Be The Change
In response to changes in customer needs and the business environment, Nissan has revised its plan to further accelerate electrification.
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. just announced they will be introducing 27 new electrified models, including 19 new EVs, by fiscal year 2030.
In November 2021, Nissan had announced they would have 23 electrified vehicles, including 15 EVs, by 2030.
Congress is getting an earful these days from America’s trade partners about the tax credits it is proposing on electric vehicles (EVs).
The complaint is that these tax credits, as written, are biased against imports, and run afoul of global trade rules. Canada and Mexico, for example, are talking about challenging the tax credits at the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Others, including Korea and Japan, say they might file disputes at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Last week, the European Union (EU) wrote to Senate leadership that, unless rewritten, the EV tax credits “will result in unjustified discrimination” against European cars and car parts. This letter is a game-changer, because the EU is credibly poised to retaliate.
First things first. As I’ve recently written, the tax credits come in at $12,500 per vehicle, but with protectionist fine print. The House’s Build Back Better proposes that $4,500 of this be contingent on the car being made by unionized labor, and that another $500 go to EVs with at least 50 percent U.S. content by value and have a U.S. battery. The full $12,500 tax credit would require both by 2027. The Senate’s version ties $2,500 to final assembly being done by unionized labor, and another $2,500 if the manufacturing facility is located in the US. By 2026, however, the full tax credit would require that both boxes be checked.
Auto industry executives expect electric vehicles will make up just over half of new vehicle sales in the United States and China by 2030, and could do so without receiving government subsidies, according to a new survey by accounting and consulting firm KPMG.
But combustion vehicles, including hybrids, are expected to retain a significant share of most major vehicle markets for years to come, according to KPMG’s latest annual survey of 1,000 auto industry executives.
The speed at which automakers can phase out combustion engines and the carbon dioxide they emit is a pivotal issue for the global auto industry. A group of automakers and countries signed a statement earlier this month calling for phase-out of combustion vehicles globally by 2040, and by 2035 in richer nations.
But the world’s two largest automakers by sales, Volkswagen AG and Toyota Motor Corp, and three of the world’s biggest vehicle-buying nations – China, the United States and Germany – did not sign on.
Subaru Solterra
Subaru took the wraps off the Solterra, its first all-electric SUV.
The automaker will market the model in Canada, Europe, China, Japan, and the USA by the middle of next year and are aiming for 40% of its global sales to be electrified by 2030. By 2035, it wants all sales to be hybrids or EVs.
Meanwhile, CEO Tomomi Nakamura said last year that Subaru didn’t see much evidence Americans want EVs or plug-in hybrids.
Subaru Solterra
Subaru Solterra
The Solterra was jointly developed with Toyota and so resembles the bz4x
Elsewhere » Reuters / Bloomberg / Auto123.com / Slash Gear / Auto Express / CarsUK / Autocar / CNET Roadshow
The Glasgow Declaration on Zero Emission Cars and Vans, announced at the COP26 climate summit, includes a commitment to “work towards all sales of new cars and vans being zero emission globally by 2040, and by no later than 2035 in leading markets”.
Ford, General Motors, Geely-owned Volvo, Daimler-owned Mercedes-Benz, BYD, and Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover all signed the commitment.
Major automakers notably absent include Toyota (unsurprisingly*), Volkswagen, BMW, Renault, Hyundai, Honda, Nissan, and Stellantis.
Toyota Motors is the third most obstructive company in the world, actively lobbying against national climate policies. They are third behind gas and oil giants ExxonMobile and Chevron.
Chinese-owned Sweden-based Volvo has already committed to going fully electric by 2030.
Countries that did sign the declaration include » Austria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, Slovenia, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.
Major auto producing countries notably absent include » China, Germany, Japan, and the United States.
Canadian provinces of British Columbia, and Quebec also committed.
Farizon Homtruck
Geely’s commercial vehicle group, Farizon Auto, is planning to roll out the new Homtruck in 2024 and is targeting international markets too, the divisions CEO Mike Fan told CNBC in an interview on Monday.
“This product is designed and developed facing the global market,” Fan said, according to a CNBC translation, adding that the company would target Europe, Korea, Japan and North America, with the new vehicle.
Geely’s Homtruck launch comes as a number of automakers from Mercedes-owner Daimler to Warren Buffett-backed BYD have announced their own electric trucks. Tesla, which announced its own truck called the Semi in 2017, has delayed production of that vehicle for some time.
Elsewhere » Just Auto
The European Union, Germany, Canada, Japan, Mexico, France, South Korea, Italy and other countries wrote U.S. lawmakers saying a proposed U.S. electric vehicle tax credit violates international trade rules, according to a joint letter made public Saturday.
A group of 25 ambassadors to Washington wrote U.S. lawmakers and the Biden administration late Friday saying “limiting eligibility for the credit to vehicles based on their U.S. domestic assembly and local content is inconsistent with U.S. commitments made under WTO multilateral agreements.”
The U.S. Congress is considering a new $12,500 tax credit that would include $4,500 for union-made U.S. electric vehicles and $500 for U.S.-made batteries. Only U.S. built vehicles would be eligible for the $12,500 credit after 2027, under a House proposal released this week.
Canada and Mexico have issued separate statements in the last week opposing the plan. The U.S. State Department declined to comment Saturday and the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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