EV News Round Up

Welcome to another week of Electric Vehicle (EV) news as July kicks off. Consumer Reports released a study that more consumers than ever are willing to drive an EV as gas prices soar and technology improves. Rivian announced they manufactured more than 4000 EVs in their last quarter and are hoping to reach 25,000 by the end of the year. SparkCharge, a mobile EV charging company, has announced free charging for the month by way of their app. That, and more! Let us know your thoughts @REACHStrategies.  

Smart Features

• The mobile charging company, SparkCharge, is offering free charging delivery services in July if EV drivers use its Currently EV Charging App. 

Legislation/Reports

• The Federal Highway Administration has released regulations that would require charging stations funded by the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program to ensure those units are not in danger of 100-year flood locations and are installed at emergency sites during natural disasters. 
• A study by Geotab reported that fleets could replace up to 45% of trucks with electric trucks to save money and still achieve their day-to-day results. With our current infrastructure, 76% of trucks can be replaced by their EV counterpart and not run out of battery during their daily operations. At least 56% of trucks could go electric and save the company money over seven years and work various hours due to quieter drivetrain.   
• Consumer Reports conducted a national survey that found consumers’ interest to buy EVs is growing compared to previous years, thanks to technology, range, and infrastructure improvements to assuage fears and anxiety over range and battery depletion. 

EV for Business

• Rivian produced more than 4,000 EVs last quarter, almost half of their total production thanks to supply chain issues beginning to resolve. They are targeting 25,000 vehicles manufactured by the end of the year. 
• Automaker VinFast is entering the North American market in a few years and has partnered with the solid-state battery manufacturer ProLogium which will provide VinFast’s vehicles with solid-state batteries by 2024.

Energy News

• A study done by Nikkei revealed Toyota has the most solid-state patents for battery technology. 
• EVCS, an EV charging network, received a new round of funding to expand out of the west coast and into more territories to increase the number of fast-charging stations they have from 600 to 1500.  

Hardware

• Volkswagen broke ground on its first EV cell gigafactory in Germany that will be able to supply 500,000 EVs a year and reduce battery costs up to 50%. The groundwork for this factory is a model for future sites and plans to expand into North America at the end of the decade.