Silverado EV and Endurance production plans; Tesla delays Cybertruck, Semi, Roadster, and $25,000 EV: The Week in Reverse

Which luxury brand revealed a plug-in hybrid with DC fast-charging?

Which industry made an appeal to Congress to host charging infrastructure?

This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending January 28, 2022.

In Tesla’s quarterly update call—this one singled out specifically as a product update—CEO Elon Musk confirmed that the Cybertruck, Roadster, and Semi are all delayed to 2023. He also said that development of a $25,000 global EV is delayed. It hasn’t yet started, and Musk claimed the affordability disruption of Tesla’s full self-driving system is far greater.

This week brought several new EV-production announcements. GM on Tuesday announced plans to convert its Orion Assembly plant in Michigan for the production of the Chevrolet Silverado EV and another GMC electric pickup, starting in 2024. It also confirmed a third Ultium Cells LLC joint-venture battery plant for Lansing, Michigan, on the way to 1 million EVs annually by 2025 and a 600,000 annual electric-truck capacity in Michigan. And in Crewe, England, Bentley is investing in converting its factory for the production of its first electric car in 2025. The upgrades will reduce the environmental footprint of all its vehicles, the brand claims. 

The chairman of iPhone maker Foxconn said that its former GM factory in Ohio will be making and delivering Lordstown Endurance electric trucks later this year. With contract manufacturing in the works with Fisker, the Endurance is this revamped facility’s first test.

Kia revealed pricing for the 2022 EV6 electric hatchback. It goes 232 miles in base rear-wheel-drive form, starting at $42,115, while versions with the larger battery pack offer up to 310 miles and start at $48,215. 

2023 Land Rover Range Rover P440e

Land Rover confirmed pricing and range for the U.S.-bound Range Rover P440e plug-in hybrid. The P440e will go 48 electric EPA miles, it estimates, and it offers DC fast-charging. 

The Tesla Model 3 and Model Y were the top-rated fully electric models, along with the Kia Niro EV and Ford Mustang Mach-E, in a survey of EV buyer satisfaction from J.D. Power. It found that while first-time EV buyers are all-electric converts but won’t stick with the brand if there are issues with quality or other details.

2022 Kia Niro EV

Tesla Insurance has expanded to five states—Arizona, California, Illinois, Ohio, and Texas—and real-time driving behavior now factors in for all of them but California. 

Sales of e-bikes now top sales of electric cars in the U.S., and the surge that the market saw in 2020 continued through 2021—although they’re at nothing like the levels seen in Europe and Asia. 

Factorial Energy reported that it’s raised another funding round, including Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis, with a pilot production facility for its solid-state battery technology in the works and plans for range-boosting test cells for manufacturers soon. 

Blink Level 2 charging station at Firestone service center

Bridgestone is planning to install EV chargers at some of its Firestone service locations, as part of a push to provide maintenance and repair for EVs and hybrids.

In the UK, Mini has launched a “bespoke upcycling” program for converting classic Minis to all-electric. Original engines are preserved and changes are reversible, under the Mini Recharged program, but these models’ 120 hp and 100 miles of range add up to a new way to enjoy a classic.

Autonomy Tesla subscription by the month

American gas stations and convenience stores want to be EV charging hubs—with the right incentives, and the flattening of demand charges, of course. 

Last weekend we looked at two low-commitment ways of testing EV ownership with a Tesla Model 3 subscription. Both plans are only offered in California and cost more than $1,000 a month, but more by-the-month subscription options for EVs are coming soon. 

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