{"id":40386,"date":"2023-01-14T09:03:47","date_gmt":"2023-01-14T14:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=40386"},"modified":"2023-01-14T09:03:47","modified_gmt":"2023-01-14T14:03:47","slug":"1138441_tesla-price-cuts-lightyear-2-ioniq-5-crab-walk-ram-ev-and-charging-robot-the-week-in-reverse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=40386","title":{"rendered":"Tesla price cuts, Lightyear 2, Ioniq 5 crab walk, Ram EV and charging robot: The Week in Reverse"},"content":{"rendered":"

Which automaker\u2019s rotary range-extended EV is once again unlikely for the U.S.?<\/em><\/p>\n

Can a heated seat belt really boost EV range?<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse\u2014right here at Green Car Reports\u2014for the week ending January 13, 2023.<\/em><\/p>\n

Only a few days after reporting some disappointing delivery figures, indicating demand was flagging, Tesla dropped prices on all of its models<\/a> by thousands. The effect was most pronounced on the Model Y, which now qualifies for the $7,500 EV tax credit and is effectively more than $20,000 cheaper than it was yesterday morning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Robotic<\/p>\n

Robotic inductive Ram Charger for future Ram EV<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Stellantis\u2019 Ram brand is planning a range-extended electric truck<\/a>, not a plug-in hybrid, the company confirmed last week with the rollout of a concept version of a battery electric Ram EV. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares also confirmed that the company is considering hydrogen fuel-cell tech for heavy-duty pickups and vans in North America. Tavares told Green Car Reports that the range-extended Ram EV is part of a need to \u201crun faster than regulations.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

We also took a closer look at the Ram EV inductive charging robot<\/a> shown last week at CES with the introduction of the electric truck concept. The Ram Charger, which was confirmed to be production-bound but still under development, could make things easier for owners with multiple EVs in the garage.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Mercedes-Benz<\/p>\n

Mercedes-Benz EV charging network<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Mercedes-Benz aims to have its own EV charging network<\/a> in place by the end of the decade, with the initial focus on North America. It\u2019s aiming to have 400 American sites, with 2,500 350-kw connectors in place by 2027\u2014mostly along highways and close to amenities and Mercedes dealerships. And in what might be another sign that EVs are entering the mainstream, Mercedes-Benz is reportedly set to abandon its EQ badging for EVs<\/a> starting in less than two years. No word yet on whether this means it also plans to wind down the EQ sub-brand, which was originally tasked with a broad vision wrapping EVs into mobility, charging, and more.<\/p>\n

\"Mercedes-Benz<\/p>\n

Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX 1008-km run<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Lightyear has opened the waitlist for its $40,000 Lightyear 2 solar car<\/a> due in 2025, with the U.S. targeted as one of the first markets. The company uses in-wheel motors in its Lightyear 0 and claims it to have the most efficient production EV powertrain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mazda earlier in the week revealed pricing for its MX-30 EV for the 2023 model year, but it\u2019s essentially confirmed that the rotary range-extended MX-30 is delayed or canceled<\/a> for the U.S.\u2014even leading into its announced reveal.<\/p>\n

Vietnam\u2019s Vinfast at CES revealed some initial specs for its smaller VF 6 and VF 7<\/a> models, due for reservations in March. It also confirmed that it delivered its first U.S.-bound VF 8 electric SUVs to customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Hyundai<\/p>\n

Hyundai Ioniq 5 with e-corner modules<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Also last week at CES, Hyundai\u2019s Mobis mobility-tech division showed the next step for its e-corner hardware set\u2014allowing the Hyundai Ioniq 5 to crab-walk<\/a>, pivot, or turn on a dime. Although seeing it in the Ioniq 5 is eye-opening, for now the company claims it\u2019s for a future purpose-built mobility services vehicle.<\/p>\n

The supplier ZF announced a heated seat belt<\/a>. Why now? It\u2019s perfected a textile process to make at volume, and it\u2019s about the same cost as heated seats or a heated steering wheel. The timing is also right for EVs, which could regain up to 15% of driving range by cutting the load on cabin heat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ZF<\/p>\n

ZF Heat Belt – heated seat belt for EVs<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Goodyear has shown a fuel-saving tire made of 90% sustainable materials<\/a>. The low-rolling-resistance rubber can save gas or boost EV range, and it uses 12 different tire components that are either sustainably sourced or go light on environmental impact.<\/p>\n

Thanks to an agreement with the battery supplier CATL, the Chinese startup Neta Auto might build the world-first use of cell-to-chassis tech<\/a> in an EV\u2014something Tesla teased at its Battery Day in 2020 but hasn\u2019t yet delivered.<\/p>\n

Keeping up with anticipated U.S. EV adoption will require eight times the chargers by 2030<\/a>, according to a new S&P Global Mobility study. Even accounting for home charging, we\u2019ll need to quadruple public charging from 2022 to 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n

GM and Ford are among the companies that have signed on to a pilot project aiming to use large pools of EVs as virtual power plants<\/a> to help smooth the grid, reducing the need for the use of so-called \u201cpeaker\u201d power plants that often dramatically add to pollution issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"2023<\/p>\n

2023 Ford F-150 Lightning<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

And sometimes the outlook can sound quite different with a different look at the same data. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, EV battery costs did keep falling in 2022<\/a>\u2014by looking at 2022-constant dollars (inflation included) and basing it on usable energy in battery packs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

_______________________________________<\/p>\n

Follow Green Car Reports on\u00a0<\/em>Facebook<\/em><\/span><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/em>Twitter<\/em><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Which automaker\u2019s rotary range-extended EV is once again unlikely for the U.S.? Can a heated seat belt really boost EV range? This is our look back at the Week In Reverse\u2014right here at Green Car Reports\u2014for the week ending January 13, 2023. Only a few days after reporting some disappointing delivery figures, indicating demand was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40387,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-e-cars"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/40387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}