Automotive dealers and electric vehicles, it’s not quite the match made in heaven. If 2023 was anything to go by, the schism was glaring—a year marked by staunch dealer rebellion against EVs. The resistance came in several ways, one of which was a letter signed by almost 4,000 dealerships to President Biden demanding to “slow down” the regulations favoring EV manufacturing and sales. Another one involved blatant lies to customers about the capabilities of EVs to coerce them into buying gas cars instead.

But 2024 could open a new chapter for American dealers, and allow them an opportunity to come clean. Fresh news out of Washington D.C. indicates that dealers might be willing to embrace EVs (or at least make a genuine attempt.) More than 7,000 American car dealers have registered with the IRS to provide tax credits to customers at the point of sale, the U.S. Department of Treasury said on Friday. 

This means that EV buyers will get a discount of up to $7,500 right when they purchase the car at the dealership, without having to wait until tax season to file for a rebate. 

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U.S. car dealers signal support for updated tax credit provisions.

American car dealers were unwilling to sell EVs. But new IRS guidance, effective January 1, 2024, allows buyers to redeem tax credits right when they buy an EV. Thousands of dealers, surprisingly, support this provision.

The number of dealers who registered to offer point-of-sale credits to customers could be higher than 7,000, as per the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA). “There are many more dealerships that are covered by those 7,000 registrations, and this does not include the many registration applications submitted but the IRS has not yet approved,” a NADA spokesperson told Automotive News. NADA's 2023 data showed 17,000 franchised dealerships in the U.S.

So far, buyers had to wait until after filing their tax return to claim the federal clean vehicle credit. This meant they would receive the credit several months after purchase. New guidance under the Inflation Reduction Act expedites this process. From January 1, 2024, buyers can drive home an EV by paying a reduced amount upfront, eliminating the need to wait to get their money back. (That’s theoretical, and we need to wait and see how it pans out in the real world.)

The year-long skullduggery, and downplaying of the vitality of EVs, was rooted in some genuine concerns. Investing in charging infrastructure and educating sales personnel requires significant financial commitment. Not to mention the lower sales commissions and after-sales profits. As EVs have fewer moving parts, they require less maintenance. No oil changes, and no need to replace spark plugs or fuel injectors. Despite these valid concerns, the signs are clear: Scientific consensus on the effects of global warming calls for an incontrovertible EV adoption, which many American dealers vehemently opposed.

The claim that “enthusiasm [for EVs] has stalled” was a highlight in the letter to Biden. But the new IRS guidance could be a morale booster for dealers. They now have a foolproof reason to attract customers. It could help them clear their piling EV inventories, make space for new batches, and in turn, spur manufacturing, which has taken a backseat for some carmakers. It’s a red carpet to take EVs seriously, end the cattiness, and give EPA’s emissions targets due consideration.

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For now, any positive outcome is a speculation, of course. And one sweeping red wave in next year’s election could thwart years of progress. But if the formula works, all the fossil fuel-championing Republican nominees (and their eventual presidential candidate) will have one of the biggest reasons to hurl vitriol toward EVs snatched out of their books.

In early 2024, Acura will launch in the United States its first all-electric car model—the Acura ZDX and its performance Acura ZDX Type S version.

The manufacturer recently opened online reservations for the Acura ZDX and ZDX Type S, with a $1,000 refundable reservation fee, ahead of the expected customer deliveries in Spring. It's worth noting that sales of the ZDX will take place "through a new, omni-channel digital sales process."

Despite the upcoming market launch, the pricing and specs have not yet been fully revealed, so we only have the general numbers, which we outlined in August.

The Acura ZDX and ZDX Type S, just like its more mainstream sibling Honda Prologue, is based on the General Motors' Ultium platform, which means that it's also a cousin of the Cadillac Lyriq and Chevrolet Blazer EV.

According to Acura, there will be two main trims of the ZDX family—the ZDX A-Spec and the performance-oriented ZDX Type S.

The Acura ZDX A-Spec will be available with a rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive powertrain, starting in the range of $60,000 (in both cases). The Type S will be about $10,000 more expensive (around $70,000) and will offer a 500-hp, dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain.

The exact prices are not yet known. We also do not have any input related to the $7,500 federal tax credit. In theory, a car produced locally in North America, equipped with locally produced batteries, should qualify for the incentive, but even Ultium-based GM's EVs might have some "temporary" issues with that in 2024.

Prices

* Prices are promised to start in the range of $60,000 (ZDX) or $70,000 (ZDX Type S); the destination charge is probably $1,195.

All versions of the Acura ZDX will be equipped with a 102-kilowatt-hour battery pack (the same as in the case of the Cadillac Lyriq), compared to the 85-kWh one in all currently listed versions of the Honda Prologue.

The EPA-estimated numbers are not yet available, but Acura anticipates that the range will vary between 288 and 325 miles, depending on the version.

The highest values were achieved by the regular Acura ZDX A-Spec with 20-inch wheels and 265/50R20 (all-season) tires. The RWD is expected to get 325 miles, while the AWD is 315 miles.

The Acura ZDX Type S, with 22-inch wheels and 275/40R22 (all-season) tires should get 288 miles. The company also lists separately a version with optional, high-performance summer tires 275/40R22 with an anticipated range of 289 miles.

Basic specs

* anticipated EPA Combined range

In terms of charging, the on-board charger will be probably rated at about 11 kilowatts to fully recharge the battery overnight, while the DC fast charging is promised to go up to 190 kilowatts (in line with other Ultium 102-kWh battery packs). Acura estimates that the base version should be able to replenish up to 81 miles of range in about 10 minutes.

Acura (just like Honda) announced that its Ultium-based EVs will come with up to $750 charging credit to use at EVgo chargers and a 60-kWh introductory charging credit at Electrify America:

Initially, Acura ZDX will be available with the CCS1 charging inlet, but in 2025 it will be equipped with a NACS charging port and natively compatible with the Tesla Supercharging network. An adapter from NACS to CCS1 will be available to existing CCS1-compatible vehicles by that time.

See also

If you tell me right now that California-headquartered Lucid plans to become a mass-market electric vehicle manufacturer, I’d urge skepticism. So far, Lucid’s story has been quite the opposite.

The Air electric sedan has a starting price upwards of $80,000 before tax credits and the Air Sapphire—yes that Bugatti Chiron shaming rocketship—has an MSRP of a whopping $249,000. The upcoming Gravity SUV won’t be cheap, either. But CEO Peter Rawlinson has indicated that Lucid’s aspirations extend beyond the two EVs seen so far.

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The Lucid EVs look stunning, but they're disturbingly expensive.

Lucid's Air electric sedan is opulent, gorgeous, and aimed at deep-pocketed individuals. But the California start-up now wants to venture into the mass-market territory with its next model line-up.

Getting a new car company up and running is a daunting task, even if you have some serious investor support like Lucid does. Typically, startups lean on high-profit margin luxury EVs to make a mark before diving into more affordable, mass-market cars to widen their appeal.

“The mid-sized [EV] is going to be overtly a Tesla competitor—Model 3, Model Y. This is the first time I’ve ever said it: we’re going to compete in that market—high-volume family car,” Rawlinson told U.K.-based Autocar.

He added that the next model line-up would slot in the $50,000 space, which is closer to the current inventory prices of the Tesla Model Y. The Model 3, on the other hand, can sell at well under $30,000 when federal and state-level tax credits are applied.

One of the few things Tesla struggled early on with the Model 3 and Model Y line-up was quality blemishes. Minor fit and finish inconsistencies and panel gaps have been widely reported. Lucid could learn from Tesla’s experience and bring tighter quality control for its upcoming models to stand apart right from the get-go.

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Another area it could have an upper hand is range—the Air Grand Touring is already the longest-range EPA-certified electric car in the U.S. with over 500 miles of range. Sure, the smaller cars will have a smaller battery, but Lucid could bank on its expertise as a former battery company and target segment-leading range figures—we all know that range can be a dealbreaker.

That’s pretty much all we know about Lucid's future line-up so far. What do you think of Lucid’s plans? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

We've heard of automakers cobbling together cars with hardware store-grade wood before, but this is a new one. Meet Honda's newest tool for dealers to service the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX SUVs: a pair of 4x4x8 wooden posts.

Yes, you read that correctly. Honda is sending dealers a pair of wooden posts, much like what can be found at any big box hardware store, as a tool to work on its new EVs. This same tool has found its way to Reddit's /r/JustRolledIntoTheShop where the poster claims that Honda's new "special tool" is "literally two 8-foot 4x4s with an official Honda part number painted on."

