May EV Report

May 31, 2022

EV REPORT #8 – MAY 2022

DRIV-EV- A MONTHLY LOOK AT WHAT IS NEW & NOTABLE WITH & ABOUT EVs

This month the focus will be on EV rebates available in Canada and the latest news on EV batteries as well as news on the legislative front that will affect drivers around the globe.

CANADIAN EV REBATES

Federal:

  • The federal government has a two tier rebate program. Tier 1 is for battery, electric, hydrogen fuel cell and longer range plug-in-hybrids and these are eligible for an incentive of $5,000. Tier 2 is for shorter range plug-in-hybrids and these vehicles are eligible for an incentive of $2500. Vehicles have to be on the list of approved vehicles (IZEV-approved models). As of April 25, car models with a base price of $55,000 and a maximum of $65,000 now qualify for the rebate. Larger vehicles such as trucks also qualify for a rebate as long as the price does not exceed $70,000. Rebates are applied at point of purchase at or through an authorized auto dealer.

British Columbia

  • BC offers incentives up to $3,000 for buying a new BEV,PHEV, or fuel cell vehicle under $55,000.

Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Northwest Territories, Nunavut

  • No rebates offered and Ontario ended their rebate program in September 2018.

Quebec

  • Offers incentives up to $8,000 when buying or leasing a new BEV or PHEV up to a maximum of $60,000.

New Brunswick

  • Offers up to $5,000 on new models and $2500 on used EVs. Additionally, NB Power offers rebates of up to $750 for an approved in home level 2 charger.

Nova Scotia

  • Offers up to $3,000 on new BEV, PHEV vehicles up to a maximum price of $60,000 and a rebate on used EV/PHEV vehicles of $2000.

PEI

  • Offers rebates of up to $5,000 on a new OR used EV while hybrids qualify for rebates of $2500. In addition to the rebate the province also provides a free level 2 charger. I Installation is the buyer’s responsibility).

Newfoundland & Labrador

  • Offers rebates of up to $2500 for new EVs.

Yukon

  • Offers rebates up to $5000 plus a rebate for level 2 chargers.

 

MANUFACTURERS

  • A Mercedes EQXX prototype was just driven over 1,000 kms (621 miles) on a single charge. (Reuters 4/13/22)
  • Stellantis announced a $2.54 B deal to retool its Ontario plants to focus solely on electric and hybrid vehicles. (Financial Post 5/2/22).

  • Luxury EV maker Lucid has received an order from Saudi Arabia to buy 100,000 of its cars over the next 10 years with deliveries starting in 2023. Lucid models starting price is well north of $150,000. (CNBC 5/4/22)

  • Volvo in partnership with StoreDot, an Israeli backed EV battery start up are working on a “100 in 5” cell battery that can achieve 160 kms in 5 minutes, These batteries are expected to be ready by 2024. (Electrek 4/25/22)
  • Most automakers have now agreed upon the Combined Charging System (CCS) standard for fast chargers and every new non Tesla EV can use this adapter. This addresses the problem that manufacturers were having when their vehicles were not able to connect properly to the fast charging network. Recently Tesla announced that they would open their fast charging stations to non Tesla vehicles (more details to come). (Autoblog 5/6/22). I do believe that the day of a single universal charger will soon arrive. (Editor comments)

BATTERY NEWS

  • An international team of researchers at Stanford University have developed a rechargeable battery that can store up to 6x more charge than batteries currently on the market. The batteries called alkali metal chlorine relies on the back and forth chemical conversion of sodium chloride to chlorine. According to the researchers, when electrons travel from one side of a rechargeable battery to the other, recharging reverts the chemistry back to its original state awaiting another use and this is something current batteries cannot do.
  • Sila Nanotechnologies of Washington State has purchased a 600,000 sq’ building to manufacture their silicon based anodes for EV batteries. The plant is geared to produce batteries for up to 500,000 EVs starting in late 2024. (Electrek 5/3/22)
  • Another new battery plant is being built in Kentucky. This is a Japanese backed company and is in addition to the plant Ford has committed to build in that state.
  • Hydrovolt, the largest battery recycling plant in Europe has begun operation in Norway. This battery recycling plant has the capacity to process 12,000 tons of battery packs/year or approximately enough battery packs for 25,000 EV batteries. Hydrovolt claims it can recover 95% of the materials used in an EV battery. Their goal is to have 50% of all its battery raw material to come from recycled batteries by 2030. (Electrek 5/16/22)
  • Continental Tire Company is developing a wireless charging robotic battery. The system could be on the market by 2024 and can be installed in any EV with charging to start as soon as the vehicle is parked (Entrepreneur 5/4/22)
  • The US Dept of Energy has launched a new program called The Electric Vehicles for American Low Carbon Living (EV4ALL). The program has committed $45m for the domestic development of EV batteries focusing on batteries with faster charging, less susceptibility to extreme temperatures and better range retention over a battery’s life. ( Car & Driver (5/16/22)

