Mumbai, India – A.P. Moller – Maersk (OTC: AMKBY) has the ambition to be Net Zero across business and provide customers with 100% green solutions by 2040. To achieve this goal, there is a strong need to decarbonise logistics at every stage. It is important not only for Maersk to achieve these sustainability goals but for the customers too, who are demanding environmentally friendly solutions that would decarbonise their supply chains.
In September 2022, Maersk unveiled its three-wheeler and four-wheeler EV’s in Mumbai, India and soon rolled them out for its first customer in the NCR region. Since then, the awareness around EV’s that can support distribution logistics in India has risen, and with that has come an unprecedented demand from several customers.
Maersk has recently tied up with a large e-Commerce platform in India to support its distribution requirements with a dedicated fleet of EV’s that range in the capacity of 550 to 700 Kgs with a driving range of over 120 km. Over 200+ vehicles have already been deployed across 15 cities, and more than 300 EV’s.
So far, Maersk’s EV fleet has covered more than 135,000 km. Maersk is also investing in creating a charging network for its fleet of EV’s, including the option to harness solar energy at its own facilities for warehouses across the country.
Fifteen public buses in Vancouver, Canada, will be fitted with BAE Systems’ (London: BA.L) all-electric propulsion system, allowing them to run free of emissions. The fleet is the first in North America to benefit from the next-generation Series-EV zero emission technology.
Series-EV eliminates the need for traditional combustion engines through the use of electric motors, controls, and batteries, creating a clean and efficient mode of transportation. The latest version of BAE Systems’ technology uses fewer, lighter, and more compact components. Its light weight, reduced number of connections, and use of advanced materials make it easy to install and extremely efficient, enabling the buses to travel longer distances on a single charge.
“The deployment of clean transportation in our cities is critical to reach a zero emission future,” said Steve Trichka, vice president and general manager of Power & Propulsion Solutions at BAE Systems. “Our Series-EV system will help Vancouver take a major step towards full electrification of its bus fleet, and will help to improve air quality throughout the city.”
BAE Systems’ Series-EV system builds on more than 25 years of innovation and proven technology that powers buses around the world. The company’s all-electric systems are on buses in service throughout Europe, including cities such as London and Paris.
BAE Systems has more than 13,000 propulsion systems in service on transit buses around the globe. Each year those systems contribute to a cleaner world by saving more than 28 million gallons of fuel and eliminating 313,000 tons of carbon dioxide each year across the globe – the equivalent of taking 54,000 cars off the road or planting four million trees.
BAE Systems develops and services its technology at its facilities in Endicott, New York, and Rochester, UK.
(Reuters) – Electric carmaker Tesla Inc is negotiating possible incentives with a Texas county that could bring a new auto assembly plant to the area near Austin, the state capital, the Austin American-Statesman reported on Monday.
Travis County Commissioners Court is scheduled to discuss terms of the deal on Tuesday, the paper reported, citing people with knowledge of the situation. A vote is expected in the coming weeks.
The paper said it was unclear whether negotiations with Travis County show that Tesla has picked the Austin region as the site for the plant, which would build the company’s electric pickup truck and Model Y SUV and employ thousands of people, or if the company is also negotiating with officials in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Tesla officials could not immediately be reached to comment. The company’s chief executive, Elon Musk, has tweeted previously about the possibility of bringing a plant to Texas. Oklahoma also has been mentioned as a possible site.
Travis County officials declined to comment, and a spokesman for the Texas governor’s office did not immediately comment.
Last month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said he had spoken with Musk about a potential plant.
Abbott’s comments came three days after Musk had threatened to move Tesla’s headquarters and future operations to Texas or Nevada after officials in California’s Alameda County, where Tesla’s only U.S. vehicle assembly plant is located, said the plant could not yet reopen because of coronavirus lockdown measures. The plant has since reopened.
Officials with the United Auto Workers union, which represents hourly workers at General Motors Co’s assembly plant in Arlington, Texas, said they believe a Tuesday county meeting will include talks about the possible deal. The union, which has unsuccessfully tried organizing Tesla’s Fremont, California, plant, called on Texas officials to obtain assurances from Tesla about any potential jobs.
(Reporting by Ben Klayman in Detroit and Brad Brooks in Austin, Texas; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)
BEIJING/TOKYO (Reuters) – U.S. electric carmaker Tesla Inc <TSLA> plans to slash on-site staff at its Nevada battery plant by around 75% due to the coronavirus pandemic, the local county manager said on Thursday.
The move comes after its Japanese battery partner Panasonic Corp <6752.T> said it would scale down operations at the Nevada factory this week before closing it for 14 days.
The factory produces electric motors and battery packs for Tesla’s popular Model 3 sedans.
“Tesla has informed us that the Gigafactory in Storey County is reducing on-site staff by roughly 75% in the coming days,” Austin Osborne said in a post on the county’s website.
No further details were available and it was not clear how many employees work in the factory. Tesla did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The Reno Gazette Journal, which earlier reported the planned suspension, said Panasonic has about 3,500 employees at the Nevada plant.
Tesla said last week it would temporarily suspend production at its vehicle factory in San Francisco Bay Area from end of March 23, as well as at its New York solar roof tile factory.
However, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company will reopen the New York plant “as soon as humanly possible” to manufacture ventilators for coronavirus patients.
Two employees of Tesla have tested positive for coronavirus but have been working from home for the past two weeks and had not been symptomatic at work, Tesla said in an email to employees on Thursday. It did not disclose which unit or at what location the employees work.