That part number might look like it reads "Ozark Kazoo" (and that's totally what I'm going to call 4x4 posts now), but it's actually: "07AAK-KHZA100." Honda calls this part a Dunnage IPU Support, and according to the Tool Release notice affixed to the wood, its specific use is to help lift EV batteries, presumably to prevent damage by providing a buffer (or support) between the lift and the battery pack.

Dunnage, IPU Support was sent to your dealership as a required special service tool. This tool will to be used (sic) in conjunction with 07-EL-53000 EV Battery Support Fixture and 07-EL-53080 HV battery lifting system to facilitate the replacement of the Propulsion Battery.

EL-53080 and EL-53000 as referenced above are two General Motors parts. The first is known as an "electrical vehicle service cart," a wheeled cart to hold the EV battery when removed from the vehicle, and the second is a "high voltage battery lifting adapter" which is to be used with a Forklift to move the EV batteries. Given that the Honda Prologue and Acura ZDX are both GM Ultium-powered vehicles, these parts all appear to tie in together.

A quick search shows one dealer in Florida that will sell you this same tool—and its MSRP is an astronomical $179.48. For comparison, a single pressure-treated 4x4x8 post at Home Depot costs $10.68.

The good news, though, is that shipping from Florida to Pennsylvania is a mere $9.77. What a steal.

So if one could just run to Home Depot and grab these parts, why does Honda ship them to their dealers? For starters, it's clear that Honda knows how to service its vehicles. Hell, the dealer model is built around doing exactly that, complete with instructions from the automaker. Having the right tools to do the job is important, and we're guessing that no tech wants to put their tools away, degrease, and run to the hardware store to get a large tool.

One commenter also notes Honda and other dealers not just to prepare the techs doing the work, but also to cover themselves.

"Manufacturers do this so that way they cover themselves for required tools for repairs and keep the days down in the shop to a minimum," writes user frank13131313. "In the past, I have seen some special OEM tools sent to us that were the most ridiculous things ever, was shipped a Phillips head screwdriver for a headlamp adjustment tool recall, oil filter wrench as some of the car off assembly line had loose filters, zip ties, butel tape, etc…"

On the flip side, other commenters say that some OEMs instruct dealers that some parts of repair (like Loctite or rivets) are to be obtained locally. It's not clear which is the case here.

There are also a few interesting points from commenters who claim to be dealership employees over the slew of tools sent to service Honda's new EVs. Some state that the pile of specialized tools takes up an entire small service bay. Others expressed their concern over the reported $30,000 dealership investment into the tools required by Acura and Honda in order to service their Ultium-powered cars despite the partnership being officially axed.

So, there you have it, folks. If you happen to find yourself servicing your new Prologue or ZDX outside of warranty in the future, or you just want some sweet Honda-branded wooden posts for your next woodworking project, be sure to buy a pair of genuine set of Ozark Kazoos—I mean, Dunnage IPU Supports.

More Honda News

Following a week of reports about problems with the new Chevrolet Blazer EV, including InsideEVs reporter Kevin Williams experiencing a breakdown in one during a road trip, General Motors has halted sales of the electric vehicle to fix certain software issues. 

Automotive News reports that the stop-sale order was issued late Friday and affects "a limited number" of Blazer EVs. GM did not say how many are impacted; about 1,000 are currently for sale nationwide, according to Cars.com. 

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The Blazer EV's troubled rollout

Many automakers have experienced software, charging and quality challenges with early EVs. But the Blazer EV has had an especially tough week after problems emerged during media tests, and owners have already seen similar frustrations too. 

Chevrolet engineers are working on solving issues related to the vehicle's touchscreen, "and, rarely, during charging attempts at some public DC fast chargers," according to Automotive News. Kevin encountered both issues during his attempted Ohio to North Carolina drive this week, which ended with the car stuck at an Electrify America station in rural Virginia. 

"We are aware that a limited number of Blazer EV owners have experienced some software quality issues," the automaker said in a statement to InsideEVs. "To ensure our customers have a great experience with their vehicle, we are temporarily pausing sales of Blazer EVs. Our team is working quickly to roll out a fix, and owners will be contacted with further information on how to schedule their update. We apologize for the inconvenience." 

Scott Bell, vice president of Chevrolet, added: “Customer satisfaction is our priority and as such, we will take a brief pause on new deliveries.” The automaker said the issue is not safety-related. 

The stop-sale order also comes after car-buying website Edmunds issued a scathing report about the Blazer EV the staff purchased for evaluation two months ago. The publication reported window switches that refused to work, the infotainment display getting stuck in a shutdown loop, a number of error messages and the failure of various driving functions. "What we got back from the dealer was alarming: the single longest list of major faults we at Edmunds have ever seen on a new car," the publication said.

Moreover, Blazer EV owners who contacted InsideEVs following our report indicated similar problems, as well as other issues with GM's Ultium-branded cars. That name refers to the automaker's new common platform and battery setup due to underpin all its future EVs. Though the Ultium platform is considered crucial to GM's future and its goal of going all-electric by 2035, the cars themselves have been subject to numerous delays throughout the year, generally slow rollouts and issues with early examples. (GM did add today that the Blazer EV stop-sale is "not related to Ultium or Google Built-In.")

This story has been updated with a statement from GM.

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com

More Blazer EV News

We’ve been seeing a lot of new performance-oriented electric bikes at low prices from manufacturers looking to make e-biking more accessible to a wide range of cyclists. We previously talked about the ultra affordable Ride1Up CF Racer, which offers a full-carbon fiber road/gravel bike at an irresistible price. This time around, Decathlon, through its Van Rysel brand, has released a new electric road bike that also stands to impress with its attractive price tag.

It’s called the Van Rysel E-EDR AF Apex, and though its name is quite a mouthful, it’s meant to be as light as possible without compromising on performance. The bike is Decathlon’s first foray into the ultra-lightweight electric road bike segment, and on paper, it’s thoroughly impressive. For starters, it’s rocking an aluminum frame that helps it achieve an impressive weight of just 14 kilograms (31 pounds). It gets impressive components too, such as a Sram APEX 12-speed drivetrain with matching Sram APEX hydraulic disc brakes. To make it even more accessible to riders, Van Rysel offers its new electric road bike in both men’s and women’s variants.

On the performance side of the equation, the Van Rysel E-EDR AF Apex is packing some pretty impressive technology. It’s propelled by the Mahle X35 rear hub motor complete with three assistance settings. It keeps riders informed of all ride stats by way of the BC900 GPS computer.

In terms of range, Decathlon claims a rather impressive 100 miles on a single charge via a 250-watt-hour battery and range extender. That said, don’t expect to achieve this range if you rely a lot on electric assist. According to Decathlon, the new e-bike has undergone comprehensive real-world testing under various conditions for six months. Thanks to its lightweight aluminum frame and carbon fork, it provides riders with an agile and nimble ride.

When it comes to pricing, like all of Decathlon’s e-bikes, the Van Rysel E-EDR AF Apex is priced lower than its competition at 2,800 euros, or about $3,080 USD. With the new model, Decathlon hopes to attract performance-oriented riders looking to get in on the e-bike fun.

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Source: Decathlon, Clean Rider

Unfortunately, it looks like our 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV’s catastrophic failure in Virginia doesn't seem to be just a one-off experience with an unusually bum car. 

The day after our story went live, our friends at Edmunds published a piece chronicling their strife with the Blazer EV. It's been in their possession for two months, but it’s spent more than two weeks at the dealership’s service department with a laundry list of problems. Similarly, shortly after reporting on our Blazer EV drive, an array of GMC Hummer, Cadillac Lyriq, and Chevy Blazer EV owners have become way more vocal about their vehicles' woes.

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GM's electric future isn't off to a great start

GM's Ultium software and battery architecture is very much the future of the company. But the various Ultium EVs have been repeatedly delayed, and those that are on sale right now seem to have a lot of problems. 

It seems like the floodgates have opened. Here is a collection of emails I’ve got from Cadillac Lyriq, GMC Hummer EV, and Chevrolet Blazer EV owners, all of them explaining their issues, many of them identical to what I experienced, in their own words.

Remember, these cars are all on GM’s new Ultium platform, a common EV architecture that eventually will underpin every new GM vehicle in the near future as the American giant aims to go all-electric by 2035. 

