to affect either the vehicle's performance or fuel economy.

2014 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel

Under the settlement decree, FCA is required to repair at least 85 percent of the vehicles or face fines of $6,000 per vehicle that isn't repaired.

The settlement, and the fix, apply to 2014 to 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Ram 1500 pickups with the 3.0-liter V-6 EcoDiesels. It does not apply to a different emissions recall for larger Ram 2500 and 3500 pickups with a 6.7-liter Cummins diesel inline-6.

CHECK OUT: Cummins issues diesel emissions recall larger than VW's

In addition, the FCA will pay $400 million in criminal fines with the U.S. Justice Department and California's office of the Attorney General as well as civil penalties to the EPA and the California Air Resources Board and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (since the engines were imported.)

The settlement affects about 100,000 vehicles, far fewer than the 500,000-plus Volkswagen affected by in that company's diesel emissions scandal. FCA has set aside $800 million to settle the claims.

The company will also pay $19 million to California to support other emissions mitigation efforts in the state.

READ THIS: 300K bought-back VW diesels are decaying in 37 lots as it waits for … what?

Bosch, a German automotive supplier which provided the original emission software is also contributing to the settlement.

Even as it agrees to the settlement, Fiat Chrysler claims that it did not deliberately scheme to install defeat devices to cheat emissions tests and it makes no admission of guilt regarding the charges.

“We acknowledge that this has created uncertainty for our customers, and we believe this resolution will maintain their trust in us,” said Mark Chernoby, FCA’s head of North American safety and regulatory compliance.

READ MORE: VW TDI owners face deadline to finalize claims (Updated)

Authorities are targeting mid-May for the software update to be available, as the settlement still requires final approval by the court. Once it receives that approval, existing EcoDiesel owners will have 18 months to file claims and former owners will have 90 days.

Volkswagen wrapped up its settlement for 2.0-liter TDIs at the end of the year. Its vehicles (primarily Audis) equipped with 3.0-liter diesel V-6s has been released but those owners still have until Aug. 31 to submit their claims. A class action suit has also been filed against Mercedes-Benz over emissions from some of its Bluetec diesel-equipped cars, but it has not been accepted by a court.

Socket to me: MyChevy app tells Bolt EV drivers where to charge

Chevrolet Bolt EV charging at EVgo station
Too many apps!

That's one of the complaints electric car drivers have about charging electric cars. With the time it takes to charge one of the biggest complaints is mapping your way to a charger only to arrive and find it's occupied or out of service.

Now General Motors has forged an agreement with two of the largest charging networks in the U.S., ChargePoint and EVgo, along with Greenlots, to provide real-time data about what charging stations are available and provide it to Chevrolet Bolt EV drivers to tell them what chargers are open and available.

READ THIS: ChargePoint partners with Greenlots to expand access for drivers

Charging networks have long provided similar service to their own customers. But electric car drivers looking for the fastest or most convenient charger along their route may need to search multiple networks.

The ubiquitous Plug-Share app shows availability across networks, but it is crowdsourced and not always updated.

The updated MyChevy app expected to roll out this spring is also expected to provide a way for Bolt EV drivers to easily sign up for subscription services with ChargePoint, EVgo, and Greenlots.

READ MORE: Blink charging network joins interoperability push

Drivers can access charger availability data before they begin a trip or via their cars' infotainment screen.

More partnerships are springing up across the charging industry to provide real-time data, generated electronically from the charger, to unified apps. A recent tie-up between ChargePoint and Greenlots allows users to see and pay for chargers from both networks on each others' apps. And a similar agreement between ChargePoint, the largest network in the U.S. so far, and Canadian charging network Flo provides similar interoperability.

DON'T MISS: One-step Plug&Charge coming to (Electrify) America

Many of the new agreements and services are powered by system aggregators such as Hubject recently entering the U.S. market. Such systems provide a software platform that charging companies and automakers can simply wrap into their own apps which gathers and shares availability and payment data among different networks.

It's all a reminder that electric-car infrastructure is still in early days, and things will likely start to get a lot simpler soon.

Musk axes affordable Tesla Model S, X 75D

2018 Tesla Model S and 2018 Tesla Model X
In a tweet Wednesday afternoon, Tesla CEO Elon Musk announced that the company will quit selling low-end, short-range versions of its Model S sedan and Model X SUV.

The move will dramatically raise effective prices on those models and may push potential buyers into higher-spec Model 3s instead.

READ MORE: Tesla cuts prices $2,000, almost hit 250,000 vehicles in 2018

Currently, the base price for a Model S 75D is $77,200, a little pricier than the most expensive Model 3. Without the 75D, the lowest-spec Model S will be the 100D with 335 miles of range, which starts at $95,200—an $18,000 price bump.

The story is similar with the Model X SUV, which currently starts at $83,200 for the 75D version, which has a 237-mile range. The Model X 100D, with a 295-mile range, starts at $98,200—$15,000 more than the 75D.

DON'T MISS: Tesla Model 3 Mid Range misses $35,000 target by $9,000 even after price cut

Dropping the entry-level Model X may also push buyers who want a more affordable electric luxury SUV to Tesla's new competition. The Jaguar I-Pace is rated at 237 miles and starts at $70,525.

In Musk's tweet, he said the company will cease taking orders for the 75-kwh Model S and Model X on Sunday night, Jan. 13, though the company could have inventory after that point.

After the most recent price cut, the Model 3 starts at $46,200, while the most expensive version is $71,200.

eMotorWerks lays groundwork for vehicle-to-grid charging

eMotorWerks JuiceBox wall mount charging Tesla Model X
At first blanch, a new business agreement between home charger manufacturer eMotorWerks and utility software provider LO3 Energy sounds strictly like the stuff of dull business contract lawyers.

Dig a little deeper, though, and it could be the kernel of the next generation electrical system, long discussed, but never-quite-practical vehicle-to-grid infrastructure.

As many electric-car drivers know, eMotorWerks builds networked JuiceBox home chargers, some faster than most others, that allow users to program them via the internet to start and stop charging as energy rates fluctuate. The boxes access live rate information as they let drivers program when they need a full charge in their car, so the car will be fully charged, at the lowest possible cost, before they need to go. (Users can also do simpler things, like check on the car's state of charge and set it to start and stop remotely, from a cell-phone app.)

eMotorwerks JuiceBox Pro 40 networked home EVSE electric-car charging station

LO3 Energy provides software that allows utilities to trade electricity on the grid, setting prices and managing supply and demand to ensure seamless power delivery to end users. It ensures that when you're connected to the grid, especially if you've signed up for green or renewable electricity, when you flip the switch on your wall, the light goes on—and the energy is produced by whatever source you signed up for.

The eMotorWerks JuiceNet platform enables control over local energy flows, while LO3’s software enables energy trading on local networks at set prices.

The tie-up between the companies, announced last month, aims to demonstrate that not only can JuiceBox users get the lowest available rates, they can also ensure that they get power supplied to their plug-in cars from appropriately renewable sources.

READ MORE: Utility V2G test with BMW shows electric cars can aid the grid

In their latest agreement, the companies plan to select an LO3 microgrid site, such as one the company operates in Brooklyn, New York, to demonstrate the program. (It could select a different LO3 microgrid.) The pilot project is expected to show how spreading charge times across multiple cars can reduce peak demand on the grid while still charging all the cars that need to get charged.

The companies point to an eMotorWerks demonstration project announced in September in California as an example. It uses 6,000 electric-car chargers to balance up to 30 mega-watts of renewable power in the state, to reduce on-peak demand for non-renewable power—the equivalent of 120,000 home air conditioners.

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