Tesla paid $42M for NUMMI but doesn’t have deal to build cars with Toyota

More pesky details roll out on the Tesla/Toyota deal. Not only does Toyota not have to build cars for Tesla, Tesla does not own any of the equipment in the factory (just the building). That means they will have to go to the well again for more cash once they bring the factory online. Also of note, the $50M in Tesla shares pledged by Toyota is only good if Telsa IPOs by December 31st of this year.

Maybe not such a grand deal after all...

Elon Musk says he's broke

Tesla chieftain Elon Musk may not qualify for a loan for his own expensive Roadster according to VentureBeat. Repeated cash infusion into his fledgling car company and a nasty divorce have put his finances on the skids.

Coda Makes Plans for Battery Plant in Ohio, Pending Federal Loan Approval

First A123 announces jobs for the struggling state of Michigan and now CA start up Coda is looking to add them in Ohio. Coda (with backing from Chinese battery company Lishen Power Battery) will run the plant via a joint venture they have to develop electric car batteries. From Wheels @ NY Times.

Best Buy eyes expansion for UK's electric bike market

Zipcar Gets $70M for Fleet Expansion

Zip gets dollars to grow their fleet and their fast growing 400K customer base.

Summary Box: New money for electric cars

From the AP...

GOING ELECTRIC: The Senate and House are proposing big grants for cities to install charging stations and other infrastructure needed to support electric cars. New tax credits would also be extended to some electric car buyers.

BIG GOAL: Lawmakers say the bills should help add 700,000 new electric vehicles to the road in the next few years.

THE BIG REASON: Electric vehicles are expected to hit car showrooms in big numbers starting this fall. But few cities have public places for them to recharge, potentially limiting how widely they can be used.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Emergence of the Electric Bike

Justin Timberlake (yes that one) is attempting to bring SexyBack to the e-bike space.

Our Journey Toward Public EV Quick-Charging Begins

Nissan's Ghosn gambles big on electric cars

Cue the Kenny Rogers, Carlos Ghosn is betting it all on EV. Source: Bloomberg.

Nissan Motor Co. CEO Carlos Ghosn made the rounds in the U.S. the last two days pumping up his electric-car plans. He said the automaker and its global partner, French carmaker Renault SA, will be able to build 500,000 electric cars a year by 2014. To back up his bold plan, he announced a $1.7 billion investment in a lithium-ion battery plant in Smyrna, Tenn. All told, Nissan is dropping $5 billion from 2007 to 2012 for its ambitious play to be the leader in electric cars. The U.S. government loaned Nissan $1.4 billion of the cash for the battery plant. So in essence, we all have a piece of his gamble.

And it’s a big one. The challenges to selling electric cars in big numbers are pretty obvious. The Leaf, Nissan’s five-passenger compact that hits the market later this year, can go 100 miles before needing to recharge. That recharge takes hours. And be careful about that 100 miles. That’s in the city, where stop-and-go driving recharges the battery. Out on the highway, it could get half of that, says Jim Hall, principal of auto consulting firm 2953 Analytics. That will limit its appeal, especially because American city boulevards aren’t exactly electric avenues lined with charging stations. The cars aren’t cheap either. The Leaf will sell for $25,280 after U.S. tax subsidies. That’s at least $5,000 more than most cars its size.

Cue up the ire of green-car fans. They hate hearing that electric cars might not populate every garage from here to Shanghai. Yes, many Americans only drive 20 miles to work and back. For them, the Leaf will be wonderful. Ghosn is also counting on China to snap up a lot of these. He said that his goal of selling half a million EVs would be less than 1 percent of the global car market.

All of that makes sense. But Ghosn will be rolling out cars faster than most big car markets—namely the U.S., Europe and even China—plan to install public charging stations. Renault and Nissan won’t be the only companies selling some kind of high-tech car. Ghosn says he doesn’t see the Chevrolet Volt as a rival to the Leaf since the Chevy has a small gasoline engine to recharge the battery, while the Leaf is electric-only.

I beg to differ. Some buyers want something green and clean. Whether the car runs only on electricity or gets super-high gas mileage makes little difference to some of those customers. To them, the Volt is more practical and has the same high-tech, green appeal. It will be an alternative. Adding more to the fray, Ford plans to sell two electric vehicles by 2012. Toyota is now teaming up with Tesla to build an electric car.

Is Ghosn crazy? Plenty of critics said so when Renault bought a stake in troubled Nissan in 1999. Ghosn made a money maker out of it. He may be overreaching this time. But he remains undeterred. He said the critics will not change the path he is on. He could prove them wrong again by becoming a leader well before others have the derring-do to go electric. He may also lose a lot of money in the process.

Ford Investing in E.V. Development in Michigan

Some good news for a state that sorely needs it. Ford is putting EV development into Michigan.

