I recently had the chance to visit the Los Angeles Auto Show and I was amazed at the number of electric vehicle (EV) offerings. The first time I had visited the show in 2015, there were only a handful of EVs scattered among hundreds of gasoline cars and trucks, while this year many automakers had EVs front and center in their displays.
From prototype promises to real EVs
One constant in auto shows is the display of concept cars and prototypes. In prior years, the EV “cars of the future” often outnumbered the EVs that were actually for sale at dealers.
Electric pickup trucks like this Ford F-150 Lightning havemuch lowerglobal warming emissions than comparable gasoline trucks, even when accounting for electricity generation and manufacturing emissions.
However, most of the EVs at the show were vehicles currently on sale and represented a wide range of vehicles. There are several crossover SUV models now available, such as the Hyundai Ioniq 5, VW ID.4, and Nissan Ayria. Automakers are also starting to make EVs available in the pickup truck segment. Electrifying pickup trucks is important to reduce emissions because gasoline pickup trucks produce much more global warming pollution per mile driven compared to the average car.
To be sure, this year there were also EV prototypes on display, but most were vehicles that are slated to arrive for sale in the US in 2023 or 2024 rather than mere concepts. For example, General Motors’ display featured a fully-electric pickup (Chevrolet Silverado) that goes on sale in the first half of 2023 for fleet customers, as well as two fully electric SUV models also slated for next year.
Prototype EVs like the Chevrolet Equinox SUV and Volkswagen ID.Buzz van are promised to arrive for sale soon.
EVs mean not just new models, but also new automakers
The switch from gasoline to electric drive of course means new models, often with better performance and new features. But switching to electricity has also opened the door to new automakers, as complex engines with proprietary technologies are replaced with comparatively simpler electric motors and batteries. This year’s auto show marked the debut of VinFast, which plans on starting deliveries of their fully-electric SUVs to US customers next month. New EV companies like Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, and VinFast mean new opportunities for car buyers to choose an EV for their next purchase and will also likely push existing automakers to move quicker to electrify their offerings.
Electric vehicles are allowing new automakers to enter the market providing more choices (like this VinFast EV SUV) for buyers.
Regulations still important to ensure the transition to EV accelerates
Even with the progress we are seeing in the availability of EV models now, policies like the Zero Emissions Vehicle regulations are still important. While many automakers are bringing EV options to buyers today, some are lagging behind. For example, Honda (the 4th largest selling brand in California) does not currently have an EV offering. To ensure we reduce climate-changing emissions, we will need to see progress from all automakers. In California, 35 percent of all model year 2026 new cars will need to be zero emission models (battery electric, plug-in hybrid, or fuel cell electric), increasing to 100 percent by 2035.
Some automakers (like Tesla and Rivian) are already at 100 percent EV sales and others like Volvo have pledged to go all electric before 2035. However, having the ZEV regulation means that all automakers will have to soon ramp up their transition to EVs.
And while this transition is happening in California first, other states have the ability to adopt these regulations to ensure availability of new EVs for buyers in their state.
Colorado’s second-largest electricity provider — the Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association — is set to lose nearly a quarter of its revenue as member electric cooperatives wholly or partially leave the group, a potentially crippling blow.
But what it will mean for the nonprofit provider of wholesale power to 42 rural co-ops in four states, including 17 in Colorado with 862,000 customers, remains uncertain as it awaits decisions in several cases pending before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC.
What is clear, executives at member co-ops, industry analysts, and competing power wholesalers say, is that the 75-year-old Tri-State is at a crossroads.
Some cooperatives are looking to generate more of their own electricity or buy it on the open market, hence the loss of revenue. At the same time, there is increasing pressure on the association, once heavily powered by coal-fired generation, to move to wind, solar and energy storage.
“The all-powerful generation and transmission model that has dominated the West is breaking down,” said Seth Feaster, an energy analyst with the nonprofit Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. “Tri-State is not going to come out of this process the way it looked before.”
Generation and transmission associations, known as G&Ts, were created to provide power to even the smallest, far-flung rural co-ops relying on large central power stations and tens of thousands of miles of transmission lines.
“The goal was reliable power … and the G&T model with a central station was the way to do that,” Tri-State CEO Duane Highley said.
Much has changed, however, since Tri-State was created in 1952. Electricity generation has become more decentralized with solar panels and battery storage. Regional grids and wholesale markets have grown. The costs of wind and solar generation keep dropping, and some co-ops are growing restless.
Connexus Energy, the largest co-op in Minnesota’s Great River Energy G&T, is leaving the group, although it will continue to buy power from it. Last May, cooperatives in North Dakota and South Carolina each unsuccessfully went to court to break long-term, wholesale power contracts.
“The interest in smaller, more local decision making is something you see across the country,” said Robin Lunt, chief strategy officer for Denver-based Guzman Energy, a power wholesaler that was instrumental in helping two cooperatives leave Tri-State. “There are a lot of forces pushing toward more local generation decisions.”
In response, Tri-State is offering more flexible contracts, agreeing to a massive shift to 70% renewable generation by 2030, and working closely with member cooperatives on projects such as microgrids and electric school buses.
“Tri-State has evolved in trying to respond to members’ needs and the market,” said Jasen Bronec, who as CEO of the Delta-Montrose Electric Association oversaw the Colorado co-op’s exit from Tri-State in 2020. “It is a business decision by Tri-State to the question of how they can remain relevant.”
“A lot of co-ops are looking at how they can decentralize, be nimbler and better serve their members,” said Bronec, now head of the cooperative Inland Power & Light Co., in Spokane, Washington.
For Tri-State, the most contentious driver of change is the announced 2024 departure of the association’s largest and fastest-growing cooperative, Brighton-based United Power, serving 250,000 Front Range residential, commercial and industrial consumers.
In 2010, United accounted for about 10% of member co-op revenues. Today it is 18% and is projected to be 25% of Tri-State revenue by 2050, according to an association FERC filing.
Member co-ops must buy 95% of their electricity from Tri-State under 50-year contracts with the association, but at least 10 co-ops have pushed back on the requirement based on price, the dominance of coal-fired power or a desire to have locally based, clean generation.
Foremost among those is United Power, which has been trying to develop its own renewable generation and energy storage and is chafing at Tri-State’s wholesale prices, which are higher than those of Colorado’s largest electricity provider, Xcel Energy, which serves neighboring areas.
