Electric Vehicles
It appears that Korean auto manufacturers have a winning combination with their EV lineup. The article Look Out, Jaguar, Mercedes, Audi, & BMW — Kia Niro SUV Has Better Efficiency & Range, At Half The Price! explains why.
Also this week, Audi launched their production version of the e-tron SUV, which will be available for purchase in the second quarter of 2019 with a sticker price of $86,700. The base version will follow starting at $74,800 before tax incentives.
Businesses are looking to expand their fleets with electric vehicles to meet their emissions and sustainability goals. Ikea is quickly shifting to a zero-emissions delivery fleet. “The furniture company would like you to walk or bike to its stores and then have your furniture delivered by a clean Ikea vehicle.” And, your UPS deliveries may soon arrive in electric trucks. “Through its multiple partnerships with EV startups, the company is precipitating a sustainable transformation in the delivery industry.”
Policy
Last week at the Global Climate Action Summit in San Francisco, cities, companies and utilities made unprecedented commitments to accelerate the transition to an electric transportation system. City and business leaders agreed to several coordinated initiatives designed to reach zero emission goals and signal to the automotive industry to move faster on producing electric vehicles for all sectors including buses, trucks and light-duty passenger vehicles.
Infrastructure
In addition to the announcements to increase electric vehicle numbers, charging companies and utilities that supply needed infrastructure to propel the electrification movement also made pledges of significant growth. One example is ChargePoint’s commitment to taking the company from its current 45,000 charging stations to 2.5 million in seven years. Pasquale Romano, president and CEO of ChargePoint said, “we’re at a huge tipping point here, where this thing begins to accelerate very, very quickly.”
Additionally, Amazon is now entering into the home EV charging realm and wants to not only sell them but also install them with a full “turn-key” solution.