Which automaker beat Tesla so far this year in EV sales, according to some reports this past week?

Which company confirmed that it has 1,000 battery swapping stations?

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending July 8, 2022.

This week, Toyota confirmed that it’s delivered the 200,000 qualifying vehicles that will trigger a phaseout period for the EV tax credit for Toyota and Lexus. That means the $7,500 tax credit buyers can claim for models like the BZ4X electric car and RAV4 Prime plug-in hybrid will drop to $3,750 on October 1.

2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV

2022 Chevrolet Bolt EV

In a move that’s especially rare in the auto industry—especially in such a seller’s market—GM has issued a retroactive discount for Chevy Bolt EV and EUV models that were bought new in 2022. That includes about a $6,000 discount on the 2022 Bolt EV or EUV, an amount that parallels the discount given to the lineup for 2023.

Volkswagen on Thursday officially broke ground on its first EV battery cell “gigafactory”—one of six such factories for Europe, with the possibility of North American battery factories in the future.

Volkswagen Salzgitter EV cell factory groundbreaking

Volkswagen Salzgitter EV cell factory groundbreaking

BYD is back in the top spot in EV sales, some business publications reported earlier this week; but that’s only true if you see plug-in hybrids as EVs. Apples-to-apples, Tesla’s still on top—although Volkswagen remains in the passing lane. 

Fisker has asked for an additional $5,000 from reservation-holders who want to lock in one of the 5,000 spots for the $68,999 Ocean One launch edition—the first models in the lineup due to be made starting this November. Amid some confusion over the additional funds, Fisker clarified to Green Car Reports that it’s an actual down payment on the vehicle—although the $37,499 Ocean Sport to follow will not be subject to the extra up front. 

2023 Fisker Ocean

2023 Fisker Ocean

As part of its Power Day, Nio revealed that it’s completed its 1,000th battery swapping station, and it confirmed that 500-kw DC fast-chargers will soon be deployed for China and Europe. It also has plans for a mass-market brand that will use Nio’s own 800-volt battery packs. 

China’s GAC has revealed a “super iron” LFP battery that offers a 20% boost in energy density by volume versus existing LFP cells. Could it help the chemistry break through to new products and markets?

Jaguar is planning to completely revamp its lineup with a trio of electric luxury crossovers due to start arriving in 2025, according to a recent report citing industry intelligence. It’s part of a shift that will make the brand more exclusive and upmarket. 

2022 Jaguar I-Pace

2022 Jaguar I-Pace

Toyota and Panasonic are leaders in solid-state battery patents, found Nikkei this week. Although we caution that the tally of patents is no indication they’re closer in bringing the tech to production. If anything, it’s a reminder that Toyota has been looking at solid-state tech for a long time, since the 1990s. 

In a new survey, Consumer Reports found greater determination from shoppers to make their next vehicle an EV. Although about the same percentage of Americans were EV-interested as two years ago, 14% said that they would “definitely buy or lease an EV in 2022—versus just 4% in 2020. 

2022 Ford F-150 Lightning

2022 Ford F-150 Lightning

A study from the telematics and fleet analytics company Geotab looked at real-world data from 91,000 fleet vehicles and found that 76% of trucks could be replaced by fully electric pickups, while even given today’s generally higher initial cost, 45% could go electric at an ownership-cost advantage

Are EV prices so high that they’re not sustainable for the market? Executives throughout the industry have hinted that we’re going to hit some sort of market correction soon, but one took it a step further, saying that if EVs don’t get cheaper “the market will collapse.

Tesla Model S electric-car road trip, Route 66 Museum, Elk City, Oklahoma  [photo: David Noland]

Tesla Model S electric-car road trip, Route 66 Museum, Elk City, Oklahoma [photo: David Noland]

And according to an analysis aggregating millions of used-car sales, the strongest growth of electrified vehicles has been in rural America, not in the urban and suburban coastal areas seen as early adopter hubs.

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