EV Nation

[walnut]

Nov 27, 2023 5:11:15 GMT ratty said:

What Caused the Dramatic Drop in Lithium Prices?

. Lithium carbonate prices in China plummeted from $84,500 to $18,630 per metric ton, marking a 78% decline.
. The slowdown in electric vehicle expansion plans by manufacturers like General Motors and Honda contributes to the lithium oversupply.
. The global lithium market is not expected to rebalance and return to a deficit until 2028, according to industry forecasts.

They also seem to be finding several big deposits of lithium ore.  If I were prospecting for EV metals, I'd cross lithium off my list probably.  The batteries are still going to be too expensive anyway.

[nonentropic]

And what happens to Lithium if a new technology comes along.

Lithium in nonchargeable batteries will always be a market but they could be walked around.

The good news is that it smashes the Chinese monopoly.

[ratty]

Cement Australia has been awarded grant funding to lease 24 batteries and convert six diesel prime movers to electric drive train. This is the result:



Concrete evidence that the EV debate is not just about cementics ... (sorry)

[ratty]

The Promised $39,000 Tesla Cybertruck Actually Costs $60,990

[douglavers]

I suspect that lithium deposits are more widespread than expected: not much serious searching had been carried out.

Also, I think the concept popularity of pure EV vehicles is waning rapidly.

Recharging problems, especially in cities and countryside. Limited travel range.
Spontaneous combustion making for really hot cars [!]. Such fires difficult to quench.
Vehicles really heavy - might be a big problem for multistory carparks.
Insurance problems. Apart from spontaneous combustion, even minor bingles lead to vehicle write-off as no way of checking battery undamaged.
Very expensive compared to ICE vehicles.

What's not to like?

[ratty]

Dec 1, 2023 22:40:48 GMT douglavers said:

I suspect that lithium deposits are more widespread than expected: not much serious searching had been carried out.

Also, I think the concept popularity of pure EV vehicles is waning rapidly.

Recharging problems, especially in cities and countryside. Limited travel range.
Spontaneous combustion making for really hot cars [!]. Such fires difficult to quench.
Vehicles really heavy - might be a big problem for multistory carparks.
Insurance problems. Apart from spontaneous combustion, even minor bingles lead to vehicle write-off as no way of checking battery undamaged.
Very expensive compared to ICE vehicles.

What's not to like?

Speaking of heavy, I wonder what tyre wear will be like? And ....

[blustnmtn]

"Oslo, Norway’s new electric buses didn’t fare very well during the recent cold. The capital city’s public transport ended up “paralyzed”.

The buses were advertised to have a range of 250 km…but then reality hit!"

wattsupwiththat.com/2023/12/13/oslos-e-bus-fleet-could-use-some-warmingcity-paralyzed-as-buses-break-down-due-to-cold/

[Sigurdur]

insideevs.com/reviews/701169/2024-blazer-ev-stranded-broken/

My weeklong test of the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV lasted 28 hours. That's when it broke down during an Electrify America charging session that left me stranded in rural Western Virginia.

[missouriboy]

Dec 20, 2023 15:28:22 GMT Sigurdur said:

insideevs.com/reviews/701169/2024-blazer-ev-stranded-broken/

My weeklong test of the 2024 Chevrolet Blazer EV lasted 28 hours. That's when it broke down during an Electrify America charging session that left me stranded in rural Western Virginia.

America's Finest

[ratty]

ICBC scraps 2022 electric car after owners faced with $60,000 bill to replace damaged battery

Damage to the EV's battery voided the vehicle's warranty and the quoted $60,000 replacement was more than a new car was worth, so ICBC wrote off and scrapped the nearly new automobile

[ratty]

Lesson: Don't drive your EV in the rain?

Scottish couple facing $33k repair bill after driving Tesla in heavy rain

A Scottish couple has been confronted with a £17,374 (A$33,370) bill after their Tesla Model Y wouldn't start after a night out.

It’s not abnormal for it to rain in Scotland. It is abnormal, however, for it to rain so heavily your electric car battery gives up the ghost.

[blustnmtn]

www.theblaze.com/news/hertz-trims-ev-fleet-due-to-high-repair-costs-reinvests-in-gas-powered-vehicles

“The company claimed that the collision and damage repair costs associated with EVs are more significant than with gas-powered vehicles. In a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Hertz wrote, “Expenses related to collision and damage, primarily associated with EVs, remained high in the quarter.”

During a recent analyst call, Hertz CEO Stephen Scherr stated, “[C]ollision and damage repairs on an EV can often run about twice that associated with a comparable combustion engine vehicle.””

[missouriboy]

Borns awaiting battery sealent.  When (IF) fixed, they can be re-marketed as ReBorns.

news.yahoo.com/cupra-born-owners-left-without-102430745.html

[ratty]

Robert Bryce is an American author and journalist based in Austin, Texas. His articles on energy, politics, and other topics have appeared in numerous publications, including the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Real Clear Energy, Counterpunch, and National Review.

Ford Lost $4.7B On EVs Last Year, Or About $64,731 For Every EV It Sold



Why is this man smiling? Ford CEO Jim Farley, driving a Ford Lightning in California last September. Photo credit: Russ Mitchell, Los Angeles Times

The company said the $4.7 billion loss reflected “an extremely competitive pricing environment, along with strategic investments in the development of clean-sheet, next-generation EVs.” The $4.7 billion loss is far higher than the $3 billion loss Ford projected back in March. Further, it’s more than double the $2.2 billion loss it recorded in the EV segment in 2022. Thus, in the last two years alone, the company has lost nearly $7 billion on its foray into fully electric automobiles. Recall that, as I reported here last July, the company has plans to spend $50 billion on EVs.

Given the company’s 2023 results, it’s clear that Ford’s headlong plunge into the EV market has been an unmitigated disaster and that the company would be far more profitable had it ignored the EV fad. Of course, the company tried to put a positive spin on its EV results, noting that EV sales rose by 18% last year. But those sales must be put into context. In 2023, Ford sold 750,789 F-Series trucks. Thus, the auto giant sold more than 10 times as many conventionally powered trucks as EVs (72,608).

Warnings about the company’s failing EV business have been coming for months. In December, the automaker announced it was slashing production of its F-150 Lightning in half, from 3,200 trucks per week to 1,600 per week, as part of an effort “to match Lightning production to customer demand.” On January 19, the company said it was cutting production of Lightning even further because, as Reuters reported, “demand for EVs has been lower than expected.”

What should be particularly worrisome for investors — and for the company’s CEO, Jim Farley — is that Ford’s EV losses aren’t falling, they are rising. Indeed, those losses doubled between the first quarter and fourth quarter of 2023. Ford’s first-quarter EV operating loss was $722 million. In the second quarter, it was $1.1 billion. In the third quarter, it was $1.3 billion, and in the fourth quarter, Ford’s EV operating loss hit $1.57 billion.

Ford’s losses are only part of the ongoing train wreck in the EV market. Last October, General Motors said it would delay the opening of a $4 billion electric truck factory in Michigan for a year. That same month, Reuters reported that Honda and General Motors “were ending a $5 billion plan to develop lower-cost EVs together just a year after announcing the effort.” The article continued, noting that GM “would focus near-term EV efforts on meeting demand rather than hitting specific volume targets.”

In November, nearly 3,900 automobile dealers across the country sent a letter to President Biden telling him that EV demand is “not keeping up with the large influx of BEVs arriving at our dealerships prompted by the current regulations. BEVs are stacking up on our lots." They continued, saying EVs are “not selling nearly as fast as they are arriving at our dealerships.”

Etc, etc ...

[acidohm]