Kia EV6 reveal, Mercedes EQS details, Lexus Electrified concept, Biden EV plan: The Week in Reverse

Which California EV startup abruptly changed its business plan?

Which automaker created a separate plug-in hybrid system for performance cars?

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending April 2, 2021.

This week we saw—remotely, of course—several significant electric-car debuts. On Monday, Kia revealed its first dedicated electric vehicle—one unrelated to any gasoline vehicle. The EV6 electric crossover boasts a 0-60 mph time of under 3.5 seconds, 18-minute fast-charging, and about a 300-mile range, so it might be the closest rival yet to the Tesla Model Y Performance. On Tuesday, Lexus took the wraps off its LF-Z Electrified concept, which hints at an electric future for the brand, and an “electrified” version of every Lexus model by 2025—although the brand was hazy about what it means by electrified. And then on Wednesday Hyundai revealed the latest in a series of electric 2-door concepts. The Genesis X concept has us thinking this is the one headed to production. 

Hyundai also quietly revealed a new template for fast-charging stations, called E-Pit, that would be 800-volt-capable and appear to be inspired by both racing pits and modern gas stations. 

The Ford Mustang Mach-E is moving at dealership lots, with the automaker on pace to sell 25,000 to 30,000 of them annually. Will Ford scale it up? And Ford hit pause on sales of its branded connected home wallbox for the Mustang Mach-E, due to an issue that’s the wallbox, not the car. There are plenty of other charger options. 

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E First Edition

A quarterly update from Tesla had some great sales news, with more than double the deliveries of the same quarter last year. But it revealed that it still isn’t delivering the refreshed Model S yet—or even making it. 

No, the Lucid Air isn’t in production quite yet; but this week Lucid released a video showing how quality will be a top priority when it ramps up. 

Rivian published more about the warranty on its electric trucks, and it’s very good—reaching out to 175,000 miles and outdoing every other EV maker in the U.S. market on battery and powertrain coverage. 

Rivian R1T

Daimler released a significantly higher range number for the upcoming 2022 Mercedes EQS that might make it more competitive with the Model S. And on Friday, we brought you 12 things to know about the EQS, which oddly, is the first car in nine years to fit the mold of the Tesla Model S. 

BMW’s current CEO says that models build on dedicated EV platforms “all look alike,” as he follows a strategy set by earlier execs in which its EVs share the same toolkit as gasoline models. That said, it’s planning its own dedicated EV platform for the middle of the decade. 

Mercedes-AMG, with its top-performance versions of Mercedes-Benz models, revealed its own high-performance plug-in hybrid system that uses F1-based battery technology and a 2-speed rear gearbox much like that of the Porsche Taycan to make you want the electric boost as much in track time as for the commute. 

Canoo renderings for potential lineup

Things have definitely changed course for the California EV startup Canoo. With a financial call earlier this week, the company ambushed investors with a change in focus to commercial fleet sales and away from a subscription-based model. The deal with Hyundai appears to be off, too. 

Static and dynamic wireless charging are being combined for a bus loop in Israel—both to show the viability of such charging, and to show that it might allow smaller batteries and less idle time.

Libertine IntelliGen free-piston range extender

Free-piston engines have been around—at the idea phase—for decades; but several companies and groups are now focusing on their potential as compact range extenders that might be packaged much like a battery pack. 

Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha together make up half of the global motorcycle market, and last month they came to an agreement on battery-swapping for electric motorcycles. This is going to be big. 

Electrify America Jeep 4xe Charging Network

Electrify America will be helping establish an off-road-focused Jeep charging network, with the first Level 2 charging sites—some of them solar-powered—arriving later this year in California and Utah. 

Would you buy an electric VW with the “Voltswagen” badge? We would, and we think it’s a lot better than the ID sub-brand. Too bad VW only intended it as an April Fools’ prank. 