There still aren't a ton of these cars on the road yet; based on our latest data, GM sold about 6,900 Ultium-based EVs between the start of the year and the end of Q3. But more are coming soon, including many new models from each of these brands. (We reached out to GM for comment on these issues but have not heard back yet; we will update this story when we do.) 

Glitchy, Broken Infotainment Systems

The Edmunds staff and I both had the same problem: the infotainment would randomly crash, then reboot and flicker for a very long time, until the infotainment just would crash entirely. This appears to be somewhat common among all three models, especially the Blazer EV, and the Cadillac Lyriq.

Andrew Kozar emailed me twice in quick succession; he’s only had his Blazer EV since Nov. 27. After five days of ownership, the car’s infotainment screen crashed and got stuck in the same loop as we’ve described before.

“[Three days later,] we took it to the dealer. No one seemed to know what to do," Kozar wrote. "After two weeks a tech was finally able to reproduce the issue (after some insistent prodding from myself with picture proof I was not making it up.) They decided to do a software update that bricked both the infotainment system AND gauge cluster rendering it useless. Because no speedometer means to driving. We are currently waiting on a replacement module and on week three of the dealer having my car. I was lucky enough to drive it five days issue-free."

About an hour after his initial email, Kozar replied explaining that the dealership replaced the entire radio module. It was installed, but Kozar says the dealership’s technicians couldn’t sync the new module to the car, so the car is still inoperable. Kozar isn’t sure when he’ll get his Blazer back. 

Similar to Kozar, Jeffrey Wiens purchased a Blazer EV on Nov. 12. He said the infotainment screen conked out three days after taking ownership, and he’s spent three and a half weeks with the dealership, with an infotainment screen that constantly crashes, and reboots with not much recompense from his local GM dealer. 

Sammy Kumar had a 2023 Cadillac Lyriq, but similar software woes with the infotainment screen and Super Cruise saw him trade the car in for an Escalade-V.

“I had the infotainment issue where the screen would just cut out while driving as well but the issue that made me sell that car was Super Cruise," Sammy said. "I had it on my previous Escalade and it worked flawlessly. The Lyriq on the other would frequently disengage from SC without any real reason. There was a stretch of highway that was just straight and it disconnected 4 or 5 times. It was sunny, with pretty low traffic, and no obvious reasons why it would disconnect. There was another incident where the car just started merging into another lane without any warning. I had Super Cruise's automatic lane switch feature which displays on the screen before it switches lanes. I suspect there was a lag with the display/infotainment system because there were other instances where I used the turn signal to invoke the on-demand lane departure and the alert didn't show up until after the car had switched lanes."

Despite the Escalade and Lyriq both using Google-based systems, Kumar says the Escalade’s has been far more reliable.

Charging Issues Aren’t Uncommon

Infotainment issues are one thing. Sure, they can be possibly debilitating if they affect the gauge cluster to the point where there’s no way for the driver to determine how fast they’re driving. But mostly they could be classified as annoying, and not quite dealbreakers.

Charging issues, though, can seriously impact the function of the vehicle. Several owners reached out and said they’ve experienced charging events that have sent their vehicles to the service department.

One of our regular commenters, the user named Carac, and his GMC Hummer EV may be one of the most telling experiences here yet. His truck had two different charging issues after trying to fast charge at Electrify America stations, and one incident happened at the very same DC fast charging station where I ran into problems in Wytheville, VA.

“On Oct. 4th, I stopped in Columbia, South Carolina at 11:35 p.m. at about 30%.," Carac wrote. "I was the only one there, plugged into a 350 [kilowatt-hour DC fast charger], it charged for a minute and 55 seconds, max 300 kW then I noticed the charge rate jumped suddenly and it stopped charging, then the 'Charge Port Error' came up on the screen,” he said, via e-mail. Sound familiar? After that event, he said his Hummer wouldn’t charge at all.

The local GM dealer cleared the codes, and all was well. Until Nov. 21, anyway. That's when the Hummer did the same thing in Wytheville. The only difference is that the car would charge but at a very slow rate of 9 kW. Again, the local GM dealer cleared the codes and the car continued on. To be safe, Carac’s been avoiding Electrify America stations entirely. 

The Blazer EV and Cadillac Lyriq are also not immune to charging issues. Reader Bill Boyance dealt with glitchy infotainment and charging issues. His Blazer refused to charge, then the “infotainment system went haywire,” and a “red warning light came on.” Boyance says the dealer took the car back, replacing it with a gas-powered ICE Blazer RS. Likewise, this example on Reddit tells of a Lyriq that would only charge at 7 kW on a DC fast charger.

Of course, I did get some correspondence from Lyriq, Hummer, and Blazer owners who were pleased with their purchase, even if their vehicle had issues. However, it’s more than a little concerning that there are so many issues with the Ultium-based cars despite only a relative handful being on the roads.

In the emails, there’s a tone of frustration, as many of the afflicted owners have said that they don’t feel that the service departments truly know what is wrong with their vehicles, or how to fix them. 

GM and Electrify America are still working on figuring out exactly what happened during our drive to North Carolina. We will update you when we have an official answer from both sources. 

More Ultium Coverage

The all-new, 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV model, based on the General Motors' Ultium platform, recently entered the U.S. market.

The final offer changed compared to the initial announcement from mid-2022, as the least expensive, $45,000 version has been dropped, and the prices have increased. The Chevrolet Blazer EV also entered the market slightly later than planned. Its production takes place at GM’s Ramos Arizpe factory in Mexico.

As of today, there are three main versions of the Chevrolet Blazer EV—an entry-level all-wheel drive (eAWD) with an 85-kilowatt-hour battery, a bit more capable, rear-wheel drive (RWD) version with a 102-kWh battery and a performance version with pAWD powertrain and a 102-kWh battery. The last one is expected to enter the market in Spring 2024. There are also three trim levels: LT, RS, and SS.

According to GM, the Ultium platform enables the automaker to build several versions of the car, including FWD, RWD, and AWD, with different power output and battery capacity.

Pricing

The entry-level LT trim (eAWD, 85 kWh) starts at $55,320 (plus $1,395 of destination charge, for a total of $56,715).

The higher RS trim, with the same battery/powertrain, starts at $58,820 (+DST) for $60,215 in total.

The third version—RS with a bigger, 102-kWh battery and a rear-wheel drive powertrain (but more powerful than the eAWD)—costs s$60,395 (+DST), which means $61,790 total.

All three options do qualify for the $7,500 federal tax credit (at least in 2023, because things are not certain in 2024), so the effective cost might be as low as $49,215 (LT) or $54,290 (RS RWD).

The manufacturer does not say what the final starting price of the SS trim is, but back in July 2022, it was expected at $65,995 (+DST).

Prices

* The MSRP prices of each version are actually lower than the base in the table (LT eAWD—$51,800, RS eAWD—$56,200 and RS RWD—$57,200), but the online configurator currently requires the selection of some options (worth respectively $3,520, $2,620 and $3,195).

Specs

The 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV has surprised us because the RWD version is more capable than the entry-level AWD ones. That's because it has a bigger battery by 17 kWh or 20%, a higher range by 16%, and about a fifth more power. We are accustomed to the AWD versions offering higher performance, which will be the case once the SS trim enters the market in 2024.

Basic specs

* EPA-estimated according to GM; ** GM-estimated

Speaking of range, the EPA Combined range of the Chevrolet Blazer EV LT/RS eAWD is 279 miles.

The RS RWD version has an EPA-estimated range of 324 miles, although it has not been yet listed on the EPA website. In the case of the top-of-the-line SS version, the GM-estimated range is 294 miles. That's slightly less, but the more powerful dual-motor powertrain is promised to offer 0-60 mph acceleration in under 4 seconds.

Energy consumption, including charging losses, of the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV LT/RS eAWD, is estimated at 96 MPGe or about 351 watt-hours per mile.

The interesting thing here is that the rating is common for the LT trim with 19-inch wheels (255/6-R19) and RS trim with 21-inch wheels (275/45R21). We can only guess, that in the real world, the LT should get more range than the RS equivalent.

2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV LT/RS eAWD (85 kWh)

Charging

In terms of charging, Chevrolet mentions an 11.5-kilowatt on-board charger, which is currently typical in many other electric cars.

DC fast charging depends on the battery. The 85-kWh pack can accept up to 150 kW, while the 102-kWh pack can accept up to 190 kW. According to the manufacturer, the smaller battery can replenish up to 69 miles of range in 10 minutes, while the bigger one, up to 78 miles in the same 10-minute period (RS RWD version).