United and Tri-State have been battling at FERC over the cooperative’s breakup fee. Tri-State calculated the exit payment at $1.6 billion. United put it closer to $250 million.
In September, an initial decision by a FERC administrative law judge rejected both the Tri-State and United exit formulas and endorsed, with modifications, an approach proposed by FERC staff.
“We have some real clarity now,” United CEO Mark Gabriel said. “The initial decision gave a lot of direction in the exit payment and how to disentangle some of the contractual engagements.”
Highley, however, said the initial decision is just one step and that both sides are filing responses to it. The full commission will make the ultimate ruling.
Using the FERC method, United developed a spreadsheet that calculated its exit fee at $378 million, but in a November filing Tri-State argued that “in this document United manufactures evidence to bolster and re-cast its case after the record has been set.”
“We know we are going to be slugging it out for a year if not two or three,” Highley said.
Two other co-ops — Kit Carson Electric Cooperative in Taos, New Mexico, and Delta-Montrose — have left Tri-State. Kit Carson paid a $37 million exit fee in 2016 and four years later DMEA paid $136.5 million.
“Tri-State can’t get into a vicious cycle of losing members and raising rates,” Feaster said. “They have to stanch some of the pace of attrition.”
Tri-State’s debt burden is heavy
Moving to create more flexibility, Tri-State this year offered partial contracts, which would enable a co-op to increase its local generation above the 5% cap.
The Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association, the second-largest co-op representing about 8.6% of member revenues, and the La Plata Electric Association, the fourth-largest co-op with 5.4% of sales, both chose to get half of their electricity outside of Tri-State.
Four smaller cooperatives also opted to get at least some additional electricity from sources other than Tri-State.
While that is another sliver of revenue Tri-State is set to lose, the contracts — also pending before FERC — are designed to balance the interests of the co-ops and the association.
“We’ve come to a mutual understanding that if some of us co-ops leave with a partial contract that is a win-win for Tri-State,” said Jessica Matlock, La Plata’s CEO. “Tri-State needs to take this opportunity to change their model.”
While Tri-State does forgo some revenue, the association’s long-term debt obligations are accounted for and that is a total of 300 megawatts of generating capacity it doesn’t have to spend money to build.
“They are capacity-constrained and by relieving some of that capacity relieves some of the pressure on them,” Matlock said.
The 50-year contracts were not designed as some instrument of servitude, but to assure a steady flow of revenues so the association could borrow the money to construct 10 generating stations, including six coal plants, and nearly 5,800 miles of transmission lines to serve 1.2 million consumers across 200,000 square miles of Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico.
Power-generating towers under construction in the Crossing Trails Wind Farm on the border of Cheyenne and Kit Carson counties in eastern Colorado. The 104 megawatt farm came online in 2021. Tri-State Generation and Transmission purchases power from the $145 million system that generates enough electricity to power 38,000 homes. (Provided by Tri-State Generation and Transmission)
Unlike an investor-owned utility, like Xcel Energy, Tri-State can’t raise money by issuing stock. It relies on the debt and bond markets.
Tri-State is heavily leveraged with debt accounting for 72% of its capital structure, according to its 2021 annual report filed with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission, compared to as low as 40% debt exposure for an investor-owned utility.
That is the reason Tri-State sought an exit fee that included all the electricity United would have bought under the long-term contract. The FERC judge, Renee Terry, called the association’s arguments “unpersuasive.”
The lost-revenue formula “provides a windfall to Tri-State, and it will improperly deter members from considering departure,” Terry said in her decision.
United’s Gabriel said his cooperative’s main obligation is to pay for its portion of the long-term debt.
At the end of 2021, Tri-State had $3.2 billion in long-term debt, most of it under an agreement with bondholders called a master indenture, according to a company SEC filing.
A master indenture outlines rules and performance standards for the borrower to protect the bondholders, and Tri-State’s has debt covenants requiring the association to maintain a set level of revenue to debt service and balance between debt and equity.
Failure to maintain those ratios would give bondholders the option of seeking immediate repayments.
A co-op member leaving “under terms that trigger these debt covenants and any lender acts to enforce its rights … would likely put Tri-State into financial distress, and possibly even into bankruptcy,” the association said in a FERC filing.
“The big question is whether Tri-State has the financial stability to weather United’s leaving,” said Eric Frankowski, executive director of the nonprofit Western Clean Energy Campaign.
But Ron Lehr, chairman of the consulting group New Energy Economics and former Colorado PUC chairman, said these aren’t decisions made based simply on mathematical ratios.
“You have to get the creditors on board with the transition you are planning,” Lehr said. “If they are OK, you are OK. … There is a dance that is done in municipal finance.” As a nonprofit, Tri-State has access to the cheaper municipal bond market.
All this is taking place at a time when the entire utility industry is facing its greatest upheaval in 30 years, according to Travis Miller, an industry analyst with the financial services company Morningstar.
Miller evaluates publicly traded utilities so doesn’t follow Tri-State, but he said there were some general trends with which all utilities are struggling.
“Utilities across the board have a lot of different challenges from reliability to environmental to renewable energy integration,” Miller said. “There are a lot of competing interests who see utilities as the means to achieve their agenda.”
Financially, two pressure points are operating expenses and financing costs. “Managing operating costs in the industry right now is a critical financial consideration,” Miller said. “How do you spread operating costs across the customer base?”
In general, utilities, whether investor-owned or municipal, have enjoyed among the lowest borrowing rates because of their stable revenues. “Utilities have benefited from three decades of falling cost of capital, but as interest rates go up and markets become more volatile utilities could lose that tailwind,” Miller said.
At the end of 2021 Tri-State had about $500 million in debt with variable rates, according to an SEC filing. “The rates on this debt could increase,” the company said.
“The big challenge for Tri-State is to work out their uneconomic assets while they move to new generation,” Lehr said.
A big aid in making the transition could be two programs in the federal Inflation Reduction Act passed in August.
One is a $5 billion fund to back low-cost loans to utilities for closing coal-fired plants and another is a $9.7 billion financial assistance program to help electric cooperatives purchase or build clean energy systems.
Highley was on the steering committee of the Rural Power Coalition, which lobbied Congress to include the programs in the act’s $391 billion energy and climate package.
Tri-State’s plan for the future is in its $21 billion Electric Resource Plan, or ERP, which the association submitted to the Colorado PUC in January. It was a settlement agreement with parties including state energy and utility officials, unions, consumer and environmental groups and renewable energy industry trade associations.