Bicycle Friendly State Rankings Unveiled

From Bicycle Retailer...Three cold weather states (WI, MN and ME) and 2 wet one's (OR and WA) are in the top five.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BRAIN)—The League of American Bicyclists have unveiled their third annual Bicycle Friendly State (BFS) rankings.

"We are delighted to report that states, and statewide bicycle advocates, are using this program to target legislative changes, adopt new policies and even start new advocacy groups in order to improve conditions for cyclists," said Andy Clarke, League president, in a press release. "Change at the state level is harder to see than in a community or business, but is no less important, and we are seeing real progress."

At the top of the list are:
1. Washington
2. Wisconsin
3. Maine
4. Minnesota
5. Oregon

"Being recognized as a leader for three years in a row reflects the strong partnerships that have been forged over the years, as well as the smart investments that have been made at the local, regional and state level," said Kathleen Davis, director, WSDOT Highways & Local Programs Division. "In Washington, bicycling plays an important role in our overall transportation system, giving people choices for commuting and recreation." This marks the third year in a row that Washington has finished first in the ranking, and the second year Alabama has come in last.

The lowest scoring states ranked 46 through 50 are:
46. New Mexico
47. West Virginia
48. Montana
49. North Dakota
50. Alabama

Tennessee is one of the states that greatly improved its ranking; they jumped 20 spots in one year The state moved to 23rd place this year from their 43rd ranking in 2009. "The improvement in Tennessee's ranking is due in large part to the better collaboration among TDOT, regional and municipal planners, legislators, advocates, and sharing of information across the state," said Tom Evans, founder and secretary/treasurer of Bike Walk Tennessee. "We'll use the 2010 rankings and feedback as a guide to prioritize efforts for future improvements."

The League also is announcing the second round of Bicycle Friendly State awards, modeled after the successful Bicycle Friendly Community designation program. Four new states have been awarded the special designation, and two states received an honorable mention: Oregon (Silver), Delaware (Bronze), New Jersey (Bronze), Massachusetts (Honorable Mention), Florida (Honorable Mention) and Maryland (Honorable Mention). Along with last year's winners, these states show what can be done to promote bicycling through model policies, programs and a built environment that accommodates bicyclists of all ages and abilities.

The BFS program links the League's work with federal level and community advocacy throughout the nation and recognizes states that actively support bicycling. The state rankings were first conducted in 2008 and are conducted annually, with all questions and methodology remaining consistent to track states' progress. The BFS rankings are based on a 95-item questionnaire that evaluates a state's commitment to bicycling and covers six key areas: legislation, policies and programs, infrastructure, education and encouragement, evaluation and planning, and enforcement. The League offers feedback and technical assistance to states in an effort to improve their ranking as well as overall conditions for bicycling. The rankings are used to create momentum amongst states and communities to continue to become more bicycle friendly.

Car2Go car sharing program opens to the public in Austin, TX

Car2Go is now taking customers in Austin, TX. Source: Daimler

Tesla to build electric cars at Northern California plant

From the Los Angeles Times...Tesla is partnering with Toyota to build electric cars near Oakland. The plant was formally a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota. Known as NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing Inc) the plant was closed in April after making nearly 8M Toyota Corolla's. Upon closure 5K UAW members were laid off. The new plant will provide 1K new jobs.

Note the city of Downey, CA was extremely upset by the announcement as they were under the impression Tesla was signing an agreement today to put the plant in their fair city.

Gordon Murray's T27 nearing production in UK

Gordon Murray's latest project, the T27, is reportedly getting much closer to production.

Three seater EV appears to be coming to life for the UK.

Low-speed electric vehicles are low-safety, watchdog group warns

Important article on the LSEV market. Current products are not up to snuff in terms of safety (says the LA Times). This can hamper distribution beyond the current hodgepodge of dealers and also means anyone with a strong safety message will have to highlight that in their presentation to customers.

An Electric Car Test Drive—In 2020

Fascinating read from Popular Mechanics the day in the life of EV users in Southern California in the year 2020.

A123 Systems’ Lithium-Ion Battery to Help Revive U.S. Manufacturing Sector with More Green Jobs

Story on A123 bringing jobs to Michigan.

Hawaii Joins List of States Offering Big Incentives to Buy Electric Cars

Say "Aloha" to savings...Hawaii joined CA ($5K), Georgia ($5K) and OR ($1.5K)with their own local credit ($4.5K). Coupled with the federal max credit of $7.5K you can get 12K off a Leaf or Volt and drive silently through the islands.

Motorcycle dealers still scrambling to find customers

Sobering read on the continual decline of motorcycle and scooter industry. Among reasons, stable gas prices mean consumers are not seeking fuel economy options and the continued tight credit market.

Silent and Green, but Not Quite There

Info on a couple of E-Motorcycles.