See also

This certainly isn't true of all of them, but broadly speaking, a lot of U.S. car dealers aren’t exactly jumping at the opportunity to sell electric cars. Much like American consumers, it appears a good chunk of them have some hangups in these early days. 

Around half of the country’s Ford dealers have decided to continue selling only combustion-engine models in 2024, the Detroit Free Press reported on Thursday. It’s a similar story at General Motors: Roughly half of Buick dealers in the U.S. have taken buyouts from GM rather than making the investments necessary to sell EVs, multiple outlets reported. 

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Dealers Aren't All On Board With EVs

Both Ford and GM have required dealerships to invest heavily in EV-related upgrades to sell and service electric cars. Dealers in general have shown resistance to selling EVs.

Both GM and Ford have required their dealerships to invest heavily in EV-related upgrades like charging stations to be able to sell and service EVs. Buick doesn’t sell an electric car in the U.S. yet, but GM plans for it to become an all-electric brand. Its first EV is scheduled to go on sale in 2024. 

According to Ford, the decision for dealers came down to whether or not they operate in an area where people buy EVs. And that makes sense. Although EV sales are growing, demand for them is far stronger in, say, California, than most other states. 

"As Ford dealers have completed their own local market assessments, enrollments for 2024 are just over 50% of the network, placing 86% of the population within 20 miles of a Ford dealership that can sell and service a Ford EV,” a Ford spokesperson told the Detroit Free Press.

More Of The Latest News

Likewise, the Buick cuts aren’t necessarily as major as they sound. The roughly 1,000 stores that took a buyout only represented 20% of sales, according to CNBC. (It's also worth noting the Ford dealers' decision is a vastly more impactful one; Ford builds and sells several EVs, including the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning. Buick currently sells none.) 

It shouldn’t exactly come as a surprise that some GM and Ford dealers are lukewarm on the idea of selling EVs—and paying a hefty price to do so. Both automakers have said they’re seeing slowing demand for electric cars and have pumped the brakes on EV production and investments as a result. Overall, the U.S. EV market is healthy, and sales are growing. But some models, including Ford’s Mustang Mach-E, have indeed seen bloated inventories this year. 

Dealers have made their distaste for the electrification of the auto industry known before. Thousands of car dealers sent an open letter to President Biden last month imploring his administration to “slow down” the country’s transition to EVs and arguing that “enthusiasm has stalled.” For the record, that’s not exactly true, given that Americans have already bought over 1 million EVs this year. But there’s at least one obvious reason that dealers would rather just keep selling combustion vehicles. 

EVs are far simpler to maintain than gas cars, and don’t need oil changes, timing belts, transmission rebuilds and the like. Owners routinely keep them going for years by just changing out their wiper fluid and tires every now and then. Dealers may be able to sell electric cars if they really tried, but they don’t want to see all that recurring revenue disappear.

You may have read recently that Tesla, as a carmaker, has the highest accident rate of any automobile manufacturer in the United States. And while that’s a pretty clicky headline, it’s not necessarily true.

The data used to back up those words came from LendingTree, which is an online lending marketplace. Researchers from the website looked at tens of millions of insurance quotes from Nov. 2022 through Nov. 2023.

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Tesla drivers, not Tesla vehicles, top the accident chart

A new study from LendingTree shows that Tesla drivers have the highest accident rate in the United States. That's different from what some outlets have reported, implying that Tesla vehicles were somehow at the heart of the problem. Furthermore, another insurance provider has data that shows no Tesla model whatsoever in the top 10.

The results were compiled in a list that shows the best and worst drivers by car brand in every state. In other words, it’s the drivers that come under the microscope, and not the marque itself–not to take Tesla’s side here, but facts are facts.

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During the analyzed period, Tesla drivers had 23.54 accidents per 1,000 drivers on a countrywide level, followed by Ram with 22.76 accidents and Subaru with 20.90 accidents. That said, we need to remember that these numbers come from insurance quotes, not service data. A driver who has an accident on his record from when he owned a Ford bought a Tesla and is looking to get insurance, hence the number of Tesla drivers that have been in an accident increases.

By contrast, drivers of cars made by brands that no longer exist today (and are rarer sights on the roads) are at the bottom of the list. Pontiac drivers have an accident rate of 8.41 per 1,000 drivers, Mercury has 8.96, and Saturn has 9.13. 

When it comes to incidents in general, which include accidents, DUIs, speeding, and citations, Ram drivers have the highest rate with 32.90 driving incidents per 1,000 drivers, followed by Tesla with 31.13 incidents and Subaru with 30.09 incidents per 1,000 drivers.

Talking about safety, how does the Cybertruck fare?

LendingTree says that it’s hard to nail down why certain brands may have higher accident rates than others, but that a higher-powered vehicle can make a dent in the statistics. And Tesla, as well as Ram, makes some pretty impressive vehicles, at least when it comes to power.

That said, while researching this story, I came across a similar study from virtual insurance agent Insurify which has completely different results. The website looked at its database of more than 4.6 million car insurance applications to identify the car models with the most accidents in 2023 (the results were published in June).

Long story short, this study has no Tesla models whatsoever in its top 10 list of car models with the most accidents this year (based on the percentage of drivers with a prior at-fault accident on record).

The Audi S4 tops that list, followed by the Scion iA and the Chevrolet Volt. But, again, it's the drivers, not necessarily the cars that should be looked at.

Whatever the case, it's clear that no matter what car you drive, accidents can happen. So stay safe out there and try to keep out of the statistics.

Now that the rules around the changing electric vehicle tax credits have been finalized, we know more about what cars will and won't qualify for them come Jan. 1, 2024. For now, at least, quite a few models from General Motors, Ford and even Tesla will lose their credits.

GM said yesterday it expects the Cadillac Lyriq and Chevrolet Blazer EV to lose eligibility for the U.S. EV tax credit starting next year, albeit only "temporarily," according to a Detroit News report.

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The tax credits are changing again in January

The tax credit system—which in January 2023 applied to almost every EV on sale—is now being slimmed down to prioritize cars whose battery materials aren't made in what the U.S. government calls a "foreign entity of concern," specifically China. And due to China's power over the EV supply chain, that impacts quite a few cars. But automakers are quickly working to rectify that problem. 

"After reviewing Treasury's long-awaited proposed guidance, we believe the Cadillac Lyriq and Chevrolet Blazer EV will temporarily lose eligibility for the clean vehicle credit on Jan. 1, 2024 because of two minor components," GM spokesperson Liz Winter said in a statement to InsideEVs. The components in question are separators and electrolytes, according to the Detroit News story.

"While we await final rules, GM has pulled ahead sourcing plans for qualifying components in early 2024 and will advocate for our dealers and customers who purchase vehicles built ahead of the new guidance," Winter added. GM said it expects both electric SUVs to qualify for the credit again in early 2024, without providing a timeline.

The company added that the Chevrolet Equinox EV, Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV and Cadillac Optiq produced "after the sourcing change will be eligible for the full incentive." Mind you, the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV will remain eligible for the credit come January 1, 2024.

Interestingly, GM said it is committed to "providing the equivalent EV tax credit purchase amount for any vehicles that became ineligible due to the new guidelines" beginning in January, according to a letter to dealers signed by John Roth, vice president of Cadillac, and Scott Bell, vice president of Chevrolet, and seen by the Detroit News. 

In other words, at least for now, it sounds like GM is going to give a similar discount to EVs until it sorts out the battery issues. We'll provide information on that as we get it.

Ford is also losing eligibility for some key EVs. The automaker announced that the E-Transit electric van and Mustang Mach-E will lose the $3,750 tax credit in 2024, while the Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring plug-in hybrid will also lose the $7,500 incentive.

The F-150 Lightning will remain eligible for a $7,500 tax credit, while the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring plug-in hybrids will retain a $3,750 incentive.

As for Stellantis, it doesn't expect any changes for its plug-in hybrids. The Chrysler Pacifica minivan should continue to qualify for a $7,500 credit, while the Jeep Wrangler and Grand Cherokee 4xe SUVs should retain a $3,750 incentive.

Meanwhile, even Tesla is impacted by these changes. We know that the RWD and Long Range variants of the Tesla Model 3 will lose the $7,500 incentive in January, due to Chinese-sourced batteries. Tesla has said similar reductions may happen to the Model Y as well.