Tri-State was required to submit such a plan to the PUC for the first time under a law passed by the legislature in 2019.
The resource plan calls for closing its remaining coal-fired units in Colorado, cutting the company’s greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from 2005 levels and getting 70% of its electricity from renewable generation by 2030.
In 2021, Tri-State added two new wind projects with a total 304 megawatts and plans to add six solar projects by 2024, at which point 50% of its electricity will come from renewable sources, the company said.
“The ERP we settled was a tremendous success,” said Ellen Howard Kutzer, an attorney with the environmental group Western Resource Advocates, one of the settlement parties. “We really want to see that move forward.”
All those changes must be made at the same time Tri-State is losing demand for its electricity. “The Tri-State system as designed is not a simple thing to downsize,” Kutzer said.
In 2023, Tri-State will submit an ERP planning scenario to the PUC including the loss of the United Power electricity demand.
“If we can get certainty on when they are leaving, we can build a resource plan around that,” Highley said.
The major initiatives at Tri-State have come since Highley became CEO in 2019, but he says that there is full support for change from the board, which has representatives from each member cooperative. “I take my direction from my board,” Highley said. “Most decisions are unanimous.”
6 years after exiting, Kit Carson drops rates 34%
As for those cooperatives that have struck out on their own, their executives say they have reaped benefits with the departures.
Both Delta-Montrose and Kit Carson were helped by power wholesaler Guzman Energy in financing their exits from Tri-State. The co-ops are paying back the exit fees through their initial electricity purchases from Guzman.
As early as 2010, Kit Carson proposed to Tri-State that the co-op incrementally increase its share of local generation to 10%. “We got nowhere,” said Luis Reyes, the Taos, New Mexico, cooperative’s CEO.
After leaving Tri-State, Guzman Energy became the cooperative’s power supplier on a contract that ran until 2026 with fixed electricity rates. Kit Carson was free to build as much local generation as it could manage.
Today, there are 41 megawatts of new solar generation in the co-op’s service area, half of it owned locally, and 17 megawatts of battery storage. During the daytime 100% of the community’s electricity demand is met by solar.
Now, Kit Carson is exploring, in conjunction with the federal energy laboratories and Chevron Corp., the development of a green hydrogen project at the site of a shuttered molybdenum mine. Chevron owns the mine. “If we were still with Tri-State, we wouldn’t be having this discussion,” Reyes said.
In July, Kit Carson finished paying back the exit fee to Guzman and electricity rates for customers dropped 34%. “We are going to see that rate go down more over the next two years,” Reyes said.
While Tri-State is cutting its rates 8% between 2020 and 2023, Reyes questions whether they will be able to hold the line. “You have three of their biggest co-ops leaving and those are the ones that are growing,” he said. “If they don’t get growth, it will be really hard for Tri-State to be able to hold rates steady.”
United is already looking past Tri-State. In the short to midterm the cooperative will rely on purchase power contracts as new local generating capacity is planned, Gabriel said.
“We have 35 bidders for our load,” he said. “I am excited that the construction will be in our footprint, solar farms, batteries and natural gas.”
At the same time, the cooperative will promote the adoption of rooftop solar and electric vehicles — there are already 9,000 solar installations and more than 5,800 EVs and plug-in-hybrids in the service area, Gabriel said.
Further down the road, United is exploring the possibility of geothermal energy using abandoned oil and gas wells in its area.
How will United finance all of this and the exit fee? Through savings from being able to buy cheaper electricity, Gabriel said.
United is paying Tri-State close to $75 a delivered megawatt-hour, Gabriel said, while the bids from outside suppliers are coming in $15 to $18 a megawatt-hour cheaper. “Even a $10 delta pays off a lot of things,” he said. “Sometimes you just have to invest in the future.”
Tri-State is changing, even executives at United and the other co-ops that have left the association agree, but some say it isn’t changing fast enough.
“I do see changes happening,” La Plata’s Matlock said. “I see that Duane is trying to make changes, but he can’t go too fast.”
Highley said that while the association is “accelerating this clean energy transition,” it must be done while ensuring reliability and stable rates.
“There is a tension here between changing as quickly as you can and being responsive to its members and the reality that Tri-State is a utility and has to plan long term,” Feaster said. “Transitions are hard.”
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November 30, 2022 at 05:21PM
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Colorado's second-largest electric provider is set to lose 25% of its revenue as customers flee - The Colorado Sun
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New Yorkers are expected to see electric bills increase by more than 30% this winter compared to last year in wake of various national and geopolitical factors keeping the cost of natural gas and electricity elevated.
Inflation, ongoing supply issues from the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine continue to keep energy costs significantly higher, but New York's power grid has a sufficient supply of energy and won't be strained to carry the state through the winter season, according to an assessment Monday by New York Independent System Operator.
"We're well-positioned to meet this winter's forecast," said Kevin Lanahan, NYISO's vice president of external affairs and corporate communications.
Experts with New York Independent System Operator, which is responsible for the functioning of the state's electricity grid, estimate the state's power system will have a surplus of 1,620 megawatts at peak demand.
"The real concern we have is whether or not that's going to impact fuel supplies here in the state," Lanahan said. "Right now, it doesn't look like that's an issue, but the pricing issue is definitely something that we're concerned about and we want to make sure consumers understand going into the heating season."
The higher prices, with increases between 30 and 40%, aren't expected to turn around before the spring thaw. The price of fuel and natural gas directly impact the cost of electricity.
NYISO has been working with transmission owners and utilities around the state to make sure customers are aware of the expected cost increases.
"We expect high prices going into the new year," Lanahan said.
He added that lawmakers and state officials must be aware of the forecasted increases they can't control and sustained impact on taxpayers.
Utility companies are bracing themselves for more consumers struggling to pay their energy bills.
Last week, National Grid announced it would donate $6 million to customers struggling to pay their bills with the higher costs this season. The utility's one-time program is separate from available federal and state assistance, and is expected to help an additional 31,500 New York households that do not qualify for the Home Energy Assistance Program or other aid.
"[We] will try to help those kinds of customers who just don't make the cut-off for the federal programs and things like that," National Grid spokesman Patrick Stella said. "It's some of the things we're trying to do just to prepare and help customers that may be financially in trouble during the winter season."
The company estimates a 39% increase for its natural gas customers this winter compared to last, and an overall 22% increase for customers across upstate New York.
Demand on the state's electric system is increasing as buildings and vehicles shift to electricity in an effort to not rely on using fossil fuels.
