Fisker announces 50k Ocean reservations alongside new details and image of the PEAR

Fresh off a promising annual call with shareholders yesterday, Fisker Inc. is back with additional news pertaining to its first two EV models. In addition to confirming 50,000 reservations for its flagship Ocean SUV, Fisker has shared a second image of the upcoming PEAR along with additional details.

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Source: Charge Forward

NovaCHARGE to sell its charging hardware and software in Costa Rica

Florida-based EVSE manufacturer NovaCHARGE will now sell its charging hardware and software in Costa Rica through strategic partner Costa Rica Solar Solutions.

NovaCHARGE’s products include the NC8000 Level 2 charger, and the ChargeUP Network, which provides an online management dashboard for remote administrative control, load management and reporting.

Costa Rica has been promoting green energy for many years. It currently boasts over 140 public charging sites, and its park of electric vehicles has grown from 247 in 2010 to over 5,000 in 2022.

“As one of the longest-standing solar and energy storage providers in Costa Rica, we are excited to partner up with NovaCHARGE to offer a new solution for electric vehicle charging,” said Scott Benson, CEO of Costa Rica Solar Solutions. “With our strong presence across Costa Rica and our growth in other Central American countries, we look forward to leading the way with NovaCHARGE to an EV-centric future.”

“Already EV sales are taking off in Costa Rica, and we’ll be perfectly placed to help accelerate the adoption of EV infrastructure across the country,” said NovaCHARGE CEO Oscar Rodriguez. “Our commitment to open standards in the EV charging industry brings flexible business models for retail, workplace, MDU (Multiple Dwelling Unit), and fleet operators, while delivering reliable and sustainable EV infrastructure that delivers a higher ROI.”

Even as automakers push EVs, they continue lobbying against climate action

Automakers are continuing to improve their electric vehicles, expanding the selection of models, and (finally!) running some substantial ad campaigns for their EV offerings. Some of them are talking huge games for the future, making headlines with plans to introduce dozens of new EVs, and even to phase out gas-burners.

However (surprise, surprise), most of the companies’ production plans fall far short of the grandiose (but vague) goals found in their press releases. Furthermore, most of them are actively lobbying against climate action by governments.

According to a new report by InfluenceMap, as it stands now, major automakers will fail to meet the necessary goals to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees C, the level that many scientists consider the threshold for avoiding catastrophic and irreversible damage to the Earth’s climate.

The report compared automakers’ production forecasts to the International Energy Agency’s 2050 road map, which found that 57.5% of light-duty vehicle sales must be zero-emission by 2030 in order to keep temperatures below the 1.5-degree level.

The report graded 12 automakers in terms of their future production plans and lobbying efforts—and 11 of them fell short. Current industry production forecasts may even put the world on track to exceed 2 degrees C of warming.

The report noted that most companies tend to advocate for better climate policy in direct proportion to their future EV production goals. BMW, Stellantis, and Mercedes are exceptions—all have publicly announced ambitious electrification plans, but behind the scenes, they actively lobby against climate action.

Companies’ regional sales targets reflect the level of pro-EV government policy (or the lack thereof). For example, Toyota says it plans to make EVs 49% of its sales in the EU by 2029, but in the US, where federal climate policy is far weaker, the automaker predicts that only 3% of its sales (!) will be EVs by that date.

Automotive industry lobbying groups consistently oppose climate action by governments, and every automaker named in the report—except Tesla—participates in at least one lobbying group that is actively fighting against anti-pollution regulations.

Tesla, the only company that sells no fossil fuel vehicles, was the only one that earned a decent grade—a B—for its lobbying efforts. InfluenceMap found that, although the company generally lobbies in the right direction, its lobbying activities are less extensive and less effective than those of legacy automakers. (InfluenceMap didn’t comment on the company’s CEO, who has called for increased oil drilling, and supports politicians who are strong foes of action on climate change.)

Outside of the big three auto markets—China, the EU and North America—the situation is even worse. Automakers’ plans to sell EVs in developing markets are miniscule, and in fact, they are widely expected to expand their policies of dumping their most polluting vehicles in countries that already struggle with some of the world’s worst air pollution.