There are some upsides to the tax credit next year. Eligible consumers will get an immediate credit at the point of sale, without having to claim it on their taxes; it will work like a discount, basically. However, the big downside to that is that the list of eligible EVs in 2024 is a lot shorter, due to new rules on battery components and minerals.

More on the revised EV tax credits in 2024

Electric scooters have been through quite a roller coaster ride in recent years. From being the darlings of the e-mobility space to pretty much becoming outcasts in many parts of the world, the electric scooter story can be considered tragic for some, with e-scooter sharing company Bird being the latest casualty of changing micromobility preferences.

Back when Bird went public in 2021, its stock was valued at more than $2 billion at the New York Stock Exchange. However, a year later in 2022, its stock price went into free fall and landed at a meager $70 million. The company was founded by Travis VanderZanden back in 2017. A former executive at Lyft and Uber, he saw a lot of potential in the e-scooter sharing industry. Eventually, Bird expanded and presently operates in 350 cities all over the world.

Despite its expansion, it seems the tides aren't in Bird’s favor. The company just recently filed for bankruptcy in the US, and stated that it has entered a “financial restructuring process” aimed to better position the company for long-term growth. This new restructuring process in applicable to Bird’s US operations, and makes it clear that the company’s Canadian and European operations will continue as before. For reference, a court filing states the Bird’s assets and liabilities are valued between $100 million to $500 million, and have initiated a Chapter 11 bankruptcy for financial restructuring.

Michael Washinushi will retain his position as CEO of Bird for the time being, and is hopeful that the restructuring program will be able to turn Bird’s fortunes around. In the company’s official press release, he stated, “We are making progress toward profitability and aim to accelerate that progress by right-sizing our capital structure through this restructuring. We remain focused on our mission to make cities more livable by using micromobility to reduce car usage, traffic, and carbon emissions."

More E-Mobility News:

While Bird’s operations in Canada and Europe remain undisturbed for now, many European countries haven’t been taking too kindly on the use of e-scooters for personal mobility. E-scooter sharing has been in quite a pinch in recent years, with dense European cities like Paris implementing an outright ban on e-scooter sharing, instead focusing on other e-mobility solutions such as electric bicycles.

Source: Electrek, Bird via PR Newswire

Hyundai Motor Company (Hyundai and Genesis brands) global vehicle sales in November amounted to 365,576, which is 5.0% more than a year ago. Year-to-date, the company sold over 3.8 million vehicles (up 7.6% year-over-year).

Unfortunately, November did not bring any progress on the electrification front as the numbers were very similar to the ones from a year ago—actually a bit lower.

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Hyundai has become one of the largest EV manufacturers

The Hyundai Motor Company has already sold close to 300,000 plug-in electric cars globally this year, including close to a quarter million all-electric cars. The results are over a third higher than in the whole of 2022.

Last month, the combined wholesale shipments (which are closely related to production) of Hyundai and Genesis plug-in cars amounted to *24,149 (down 3% year-over-year). We estimate that it is around 6.6% of the automaker's total sales volume (compared to 7.1% a year ago).

*Retail sales in South Korea plus overseas sales (based on wholesales; at the manufacturer level), unaudited and on a preliminary basis.

The data indicates that all-electric car volume decreased by 3% year-over-year to 20,794, including 19,911 Hyundai BEVs (up 0.2% year-over-year) and 883 Genesis (down 46% year-over-year). Plug-in hybrid car volume also remains stable at 3,355 (up 0.7% year-over-year).

An interesting finding is that the wholesale shipments of the E-GMP-based Hyundai and Genesis cars in November decreased by almost 13% year-over-year to 13,137 (it was the third consecutive small drop year-over-year). That's also less than in the case of the record-high result of the sister brand Kia, which noted 16,916 E-GMP-based cars (up 118% year-over-year).

The last three months did not bring any significant growth in BEV sales for Hyundai, and the results are not as good as in the first half of the year. It will be very interesting to see whether the fast growth will return in December or in early 2024.

In terms of retail sales, things might still be positive (retail sales usually lag behind wholesale sales), as Hyundai Motor reports more than 16,000 all-electric car sales in November.

Wholesale plug-in car sales last month (YOY change):

Hyundai And Genesis Plug-in Car Sales – November 2023

So far this year, the plug-in electric car wholesale shipments exceeded 290,000, which is about 7.5% of the total volume.

Wholesale plug-in car sales year-to-date (YOY change):

For reference, in 2022 Hyundai Motor Company sold more than 240,000 plug-in electric cars (up 45% year-over-year), including nearly 195,000 all-electric (up 56%). The year 2023 is already much better, but the growth rate slowed down.

Hyundai brand

Model results

In November, wholesale shipments of the E-GMP-based models (Hyundai Ioniq 5, Hyundai Ioniq 6, and Genesis GV60) decreased by 13% year-over-year to 13,137.

The top three all-electric models in the lineup remain the same: the Ioniq 5, Kona Electric, and the Ioniq 6.

Top models (wholesale shipments) last month and YTD (YOY change):

The hydrogen fuel cell model — Hyundai Nexo — noted 234 units last month (and 4,472 YTD). Its sales fall quite significantly.

Genesis brand

The Genesis brand continued to struggle in the all-electric car segment, as its wholesale shipments amounted to only 883 units (down 46% year-over-year), which is the lowest monthly result since February 2022. The year-to-date volume is 18,015 (up 2% year-over-year).

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If you're sitting around with family members you'd rather not have long conversations with this holiday season, I highly recommend firing up Netflix's new film Leave The World Behind. Starring Julia Robers, Ethan Hawke and Mahershala Ali, it's a Hitchcock-esque thriller about two families coming to terms with a mysterious cyberattack that completely cripples the United States and sends the nation spiraling into anarchy. 

Don't worry: despite what you just read, it's fun, I promise. But there's one scene from the movie that keeps proving to be a viral standout. It involves the ultimate nightmare for so-called self-driving cars, and it's so wild I had to ask a cybersecurity firm that specializes in the auto industry what it means. 

(Some general spoilers follow for Leave The World Behind; you've been warned.)

In this scene, after finally realizing just how completely disabled society is following an all-encompassing cyberattack, Julia Roberts' character is attempting to flee with her family. That's when they encounter a roadblock in the form of dozens of wrecked, all-white Teslas.

When she gets out of her Jeep to figure out what's going on, she sees the new cars' window spec sheets—zooming in on the Teslas' "Full Self-Driving" option—and it all clicks for her almost at the last minute. 

This leads her to dodge more incoming self-driving Teslas in her Jeep, almost as if she were on a slalom course. Then the camera pans out to reveal a massive, miles-long traffic jam across a bridge.

Exactly what happened here is never explained. It's heavily implied that whatever actors were behind the attack seized remote control of the automated driving features in those Teslas, turning them into missiles on wheels designed to cripple more critical infrastructure and cause pandemonium.

But the scene is so notable that it got a response from Tesla CEO Elon Musk on X, and it even left some to wonder if it had anything to do with the giant Autopilot recall that happened days later. (It did not.) 

Now, it's worth noting that Autopilot and Full Self-Driving cannot and do not operate without human drivers behind the wheel; the Smart Summon feature on certain Teslas is about as close as you get, and it's extremely limited in function. There are no truly fully self-driving cars for sale at all right now, as all automated driver assistance systems (ADAS) require human monitoring.  

But if we know anything from the past few years, it's that the complex ins and outs of systems like Full Self-Driving are a bit lost on the general public. Too many people overestimate what they can do. It's easy to watch that scene and think a mass remote hack on Teslas is a plausible thing.

Then again... is it?

To find out, I spoke to Shira Sarid-Hausirer, who heads up marketing for Upstream, an Israeli cybersecurity firm that monitors millions of cars worldwide and works with different automakers to prevent vulnerabilities in cars. As cars turn more and more into software-defined vehicles—automobiles driven by advanced computer functions, downloads and wireless updates—hacking and security are becoming more and more of an industrywide concern. 

And in the case of the scenario depicted in Leave The World Behind: it's possible, but not especially likely, Sarid-Hausirer told me. "It's far-fetched, not delusional," she said. "It’s futuristic, let’s be honest. But sometimes reality can beat your imagination." 

There are a handful of real-world examples that prove this sort of thing isn't entirely fiction. Last year, hackers in Moscow tampered with the navigation systems used by a ride-hail taxi company, directing dozens of cars to the same location and causing a huge traffic jam. 

