Global automakers are planning an unprecedented level of investment to develop electrified vehicles and procure batteries over the next five to 10 years, according to a Reuters analysis of public data.

Carmakers have announced plans to spend at least $300 billion on electrification projects. The lion’s share – some $136 billion – will be directed at the Chinese market, where local brands including SAIC and Great Wall Motors will be joined by multinational joint-venture partners such as VW, Daimler and GM. The second favorite target of investment is Germany, where automakers led by the Volkswagen Group plan to part with $72 billion, followed by the US, which will receive about $34 billion.

The figures from Reuters reflect only planned investments that have been publicly announced, and they don’t include related spending by automotive suppliers, technology companies and corporations in other industries. The total amount spent on R&D, engineering, production tooling and procurement is expected to be much higher.

Announced investments in electrification:

• Volkswagen Group: $91 billion
• Daimler: $42 billion
• Hyundai/Kia: $20 billion
• Changan (China): $15 billion
• Toyota: $13.5 billion
• Ford: $11 billion
• Fiat Chrysler: $10 billion
• Nissan: $10 billion
• Renault: $10 billion
• Tesla: $10 billion
• GM: $8 billion
• Great Wall (China): $8 billion
• BMW/Mini: $6.5 billion
• GAC (China): $6.5 billion
• Anhui Jianghuai Automobile (JAC, China): $6 billion
• Mahindra (India): $5.5 billion
• Geely (China): $5 billion
• SAIC (China): $5 billion
• Dongfeng (China): $4.5 billion
• BYD (China): $3.86 billion
• BAIC (China): $2.45 billion
• Jaguar Land Rover: $2.34 billion
• Tata (India): $0.9 billion
• PSA Peugeot Citroen: $0.77 billion
• Volvo: $0.725 billion
• Honda: $0.545 billion
• Chery (China): $0.435 billion
• FAW (China): $0.25 billion
• Mazda: $0.25 billion

Source: Reuters

Source: Electric Vehicles Magazine

Tesla is expected to soon introduce its new Autopilot Hardware 3, which consists of a new neural net computer that they claimed will be the ‘world’s most advanced computer for autonomous driving’. It will become standard on all its vehicles and be offered as a retrofit.

Now Electrek has learned of a leak of the computer’s diagram as a new standard part in Model 3. more…

The post Tesla leaks new self-driving Autopilot hardware 3.0 computer diagram ahead of launch appeared first on Electrek.

Source: Charge Forward

Traditionally, funding to maintain road and highway infrastructure comes from a gasoline tax, which means drivers of ICE vehicles contribute to the fund in proportion to how much they drive. However, the rise of EVs could cause receipts from gas taxes to dwindle.

California, the state with the highest level of EV adoption (and the most losses in gas tax revenue), currently addresses this issue with an annual $100 EV registration fee that goes towards maintaining roads. However, a new research report indicates that this approach is both unsustainable and inequitable.

“The registration fee is not a sustainable mechanism to provide adequate funding as California transitions towards ZEVs [zero emission vehicles],” states the report from the University of California, Davis’s Institute of Transportation Studies. “Additionally, the fee detracts from the market adoption of ZEV technologies by as much as a 20% decrease in new ZEV sales.”

The proposed solution? Instead of an annual EV fee, the report suggests implementing a road user charge, or RUC. In this model, drivers are charged a fee in proportion to how many miles they actually drive. In theory, the RUC could be applied to all vehicles. However, the report concludes that it would be most cost-effective to keep the gasoline tax for gas-powered vehicles, and impose the RUC only on EV drivers.

“Our analysis suggests that the best solution for creating a sustainable, robust funding system is an RUC program applied only to ZEVs (allowing the parallel gasoline tax to gradually atrophy and eventually disappear),” concludes the report.

Source: University of California, Davis via Green Car Congress

Source: Electric Vehicles Magazine

Tesla is working to expand on its TeslaCam dashcam feature with a ‘Sentry Mode’ for 360° surveillance and it’s “coming soon”, according to Elon Musk. more…

The post Tesla is working on ‘Sentry Mode’ for 360° dashcam surveillance, says Elon Musk appeared first on Electrek.

Source: Charge Forward

General Motors will partner with EVgo, ChargePoint and Greenlots, three of the US’s largest charging networks, to give its customers access to over 31,000 charging ports. GM plans to aggregate dynamic data from each of the networks to offer owners of the Chevrolet Bolt EV a more seamless charging experience.

GM expects to finalize the terms of its collaboration with the three networks during the first quarter of 2019.

The myChevrolet app will soon incorporate dynamic information received from the three networks, including real-time data on charging station uptime, availability and compatibility with the Bolt. GM also expects to make enrollment for the networks easier by creating an app interface to streamline charger access, and potentially to allow activation of a charging session using the app instead of a membership card.

“GM believes in an all-electric future, and this is a significant step to make charging easier for our customers,” said Doug Parks, GM’s VP of Autonomous and Electric Vehicle Programs. “By collaborating with these three companies, we expect to reduce barriers to create a stronger EV infrastructure for the future.”

Source: General Motors

Source: Electric Vehicles Magazine

Toyota and Panasonic have confirmed that they are starting a wide-ranging new battery joint-venture to manufacture and sell battery cells for electric vehicles. more…

The post Toyota and Panasonic confirm wide-ranging new battery partnership for electric vehicles appeared first on Electrek.

Source: Charge Forward