The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the discriminatory $4,500 union-built EV tax credit soon.
Dealers and their employees should contact their Members of Congress and urge them to oppose this proposal that will divide American workers and play politics with car sales. Click here to learn more about the issue.
Auto Industry Wonders Whether Ford-SK Battery Plants Will Sport the Union Label
The plan for Ford Motor Co. and Korean battery partner SK Innovation to build three battery plants in the U.S., announced this week, will prompt a furious drive by labor leaders to organize the plants, potentially setting the tone for future union drives at auto industry factories in southern U.S. states, reports Automotive News. The UAW, which represents about 150,000 hourly workers at the U.S. plants for General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler parent Stellantis, is working to represent workers at battery plants. Union leaders have said Ford has a "moral obligation" to make sure battery plant jobs are good-paying union jobs. The fate of these workers is so important because building EVs and the batteries that power them is largely where the job growth lies in the auto sector. If the UAW strikes out in the Ford-SK plants, it could face the risk of further erosion of membership as consumers buy fewer gasoline-powered vehicles. Read more here (Source: Automotive News).
Ford Asks U.S. Salaried Employees to Disclose COVID-19 Vaccination Status
Ford Motor Co on Tuesday became the second Detroit automaker to ask U.S. salaried employees to reveal their vaccination status against COVID-19 in a bid to comply with wider federal guidelines, reports Reuters. Ford said salaried employees were required to submit their vaccination status against COVID-19 by Oct. 8 but the process was voluntary for its hourly employees represented by the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. The automaker's move comes as the Biden administration pursues sweeping measures to increase vaccination coverage in the United States, while pushing large employers to have their workers inoculated or tested weekly. Separately, Chief Executive Jim Farley said in a CNBC interview that the company's leadership team was vaccinated against COVID-19 and that Ford was conducting a survey to know how many employees had been vaccinated. Read more here (Source: Reuters).
Volkswagen, Ford, Other Big Automakers Push to Make Solid-State Batteries the Next Big Thing for EVs
In the race to build a cheaper and longer-range electric car, auto companies are pouring more money into a technology long considered a moonshot: solid-state batteries. Today, reports The Wall Street Journal, most electric vehicles use lithium-ion batteries, which have become more powerful and affordable over the years but have limitations, including the risks of catching fire. The configuration has the potential to deliver faster charging times and make the packs safer by eliminating the flammable electrolyte solution used in lithium-ion batteries, auto executives and analysts say. Still, the technology remains costly and relatively unproven in real-world applications, a hurdle that is expected to take years to solve for the mass market. Read more here (Source: The Wall Street Journal).
Americans Changing Long-Term Mobility Plans in Wake of Pandemic
According to a new study by CarGurus.com, significant numbers of Americans remain committed to changes they said they planned to implement to meet their mobility needs going forward. Auto Remarketing reports that for example, use of shared transportation, such as public transport or ride-sharing services, is on the decline. Only half (54%) of consumers who previously used ride-share services expect to return to their pre-pandemic activity in the next year, and few more (59%) plan to in the long term, the website noted. CarGurus has conducted its COVID-19 sentiment study three times before the most recent effort to track changes in how Americans are planning for the near- and long-term — not much has changed. “Our most recent COVID-19 consumer sentiment study has shown that the pandemic has reshaped transportation and car-shopping for the foreseeable future,” said Madison Gross, director of Consumer Insights at CarGurus. Read more here (Source: Auto Remarketing).
EV Start-Up Lucid Begins Production of Flagship Air Sedan Ahead of Customer Deliveries
Electric vehicle start-up Lucid on Tuesday said production of its first cars for customers is underway, with deliveries scheduled to begin late next month, reports CNBC. Lucid is the first EV start-up that went public through a SPAC deal to actually produce a saleable vehicle for consumers. The milestone is crucial for Lucid, which debuted on the Nasdaq in July and is viewed as a front-runner to rival EV leader Tesla. “I’m delighted that production cars endowed with this level of efficiency are currently driving off our factory line,” Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson, a former chief engineer and vice president of engineering at Tesla, said in a statement. Lucid’s first car is a $169,000 special edition of its flagship sedan called the Air Dream Edition, with an industry-leading range of up to 520 miles, according to the EPA. The company plans to produce just 520 of the Dream Edition models, in a nod to the car’s EPA range. Read more here (Source: CNBC).
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