Author: EVAI
Aptera finishes crowdfunding, seeks more capital for solar EV
Aptera late Wednesday announced the end date for its crowdfunding stage, as it seeks private capital on its way “towards high-volume production” of its high-efficiency, three-wheel solar EV.
The company’s Regulation A crowdfunding, which bypasses traditional investors and the stock market and emphasizes smaller amounts, will end on June 30, it says, and it’s engaging with the firm US Capital for additional funding.
Through all phases of crowdfunding so far, over three years, Aptera has raised more than $100 million from more than 17,000 investors. It was incentivized this past year with an Accelerator Program that gave investors—at a minimum of $10,000 each—priority for reservations of the first 2,000 initial build slots of the three-wheeled electric car.
Aptera notably doesn’t say that funding has been secured. It instead says that its crowdfunding efforts “have paved the way for the company to engage with US Capital to secure funding for the production of Launch Edition vehicles.”
Aptera Launch Edition
Aptera Launch Edition charging
Aptera Launch Edition core specs
The Launch Edition was revealed in January 2023 with a 4.0-second 0-60 mph acceleration, a 42-kwh battery pack that would provide a range of up to 400 miles, and a solar system that can provide 700 watts of continuous power good for 40 miles of range per day, according to the company. Its price has been set at $33,200.
Aptera announced its use of the Tesla NACS port even before last year’s wave of American-market EV brands switching charging standards.
Aptera investment perks
The company announced the completion of the Accelerator Program in February and noted that it had raised enough money to “to fund the initial phases of production”—about $33 million, as of the end of January. Aptera appeared to walk that back a few weeks later, when it provided an update noting that “the start of production for Launch Edition requires additional capital.” Aptera clarified later to Green Car Reports that the previous claim of initial production phases referred to “production-intent vehicle builds.”
Aptera now also says that it plans to bring the vehicle to market “at scale” in 2025, and it hinted in recent months that some design changes are coming for efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Up to now, it’s looked to CPC in Italy for its carbon-fiber body plus chassis and suspension components, to battery supplier EVE Energy for 2170-format cylindrical NMC cells, and to CTNS in South Korea for battery modules.
Honda utilizing F1 tech to cut weight in future EVs
Leading Formula 1 team Red Bull Racing has dominated the sport in recent years with the aid of Honda power units, including in its current 2024 cars. The Japanese automaker now plans to use some of the lessons learned in developing the electrified power unit for F1, which features two electric motor-generators, to aid development of its future 0…
“Earnhardt” docuseries coming to Amazon Prime in 2025
A four-part docuseries covering the life of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. is coming to Amazon Prime in 2025. Titled simply “Earnhardt,” the series will feature “unparalleled access and never before seen archival material,” according to an Amazon Prime press release. It’s part of a push for NASCAR content by the streaming service that will also…
BMW sticks to 50% EV target by 2030—not including hybrids, PHEVs
BMW still aims for about 50% global EV sales by the end of the decade, in line with a plan the automaker rolled out in 2021, but still isn’t ready to declare an end date for internal combustion.
“By 2030, all-electric vehicles should account for about half of our deliveries,” CEO Oliver Zipse said Wednesday in a speech to shareholders. But the exact cadence of the ramp-up will be determined by market trends, Zipse added.
2024 BMW i5 Touring
“We remain committed to this goal and are steering the ramp-up in line with demand,” Zipse said. “We will stay flexible—even well into the 2030s.”
Zipse also emphasized that hybrids and plug-in hybrids remain a major part of BMW’s plans, noting that the automaker expects the plug-in hybrid version of its midsize 5-Series to account for about 20% of sales for that model in Europe. The 5-Series is also available with gasoline engines, and as the all-electric i5.
The electrification goal also applies to BMW-owned Mini and Rolls-Royce. The first Rolls-Royce EV—the Spectre coupe—arrived last year, and it accounted for 38% of Rolls deliveries in the first quarter of this year, Zipse said. BMW will have 15 all-electric models available globally across all of its brands, he added.
2024 Rolls-Royce Spectre
BMW will lead its next-generation EVs closer to the mass market with the Neue Klasse models, set to be made for the U.S. in Mexico. The first of these models—an SUV previewed by a recent concept—is scheduled to start production for the European market next year, in Hungary. Production will then be added in Germany, and finally in Mexico in 2027.
The Neue Klasse marks yet another swerve for BMW. After relatively slow sales of the i3 hatchback, BMW revised its electrification plans in 2019, with an emphasis first on fully electric variants or equivalents of its core internal-combustion models.
