Feds Announce Historic $9.2B Loan for Ford EV Battery Venture
The Department of Energy plans to loan $9.2 billion to a joint venture between Ford Motor Co. and South Korean battery maker SK On Co. for its battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee.
Ford has estimated that the projects will create 11,000 jobs and DOE says it will create more than 120 gigawatt hours of U.S. battery production annually.
Ford Treasurer Dave Webb said in a statement Thursday that the company welcomes the agency's support for the BlueOval SK project.
Queensland Police New EV Patrol Car: ‘Most Powerful in our Fleet’
The Queensland Police Force unveiled its first fully electric highway patrol car on Wednesday, a top of the range Kia EV6 GT Line. The GT-Line AWD version does 0-100 in 5.2 seconds and has 484 km of range, making it an ideal highway patrol car.
According to acting assistant commissioner Matthew Vanderbyl, the 239 kW all-electric model makes the EV6 “the most powerful vehicle in our fleet”.
Last month NSW police announced their first electric vehicle, a BMW iX while earlier this month Western Australia Police took delivery of their first EV patrol car, a Hyundai Ioniq 5. Victorian Police started testing a Tesla Model X as a highway patrol car back in 2019.
Auto Retailers: Take the Lead in Resolving Vehicle Recalls
Automotive recalls have dominated headlines recently, from NHTSA urging an auto supplier to recall 67 million airbag inflators to a major OEM recalling nearly 700,000 vehicles for potential injury to children due to a defective seat latch.
According to NHTSA, the vehicle repair rate was only 52% for recalls issued in 2021, and from 2011 to 2021, the recall completion rate hovered between a low of 52% to a high of 72.9%. That leaves millions of unrepaired vehicles on our roads today, putting people needlessly at risk.
Dealers can play a significant role in helping reduce the overall number of vehicles with recalls. Reaching out to owners of these vehicles and getting them into the dealership drives revenue and builds better customer relationships.
Trucking Operating Costs Hit Record in 2022: ATRI
Last year it cost more than an average $90 per hour to operate a truck, breaking the 2021 record as the most expensive year in trucking, the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) says.
Despite the rising costs, fleets managed to improve some operational factors such as driver turnover and equipment utilization, ATRI says in the report.
The trucking industry’s attempts to retain and hire drivers are reflected in the 12.3% increase in total driver compensation. Driver wages grew over 15%, and ATRI says this is the fastest pace it has observed to date.
Stellantis, Foxconn Partner to Create Auto-centric Microchip Company
Stellantis and Hon Hai Technology Group (Foxconn) are creating a semiconductor chip company with a focus on the automotive industry.
The company will be called SiliconAuto and will be an equal partner joint venture based in the Netherlands. The new company will begin supplying Stellantis and others with industry-centric microchips in 2026.
“Stellantis will benefit from a robust supply of essential components, which is critical to fueling the rapid, software-defined transformation of our products,” said Stellantis chief technology officer Ned Curic.