National Grid has plans to be fossil fuel-free by 2050 to stay on pace with the state's climate goals outlined in the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act that requires the state to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 85% by 2050.
National Grid has started system upgrades in preparation for a higher reliance on electric energy.
"There's going to be much more load on these electric systems than there has been in the past, so we're trying to build them," Stella said. "We're trying to build more capacity and early on."
NYISO leaders Monday said the new solar and wind investments to reduce state emissions generate 700 megawatts to New York's system. That's enough to power over 100,000 homes.
But NYISO experts added that isn't enough to replace retiring fossil fuel systems — especially after 2025 — and stressed it's an area policymakers must focus on next session.
In today’s world, electricity is essential. American families rely on electricity daily to heat and cool their homes, wash their clothes, cook their meals, charge their phones, turn on the lights and connect to the world. And while it might seem like magic, electricity is not generated out of thin air. We expect the lights to turn on when we flip a switch and our phones to charge when we plug them into an outlet. Our energy policies must reflect these expectations and ensure that our families, businesses, and communities have access to safe, reliable, and affordable electricity.
Over the last few years, green-energy absolutists and federal policymakers have prioritized an untenable, unrealistic, and costly energy agenda over commonsense policies to power our country and provide American families with reliable, affordable energy. This detrimental agenda for American-made energy at the highest levels of government has caused gas increases and volatile electricity costs. Even worse, these policies have the potential to be particularly catastrophic for our rural communities, farm families and main street businesses.
As opposed to states like California, whose one-size-fits-all energy policies impose production restrictions that lead to blackouts and high costs, Iowa is home to 48 locally owned, community-focused electric cooperatives that prioritize reliability and affordability for the more than 650,000 Iowans and 210,000 businesses, homes, and farms that they serve. Thanks to local governance and diversified power generation sources, the average co-op member household in Iowa pays about $5 a day for electricity and Iowa electric cooperatives have returned more than $300 million to their member-owners in the form of retired capital credits. These low costs and attractive returns are only possible due to a commonsense management approach that empowers electric cooperatives to invest in the most productive and cost-effective power sources for their member-consumers. We urge national policymakers to do the same.
To support a robust cooperative ecosystem and expand abundant supplies of affordable electricity, lawmakers must prioritize economic and energy certainty for electric cooperatives by advancing an all-of-the-above American energy strategy that prioritizes permitting reform and provides low-interest capital for community development projects.
First, reliable and affordable electricity generation requires source flexibility and policy malleability. In other words, Congress should embrace an all-of-the-above energy agenda that ensures that Iowans can access affordable electricity when and where they need it, while simultaneously investing in renewable energy sources that are abundant in Iowa like wind power. To date, Iowa electric co-ops have invested in 33 wind farms, over a dozen utility-scale and community based solar projects, 4 landfill gas projects, 5 methane digesters and multiple hydroelectric stations to complement more traditional power sources like natural gas and coal. Some co-ops are also looking at small-scale nuclear technology as another dispatchable power generation option. Additionally, Iowa electric co-ops have interconnected roughly 2,200 member-owned generation installations as a demonstration of support for an all-inclusive generation mix, even from non-utility locations. By allowing local cooperatives to determine the best, most comprehensive energy strategy for their consumers, our families, farms, and businesses benefit from lower costs, energy security and vital investments in our rural communities.
Second, Congress needs to prioritize federal regulatory and permitting reform. While a great deal of buzz was generated during the end of September over this issue, we are confident that a serious debate is needed over how the federal government can facilitate the development of critical energy and transmission projects. As firm believers in local control, we believe the value of energy infrastructure is best determined by those who will benefit from a particular project. Allowing utilities and the people they serve to have a voice in where a transmission line might be located and who might pay for it is important. The federal government isn’t always in the best position to tell the American people what is in their best interests locally.
Finally, we need to protect and strengthen the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant program, which powers economic and community development and keeps families and good-paying jobs in rural Iowa. This program provides zero-interest loans of up to $1 million to local utilities and cooperatives, which are then tasked with passing this funding along to small businesses and community organizations to support initiatives that create jobs, enhance economic opportunity, revitalize main streets, and aid small businesses in rural America. Ensuring that our rural communities have access to the capital and credit they need to strengthen long-term economic vitality and attract new residents and businesses to populate small, vibrant towns must be a top priority of the 118th Congress and the upcoming farm bill reauthorization.
Electric cooperatives play a crucial role in delivering safe, affordable, and reliable electricity to hundreds of thousands of Iowans and tens of millions of Americans. In both the long and short term, the largest threat to our nation’s energy producers and electricity distributors remains federal overreach and unrealistic mandates. Therefore, it is the responsibility of Congress to eliminate red tape that hinders their ability to power our businesses, homes, hospitals, and farms and to instead provide them with the flexibility to streamline baseload power generation and diversify their power sources. Our laws must allow electric cooperatives to do what they do best: power our local economies and provide our thriving communities with reliable, affordable electric power that we all rely on every day.
Randy Feenstra represents the 4th District of Iowa and Chuck Soderberg is executive vice president and general manager of the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives
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November 28, 2022 at 11:00PM
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Protecting America’s abundant supply of reliable, affordable electric power - The Hill
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Japan is known as a hub of automotive markets. The big giants in the automotive industry like Toyota, Honda, Mazda, and Nissan are from Japan. In developing countries, there is a great demand for Japanese as well as Chinese cars because they are fuel efficient.
The main challenge that people face in developing countries is that they don’t find sphere parts of the car and if they find them, they are very expensive. To make cars available in another country, you must translate the user manual of the car into a language that the customer understands.
Difference Between Japanese and Chinese Automotive Markets
There is no doubt that Japan has a huge automotive industry but you will be surprised to know that the penetration of new energy vehicles in Japan is only 1 percent as compared to 15 percent in China. The statistics showed that NEV sales from 2018 to 2021 were only 4 percent of the total sales in China in 2021.
Thus it shows that Japan is not an enticing market for EV manufacturing. Therefore, the Japanese government is taking interest in EVs sales by providing subsidies to the automotive industry so that they can make EV manufacturing units.
The important thing to note is that cars, whether it is fuel-consumption cars or EVs, are not manufactured in a single country.
Sphere parts of the vehicle are imported from another country and are assembled in another country. If you want to assemble an EV car in Japan then you must go for automotive translation services. This translation service will help you in assembling the car without any difficulty.
Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle and Battery Electric Vehicles and their Future
Fuel cell electric Vehicles and Battery electric vehicles are the talks of the town because of the hike in fuel prices. Countries like Japan and South Korea are of the view that the future of the automotive industry lies in hydrogen fuel. However, China is making emphasis on battery electric vehicles.
To understand the views of these three countries, technical translation services can be of great help to you. One of the leading NEV manufacturers such as Tesla has taken the China NEV market to the top by achieving 50 percent of the market share this year.
If you compare fuel-cell electric vehicles with battery-electric vehicles then you will come to know that fuel-cell electric vehicles give more advantages because of the favorable infrastructure provided by different enterprises and governments.
On the other hand, an electric vehicle is ahead in terms of unit price and price of usage. The dynamics of both the technologies can be understood with the help of technical and engineering translation services.
Looking at the current macroeconomic conditions, to increase the use of fuel-cell electric vehicles, the automotive industry and governments of different countries need to take infrastructure initiatives.
To understand the difference of use between the fuel cell electric vehicle and battery electric vehicle, you must take the assistance of an automotive translation company.
The Emergence of BYD in the Japanese Electric Car Market
China’s BYD which is a giant Chinese automaker in Guangdong and Shenzhen provinces launched three electric cars in Japan. The names of these cars are Atto 3, Seal, and Dolphin. The Japanese electric car market is not so massive so let’s have a look at how BYD has made an entry into the Japanese electric market.
BYD is not a new internet in Japan because it is already selling electric buses in Japan. Moreover, BYD’s good ties with the companies like Kansai Electric Power Company, Keihan Bus Company, and Toyota give it a thorough knowledge of the consumption patterns of Japanese people.
It is providing better services in terms of fuel consumption and mileage.
The Japanese government should help BYD to increase the number of charging points and charging stations. The main difference between China and Japan is that there are a large number of charging points and charging stations in China as compared to Japan. So it is required that Japan should invest in charging stations and charging points. For this reason, the Japanese government is providing subsidies so that people can open EV charging stations.
The Japanese people have unique tastes in electronic products. For example, most people like to purchase iPhone SE. However, Japanese people like to buy smartphones with bigger screens. They have the same taste for vehicles. The Kei car category, which is the smallest car category, is very popular in the local market of Japan.
Out of the three models that BYD launched in Japan, the Dolphin car is similar to the Kei car. Some of the reasons that Kia cars got popular in Japan are:
Streets in major cities of Japan are narrow
Parking space is limited
In Japan, you will find many mountain roads
China EV Challenges and Opportunities
Opposite to traditional internal combustion engines, China is playing an important role in the NEV. At present, innovative technologies like electronic control systems, motors, and batteries are being developed in China.
It is very surprising that China’s NEV is dominating the global market immensely. China’s traditional and NEV companies strategically want to enter foreign markets and for entering the overseas markets, they should take the services of a translation services company to mitigate the communication barriers.
China, the US, and Europe are flourishing markers of EVs. The remaining part of the world is in the educational and learning phase. In this regard, NEV manufacturers should come up with a comprehensive strategy to tap into markets like Japan.
Cost is the main factor that plays an important part in the replacement of a previous vehicle. Chinese NEV makers should control the prices and try to manufacture the components of the car in the country.
Wrapping Up
Unlike other fields, the use of technology adaptation in the automotive industry is very important. Innovative features of the car, fuel efficiency, and affordability of the car will make people move towards fuel Cell electric vehicles and Battery electric vehicles.
To tap into Japan with NEV technology, you must take the assistance of professional translation companies so that people can adapt to the new technology easily.
VinFast—an electric carmaker backed by Vietnam’s richest man, Pham Nhat Vuong—is shipping its first batch of electric sports utility vehicles to the U.S., challenging billionaire Elon Musk’s Tesla in his home market.
The 999 VF 8 SUVs were loaded to the Silver Queen—a Panamanian charter ship—in Vietnam’s northern port city of Haiphong on Friday and expected to arrive in California by mid-December, in time for delivery to U.S. customers by year end, VinFast said in a statement. The EVs are part of the 65,000 global orders that the company aims to deliver to customers around the world, with shipments to Canada and Europe expected to arrive in early 2023, it added.
“The export of the first VF 8s is a significant event for VinFast and VinGroup and a proud historical milestone for the Vietnamese automotive industry,” Nguyen Viet Quang, vice chairman and CEO of Vingroup, said. “It affirms that Vietnam has successfully produced high quality electric vehicles that are ready to compete in the international market.”
VinFast has been working on producing EVs to compete in the global market in recent years, beefing up its management by recruiting senior executives from major car manufacturers such as Tesla, BMW, Porsche, Toyota and Nissan. The company has set up branches across the U.S., Canada, and Europe in preparation for the global launch of its smart electric cars.
Besides car manufacturing, VinFast’s controlling shareholder Vuong has interests in real estate, retail, consumer electronics and healthcare through VinGroup, Vietnam’s largest conglomerate by market value. He is the country’s richest person with a net worth of $4.3 billion, according to the Forbes real-time ranking of billionaires.
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November 27, 2022 at 02:58PM
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Vietnamese Billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong-Backed VinFast Ships First Batch Of Electric SUVs To U.S. - Forbes
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The holiday season is here, meaning there are delicious treats around every corner just waiting to be eaten. Chocolate, gingerbread cookies, and candy canes don’t have to come with painful cavities if you arm yourself with a quality electric toothbrush, which is all the more reason to stock up on oral health products to keep your pearly whites clean and strong. With features like timer settings, pressure sensors, and adjustable smart modes, electric toothbrushes are superior to manual toothbrushes in preventing cavities and serious gum diseases like gingivitis. And though electric toothbrushes are usually more expensive than manual ones, there’s no better time than Black Friday to snag an electric toothbrush for a fraction of the usual price.
While an electric toothbrush may not be the most exciting item on your Black Friday shopping list, it’s important to have an upgrade often nonetheless. Whether you’re looking for something lighter and low-key or more heavy-duty, there are plenty of discounted electric toothbrushes to choose from this weekend. And though electric toothbrush prices can cost more than $350 for the most expensive models, we’ve found deals as low as $10. So, to help you narrow your search, we’ve researched the best options on the market.
Here are the best Black Friday deals on electric toothbrushes.
