Jennifer Mossalgue

EVs drivers in Italy are a rare breed. And Stellantis’s CEO Carlos Tarvares says the government needs to step in and do more, a lot more, to promote EVs in a country with only 4% EV adoption rate, reports Automotive News Europe. Italy has some of the oldest, most polluting cars in Europe, and is lagging way behind other European countries in EV adoption, with an incentive program that has been practically nonexistent.

The US Postal Service showed off its first EV charging stations, and some spiffy new Ford E-Transit BEVs, at an event in Atlanta yesterday, with hundreds of new sorting and delivery centers set to open around the country this year. It’s all part of the $40 billion plan to upgrade its service while assembling one of the county’s largest EV fleets, with more than 66,000 delivery vehicles in service.

China’s behemoth BYD overtook Volkswagen as the best-selling car brand in China last year, the first time any carmaker outsold the German brand since at least 2008.

Major car suppliers in Germany say they are struggling with the high upfront costs of shifting to EVs and “slow demand,” with companies looking to lay off thousands of workers, as much as 20% of total staff in some cases, in the coming years.

Europe and the US say that Chinese EV development is running wild and unchecked and on the verge of overwhelming the global market with, well, EVs the rest of the world can’t compete with. But now China has said it will “rein in” some of its huge EV expansion in response to criticism of “unfair” industrial and trade policies.

Panasonic, makers of batteries for Tesla in the US, is delaying its plan to build a third battery plant in North America, according to Reuters.

Alphabet Inc.’s autonomous driving unit Waymo is looking to expand its driverless robotaxi service in Los Angeles, where it is currently testing rides. Although, in light of the fallout from Cruise, it might not be smooth sailing.

Chinese EV behemoth BYD may bring two off-road electric SUVs sold in China to Europe that could rival the Land Rover Defender, the Mercedes G-Class, and Ford Bronco. BYD claims one can float on water for a full 30 minutes.

The Tesla Model Y officially took the crown as Europe’s best-selling car overall for 2023, making it the first electric vehicle ever to do so. While the Model Y had taken the spot for a few months last year, year-end results were a close call with a very different vehicle: the ubiquitous ICE hatchback Dacia Sandero, tightly priced at $13,051 (€12,000).

General Motors says it is responding to a strong demand for luxury EVs by ramping up production of its Cadillac all-electric Lyriq SUV this year. The company says it has resolved its battery module production problems that have plagued sales for the last two years.

The US Transportation Department is investing $148.8 million for repairing or updating nearly 4,500 electric vehicle charging ports in some 20 states.

Chinese EV giant BYD – which has hired some 90,000 employees in R&D to ramp up its smart tech game – now has a new smart car system. Dubbed Xuanji, it offers functions like automated parking and voice recognition to better compete with Tesla and other rivals.

Tesla has slashed the prices of its Model Y across Europe this morning, after it reduced prices of its Model 3 and Model Y prices in China to undercut BYD, according to CNBC.

Swedish lithium-ion battery producer Northvolt has raised an additional $5 billion, firmly locking in its position as one of Europe’s best-funded startups and recipient of the largest-ever green loan from the EU. The company is adding that cash to its pot of $13 billion in equity and debt to expand operations across the world.

Volkswagen has been trying to develop solid-state EV batteries with US startup QuantumScape for years, pouring millions into the startup, with the dream that VW Golf EVs would zip along with long ranges and charge in minutes, but that hasn’t happened – not yet anyway. Now Reuters reports that the automaker is in talks with France’s Blue Solutions.

London’s ambulance service already has 42 Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicles in its emergency fleet, but now it’s adding 12 bright, shiny all-electric ambulances designed by Ford for emissions-free first response – and the first full-service electric ambulances in the city. London is pouring some $39 million into “greening up” its emergency vehicles.

Stellantis has decided to temporarily lay off some 2,250 workers at its Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy. More than half of the affected workers handle production of its all-electric pint-sized Fiat 500e, Stellantis’s first all-electric vehicle to launch in the US. Another 1,000 workers producing Maserati models will also be affected by the layoffs.

Panasonic said it will produce a new and improved version of the 2170 cells used in Tesla Model 3 and Model Y at the plant in Nevada that it operates with Tesla “sometime during 2024 or 2025,” according to a new report in Bloomberg. The new cells, which pack a lot more energy density, could help reduce EV prices, the company states.

Volvo has joined Tesla in stopping its EV production in Europe due to the threat of violence from Iran-backed Houthi fighters attacking commercial ships traveling in the Red Sea.

Kia’s new modular electric vehicle concept – that goes from micro-car to minivan to small truck to full-sized van – introduced at CES has its first customer: Uber. Kia and Uber have signed a memorandum of understanding to use Kia’s new vehicles for ride-hailing.

As part of President Biden’s massive $7.5 billion plan to extensively build out EV infrastructure in the US – much to the chagrin of some Republican lawmakers –  the government has announced that it is investing $623 million in grants to put 7,500 more EV charging stations on the roads.