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Roadshow
The US House of Representatives passed a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill Friday night, handing President Joe Biden a win. The bill passed the Senate in August and now heads to Biden’s desk to be signed into law.
The bill sets aside $7.5 billion to create a nationwide network of EV charging stations and expedite the adoption of electric cars this decade. Another $65 billion will fund an investment in clean energy and renewables for the nation’s electricity grid, and promises to create a more resilient system. Most notably for the auto industry, the bill boosts the EV tax credit by $5,000.
In a statement, Biden called the bill “a once-in-generation bipartisan infrastructure bill that will create millions of jobs, turn the climate crisis into an opportunity, and put us on a path to win the economic competition for the 21st Century.”
Read the article at Roadshow.
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The Drive
The electric vehicle tax credit in the Build Back Better bill has raised its price ceiling for vans, SUVs, and pickup trucks to $80,000, up from $64,000, $69,000, and $74,000, respectively.
The income levels necessary to be eligible for the credit have gone down. If one’s individual income is above $250,000 or their household income exceeds $500,000, they no longer qualify for the incentive. This is down from $400,000 and $800,000. The $55,000 cap for sedans has stayed where it is, effectively making smaller, more expensive cars less attractive from an incentives standpoint.
Non-unionized domestic automakers like Tesla and Rivian are upset and a company like Lucid, which isn’t unionized and makes no vehicles besides sedans above $55,000, would currently receive little if any of the credit despite being an American company building EVs in Arizona.
Read the article at The Drive.
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Slate
One in three U.S. housing units does not have a garage, according to the 2019 American Housing Survey, and many of those households do not have their own parking spots. Some studies suggest we’ll need as many as one charger for every two electric vehicles.
Where to charge them? Many cities are experimenting with EV charging at the curb and so far, that is working much the same way as street parking: every driver for him or herself.
Even at low voltages, however, curbside charging is a challenge. “You’d think they’d be simple projects—pole-mounted, streetlight-mounted—but the way it’s looking right now is they’re all kind of one-off, and you don’t get a cost reduction from scaling. It’s going to be cheaper to put it in a garage in almost any scenario. Curbside will be a niche.”
Read the article at Slate.
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Photo courtesy of ZipCharge
Autoblog
ZipCharge has launched a new type of charging product for EVs that might be able to convince people worried about range anxiety to switch from gas vehicles.
The British startup has introduced a powerbank for EVs called ZipCharge Go at the Cop26 climate summit. It’s about the size of a suitcase and weighs around 50 pounds — plus, it has wheels and a retractable handle, so users can put it in their trunk and easily take it out when they need to charge.
According to the company, the Go can provide up 20 miles of range after being plugged into the car for 30 minutes. A higher capacity version will be able to provide an EV up to 40 miles of range. The device works with any plug-in hybrid or EV with a Type 2 socket, and it can charge that vehicle to its full capacity between 30 minutes to an hour.
Read the article at Autoblog.
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Ford’s E-Transit pilot began in Europe in August. Now, the company has launched a similar program in the U.S., but here, it will include Ford Pro, a year-old new business within Ford that will offer commercial products, services and distribution.
Initially, Ford will launch its U.S. E-transit Van with two partners: Penske Truck Leasing, and National Grid, an international utility company. Both will take delivery of a pre-production version of Ford’s all new electric van, which will soon begin production for an early 2022 debut at dealers.
The new E-Transit vans and Ford Pro, following the F-150 Lightning are further evidence of Ford’s commitment to commercial fleet vehicles.
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By Ed Pierce, President of ITA Communications. Fleet.
In a recent blog by the marketing firm, Strum, Karen McGaughey, vice president of client services, suggested four ideas to help businesses focus their 2022 marketing planning and budgeting.
As the past year has shown, the “new normal” is defined by uncertainty and disruption. With time to adapt to a chaotic business environment, smart companies have learned the importance of flexibility in planning and budgeting. This year’s supply chip manufacturing disruptions at the beginning of the year turned into a much larger and deeper challenge for a wide and diverse number of industries.
Flexibility
The key to successful marketing planning in this era of unpredictability is striking the right balance between responsiveness and higher costs. Look to construct a balanced plan and budget with a mix of highly nimble investments that deliver more immediate results yet build long-term value.
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Strategy+Business
The best leaders cultivate a climate that is both comfortable and intense. They remove fear and provide the security that invites people to do their best thinking. At the same time, they establish an energizing, intense environment that demands people’s best efforts.
If you want the people on your team to venture beyond artificial job boundaries and do what’s needed, help them see what’s most important at any given time. You can help your team know where to focus by defining the W.I.N. (What’s Important Now) and keeping it front and center.
People generally need two types of information to achieve top performance. The first is clear direction: What is the target, and why is it important? (In other words, the W.I.N.) The second is performance feedback: Am I hitting the target? Am I doing it right?
Think of feedback as critical information—data that people need in order to calibrate and adjust their approach—rather than a critique. When feedback is simply much-needed information, and not a personal judgment, the feedback is easier to both share and receive.
Read the article at Strategy+Business.
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