The Oral-B iO Series 3 electric toothbrush removes up to 400% more plaque than regular toothbrushes, includes a two-minute timer, and boasts three smart modes—daily clean, whiten, and sensitive. Users also say the smart pressure sensor is a game-changer. One reviewer wrote that the sensor helps with periodontitis (which is an oral disease that causes inflamed gums). The customer raved, “I would give more than five stars if I could.”
Clean your teeth without causing gum recession with the Philips Sonicare 3100 electric toothbrush. This toothbrush includes a pressure sensor that flashes a red light to indicate that it’s time to ease off your gums and teeth. The toothbrush is also easy to maneuver and provides a narrow brush head that works well for people with smaller mouths. One user, in particular, said in a review, “...I have an extremely small mouth, and it's small enough to get into the back … without hurting my jaw.” Though we don’t believe that’s a deterrent for anyone with a larger mouth, this electric toothbrush is powerful enough to get the job done on anyone’s teeth.
We lab-tested this electric toothbrush, and it proved to be a winner. We loved that it came with extra brush heads to save money and provided a built-in timer to remind you to switch sides. It offers five modes to choose from—including whiten, sensitive, and polish—and each is highly effective. Our tester said, "It cleaned my teeth and got the sticky dried mango out in a two-minute brushing session.” The Phylian Sonic electric toothbrush is also great for anyone who travels often or likes to brush their teeth mid-day, as its rechargeable battery lasts up to 60 days after a single three-hour charge.
More deals on electric toothbrushes:
By Loren Brutsch
Combining her love of wellness and her love of writing—Loren specializes in creating content that promotes healthy living.
The New Hampshire Electric Cooperative has a new president. Alyssa Clemsen Roberts started in September as energy rates had begun skyrocketing and many in the state worried how they would afford their electric bills during an exceptionally expensive winter.
Clemsen Roberts, who replaces outgoing President Steve Camerino, spoke with the Bulletin last month about the volatile energy market, what the co-op is doing about skyrocketing electricity costs, and how to get more women working in energy.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Alyssa Clemsen Roberts became the president of the New Hampshire Electric Cooperative in September. (Courtesy)
The energy market is so crazy right now, and it’s top of the mind for many people. Unfortunately, it’s a time where people are really hurting. The co-op’s rates have gone up, but not as much as those of regulated utilities. (In New Hampshire, that includes Eversource, Liberty and Unitil.)
What are your thoughts on that and what is the co-op going to do to insulate members moving forward?
I want to make sure that I’m fair when we talk about the regulated utilities. The reason we’re able to be a little more innovative about how we procure power is because we’re not regulated. They’re following a prescribed statute on how they do things. So what they’re doing is not wrong – it’s really what they’re obligated to do from my understanding.
We at the co-op are able to do things a little bit differently. But also, everyone is feeling the pinch. We’re not immune. We are constantly trying to find creative ways to do things – to do more with less, like everyone is.
Right now, the entire country is facing some of these issues. The New England ISO (the region’s independent grid operator) clearly is having more pressure. They’ve talked about not having enough power to provide energy to all of New Hampshire and the New England area. I think we’re just going to continue to see things happen like this.
So, what can be done about it?
We just started talking about how we procure power. We have been buying tranches of power to cover our power supply for not only this period, but for the next, trying to make sure that we’re not at such a high level of market risk. We have some small amount of renewables, but we’re talking about looking at expanding that as well.
We are supportive of our members adding solar. You’ve got the distributed energy resources (like rooftop solar, for example). I think we need to start talking about calls to conserve and how we educate our members. It’s better to conserve, than to not be able to provide power.
How does the region’s dependence on natural gas play into this?
I also think we’ve got to figure out what we’re doing with natural gas, because we know the distribution of natural gas is difficult in New England. So when you’re using it to heat, and you’re using it for energy, those two interests become competing, which drives up the cost. And we know that we have finite amounts of pipelines to deliver it.
So there’s all of these things happening. And I would just say we are, like everyone, trying to put some safeguards in place.
Right now, we are in the planning stage and making some efforts to secure some short-term power contracts to keep things from getting more volatile for our members and shift risk away from the organization.
In New Hampshire, energy is a relatively male-dominated field. You came to the co-op after working in Colorado. Is that the case there as well?
It definitely is. There have been pretty big strides taken, I would say, over the last five to 10 years. More and more women, you’re seeing them take the helm of some pretty good-sized utilities. But especially in the co-op-world it’s been maybe a little slower to move that way. I think when you can bring some diversity to the table, it’s always a good thing, right? Because then you get diversity of experience, diversity of thought, diversity of ideas.
Why has diversifying the field been a challenge?
Well, I think its role models. It’s easier when you have someone to follow – when they’ve done this and you can see a path. I sit on a call once a month with a group of women CEOs. We talk about this all the time: How do we mentor? How do you deal with challenges that you face being a woman in this world?
I didn’t have any female mentors in the industry. And that’s something that a lot of the women CEOs that I talk to today, we all talk about, we did not have that person actually working in industry that was like us.
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Talking energy with the new head of the NH Electric Co-op – New Hampshire Bulletin - New Hampshire Bulletin
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November 22, 2022, 5:08 PM HST * Updated November 22, 9:09 PM
Hawaiian Electric is once again asking its Big Island customers to limit their electricity use, this time until 9 p.m. today.
The utility company says the need for conservation is being prompted by the unexpected loss of several of its large generators. In addition, wind resources are forecast to be lower than usual and electricity demand has been unusually high since last week because of humid weather.
Hawaiian Electric’s combustion turbine CT-1 unit and steam generator Hill 6 are offline for emergency repairs and annual steam turbine maintenance work continues at Keahole Power Plant. In addition, one unit at Hāmākua Energy, an independent power producer that supplies electricity to the Hawaiian Electric grid, remains offline because of unexpected issues.
Combined, these units usually supply about 66 megawatts of power. Independent power producer Puna Geothermal Venture’s output also is lower than expected.
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The evening peak demand is when electricity use is highest. Using less electricity from 5-9 p.m. helps ensure enough power is available during those hours. Conservation methods include turning off air conditioners and unnecessary lighting, shutting off water heaters and delaying activities such as cooking, showering, laundry and dishwashing.
Larger commercial customers, including government, hotels and retailers, are also being asked to voluntarily reduce electricity use.
If necessary, rolling 30-minute outages will be initiated to protect the electric system and prevent loss of power to an even greater number of customers. The impacted areas and the timing of the outages would be based on the amount of electric demand that needs to be reduced.