Additionally, as arguably the original software-defined vehicle, Teslas have been hacked before, including by benevolent white-hat hackers and cybersecurity researchers. Last year, a group of researchers were able to breach the cars at a conference co-sponsored by Tesla. In another instance, a 19-year-old hacker remotely accessed more than two dozen Teslas around the world, unlocking doors and windows and even honking horns from his computer.

"This is nowhere near full control," Sarid-Hausirer said. "But if we want to take this scenario from the Netflix movie, he was able to take the windows down while you're driving, blow your horn, tamper with your A/C and radio and infotainment systems, lock and unlock and start your car remotely... all that certainly poses a safety hazard."

(Sarid-Hausirer made clear she was speaking broadly about cybersecurity challenges the entire industry faces, not just Tesla. She and other groups I've spoken to have also said Tesla takes these matters seriously and works to correct them quickly.) 

"There are some elements in reality right now that can indicate [the industry] needs to be careful," Sarid-Hausirer said.

Where 'Software-Driven Cars' Are Vulnerable

Specifically, there are two major vulnerability points for modern cars: over-the-air updates and APIs, essentially the interface between the cars and various third- and even first-party applications. Think streaming music, navigation apps, smartphone integrations and more—anything that opens a sort of gateway between the car and something else. 

Unfortunately, Sarid-Hausirer said, both OTA updates and in-car apps are hallmarks of the software-defined vehicle future. They're crucial to automakers' plans to add more features to cars over time and drive revenue from them, much as Tesla has done for years. And those functions can represent new ways for hackers to get access to cars. Safeguarding against this becomes especially crucial as cars approach self-driving, she said. So-called zero-day exploits, where an attacker exploits an opening that was previously unknown and where a company has "zero days" to fix it, are of particular concern. 

 "The infotainment system is sort of a gateway to multiple internal systems that control the systems of the vehicle," she said. "One of them is the navigation. Say, in a few years, you're going to go from your office to your home [in a more fully automated car] and someone remotely manipulates that navigation command and navigates you to a different place." 

That would be, to use a technical industry term, not good.  

Besides getting into critical systems via vulnerabilities in apps, Sarid-Hausirer said OTA updates can theoretically go awry too. "Threat actors could manipulate other vulnerabilities to inject malicious code into the OTA update," she said, essentially leaving something inside the car that an automaker doesn't want. 

So while the example shown in this movie is extreme—there are no known cases of actual remote seizures of entire fleets of cars, where their movement is yielded to a third party—the science behind it has grounding in reality. 

Car Companies Have To Become IT Security Companies Too

As scary as this sounds, Sarid-Hausirer said she's actually "optimistic" about the way things are going. No automaker wants these kinds of headaches, or anything even remotely close to the scene depicted in Leave The World Behind. So the industry as a whole has stepped up its cybersecurity game even in just recent years. 

"It's important to say that the industry is moving very rapidly to protect these vehicles," she said. She added that as that business has developed, the top priority has been safety—the physical safety of occupants and passengers—followed by data privacy. After all, as high-tech as the auto industry wants to get, a car can represent far more of a physical threat than any lines of code. 

"This is not an IT hack where someone penetrates a server," she said. "This is a car, right? It has the potential to do things that we would like to prevent, like crashing into each other, or buildings." 

Contact the author: patrick.george@insideevs.com

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Reports about Tesla’s questionable build quality have popped up occasionally over the years, but a new Reuters investigation reveals that the American automaker actively sought to hide the proverbial trash under the rug.

It blamed customers for vehicle abuse and prior damage to suspension components and denied responsibility for parts failures even though it knew some components were faulty, to begin with.

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Tesla components failed prematurely and customers had to pay for the repairs

A Reuters investigation shows that Tesla knew it had installed faulty suspension and steering components in its EVs for years. These failed prematurely but owners were told they had to pay for the repairs because the vehicles were "abused" or had "prior" damage. Some cars were less than a week old.

We already mentioned the investigation in yesterday's Critical Materials piece which also included mentions of Canada's new ZEV rules and China's need for EV production expansion, but we figured some more in-depth coverage couldn't hurt. Plus, we'd love to hear from you, our great readers, if you ever found yourselves in a similar situation to those described below.

The report begins with the disconcerting story of a United Kingdom customer who bought a brand-new 2023 Tesla Model Y. Just a day after getting delivery of his first-ever EV, he was driving the shiny crossover at low speed into their neighborhood–with his wife and daughter in the car–when he suddenly lost steering control while making a slow turn.

The EV’s front-right suspension had collapsed after a total of 115 miles had been driven since being built.

According to a detailed repair estimate obtained by Reuters, the Model Y needed nearly 40 hours of labor to repair the suspension and replace the steering column, among other fixes, bringing the total cost to over $14,000 (£11,247.48).

Tesla refused to cover the repairs under warranty, blaming the mishap on “prior” damage.

This is just one case where suspension troubles affected cars that had barely rolled off the assembly line, but also Tesla-branded EVs that were less than two years old.

More Tesla Mishaps

Another harrowing experience was that of a Model 3 customer in the United States. With less than 15,000 miles put on the odometer in approximately one year of ownership, the EV ended up at a Tesla repair center in Brooklyn, New York, after an accident. The technician wrote on the repair report: “Front wheel fell off while driving on Autopilot at 60 mph.”

The Reuters investigation doesn’t mention if the car was repaired, but judging from the outcome, we’d argue the customer refused to pay for the fix, seeing how the EV was sold at auction a few months later without its front-right wheel.

Between January 2021 and March 2022, Tesla replaced upper control arms on roughly 120,000 cars globally, Reuters said in its analysis, with the American automaker paying for most of the repairs under warranty. However, roughly 31,000 owners of older cars who experienced suspension failures had to pay for the repairs out of pocket.

In Norway, a country that’s known for leading the pack in the EV adoption race, former Tesla service managers and technicians said they were told by the manufacturer to push the cost of the frequent and repeated failures onto customers to cut warranty and goodwill repair costs starting in 2017.

“Now, we have to quit talking bullshit,” one service manager who claims was forced out of the company said. A service technician quit his job just one year over the issue. “I wasn't doing anything else than just constantly changing those control arms,” he said for Reuters.

Besides control arms, Tesla had problems with half shafts and steering columns, with customers sometimes having to pay for repairs over $4,000 even though the cars were still under warranty.

Service managers, technicians, and engineers flagged design issues and faulty parts over the years, and to its credit, Tesla redesigned the Model S front aft link four times. However, it seems like the redesigned part only ended up in EVs bound for China, a country that forced the Austin-based automaker to do a recall after four years of Tesla dragging its feet.

A broken control arm on a Tesla vehicle

In the United States, the company told regulators that the failures were caused by “driver abuse” and instructed its service centers to use the same explanation with customers experiencing aft-link failures, the Reuters investigation shows.

The reason for all this questionable tactic? Money, as always. During the fourth quarter of 2018, Tesla’s repair business lost $263 million because of the high volume of warranty and goodwill repairs, which was nearly double the company’s quarterly profit of $139 million. On average, the company paid almost $500 for repairs on every Tesla model in operation at the time.

While cutting unnecessary costs should be a key concern of any company in the world, accusing customers of damaging cars just so the bank balance stays at a healthy level shouldn’t.

Have you ever encountered such problems on your Teslas? Let us know in the comments below.

Erik Buell is a big name in the motorcycle industry, and not long ago, he once again made headlines when he launched Fuell, an electric motorbike company with an eye to the future. Not long after, Fuell began making electric bicycles, some of which we’ve talked about in great detail in the past. The Fuell Flluid, for instance, is a capable bike designed to tackle the urban jungle. Fuell’s newest product is also designed for the city, but is more compact for extra convenience.

Electric folding bikes are nothing new, but Fuell’s interpretation of the ultimate folding e-bike, dubbed the Folld (Fuell obviously has a thing for double L’s as evidenced by the last name of its founder), puts a focus on a comprehensive tech package and impressive performance. Speaking of performance, the Folld relies on a tried and tested rear hub motor from Chinese specialist Bafang. Designed to comply with European e-bike rules, the Folld has a nominal output of 250 watts and is rated for 85 Nm of torque. This means it’s good for speeds up to 25 kilometers per hour (15 miles an hour); anything above this speed will have to be accomplished through leg power alone.

