Industrialized Cyclist Notepad


“Zero Emission Vehicle” credits

Honda is not selling the Fit EV with gas under 4$/gal. Lowered their lease price by one third.

Under a complicated formula that varies by state, automakers earn “zero emission vehicle” credits for each electric vehicle they sell or lease, and they’re expected to rack up a certain number of credits each year. Not all green cars are equal: All-electric models such as the Fit EV are worth more credits than plug-in hybrid models with gasoline engines like the Volt. The number of credits the carmakers must earn rises each year, and the companies face fines for falling short. (They can buy credits from other companies, such as electric-only Tesla Motors (TSLA), that sell too few cars to be subject to regulation yet still earn credits which they are allowed to sell. Tesla made $85 million selling California and federal credits in the first quarter of 2013.)

via Why Honda's Unloading Electric Cars for Cheap – Businessweek.



Battery-Swapping is Back
June 22, 2013, 21:13
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For Tesla owners.

Tesla plans to install the battery-swap machinery at its network of charging stations. Each one costs about $500,000 and requires the company to dig a pit in the ground, which gets filled with the battery-swapping systems. Arms grab the battery pack, remove the liquid cooling systems, then place a new battery pack and screw it in with machines that measure every turn. Tesla customers will be charged $60 to $80 per battery-pack replacement and get automatically billed as their vehicle hits the station. “You don’t even have to step out of the car,” said Musk. Those who want to wait 30 minutes can still recharge for free at the charging stations and, of course, plug in at home or at stores.

via Gone in 90 Seconds: Tesla's Battery-Swapping Magic – Businessweek.



Prius Stomps Leaf

Americans want to burn that oil.

Sales of the all-electric Nissan Leaf, which can travel about 75 miles on a single overnight charge, plummeted 69 percent in June from a year earlier. Meanwhile, sales of various models of Toyota Prius hybrids are selling as fast as the automaker can ship them.

The Volt is still not an overwhelming success, but sales for the first half of 2012 more than tripled from a year earlier to 8,817.

“I can’t grasp the concept of driving 20 or 30 miles, or whatever the range is on the car, and then having to plug in again,” said Dennis Barrera, sales manager at Suburban Toyota in Troy, where the standard Prius hybrid is “still the most asked-about car (among shoppers) walking through the door.”

via U.S. drivers slow to embrace all-electric vehicles – USATODAY.com.

See also: A QUESTION FOR PRIUS OWNERS from The Industrialized Cyclist Archives.




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