Used Tesla deals, F-150 Lightning price hike, Kia EV9 details, tax-credit criteria: The Week in Reverse

Which electric vehicle maker decided to go open source with its driving-assistance features?

Will battery degradation “brick” your EV after a certain number of years or miles?

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending March 31, 2023.

Prices on used vehicles of all kinds have fallen sharply in recent months, but the Tesla Model 3 has led the nosedive of used EV prices. Model 3 prices are down 21.5% since September 2022, reported iSeeCars—the greatest decline in a study of used-vehicle listing prices. The potential deals on used Tesla vehicles appear to be part of the flip side of a surge in EV prices that reached a fever pitch in late 2021 and early 2022.

Kia has revealed specs and various details on the 2024 EV9 electric SUV. Shaping up as a rival both to gasoline models like the Toyota Highlander and to EVs like the Rivian R1S, the EV9 will reach about 300 miles of range in some forms, recover nearly 150 miles of range in 15 minutes, and be a 3.7-kw power bank, with future Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) ability. Other features of note include a Level 3 assisted-driving system, and an app store that will allow Boost mode performance. 

Hyundai revealed the design of the 2024 Sonata—Hybrid included—and it’s more than a simple facelift. A new face is a better fit for the car’s aerodynamic profile, which carries over, and inside the shift to a steering-column shift lever helps maximize space. The rest of the car’s details were revealed, too, but Hybrid-specific info is yet to come. 

Jeep has revealed the Wrangler-based Magneto 3.0 EV concept, and it points ahead toward the Wrangler-inspired Jeep Recon EV due for North America next year. 

GMC teased yesterday that an upcoming Hummer EV SUV overlanding concept will embrace off-the-grid adventuring with a rooftop solar panel and more. 

Ford has again raised prices on the base F-150 Lightning electric pickup and some models farther up the lineup. That leaves the base Pro version of this truck nearly 50% higher than it initially amounted to less than a year ago. 

The 2022-2023 Tesla Model X is being investigated by the federal government for possible seat belt failures, affecting up to 50,000 vehicles. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the issue reported in a couple of vehicles appears to be assembly-related. 

On Wednesday, California’s Faraday Future announced that it has once again started production on the long-awaited FF91, ahead of a launch event later in April—nearly five years after the car originally went into production.

With guidance for rules on critical minerals requirements issued Friday and due to be enacted April 18, the number of credit-qualifying EVs will drop significantly, and the amount many existing models qualify for will drop from $7,500 to $3,750. But with the inclusion of free trade partners, under a loose definition, materials from Japan and South Korea, among many nations, will be included. That was related to a deal with Japan in which certain EV-related battery materials from the country will qualify for greater tax-credit amounts.

The Department of Energy’s charging station locator tool will soon include the charging cost and charging speed (power), at the port level, of every U.S. publicly accessible charger, according to an update this week from the White House. 

The European Union announced earlier in the week that it will push ahead with plans to ban sales of new gas and diesel passenger cars in member countries by 2035—albeit with a concession to Germany allowing for a loophole for vehicles designed to burn e-fuels made with carbon captured from the atmosphere. 

And with a strategic agreement announced last week, Toyota and one of its top suppliers, Denso, are moving forward with the inductive wireless charging firm Electreon on a plan for wireless charging in electrified Toyota vehicles—as a way of enabling smaller batteries, reducing the load on the grid, and making it easier to incorporate renewable energy.

A clever application of a diagnostic tool applied through over-the-air updates allowed Lucid to reduce the recall pool for a defective contactor in its Air electric sedan. It’s one of many time- and resource-raving cases for OTA updates.

Aptera’s three-wheel solar EV will be the first factory vehicle to use Openpilot driver-assistance software, as well as Aptera-specific code that will allow stop-sign and red-light recognition and a “navigate on Openpilot” feature. That may serve well as a highway-trip companion, given the company’s decision to add DC fast-charging to the 400-mile Launch Edition.

LG Energy Solution announced a $5.5 billion battery factory in Arizona—the largest battery-making investment in the U.S. yet, according to the company. The plant will make cylindrical cells for EVs, as well as LFP pouch cells bound for energy storage systems.  

And no, battery degradation isn’t likely to brick your EV. That myth is busted by a dive into user data from the battery analysis firm Recurrent—emphasizing that battery packs have only been replaced in about 1.5% of EVs. 

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