The Fuell Folld’s 720-watt-hour battery is sleekly integrated into the frame, so there’s no weird-looking lump on any part of the bike. Fuell claims a rather impressive range of 110 kilometers (69 miles) on a single charge, provided you keep it at its lowest assist setting. Speaking of which, there are five assist settings for you to choose from, but there’s no throttle here, as it’s designed to comply with Europe’s strict e-bike regulations.

Other features include a Shimano Altus drivetrain with an eight-speed derailleur-cassette combo. The bike comes to a confident stop by way of Tektro HD-E 350 hydraulic disc brakes, and it rolls on 20-inch fat tires to take the edge off less-than-perfect pavement. For extra convenience, Fuell throws in a foldable rear rack capable of hauling up to 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of stuff. The bike’s rugged and durable build does come with a price, and that’s weight. The Fuell Folld tips the scales at a rather hefty 37.5 kilos (82.5 pounds), so good luck carrying it up a flight of stairs along with your other belongings.

In Case You Missed It:

As for pricing and availability, the Fuell Folld is a rather affordable option, with an MSRP of 2,495 euros, or approximately $2,731 USD. Better still, Fuell is offering an introductory discount of 500 euros, so you’ll be able to snag this thing for under two grand. There’s no word just yet if the bike will be sold in the US market, though, so we’ll have to stay tuned for that.

Source: E-Bike News, Fuell

Tesla Cybertruck deliveries began on November 30 at the event held at Giga Texas, but we didn't get to learn much about the people who took delivery and what the experience was like for them.

While the first handovers happened in a controlled environment, people are starting to take delivery of Tesla Cybertruck Foundation Series models the old-fashioned way, and videos documenting their experience have started to surface.

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Tesla Cybertruck Foundation Series is the only way to take delivery quickly

Limited to 1,000 units that will be the first to reach customers, the Foundation Series Cybertruck costs $20,000 more than the regular Cybertruck AWD and Cyberbeast tri-motor variants. Deliveries have already started in California and Texas, with more states to follow in early 2024.

The Tesbros YouTube channel has filmed one of the first deliveries of a Foundation Series Cybertruck that took place after the November 30 delivery event. The electric truck was handed over to its owners, Zach and Ella, at a Tesla store in Austin, Texas.

The lucky owners opted for a Cybertruck All-Wheel Drive in the Foundation Series launch edition, which starts at $99,990 plus shipping. That's a $20,000 premium over the regular Cybertruck AWD, but customers get a lot more than the "Foundation Series" lettering etched into the stainless steel front fenders and tailgate—the launch edition-specific features are detailed in this article.

As you can imagine, the owners were very excited about finally taking delivery of their Cybertruck, even though the experience was basically the same as with any Tesla.

After finishing the paperwork, which isn't exactly the right word here because things were mostly done online via the smartphone, and accepting delivery, the owner was able to have the Cybertruck transferred to his Tesla app.

The owners were then given a tour of the vehicle and its features by Tesla service employees, which is useful considering that the Cybertruck is the company's most technologically advanced vehicle yet.

Like the video's creator, I have to admit that seeing the happy owners drive off in the Cybertruck from the Tesla store was a bit of a surreal moment. It certainly helped drive home the fact that the electric pickup Tesla fans have been waiting for four years is finally in customers' hands, and that we'll see many more of them on U.S. roads soon.

While Tesla won't have it easy building the Cybertruck and reaching the promised output of 250,000 units per year, the wheels started turning and there's no stopping that now. Watch this space for ownership experience videos soon.

More Tesla Cybertruck stories

Tesla is no stranger to "production hell." That term, which comes from CEO Elon Musk himself, is commonly associated with the early days of the Model 3. But the automaker has been through the fire many times, including with the launch of the Model S, and even Musk has warned of similar challenges ahead with the stainless-steel Cybertruck. And there's one area that may prove particularly tricky: its batteries. 

Welcome back to an almost Christmas edition of Critical Materials, our morning roundup of industry news that affects the EV space. Also on tap for today: some good news, for a change, on America's fuel economy average, and the Biden Administration may hit back harder at China's EV expansion than we thought. Let's take a look.

30%: Cybertruck Battery Hell? 

When he set out to temper expectations about the Cybertruck on an October investor call, Musk said he didn't expect to hit regular, reliable production to the tune of 250,000 trucks per year until "sometime in 2025." That's a ways off from now, and even more so from when the truck itself was unveiled way back in 2019. (Does that feel like 25 years ago and not just four to anyone else?)

This isn't terribly surprising. For all its many innovations, Tesla is still not amazing at launching new products and we know stainless steel is miserably difficult to work with. But Reuters reports there's one other unexpected bottleneck, and it's the updated 4680 batteries for the Cybertruck.

It's been making those for a while, but speed is a concern, per nine sources who spoke to the news wire:

Tesla's Giga Texas factory is currently churning out 4680 battery cells at rate only sufficient to power about 24,000 Cybertrucks a year, or about a 10th of the required output, according to Reuters calculations based on a combination of public data and unpublished figures provided by sources.

Being able to ramp up battery output massively by dry-coating electrodes - rather than using the slower, more costly wet-coating - was a key factor behind Tesla's forecasts in 2020 that it would more than halve battery costs, cut investment significantly, and create smaller, greener factories.

The nine people, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said Tesla had yet to crack dry-coating at the industrial scale needed to make 4680 batteries fast enough to hit its production targets.

The people said dry-coating the anode in the 4680 cells was not problematic but Tesla was struggling with the same technique for the cathode - the most expensive component in a battery.

Dry-coating anodes and cathodes is proven in the laboratory, as well as for smaller energy storage devices such as super capacitors, and even some small batteries, according to Yuan Gao, a battery technology consultant.

"But no one has done it so far for large EV batteries at a mass scale and at a high enough speed. Tesla is the first one to try to commercialize this," said Gao, who has worked in the industry for three decades.

That story goes on to note that sources claim the 4680 batteries in the Cybertruck have an estimated 1,360 individual cells, which "means Tesla would need to make 340 million cells a year, or almost a million a day" to produce 250,000 trucks annually. Right now, Tesla can reportedly make 10 million 4680 cells in 16 weeks. I'm no math genius, but that means Tesla has a ways to go to hit volume. 

There are all kinds of reasons why this is a challenge, but this stood out: 

The sources said Tesla was struggling to mix the cathode materials, which include lithium, manganese and nickel, with a binder and stick them to a metallic foil to produce a cathode - without using moisture.

Two of the people said the process worked for small amounts but when Tesla tried to scale it up, a lot of heat was generated and this melted the binder, which one of the sources believed was polytetrafluoroethylene, more commonly known as Teflon.

"If you melt the glue, pretty soon everything will become one big chunk of gooey mess," another of the sources said.

Here's the thing: let's give credit where it's due here. Tesla may be ending 2023 with a few headaches, like that Autopilot recall or whatever fallout comes from that other Reuters investigation into Model 3 suspension defects yesterday. But I think it will figure out the battery production challenge here. This is what that company is really good at—beating the roadblocks faster and better than nearly all other automakers can. Of all the challenges the Cybertruck may face, this is the one that seems most surmountable and will probably lead to more innovation down the line.

I'd be more concerned about the stainless steel body stuff than this, frankly. But we'll see if I'm right.

60%: America Set A Fuel Economy Record In 2022

I told you I had good news for you today. The EPA finally got around to looking at all of its fuel consumption data from 2022 (it's the government, things take time) and it shows that last year, the U.S. set an all-time record for fuel economy. In fact, 2022 brought us the best yearly improvement in fuel economy in nine years. Not bad. 

This is from Reuters (via Automotive News) again: 

Vehicles were up 0.6 mpg over 2021 after being unchanged versus 2020, the EPA said, noting electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid EVs improved the average fuel economy by 1.2 mpg in 2022. Fuel economy is forecast to increase to 26.9 mpg in 2023, the EPA said.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan said the report "highlights the historic progress made so far by the industry to reduce climate pollution and other harmful emissions."

It's positive because 2023 is poised to be even better, in theory. This year ended up being a record one for sales of not just EVs, but hybrids (both the plug-in and regular kinds) as well. The two together made up nearly 20% of new car sales in the U.S. That should result in a lot less petroleum used by new vehicles, and it should yield an increase in fuel economy averages for next year too. (EVs may not run on gas, but they're factored into automakers' fleet averages and push their numbers up as a result.)

Also good news: the story notes that the average range of EVs in 2022 was 305 miles, more than four times higher than in 2011. Again, imagine how much better that will be next year too. 