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Hawaiian Electric will notify customers in advance through social media if rolling outages are necessary. Please check @HIElectricLight on Twitter for updates.
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Hawaiian Electric asks Big Island customers to again reduce electricity use - Big Island Now
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With the global automotive market shifting towards electrification at an unprecedented rate, electric cars or EVs are slated to become the next generation of personal transportation.
By 2040, an estimated 40 million units of EVs are expected to hit the roads, essentially replacing the IC engine. Several manufacturers have already shifted their focus on EV platforms and the latest entry into the segment is the Mazda MX-30, the company’s first all-electric offering.
Taking the MX-30 as an example, we can see how far the EV industry has come over the years. Mixing style and practicality with its rear-hinged doors, the 2022 MX-30 is as good as a modern EV can get.
Along with Mazda, several other manufacturers have already released their offerings including the Ford Mustang Mach E, Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, and more.
Like most of its competitors, the Mazda MX-30 gets a fairly large 30 kWh battery pack that promises a range of around 100 miles per charge. While this is lower than most of its rivals, the battery is capable of fast charging through a DC fast charger.
Mazda also limits its latest EV to just one electric motor that produces just over 140 hp. With no dual-motor setup, all-wheel drive is not available even as an option. However, a plug-in hybrid version is slated to launch shortly, bringing all-wheel-drive to its inventory.
As expected, the MX-30 is slower than its competitors in terms of acceleration. However, Mazda has worked on the driving dynamics and it can be quite fun to drive when pushed around corners, but the limited performance spoils the whole experience. Fortunately, the MX-30 is more affordable than its rivals, starting at just over $34,000.
While there is a noticeable increase in performance and reliability, the biggest reason to consider EVs as the future is zero-emission. Because electricity is stored in the battery and is used to power the car, all-electric vehicles produce no emissions.
Although the initial offerings suffered from range anxiety and lackluster performance that couldn’t match their IC counterparts, this field has seen significant development over the last decade, matching and even exceeding the latest IC cars, both in terms of performance and reliability.
Shortly, EVs are expected to get even better and more advanced as the whole industry shifts its focus to electric mobility.
Let’s take a look at some of the main reasons why the automotive future is electric.
Lower running costs and fuss-free ownership
One of the most noticeable advantages of switching to an EV is the significant cost savings on running and maintenance. Unlike an IC car, an all-electric car will require a lot less maintenance as the powertrain is a lot simpler. Repair costs are also less as there are less moving components to go wrong.
The move to EVs will also reduce our dependence on oil. They are a lot more convenient to own as they won’t require a trip to the gas station every so often. Most owners can easily charge their EVs, especially if they opt for home charging.
Better for the environment
Since an EV doesn’t use a traditional IC engine, there is little to no emission in the long run. Even with the current adoption rate, carbon dioxide emissions are significantly reduced, limiting pollution and smog.
As the environment recovers from high pollution levels, the better air quality as the result of EVs will lead to less health issues in general. Limiting pollution is the single biggest reason for the switch to EVs, and there are several government incentives to help ease the switch and make the whole transition cheaper.
Improved performance and driving experience
Because of the simpler powertrain and refined nature of EVs, they are less stressful to drive around in. With little to no vibrations and noise, drivers will be able to focus on their driving. Other than the faint whining of the electric motor, only the tire and wind noise are heard inside the cabin.
Noise pollution levels will also decrease significantly. The driving dynamics are also better in most cases as the weight is balanced better thanks to the under-floor battery pack. The low center of gravity also means better cornering ability and reduced aerodynamic drag.
Significant tech improvements in modern EVs
While initial EV offerings could only travel less than 100 miles, current Tesla Model 3 and Nissan LEAF e+ can easily cross the 200-mile mark. Adding to the ownership experience is the fast-growing charging infrastructure.
With the latest battery technologies, most EVs can be topped up in under an hour when using fast chargers, making them nearly as convenient as filling up with gas. As expected, the charging time is expected to decrease, bridging the gap even further.
Growing market share with plenty of options
Gone are the days when EVs were limited to small city cars. Nowadays, there are different types of EVs to choose from, ranging from sleek sports cars to large three-row SUVs.
Advancements in the EV space have allowed manufacturers to even develop pickup trucks and long-range delivery trucks, bringing them one step closer to taking over the market from their IC counterparts.
Customers looking at hybrid variants for better fuel economy and range can also safely make the switch to EVs now as they don’t suffer from range anxiety. As the market grows for EVs, the prices are also expected to reduce.
Rivian CEO Robert Joseph Scaringe, better known as RJ, is living his lifelong dream. Getting here though has required dedication to a vision that once seemed nearly impossible. Even now, as the company’s assembly lines have started churning out its electric vehicles, success still isn’t assured.
Rivian’s off-road-capable trucks and SUVs have won awards and customers adore them. And production is ramping up — albeit more slowly than investors might like — with a second shift recently added at Rivian’s Illinois factory.
But Rivian is also burning through money, recording a net loss of $1.4 billion in the most recent quarter. With a new factory planned in Georgia along with a planned expansion of its Illinois plant, even Rivian’s nearly $14 billion in cash reserves can’t last forever. And just last summer, the company laid off 6% of its then 14,000-strong workforce, citing rising costs for supplies and climbing interest rates.
Meanwhile, Rivian’s early advantage in the EV space is shrinking, with competition from the likes of GM and Ford growing fiercer by the day.
Yet despite all the strains, it’s clear this is exactly where Scaringe wants to be. The 39-year-old is running the car company he founded, building electric vehicles he helped engineer and design.
A Rivian R1T pickup truck at the company's manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois.
Jamie Kelter Davis/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Ever since he was a child growing up in Melbourne, Florida, Scaringe wanted to start his own car company. He had developed a reputation as an automotive savant and tinkered on cars in his spare time, even keeping parts in his bedroom.
At the time, the idea of starting a car company seemed very farfetched. The last successful American automotive “startup” before Tesla was Chrysler, which was founded in 1925. Even then, though, Walter Chrysler took over the assets of a faltering automaker, he didn’t start from scratch. Also, Chrysler had long worked in the industry, running General Motors’ Buick division before striking out on his own. Scaringe, on the other hand, started cold, with no experience working in the industry.
Scaringe doesn’t seem like the sort of person given to rash leaps into the unknown. Clean shaven, he wears square, dark-rimmed glasses and his hair is trimmed in a conservative Clark Kent style. He has, no doubt, had a few sleepless nights pushing Rivian through its infancy, but he almost never appears in public looking anything but rested and groomed.