LEGISLATIVE

  • California has introduced regulations to ban gasoline powered cars by 2035. Under the proposed mandate 35% of new cars, SUVs and small pickups must be zero emission by 2026, increasing to 68% in 2030 and 100% in 2035. (Mercury News 4/13/22).
  • The European Parliament’s environmental committee has backed a plan by the European Union that will effectively ban all new ICE vehicles from being sold in Europe by 2035. (Car Buzz 5/14/22)
  • While not an EV issue it is interesting to note that Washington State has mandated that all new buildings will need to install electric heating and hot water systems  as well as heat pumps effective July 2023 (EcoWatch 4/26/22)

NOTEWORTHY

  • The National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine have declared “that the period from 2025-2035 could bring the most fundamental transformation in the 100+ year history of the automobile”. The Academy believes the transformation will be driven by falling battery costs allowing EVs to achieve parity with ICE vehicles by 2035 if not before. (Green Car Reports 4/11/22). Not really surprising because new innovation often makes old technology obsolete. Looking back in time, the phasing out of travel by horse meant the demise of the horse drawn carriage and the repurposing of stables and then the blacksmith gave way to the mechanic, Now after a century spent building complex infrastructures around gas powered vehicles, another transition is upon us. (Editor comments)

FAST FACTS

  • Through 2025 automakers have committed to spend more than $515 B on developing new EVs and increasing battery manufacturing infrastructure. (Green Car Reports 4/11/22).
  • According to a recent Reuters article using a model developed by the Argonne National Laboratory of Chicago, the point at which EVs carbon footprint meets and begins to fall below that of a comparable gas powered vehicle is around 13,000 miles, all factors considered from sourcing to manufacturing to distribution.
  • A new report from Energy Innovation also undertook an analysis on the total cost of EVs compared to gas vehicles. The analysis looked at monthly costs over a 6 year period as 85% of cars (US) are financed at purchase. Energy Innovation looked at costs in every state and included financial costs, fuel, average electricity costs, maintenance, insurance, EV rebates and so on. They also compared comparable vehicles ie Kona SEL vs a Kona Electric SEL, a Nissan Versa vs a Nissan Leaf and their conclusion is that the “commonly held belief that EVs are more expensive is simply not true”. For the full report go to electrification@energyinnovation.org
  • The Boston Consulting Group estimate that when EVs take off as much as 80% of the fuel retail market could be unprofitable by 2035. (VOX 4/13/22).

COMMENTARY: MY EV QUEST

In mid March this year my wife and I placed an order for a new Hyundai Ioniq5 with Saint John Hyundai. With all the research I’ve been doing I knew the Ioniq5 was at the top of my list, followed by the KIA EV6 and Mustang Mach-e, but have not had the opportunity to drive any of them. Until, by luck we were driving through the Hyundai parking lot when a new Ioniq5 drove in. I immediately knew it was a tester so turned right around and went in to the dealership and asked for a test drive. We came back from our test drive thoroughly impressed by this vehicle. After a couple of days of thought we went back to the dealership and sat down with Dan Barrett of Saint John Hyundai. Dan was incredibly helpful and patient as he answered all our questions. At the end of our conversation we put a $500 deposit down (refundable) to reserve a new Ioniq5.

At that time we were #9 on the list and Dan told us from the beginning it would be 6-9 months before we would see the vehicle due to supply and demand issues as well as the fact that the Maritimes are not on the manufacturers priority list. The time factor was not an issue as we still have 2 perfectly good vehicles with low mileage so proceeded to write up the offer. The federal rebate of $5,000 and provincial rebate of $5,000 were applied to the price at this time so that was as easy as it could possibly be.

Fast forward to mid April when Dan calls and tells us it could be now be 18 months or more before our car arrives and it will certainly be a 2024 model. Disappointing to be sure not only for us but the dealership as well. For now we will continue to be patient knowing that new models will come into the market place. In fact, I’ve seen pictures of the new Ioniq6 prototype and it looks terrific. Watch this space for updates on my quest.  The Ioniq5 is pictured below and the black one is the Ioniq6 prototype.