Now, for some bad news. The Big Three American automakers still kind of lag on this front and we're still quite addicted to big vehicles, which is never great for efficiency: 

Stellantis had the lowest fuel economy of major automakers, followed by GM and Ford. Horsepower, vehicle weight and size all hit new records in 2022 — and are projected to hit again hit record levels in 2023.

The report showed Americans kept moving away from cars and are buying more SUVs. Sedans and wagons fell to just 27 percent of vehicles sold in 2022, while SUVs rose to 54 percent.

Disappointing, but let's take the win here. Fuel consumption is declining across the board, which is good because the climate news out of COP28 was not great, folks. I'm eager to see how next year shakes out with so many more EVs and hybrids in the mix.

90%: Biden Could Raise Tariffs On More Chinese-Made Goods, Including EVs

Would fuel consumption and emissions decrease further here if that sleek BYD Dolphin was allowed to swim to American shores? Maybe. But U.S. policy goals right now seek to heavily limit China's influence on our EV battery supply chains and to protect our market from a flood of tough, cheap new competitors from a country whose government is, well, less than great. No big secret there. 

So a day after learning China is trying to not spark a trade war in Europe, we learn the Biden Administration could get even tougher with tariffs on Chinese-made goods, including cars. This is from the Wall Street Journal: 

Biden administration officials, long divided over trade policy, have left in place Trump-era tariffs on roughly $300 billion of Chinese goods. But officials at the White House and other agencies are debating the levies again, the people said, with an eye on wrapping up a long-running review of the tariffs early next year. 

Raising some tariffs could allow President Biden to signal he is tough on China as he approaches a 2024 re-election campaign that could again have him face Donald Trump. 

The Biden administration is also considering lowering tariffs on some Chinese consumer products that officials don’t see as strategically important, in addition to the potential increases on clean-energy products, the people familiar with the conversations said.

The administration hasn’t decided on the tariffs, the people said. Previous internal discussions about adjusting tariffs on China fizzled out without any changes. Spokesmen for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the National Security Council declined to comment. 

There are a few notable things at work here. First off, besides, I guess, Polestar (which makes the Polestar 2 in China but is a weirdly international brand) there are no Chinese brands selling cars in the U.S. right now. A few automakers like Buick and Volvo sell some China-made EVs here that are subject to the tariffs, but on the whole, raising those would not impact too many current cars. But it would probably further limit Chinese attempts to enter our market. Remember also that battery materials from China are why the EV tax credits will be more restrictive next year, if you want a sense of where policy minds are at. 

As that story notes, Biden wants to appear tough on China; with his EV push, Republican rivals have accused him of being soft in that department. But the pressure is coming from his own party as well:

Sens. Sherrod Brown (D., Ohio) and Bob Casey (D., Pa.), each running for re-election next year in competitive states, warned Biden in a letter last month against lowering any tariffs on China.  

“These tariffs are essential to level the playing field for American workers to compete and counter unfair trade practices by China,” they wrote.  

Lastly, let's not forget there's an element of industry protectionism at work here too. Buried in the middle of the story is this gem:

The conversations have picked up recently as officials grow concerned about Chinese clean-energy exports, which are flooding global markets at low prices as China’s domestic economy slumps. U.S. officials worry that American companies, even with the protection of existing tariffs and new subsidies, won’t be able to compete with China’s production. 

As I often say around here: the U.S. automakers can figure out EVs, or BYD will figure it out for them.

100%: What's Better For America—Cheap EVs Or Fending Off China?

Admit it, a bunch of affordable EVs on the market would be good for emissions and the Biden Administration's own fuel economy goals. But is it worth the tradeoff for letting China, with all its known issues, into our market? 

More EV News

Kia reports that its global vehicle sales in November increased by 1.7% year-over-year to 260,227 units. After 11 months of 2023, the South Korean brand sold 2,872,092 vehicles (up 7.7% year-over-year).

These positive numbers are accompanied by even better sales results for all-electric cars, which proves that the brand's electrification is in full swing.

Get Fully Charged

Kia's EVs have been a major success story for 2023

While other "legacy" automakers often struggle with all-electric car production, Kia has had a great year of sales—and more models are coming soon. The top models for the company right now are the EV6 and EV9.

Last month, the wholesale shipments (closely related to production) of Kia's E-GMP-based models amounted to 16,916 (up 118% year-over-year), which is an all-time record.

It's also worth noting that the vast majority of Kia's production in South Korea was exported (over 15,000 EV6 and EV9).

Kia reports wholesale sales (on the manufacturer level or plant sales)—unless otherwise specified, the numbers are unaudited and on a preliminary basis.

The wholesale shipments of the all-new Kia EV9 amounted to almost 8,456 units, which is a record and, interestingly, a slightly higher result than in the case of the Kia EV6 (8,108 units).

On top of that comes the newly launched Kia EV5 (352 units), which is produced and currently offered only in China. It's not clear whether the EV5 will ever be introduced in the U.S., but we can safely assume that at some point, we will see a compact, E-GMP-based SUV from Kia in North America, too.

Kia wholesale BEV sales last month (YOY change):

Kia EV6 And EV9 Wholesale Sales – November 2023

So far this year, Kia wholesale shipments of E-GMP-based electric cars exceeded 114,000 (up 41% year-over-year).

Kia wholesale BEV sales year-to-date (YOY change):

Retail sales

In its monthly sales data report, Kia also lists 11,502 retail sales of all-electric cars outside of South Korea, which is about 5.9% of the total retail sales. When combined with sales in South Korea (only models for which data are available), the total is at least 12,973 (up 48% year-over-year).

Kia BEV sales last month (YOY change):

The difference between the recent retail sales and wholesale shipments, clearly indicates that December might be a very strong month—maybe even a record one.

So far this year, the total retail sales of Kia BEVs exceeded 141,000 (up 15% year-over-year), which is five percent of the total volume. For reference, in 2022, the company sold more than 130,000 all-electric cars.

Unfortunately, Kia does not report PHEV numbers.

See also

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: electric bicycles are rapidly reshaping the way people get around all over the world. This trend is most evident in Asia and Europe, as more and more people choose to leave their cars in their garages most of the week, and instead commute around town aboard their e-bikes. Indeed, I rode to the cafe in which I’m writing this article as we speak, and I only ever take my car out on longer trips or when I take my family with me.

While electric bicycle adoption is indeed most widespread in Europe and Asia, the growth of the segment can’t be ignored in the US market, even if for now, it mostly encompasses recreational vehicles and for-sport applications. A report by Business Insider which was echoed by the Office Of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy highlights the growth of the segment in the US market. According to the report, there were 325,000 e-bikes sold in the US in 2018. 2019 saw this drop to 287,000 units, however, when the global pandemic hit, it proved to be a massive boom for the e-bike industry.

Fast forward to 2022, and there were 1.1 million electric bicycles sold in the US, marking an almost 400-percent increase as those sold in 2019. If we look at this from a monetary perspective, 2019 raked in about $240 million in e-bike sales, while 2022 returned a whopping $885.5 million. Yes, the e-bike industry is fast approaching the one billion-dollar mark. In fact, we previously reported that the global e-bike industry could soon amount to $120 billion by 2030. Given the rapid growth of the segment, not just in the US, but the rest of the world, the industry could hit this milestone sooner than expected.

It’s also worth noting however, that while electric bicycle sales have skyrocketed in recent years, this wasn’t without its tradeoff. The non-electric bike market took a hit, with sales slumping by 16 percent in 2022. This is a clear indication that some cyclists are ditching leg-powered machines in favor of electrically assisted ones, and quite frankly, it’s easy to understand why this is the case. As it would turn out, slapping an electric motor onto a bike opens up all sorts of possibilities when it comes to its configuration, and so we’re seeing all sorts of cargo bikes, powerful off-road bikes, and even family e-bikes hit the market.

So, what does the future hold for e-bike adoption in the US? Well, there are currently some pretty attractive incentives for folks who buy an electric car, but the same incentives are hardly present for those looking to commute by bike. This could all be about to change, as the same report by Business Insider highlights that a group of congresspeople reintroduced the Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment (E-BIKE) Act earlier in 2023.

Under the proposal, consumers could enjoy up to a 30-percent discount (up to $1,500 USD) on the purchase of a new e-bike. The law aims not only to make e-bikes more accessible, but also to encourage local governments to invest in bike-friendly infrastructure.

More Fun On Two Wheels:

Source: Business Insider, Office Of Energy Efficiency And Renewable Energy, National Geographic