Electric Car Maker THINK Completes Equity Increase; Eyes US Launch

Article on Think equity increase...

Mazda, Think, EnerDel partner on electric rentals

Interesting love connection here. Think Global (who just closed a $40M round last week) has teamed with Mazda to build a solar powered car for Japan. Interesting partnership as it matches Think's drive train and InerDel's batteries. Hey, if it works, no worries about running out of a charge :). Story from CNET below...

Mazda, EnerDel, Think Global, and others are partnering on a test project that will pair all-electric cars with stationary storage units as charging stations, EnerDel and Mazda announced this past week.

Mazda plans to convert some of its Mazda2 vehicles (known as the Mazda Demios in Japan) to all-electric cars running a Think drivetrain with EnerDel lithium ion batteries.

The cars will be offered to Japanese customers through a rental car program, called the Tsukuba Environmental Style Test Project, which should be up and running by March 2010 in Tsukuba City, Japan, near Tokyo, according to Mazda.

U.S. battery manufacturer EnerDel has described the test project as the Japanese equivalent to Zipcar in the States, a program in which customers join a car club that offers car rentals on an hourly or daily basis.

Instead of recharging stations tapping directly into a smart grid, those in the Tsukuba test project will use stationary grid storage units also developed by EnerDel. The stationary storage units will enable the rapid charging of the all-electric Mazda2 cars, while avoiding the possibility of having to tap into a smart grid during peak usage hours.

"The unique combination of on-site battery storage with rapid charging allows the use of direct current throughout the system, sharply reducing the amount of time needed to charge a vehicle," according to a statement from EnerDel.

The recharging stations, which will draw from solar panels as well as grid power, will be located at Family Mart convenience stores in the Tsukuba City area.

Itochu, a Japanese conglomerate that has partnered with EnerDel on energy projects since 2003, owns the Family Mart chain. It was through a partnership with Itochu that EnerDel and Think Global converted and tested a fleet of trucks to all-electric vehicles for the Japanese Postal Service.

Adoption of Electric Cars Will Be Slow, Forecasters Say

Interesting take here from Deloitte on future of Electric Cars. Predicting only 2% to 5% of adoption within 10 years. The lines of demarcation are certainly being drawn in the space. Full article below:

High cost and still-limited performance will keep the number of electric cars at only 2 percent to 5 percent of the U.S. market a decade from now, a study by Deloitte Consulting issued this week said.

The forecast is a marked contrast from the more bullish outlook by some automakers and electric car advocates.

Nissan Motor Co., the first major automaker to introduce an electric car, has forecast that 10 percent of new car sales will be electric vehicles by 2020.

Deloitte expects the cost of producing batteries for electric cars to fall by 40 percent over the next four years.

The consulting firm said it expected that advanced batteries to power electric cars would cost near $600 per kilowatt hour in 2014. That would be down from near $1,000 per kilowatt hour today.

Nissan will introduce the Leaf, an all-electric car with a range of up to 100 miles on a single charge, later this year in markets, including the United States, that have offered government subsidies.

Brand Identity

The study also showed that Nissan and General Motors Co., the two major automakers that will introduce electric vehicles this year, face a potential problem with consumer perception of their brands when it comes to electric cars.

"The auto purchase decision in the United States is very much a brand purchase. People tend to affiliate with automotive brands," said Robert Hill of Deloitte.

The survey found that 17 percent of consumers would prefer to buy an electric car from Toyota Motor Corp., 15 percent from Honda Motor Co. and 12 percent from Ford Motor Co. GM's Chevrolet brand was fourth at 8 percent, and Nissan was ninth at 4 percent.

Tesla Motors, which already has a high-performance electric car on the road and is using U.S. government funding to develop a mass-market offering, was at 2 percent.

Deloitte's Hill said brands like Chevy, Nissan and Tesla might have to spend more on marketing than better positioned brands.

"The onus will be on them in a very difficult automotive market that they will bear the burden of educating consumers," he said.

Washing Machines, Cell Phones

Deloitte estimates that established automakers, led by Toyota, have spent $10 billion in the past decade promoting hybrid cars such as the Prius, which still make up only 3 percent of the pool of U.S. cars.

Hill said the adoption of electric cars could more closely parallel the relatively slow acceptance of 20th-century consumer breakthroughs like the washing machine than the fast embrace of more recent innovations like the cellphone.

It took the washing machine from 1930 until 1975 to go from 10 percent use in U.S. homes to 70 percent. By contrast, the jump for mobile phones to 70 percent from 10 percent in the U.S. market took a mere decade.

Welcome

Check back for articles, notes and what not on the happenings in the world of transportation. This blog will focus on electric vehicles (2, 3, 4 wheel), car share, electric vehicle charging (commercial and home) and smart grid. The lens will be global with a particular focus on North America, Asia and the UK.

Thanks,
TC