VinFast, Vietnam’s electric vehicle manufacturer, plans to initially invest $500 million to set up an integrated facility in India and break into the world’s third-largest automobile market.
The memorandum of understanding with the state government of Tamil Nadu, unveiled on Saturday, earmarks an investment of up to $2 billion, the company said without giving a concrete timeframe.
“We are delighted that VinFast has chosen to invest in Tamil Nadu to establish its integrated EV facility.
Nonetheless, India has been an attractive market for global EV players as the country aims to have 30% electrification by 2030.
Its India deal announcement follows VinFast naming its founder and biggest backer, Pham Nhat Voung, as CEO earlier on Saturday.
Fisker remains far from meeting CEO and founder Henrik Fisker’s publicly stated goal of delivering 300 electric SUVs per day globally, according to internal documents viewed by TechCrunch.
The EV startup spent much of December aiming to meet an internal sales goal of between 100 and 200 vehicles a day in North America, where the bulk of its inventory and sales efforts are.
Fisker is delivering its SUVs in a number of European countries, and contract manufacturer Magna Steyr builds them in Austria.
Henrik Fisker told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that the lack of a physical footprint has harmed sales here.
The slow pace of deliveries has widened the gulf between the amount of Fisker Ocean SUVs being produced by Magna and the number sold.
Chinese smartphone giant Xiaomi has revealed its first electric car, a sharp-looking sedan called the SU7.
It’s the same pitch Faraday Future’s founder originally gave many years ago when promoting his original electric vehicle project in China, a part of his tech conglomerate at the time.
There are quite literal versions of this in Apple’s CarPlay and Google’s Android Auto, which mirror a phone’s software on the in-car screen.
Volkswagen tried to build up its own powerhouse in-car software team but has struggled mightily.
Tesla has developed a robust in-car software experience for its vehicles, though it has resisted CarPlay and Android Auto in favor of maintaining control of its screens.
The EV tax credit is about to get better, and also harder to findThe federal tax credit for electric vehicles is about to change in one particular way that will make it far more attractive to buyers.
Vehicles qualify for a $3,500 credit if the automakers follow certain guidelines on where they source battery materials, and another $3,500 provided they stick to similar rules for battery components.
As a result, General Motors said this week only its Chevy Bolt will qualify for the full tax credit starting January 1.
Ford, meanwhile, said only its F-150 Lightning will qualify for the full $7,500 credit.
The Lincoln Corsair Grand Touring SUV will be eligible for half of the credit, while the Mustang Mach-E, Lincoln Aviator Grand Touring plug-in hybrid and E-Transit van won’t.
The announcement comes at the tail end of a procession of other automakers jumping on the charging standard, following Tesla’s announcement last year that it was opening up access.
Ford added that its next generation of EVs would be integrated with Tesla’s charge port called the North American Charging Standard (NACS) starting in 2025.
Since then, major automakers such as GM, Rivian, Honda, Mercedes, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota and most recently Subaru followed with their own announcements to leverage Tesla’s charging standard.
Lucid, a smaller luxury EV company, announced in November it would adopt the NACs standard.
The company has previously told TechCrunch it is evaluating the charging standard.
Sono SionGerman automaker Sono once led the charge to bring solar panels to electric cars with the five-seater Sono Sion hatchback.
No longer an automaker, Sono now focuses on embedding its solar tech into other vehicles.
GM, Honda’s affordable EVsGeneral Motors and Honda said in April 2022 that they’d co-develop millions of small and affordable EVs.
Months later, it seems the acquirer has yet to restart VanMoof production or resume repairs.
On the other handIt’s been a bummer year for fans of small EVs, but all is not lost.
The 2024 Chevy Blazer EV RS first drive: A worthy but pricey all-electric SUV This roomy midsize SUV gets a lot right.
The Chevy Blazer EV will be offered in three trims: the LT, RS and performance SS.
The Chevy Blazer EV RS trim in all-wheel drive is already in production at GM’s factory in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico.
The press drive held in San Diego put reporters behind the wheel of the rear-wheel and all-wheel drive versions of the Chevy Blazer EV RS trim.
Those specs combined with a lower roofline and athletic stance give the Chevy Blazer EV a sleeker appearance than its gas-powered cousin.