(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Himani Sarkar)
FILE PHOTO: A sign welcomes visitors to the General Motors Lordstown Complex assembly plant in Warren, Ohio
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Electric pickup truck start-up Lordstown Motors is pursuing a $200 million loan from a U.S. Energy Department program to retool a former General Motors <GM> factory in northeast Ohio, Chief Executive Steve Burns told Reuters.
Burns met with Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette on Monday for about an hour and the company was holding additional talks with officials on Tuesday from the Energy Department’s Loan Program Office.
“We think we are worthy of government help. We don’t want a handout – we want a loan,” Burns told Reuters in an interview. “It’s just going to be more jobs faster if we get it. We are viable without it.”
Burns disclosed the company plans to unveil a drivable version of its electric truck at the Detroit auto show in June. It hopes to begin production by year-end.
The Energy Department declined comment.
Burns said the company hopes to receive funding from the Energy Department’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program that in 2009 awarded loans to Ford Motor Co <F>, Tesla Inc <TSLA> and Nissan Motor Co <NSANY> to retool factories, but has not issued loans since 2011. Nissan and Tesla previously repaid their loans.
The fate of the sprawling plant became a political lightning rod after GM announced its planned closure in November 2018, drawing condemnation from U.S. President Donald Trump and many U.S. lawmakers.
A bipartisan group of Ohio lawmakers wrote Brouillette last week offering “strong support” for the loan, saying northeast Ohio was dealt a “severe blow” by the plant closing.
Lordstown Motors Corp, which is 10% owned by Workhorse Group Inc <WKHS>, bought the plant and equipment for $20 million as part of its ambitious plan to begin building electric pickup trucks by the end of 2020.
“It’s cool to bring something back to life,” Burns said.
The company is working to raise additional funding and is in advanced talks with a large strategic investor, Burns said.
GM last year agreed to loan Lordstown Motors $40 million to acquire and retool the plant. Burns hopes to repay GM’s loan “in a few weeks.”
Burns plans to start crash-testing vehicles in July, hiring about 400 hourly workers in September and to begin production in November or December.
Electric vehicle startup Rivian, backed by Amazon.com Inc <AMZN> and Ford, plans to build an electric pickup truck and companion starting in late 2020. GM plans to build its first electric pickup truck starting in late 2021. Tesla plans to start building its electric Cybertruck in late 2021.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
Porsche announced on Monday the expansion of its electric-vehicle lineup. A month after revealing its Taycan Turbo and Turbo S, Porsche debuted its “entry-level model,” the Taycan 4S.
Taycan 4S pricing starts at $103,800 — a steal compared to the $150,900 Taycan Turbo or $185,000 Turbo S, but far less accessible than other EVs on the market.
Porsche is owned by Volkswagen AG.
How The 4S Compares In The Series
The Taycan 4S comes in a Performance Battery version (79.2 kiloWatts per hour) and a Performance Battery Plus version (93.4 kiloWatts per hour), each of which is less powerful than the original models. The 4S delivers up to 420 kiloWatts (630 horsepower) compared to the Turbo’s 500 kiloWatts and the Turbo S’s 560.
July 1 (Reuters) – Lucid Motors said on Monday it hired Tesla Inc’s former vice president of production at its Freemont factory, Peter Hochholdinger, as vice president of manufacturing.
The Newark, California-based electric carmaker in April also named Peter Rawlinson, former chief engineer of Tesla’s Model S, as its chief executive officer.
Lucid, which has more than $1 billion investment from Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, was founded in 2007 as Atieva by Sam Weng and Bernard Tse, a former vice president of Tesla.
The company positions itself as being less of a direct competitor to Tesla than with luxury car makers such as Audi or BMW, Rawlinson had said.
Hochholdinger, a former production executive at Volkswagen AG, left Tesla last week after three years with the company. At Tesla, he was tasked with improving production for Tesla’s luxury Model S sedan and Model X sport utility vehicle as well as helping build a cost-effective manufacturing program for the Model 3 sedan.
He was the latest high-profile executive to leave Tesla in the past two years, as the automaker struggles to ramp up production of Model 3, which is seen as crucial for its long-term profitability.
Rawlinson said Hochholdinger’s experience in manufacturing would help the company in launching Lucid Air and other future models.
Tesla is expected to report its second-quarter delivery and production numbers this week.
(Reporting by Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by James Emmanuel)
FILE PHOTO: A Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) sign is seen at its U.S. headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan
MILAN (Reuters) – Carmaker Fiat Chrysler (FCA) has signed an agreement with European utilities Enel and Engie to help offer its customers charging points for electric vehicles (EV) it is planning to roll out.
FCA, which is lagging rivals in developing electrified vehicles, said last June it would invest 9 billion euros ($10 billion) over the next five years to introduce hybrid and electric cars across all regions.
Last month, the Italian-American carmaker proposed a merger with French rival Renault in part to share the costs of developing a new series of electric cars. Merger talks collapsed earlier this month.
In a statement, FCA said the main aim of its partnerships with Enel and Engie was to be able to offer private and public charging stations to support the sales of its soon-to-be-launched fully electric Fiat 500 BEV and plug-in hybrid Jeep Renegade PHEV.
“We are assembling an eco-system of partners, products and services across multiple markets to meet and exceed the rapidly evolving expectations of our customers for electrified vehicles,” FCA Chief Executive Mike Manley said.
The deal also includes developing services such as apps to allow clients to locate public charging points.
Enel, through its Enel X unit, will work with FCA in Italy, Spain and Portugal, while Engie will work with the carmaker in 14 other European markets.
(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Mark Potter)
