The Biden Administration is About to Get Serious on Emissions Standards: Report
The tug-of-war that is emissions regulations in this country has seen a remarkable past decade, as the Obama administration instituted some of the strongest emissions regulations in the world before the Trump administration tried to roll them back. Guess what the Biden administration plans to do.
According to the Associated Press, the answer is: a lot, in that the Biden administration wants to get 40 percent of people in EVs by 2030.
Acknowledging Biden’s goal of cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least half by 2030, the rules would begin with the 2023 car model year and start by applying California’s 2019 framework agreement on emissions standards reached between Ford, Volkswagen, Honda, BMW and Volvo, according to three of the officials. The California deal increases the mileage standard and cuts greenhouse gas emissions by 3.7% per year.
Read the article at MSN.
OCTO Telematics and Ford Team Up to Provide More Accurate Auto Insurance Risk Scores
OCTO Telematics announced a new agreement with Ford Motor Company. By leveraging Ford’s connected vehicle data, OCTO will extend its market-leading predictive insurance risk score, OCTO DriveAbility Score.
DriveAbility Score combines Ford connected vehicle data, available on the majority of MY2020 and newer Ford and Lincoln vehicles, in context of factors such as weather and road type, with policy and claim data across a large pool of insurers to provide a score that is not only highly predictive of loss costs but is accurate from the very first trip.
Read the article at Ford Media Center.
Charge Anxiety? Stop Worrying
By Michael Sheldrick, Senior Editor
Range anxiety, a stumbling block for many may be dissipating, thanks largely to battery improvements that already have pushed the average range of today's EVs to over 250 miles. Eventually, 500 miles might be within reach with still-better batteries.
That will put EVs on an equal footing with petroleum fueled vehicles as far as distance, but it still leaves another concern that could be called charge anxiety -- how long it takes to fully charge an empty EV. To be sure, there is lots of talk about fast charging, supercharging, and maybe even “utracharging.”
In reality, range anxiety no longer exists for most day-to-day driving. There’s no need to fill up an electric vehicle, there’s only the need to top it up. That’s because for the foreseeable future, most EVs will likely be charged at home, plugged into a 120-volt outlet, Level 1 charger.
Presently, of the 2 million EVs on the road, 80% of them are charged at home. Estimates are there will be 20 million in the fleet by 2030, and even then, most will still be charged at home.
As EVs Take Off, Washington Considers How to Tax Them
Policymakers are running up against the reality that the main source of highway funding - fuel taxes - has long failed to generate enough revenue for needed infrastructure improvements, and that will only get worse as electric vehicles become a greater share of cars on the road.
But one thing appears to be off the table for now: Asking America's drivers to help foot the bill.
Infrastructure costs also don't have to be borne directly by the users. General fund money - raised by other fees such as sales taxes or income taxes - can be a source of funding.
Read the article at The Columbus Dispatch.
What’s Beyond the Electric Last Mile?
By Kevin Koester, NTEA Senior Director
Electric vehicles. There, now I have your attention.
Automotive headlines today are dominated by news of IPOs, SPACs, pre-orders, and deposits for the growing array of last-mile electric vehicles approaching production in the coming years.
The emphasis on last-mile, while not new, has expanded as various startups shift or increase their focus from retail product development to commercial application. This shift is understandable as commercial fleets have the potential to make or break electric startup launch targets due to bulk order volume potential.
While recently attention has been on the last-mile space and fleets with dominant volumes, more EV startups are investigating the commercial market beyond last-mile delivery — the electric work vehicle.
Whether a pickup, cargo van or incomplete chassis, second-stage manufacturers make a vehicle buyable, even though they may not be the buyer.