His approach to starting Rivian has also been careful and deliberate. After high school, Scaringe went to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in New York — his father’s alma mater — earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. After that, he went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to get his master’s degree and then a Ph.D. at MIT’s Sloan Automotive Lab, both in mechanical engineering.
After earning his Ph.D., Scaringe didn’t take his hard-learned knowledge to any of the established automakers. Instead, he sought investors for his own company.
Robert Joseph "RJ" Scaringe, Rivian's founder and CEO, said he had wanted to start a car company since he was a child.
Paul Sancya/AP
“As part of my graduate work, and a lot of things I was doing, I realized the likelihood of me learning the appropriate skills working at a car company was not super high,” Scaringe told CNN Business.
For him, engineering vehicles for another company that weren’t the ones he envisioned, would have been the definition of failure. As he saw it, joining a big automaker would have reduced his chances of success to zero.
“It’s also a question of time,” Scaringe said. “If you’re going to spend five years doing something, the utility of those five years would be best served by working on the problems of starting a company and learning the things that are… You know, all the hard mistakes.”
Starting from scratch
In 2009, Scaringe went back home to Florida and started making those hard mistakes.
Initially named Mainstream Motors, his new company had a number of small investors, including his father, who mortgaged his home to help get it off the ground. Scaringe also mortgaged a house he had bought with money he’d earned working various jobs while in high school.
Scaringe renamed the company Avera briefly; then renamed it again, in 2011, as Rivian. He found investors, hired engineers out of college and burned through lots of ideas, he said. (The company’s headquarters have also moved twice since then and are now based in Irvine, California.)
During those early years, Scaringe puzzled over exactly what sort of vehicles his company should build. He had long been aware that automobiles, the machines that fascinated him, caused a lot of environmental damage, something that, he said, “bummed me out a lot.”
He wanted a world in which automobiles weren’t wrecking the planet.
“What’s the right thing to help shift consumer mindset, help shift the industry’s understanding of the space?” he said. “So the ideas were really broad. Everything from different powertrains, to the size of the vehicle, type of vehicles, number of wheels on the vehicle, all those kinds of things.”
Scaringe watches as workers build chassis at Rivian's electric vehicle plant in Normal, Illinois.
Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service/Getty Images
Finally, Scaringe and a small group of engineers settled on designing and building a hybrid sports car. That idea propelled the company for a couple of years, he said, before it was scrapped for something entirely different. There was no sudden shift, Scaringe said, just a gradual realization that the hybrid concept wasn’t radical enough.
“One of the really incredible things about the early days of the company was the ability, because of the lack of capital, because of the lack of scale, to rapidly move around in terms of what the business strategy was or the product strategy was,” he said.
Scaringe, along with his dozen or so employees, pivoted to working on fully electric off-road vehicles. They unveiled the company’s first two models, the R1T truck and the R1S SUV, at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2018, not long after Rivian had purchased a former Mitsubishi factory in rural Illinois to build them.
At the time the R1T and R1S were introduced, there was hardly anything on the market like them. There were electric cars, yes, but the idea of electric pickups and off-road-capable SUVs was still relatively novel. Most electric vehicles were focused on simply trying to get a few people and, maybe, some baggage, as far as possible before needing to recharge. Most EV makers weren’t thinking about hauling gear or going camping.
Rivian’s luxurious off-road vehicles were venturing into new territory in more ways than one.
Facing new competition
The R1T and R1S are now finding homes in customers’ driveways, but things have changed since they were first unveiled. Where once Rivian had only to distinguish its electric vehicle offerings from Tesla’s, now there’s much more competition.
In 2021, Ford revealed the F-150 Lightning electric truck, which went into production this year. GM also went into production with its GMC Hummer EV this year, and unveiled two other electric trucks in addition to several electric SUVs at a range of price points. Tesla revealed the Cybertruck about a year after Rivian’s unveiling, but it still hasn’t gone into production.
Still, Rivian’s vehicles occupy fairly unique industry niches. The R1T, for example, isn’t marketed as a work truck like the Ford Lightning. Its got more of a campsite, rather than job site, vibe. The R1S’s appeal goes the other way. It’s more of a serious off-road capable SUV with an emphasis on cargo-carrying capability. Prices for both start in the $70,000 range, comfortably in luxury vehicle territory.
The R1T won MotorTrend’s Truck of the Year award last year, making Rivian the first automaker ever to win that award with its first product.
The company has delivered about 14,000 vehicles, but still has an order backlog of 114,000. Over time, though, the difference between Rivian’s products and those that could be bought more easily or cheaply from an established automaker could become lost on shoppers.
Another hurdle Scaringe is facing: More established car and truck brands have vast dealer networks and huge advertising budgets. For its part, Rivian follows Tesla’s model, selling directly to customers through its website without relying on franchised dealers as laws in many states require. It can be a challenge, even as Rivian sells a tiny fraction of the number of trucks that a company like GM or Ford sells, but Scaringe insists the direct customer relationship is too valuable to hand off to independent dealerships.
Amazon, a major investor in Rivian, has ordered 100,000 of its electric delivery vans.
Jamie Kelter Davis/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Scaringe said he’s not concerned about competition and, in fact, welcomes it, since one of his goals has been to shift the industry toward electric vehicles.
Rivian also makes the EDV, or Electric Delivery Van, for just one customer — but a vitally important one, Amazon. The online retailer, which now owns almost one-fifth of the company, has agreed to buy 100,000 electric vans.
Even with the billions of dollars in funding and thousands of orders, Rivian remains unprofitable. Cars are complex, highly regulated products that are expensive to develop and the factories that build them are costly to set up and run. “We do not expect to be profitable for the foreseeable future as we invest in our business,” the company said in its most recent quarterly financial filing.
As their names imply, the R1S and R1T are just Rivian’s first products. Others are in development. While Scaringe is keeping mum on the details, he did list a few key attributes he thinks future Rivians must have.
“The efficacy of getting a whole bike in or out of the vehicle is something that’s really important in the future for us,” he said. “The ability to put a car seat in the back, the ability to throw gear in the front trunk. These are all really important things for us as a brand because we want you to be able to take your friends, your things, your pets, your stuff to all the places you want to go in the world.”
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Rivian's founder had an early advantage with his electric truck. Now rivals GM and Ford are closing in - CNN
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