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Gatik Launches with $4.5M in Seed Funding

Gatik, a Palo Alto, CA-based startup deploying autonomous vehicles for business to business (B2B) short-haul logistics, launched with a $4.5m seed funding round. The round, completed last year, was led by Innovation Endeavors, with participation from Trucks Venture Capital; Dynamo Venture Capital; Fontinalis Partners; and AngelPad. Founded in 2017 and led by Gautam Narang (CEO),… Continue reading Gatik Launches with $4.5M in Seed Funding

Workhorse Group Secures $25 Million Financing

New Capital Enables Workhorse to Finalize N-GEN R&D and Scale Production in 2019 CINCINNATI, June 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Workhorse Group Inc. (NASDAQ:WKHS) (“Workhorse” or “the Company”), an American technology company focused on providing sustainable and cost-effective electric-mobility solutions to the transportation sector, has entered into subscription agreements for a private offering with a group… Continue reading Workhorse Group Secures $25 Million Financing

Auto loans hit record, pushing average monthly car payments to all-time highs

I love images | Cultura | Getty ImagesPeople buying a new vehicle are borrowing more and paying more each month for their auto loan.
Experian, which tracks millions of auto loans each month, said the average amount borrowed to buy a new vehicle hit a record $32,187 in the first quarter. The average used-vehicle loan also hit a record, $20,137.
“We have not seen a slowdown in loan demand. In fact, volume for new and used loans is up from previous years,” said Melinda Zabritski, senior director of automotive financial solutions for Experian.
With sales of new vehicles moderating slightly after the four best years the industry has ever seen in the U.S., dealers and auto executives are watching whether consumers will be more resistant to the steady increase in new car prices. That is not happening. In fact, the average amount borrowed topped $32,000 for the first time ever.
As a result, the average monthly payment for a new vehicle continued to climb to a new high of $554 and to a record $391 for used vehicles, according to Experian.
While new car sales and loans are still strong, people with the best credit scores are increasingly buying a used model instead of new. Experian says 61.8% of those with a prime credit rating and 44.7% of those with a super prime credit rating took out loans to buy a used vehicle in the first quarter. Those are the highest percentages Experian has ever recorded for prime and super prime used vehicle borrowing.
It's a trend Zabritski has seen increasing in recent years. “Consumers seem to be taking advantage of options to reduce payments — specifically leasing,” she said.
VIDEO1:4801:48Here's why 46,000 auto repair technicians will be needed by 2026Power Lunch

CORRECTED-Employees sour on Tesla amid cost-cutting, layoffs

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Tesla Inc’s rankings at two high-profile job websites have declined, suggesting that job dissatisfaction at the electric car company is intensifying amid layoffs, strategy shifts and executive turnover. FILE PHOTO: Tesla workers examine a Model S used for training and tool calibration at the company’s factory in Fremont, California, June 22,… Continue reading CORRECTED-Employees sour on Tesla amid cost-cutting, layoffs

Tesla opens first 250-kw charging stations at Fremont factory

With Tesla's Supercharger fast charging network, Tesla vehicles can now be charged faster than any other currently available electric car.

That status comes courtesy of eight new Version 3 Superchargers that the company opened at its Fremont, California, factory, which can charge a Model 3 at up to 250 kilowatts. That can give the car, which is rated at 3.86 miles per kilowatt-hour (or 130 mpg equivalent, for a typical Long Range Model 3,) up to 180 miles of charge in as little as 15 minutes.

Of course, it comes with a few caveats, primarily that it only works for the Model 3, and only for drivers who are within range of those eight Superchargers in Fremont. The company opened the Superchargers to some Tesla drivers in its Early Access test program in March, but as of Friday it has enabled any Tesla driver to use them.

Tesla plans to begin rolling out the fast Version 3 Superchargers across the country.

Other Tesla models still get a faster charge on the new Version 3 Superchargers, just not as fast. With both lower charging speeds and lower efficiency ratings (fewer miles from the same number of kilowatt-hours), the Model S can refill about 130 miles in 15 minutes, and the Model X about 115. That's still faster than cars can recharge at standard (V2) Supercharger stations.

Tesla's goal, the company said in a blog post, is to reduce wait times at existing Supercharger stations by charging each car more quickly. (The company has also instituted new idle-time fees for cars that remain parked and plugged in at Superchargers once their batteries are full.)

Other networks include even faster chargers, such as Electrify America and EVgo, both of which have installed several 350-kw DC fast chargers on their networks. However, no other cars today are designed to accept such a fast charge. The fastest, so far, is the Audi E-tron quattro, which can charge at a maximum of 150 kilowatts.

The first new electric car that will be able to take advantage of the new 350-kilowatt speed will likely be the Porsche Taycan, which is due out at the end of the year. In the meantime, Model 3 owners can rejoice that their cars can charge faster than any other car on the road—as long as they're in Fremont.

Rivian CEO confirms auxiliary batteries, truck-to-truck charging

The U.S.-based startup electric automaker Rivian is already showing plenty of signs that it's doing things differently than Tesla. While Tesla CEO Elon Musk discusses potential features of the company's new cars on Twitter, Rivian has held back on boasting about some of its most innovative ideas.

The latest, according to a wide-ranging new interview with Rivian founder RJ Scaringe, published last week in The Drive is the ability for Rivian trucks to charge each other.

Scaringe said the company's models would have the “capability you'd have in a Land Rover, with a lot of off-road capability….” Deep in the wilderness off-road, however, there are few gas stations, much less electric-car fast chargers. Off-roaders often carry extra gas cans, and often have to buddy up to help each other out.

In the Drive interview, Scaringe confirmed that Rivian trucks will be able to do that.

Scaringe confirmed earlier reports based on patent filings that the Rivian R1T pickup will be designed to accept accessory battery packs that fit into the bed like a toolbox or a false bed floor. The company still hasn't specified how big those accessory packs might be, but they will come on top of the truck's largest 180-kilowatt-hour, 400-mile battery pack. The R1T is will also be available with smaller internal battery options including 135 kwh and 105 kwh, though the company has not released range estimates for those battery packs. Adding the accessory battery packs would allow the truck to venture farther into the wilderness off the beaten path.

Rivian auxiliary battery
Rivian auxiliary flat battery for R1T

The CEO also announced that Rivian models will be able to share a charge, with one truck charging another on a peer-to-peer basis. If one truck runs out of range off-road, and another has the accessory batteries and enough juice to get home, the second driver could directly lend the first a charge, for example, like siphoning gas from one car to another or lending a gas can. That would be a first for electric vehicles.

Somewhat uncharacteristically, Scaringe also threw a little shade at other electric automakers announcing plans for ever faster charge rates. “There's a lot of misinformation on this, unfortunately,” he said. “The speed at which you charge has a huge impact on the life of the batteries. Regardless of what they're telling you, everyone is working with very similar sets in chemistry…. In the next five years, you’ll see a lot of demonstrations where things are charged in 15 minutes, but if you do that 30 times, the battery is shot. Those demos are not realistic or repeatable and we'll start to see those get replaced with real world charging speeds and rates.”