Which upcoming electric pickup has a battery and a hydrogen tank?
Which carmaker invested in gasoline not from fossil-fuel sources?
This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending June 12, 2020..
The Tesla Semi has the green light once again. CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the Semi is getting a push toward volume production.
After months of reports of software-related slowdowns, first deliveries of the Volkswagen ID.3 for Europe have officially been delayed to September—although the ID.4 crossover remains expected in the U.S. before the end of the year.
Tesla Semi
It’s been quite a week for Nikola, with its recent debut on the stock market and, well, some hype. Adding to that, CEO Trevor Milton said that three companies were vying to build its hydrogen-supplemented Badger electric pickup—and that the potential Cybertruck rival is due in 2022.
Nikola Badger
Lordstown Motors confirmed that it will introduce its Endurance electric pickup this month, with production still due to start late this year.
The electric commercial vehicle sector, including the company’s upcoming electric van, will be “a huge opportunity” for GM, said CEO Mary Barra this week.
2020 Ford Escape
In new products already here, or coming very soon, the 2020 Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid has earned a range rating of 37 miles, according to Ford. BMW added another new plug-in hybrid to its U.S. mix; the X5 xDrive 45e gets more electric range and faster acceleration, but perhaps not better gas mileage. And there’s already a lease deal for the 2020 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid—even though the model is just reaching dealerships.
Two potential repair issues—one officially a safety recall, the other not—affected some top-selling green cars this week. If you have a Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, it’s being recalled for an issue with a12V accessory battery connector—and FCA recommends that you park it outside until it’s inspected. And Toyota confirmed a customer support campaign for the fuel-tank issue that’s frustrated many owners of the 2019-2020 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid—and kept them from making the most of the 40-mpg model’s longer driving range.
2019 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid
While there were plenty of technology announcements, none arrived with quite the weight of what the CEO of Chinese battery giant CATL told Reuters in an interview: that it has created a battery that will last 1.24 million miles, or 16 years, and that it’s open to interested automakers—not just Tesla.
Hyundai and Kia have offered heat-pump technology in their electric vehicles for years; and this week they disclosed they continue development on the tech within the company, for its future electric cars.
Hyundai Prophecy concept
BMW’s venture-capital affiliate led a $12.5 million round in Prometheus Fuels, a company that aims to use renewable power and CO2 to scale up production of gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel.
The California Energy Commission released a plan for renewable hydrogen development, projecting that hydrogen will reach price parity with gasoline by 2025.
An all-electric barge in The Netherlands uses a strategy that packs the batteries into one of its shipping containers.
Swindon HPD electric crate motor
UK-based Swindon Powertrain released its electric crate motor kit. At around $7,800, not including the battery pack and some other vital pieces, it’s not cheap but it’s a great starting point for an EV conversion of your choice.
And at the beginning of the week we analyzed some of the messaging within an electric-car review from 1959. All the EV enthusiasm was there, more than 60 years ago, as well as some of the hurdles, but the critical numbers are making more sense today.
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