 And we juggled dozens of policy statements and fact sheets Wednesday as the Biden administration revealed a comprehensive $2 trillion infrastructure plan that sees electric car chargers, point-of-sale EV rebates, more E&D, and utility-scale energy storage all part of a cleaner future. 

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Which California EV startup abruptly changed its business plan?

Which automaker created a separate plug-in hybrid system for performance cars?

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending April 2, 2021.

This week we saw—remotely, of course—several significant electric-car debuts. On Monday, Kia revealed its first dedicated electric vehicle—one unrelated to any gasoline vehicle. The EV6 electric crossover boasts a 0-60 mph time of under 3.5 seconds, 18-minute fast-charging, and about a 300-mile range, so it might be the closest rival yet to the Tesla Model Y Performance. On Tuesday, Lexus took the wraps off its LF-Z Electrified concept, which hints at an electric future for the brand, and an “electrified” version of every Lexus model by 2025—although the brand was hazy about what it means by electrified. And then on Wednesday Hyundai revealed the latest in a series of electric 2-door concepts. The Genesis X concept has us thinking this is the one headed to production. 

Hyundai also quietly revealed a new template for fast-charging stations, called E-Pit, that would be 800-volt-capable and appear to be inspired by both racing pits and modern gas stations. 

The Ford Mustang Mach-E is moving at dealership lots, with the automaker on pace to sell 25,000 to 30,000 of them annually. Will Ford scale it up? And Ford hit pause on sales of its branded connected home wallbox for the Mustang Mach-E, due to an issue that’s the wallbox, not the car. There are plenty of other charger options. 

A quarterly update from Tesla had some great sales news, with more than double the deliveries of the same quarter last year. But it revealed that it still isn’t delivering the refreshed Model S yet—or even making it. 

No, the Lucid Air isn’t in production quite yet; but this week Lucid released a video showing how quality will be a top priority when it ramps up. 

Rivian published more about the warranty on its electric trucks, and it’s very good—reaching out to 175,000 miles and outdoing every other EV maker in the U.S. market on battery and powertrain coverage. 

Daimler released a significantly higher range number for the upcoming 2022 Mercedes EQS that might make it more competitive with the Model S. And on Friday, we brought you 12 things to know about the EQS, which oddly, is the first car in nine years to fit the mold of the Tesla Model S. 

BMW’s current CEO says that models build on dedicated EV platforms “all look alike,” as he follows a strategy set by earlier execs in which its EVs share the same toolkit as gasoline models. That said, it’s planning its own dedicated EV platform for the middle of the decade. 

Mercedes-AMG, with its top-performance versions of Mercedes-Benz models, revealed its own high-performance plug-in hybrid system that uses F1-based battery technology and a 2-speed rear gearbox much like that of the Porsche Taycan to make you want the electric boost as much in track time as for the commute. 

Things have definitely changed course for the California EV startup Canoo. With a financial call earlier this week, the company ambushed investors with a change in focus to commercial fleet sales and away from a subscription-based model. The deal with Hyundai appears to be off, too. 

Static and dynamic wireless charging are being combined for a bus loop in Israel—both to show the viability of such charging, and to show that it might allow smaller batteries and less idle time.

Free-piston engines have been around—at the idea phase—for decades; but several companies and groups are now focusing on their potential as compact range extenders that might be packaged much like a battery pack. 

Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha together make up half of the global motorcycle market, and last month they came to an agreement on battery-swapping for electric motorcycles. This is going to be big. 

Electrify America will be helping establish an off-road-focused Jeep charging network, with the first Level 2 charging sites—some of them solar-powered—arriving later this year in California and Utah. 

Would you buy an electric VW with the “Voltswagen” badge? We would, and we think it’s a lot better than the ID sub-brand. Too bad VW only intended it as an April Fools’ prank. 

And we juggled dozens of policy statements and fact sheets Wednesday as the Biden administration revealed a comprehensive $2 trillion infrastructure plan that sees electric car chargers, point-of-sale EV rebates, more E&D, and utility-scale energy storage all part of a cleaner future.