Tesla Cybertruck beats Rivian R1T in March registrations, but Ford leads in EV pickups
In its fourth month on sale, the Tesla Cybertruck had 1,158 registrations versus the Rivian R1T’s 548. The Ford F-150 Lightning led the EV pickup segment with 2,893, S&P Global Mobility data showed.
Nio launches Onvo brand with L60 crossover
Chinese EV manufacturer Nio still only sells a fraction of the vehicles that the likes of Tesla and BYD do, but it’s already ready to introduce two new brands, Onvo and Le Dao, to help boost sales by offering EVs at lower price points than its own premium offerings. Onvo is aimed at families and revealed its first model, the L60 compact crossover…
BYD Shark plug-in pickup, Kia EV6 update, US EV market share: Today’s Car News
EV sales are up but market share is down. The Kia EV6 shows off a facelift and more range. And BYD drops a Shark of a plug-in hybrid pickup south of the border. This and more, here at Green Car Reports.
The same morning the Biden administration hiked tariffs vs. Chinese EVs in an effort to keep them out of the market, China’s BYD Shark plug-in hybrid pickup made its debut in Mexico. As the first completely new BYD to debut outside China, the sub-$55,000 pickup with 62 electric miles provided a political statement even if not intended.
The 2025 Kia EV6 has made a global debut with a larger battery pack and potentially a range boost of 10% or more—plus styling updates that appear to bring this trendsetting electric crossover in alignment with details from Kia’s latest EV9 and upcoming EV3.
And in Q1, U.S. EV market share fell, while EV sales levels remained significantly up on a year-over-year basis. With that as the top-level takeaway of an update from the DOE’s Energy Information Administration, the backstory suggested some complicated dynamics, as a glut of luxury EVs sits in a sagging luxury market, affordable EVs remain scarce as affordability challenges remain, and Tesla managed only slight U.S. sales gains.
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EV market share fell in Q1, in a dearth of affordable models
U.S. EV and hybrid sales fell in the first quarter of the year, according to a Tuesday update from the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Sales of battery electric vehicles (full EVs) dropped to 7.0% of overall light vehicle sales in the first quarter of 2024 from 8.1% in the previous quarter. Nationally, sales of hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and EVs combined dropped to 18.0% of the market, versus 18.8% in the previous quarter.
As the EIA reports—in a trend that parallels a California EV trend for the quarter—EV sales by actual volume were actually up 7% in the first quarter of 2024 versus the same quarter in 2023. But to add another splash of context, that was after 13 consecutive quarters of double-digit percentage gains.
EIA update on EV and hybrid sales – May 2024
Multiple factors may be at play. Mass-market EV sales were way down, by 17.9%, and that appears to be related more to what’s available in the market than to demand. For instance, the Chevrolet Bolt EV was out of production in Q1 and disappearing from dealer lots, while GM’s next-most-affordable Chevy Equinox EV hasn’t yet arrived; and Nissan has slimmed down the Nissan Leaf lineup to just two trims.
2023 Nissan Leaf
On a transaction basis, the EIA pointed to Cox Automotive data suggesting that EV transaction prices remain about $6,900 higher than the average vehicle price across the entire market. The number of vehicles eligible for the $7,500 EV tax credit that can make up for some or all of that difference is more limited than it was last year.
Meanwhile, there was a decline in the whole light-duty vehicle market, led by a sag in luxury-vehicle sales, at a time when eight out of 10 EV sales are luxury models. Luxury sales reached 18% of the new-vehicle market in 2023, but in Q1 they dropped to 16%. It’s a trend that’s difficult to extricate from the perfect storm of high interest rates and high sticker prices, after several years of nearly across-the-board price hikes. The agency notes that overall mass-market vehicle sales remain at about 10% below pre-pandemic levels, while the luxury sector bounced back two years ago.
2024 Tesla Model Y. – Courtesy of Tesla, Inc.
Modest Tesla sales gains in the U.S. year-over-year for Q1—of about 4% according to Automotive News, based on registrations—weren’t enough to offset either of these factors. It should be noted that the EIA based these data trends on Ward’s Intelligence data, which also draws from registration data.
In the U.S., the vast majority of EVs have effectively been priced and positioned as premium offerings if not luxury vehicles. This isn’t the case in the rest of the world, and if automakers want to get serious about EV sales in the U.S.—and make EV sales gains—low-priced EVs are the way to go.
Cuda nameplate retrademarked by Stellantis, possibly for concept car
Stellantis has re-upped the trademark for a classic muscle car nameplate. On April 30, the automaker filed an application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a new trademark on the Cuda nameplate. The application covers “motor vehicles, namely concept motor vehicles,” hinting that even if the Cuda doesn’t return as a…