Day: February 19, 2023

Volvo Cars is on track for cost parity between BEV and ICE-powered vehicles by 2025

2023-02-19 / Robert Vinet

VolvoEX90

The company’s chief commercial officer and deputy CEO Bjorn Annwall told CarExpert that, unlike some brands that persist with internal combustion development, Volvo’s commitment to be a battery electric vehicle company by 2030 means it has a potential for cost parity by mid-decade.

“I think it’s really important that you get cost parity between BEV and ICE,” Mr Annwall said.

“Our whole technical roadmap is geared to achieve exactly that, that by mid-decade, the cost for BEV should be same as ICE. And that’s the reason we need to work on optimising the full flow in a different way to get that out.

Read the whole article at CarExpert »

US Foods has received its first zero-emission semi-truck

2023-02-19 / Robert Vinet

US Foods announces initial delivery of battery-electric trucks

US Foods, one of the largest foodservice distributors in the US, has received the company’s first battery-electric powered Freightliner eCascadia semi-truck at its La Mirada, California distribution centre.

US Foods joins other companies that have purchased Freightliner eCascadias. Meijer, Walmart, Sysco, and Schneider are among the companies using the Freightliner EV semis, which debuted in May 2022.

“At US Foods, we are committed to reducing our absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 32.5 percent by 2032, and the deployment of our first zero-emission trucks is a critical step in our long-range plans to achieve this commitment,” said Dan Bennett, vice president of fleet and sustainability at US Foods. “Our ongoing investment in alternative fuel vehicles is a testament to our dedication to reducing the environmental footprint of our growing fleet. We are thrilled to celebrate this meaningful milestone as we continue to increase the sustainability of our operations.”

How the 15-minute city-planning concept became a right-wing conspiracy theory

2023-02-19 / Robert Vinet

It’s a peculiarity of our viral media ecosystem. One day, you’re trying to manage traffic jams in a mid-sized English city; the next you are the foot soldiers of an international conspiracy to lock people in their homes on the orders of the World Economic Forum.

At least, that’s what happened to local politicians in Oxford, England, after Oxfordshire County Councilor Duncan Enright explained to the Sunday Times in October how the university town of 160,000 would try to develop a “15-minute city” of “low-traffic neighborhoods”—assuring that most residents can access goods and services within a short walk or bike ride of home.

Pundits railed against these “tyrannical bureaucrats,” (Jordan Peterson) with their “insidious” and “evil” (Andrew Vobes) “climate change lockdowns,” (Nigel Farage) and “surveillance culture to make Pyongyang envious” (right-leaning news channel GBTV). Last week, a Tory MP asked for an inquiry into the “international socialist concept” on the floor of Parliament, noting that “15-minute cities will cost us our personal freedom.” The power of the English-language meme-o-sphere carried the 15-minute city conspiracy to Canada, Australia, and the United States, and it has flourished on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, prompting two separate debunkings from USA Today and one from Reuters.

Follow this link for the whole article by Henry Grabar, Slate Magazine

Here’s why EV’s really are better and cleaner than gas-burning cars

2023-02-19 / Robert Vinet

EVs use their energy efficiently (Source » Toronto Star)

Social media is riddled with myths put out by electric vehicles skeptics. One of the biggest is the idea that EVs produce more emissions than gas-burning cars if they’re charged on a carbon-heavy electrical grid.

The Star spoke to academics, researchers, and other experts to put three of these falsehoods to rest.

Myth #1: EVs are worse for the climate than ICE cars if they’re charged with dirty electricity.
Myth #2 EVs are worse for the climate than gas cars because of the environmental impact of their batteries.
Myth #3 You have to drive an EV for many years to compensate for the additional emissions produced by its battery manufacturing.

Read Marco Chown Oved’s article at The Star »