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GM is heavily investing in solar power agreements for three assembly facilities, including the Newport Solar project site that is expected to generate enough electricity to power 30,000 households annually.
In addition, this week’s EV lineup appears to bring back Road Warrior, with an upgrade, and the Batmobile, with even more elegance. Check out the collection of futuristic concepts as they’ve emerged online.
Electric Cars & SUVs
Archimedes Defense teams up with Unplugged Performance to build apocalypse-ready Cybertrucks
Cadillac reveals opulent Velocity concept: The future of all-electric luxury performance
“Today Cadillac introduced the Opulent Velocity concept vehicle, a pure expression of innovative design and prestigious performance. By combining advanced technology with bespoke luxury, the concept represents the future vision of electric performance for Cadillac V-Series. A pioneer in EV and self-driving technology, Cadillac utilizes both innovations to create two dynamic extremes in Opulent Velocity.”
“Battista Targamerica will receive its world premiere at The Quail, A Motorsport Gathering as part of this month’s Monterey Car Week, the perfect venue for such an exclusive piece of automotive art. A design masterpiece, it is the first client-commissioned coach-built car from Automobili Pininfarina, and as such exemplifies perfectly the brand’s philosophy of ‘Dream Cars, Made Real.’”
“Battista Targamerica shares the crown as Italy’s fastest road-legal car with the Automobili Pininfarina Battista. This electrified masterpiece delivers an unparalleled open-top driving experience, with its four independent electric motors combined with 120kWh lithium-ion battery delivering 1,900hp of power and 2,340Nm of torque. As a result, Battista Targamerica can accelerate from 0–100 km/h in less than two seconds, and has a top speed of more than 300km/h.”
Acura performance EV concept makes global debut at Monterey Car Week
“The new Acura EV will be the first model engineered on an all-new Honda-developed EV Platform, and the first model produced at the new Honda EV Hub in Ohio.”
“Attendees can experience the 2024 Kia EV9 — the first mass market three-row EV SUV in the U.S. — and drive award-winning hybrid, plug-in hybrid and battery electric models.
“With one of the broadest selections of electrified utility vehicles in America, Kia America’s efforts to inform and inspire consumers about the ease and advantages of hybrid and EV ownership continue at this week’s Electrify Expo in San Francisco August 24-25 at Alameda Point.”
Electric Mass Transit
Bus investment grows again with greenest rollout in Europe
“British bus market rises by 61.7% in fifth consecutive quarter of growth. Double deck and minibus demand doubles, with more modest growth for single deck buses. Zero emission buses now a quarter of all new registrations — sustaining the UK as Europe’s biggest market for the greenest buses.”
EV Charging
Fastned grows revenue by 45% and secures record-high number of new locations in H1 2024
- Fastned’s revenue grew strongly, to €37.8 million (+45% vs. H1 2023), driven by the continued strong growth of electric vehicle fleets in Europe (+38% in Fastned’s markets). This leads to increasing and recurring fast charging demand, which Fastned captures with its high-traffic locations and award-winning charging concept.
- Fastned has accelerated the acquisition of high-traffic locations, securing 79 locations in the first half of 2024, our fastest pace ever. With 509 locations signed, we reached the halfway mark in our planned number of secured locations and are fully on track to reach our goal of 1,000 stations by 2030.
- Fastned will expand its Management Board with a new Chief Operating Officer, Françoise Poggi. Previously responsible for Tesla’s European supply chain and with similar roles at Sonos and Cisco Systems, Françoise will be of tremendous value to Fastned, helping us further scale the operating capabilities across geographies.
- Already a top 3 fast-charging company in Western Europe, Fastned is in prime position to charge the growing EV market.
Financial performance
- Profitability rose, with underlying company EBITDA growing by 12%, to €3.2 million. Net profit in H1 2024 was still negative, at -€11.4 million, a consequence of the ongoing large expansion effort.
- Fastned issued a record amount of €61 million in bonds in H1 2024 (including €15.7 million extensions of earlier tranches), funding its expansion effort and leading to an increased cash position of €145.8 million (vs. €132.6 million in H1 2023).
With operating cash flow at -€1.0 million (vs. -€2.5 million in H1 2023), Fastned is on the verge of starting to self-fund investments in new stations.
Noodoe EV OS offered on Siemens NTEP-certified EV charging stations
“Noodoe EV Operating System (EV OS) will be available with Siemens’ state-of-the-art public charging stations in North America in applications that require payment. This integrated solution offers an open, user-friendly experience for EV drivers and a hands-off, automated platform for EV charging service providers.”
Accolades & Renewable Plants for GM
GM signs landmark solar power deal for three assembly plants
“The Newport site generates enough electricity to power 30,000 homes per year.”
“By expanding our renewable electricity portfolio, we are taking a major step forward in reducing our carbon footprint and advancing our broader sustainability goals,” says Rob Threlkeld, GM director of global energy strategy. “This facility not only supports our renewable electricity strategy, but also demonstrates our dedication to a sustainable future for all.”
“We now have in place sourcing agreements from 17 renewable energy plants across 11 states, making GM the automotive industry’s largest buyer of renewable power by capacity1.”
U.S. Department of Energy recognizes Fort Wayne assembly for 30% cut in natural gas use
“General Motors is being recognized by the Department of Energy for an innovative project that reduced natural gas consumption at the company’s Fort Wayne, Indiana, assembly plant by 30%, against a 2019 baseline.
“Today at the plant, Maria Vargas, director of DOE’s Better Climate Challenge, highlighted GM’s leadership in energy efficiency and toured the facility, which repurposes waste heat from gas-powered generators to heat the plant and protect the emergency sprinkler systems from freezing in colder months. GM is working to deploy a similar heat recovery system at St. Catharine’s Propulsion Plant in Ontario, which is expected to be operational next year.”
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