[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by Mr_Draco

With such a huge increase, I wonder what's going to stop companies from importing to Mexico or Canada first and then to US to avoid the tariff. Surely the cost of doing it this way is cheaper than the equivalent of the cost of the vehicle.

The tariffs are based on where the vehicles are built. Built in China, then shipping to Mexico won’t cut it. Building in Mexico? Stay tuned.

[docwra]

Originally Posted by Evergreen6

I wasn't likely to ever be in the market for a Chinese-made vehicle unless it was my only choice, and I wouldn't be enthusiastic about it.

Why not? Where a car is manufactured doesnt affect the ownership experience, does it?

You see quite a few MGs round these parts and BYD are making inroads too - my company uses them as rental cars and the guys are generally very positive about them, the cheapest MG EV is less than the cheapest ICE Ford Focus too.

[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by docwra

Why not? Where a car is manufactured doesnt affect the ownership experience, does it?

You see quite a few MGs round these parts and BYD are making inroads too - my company uses them as rental cars and the guys are generally very positive about them, the cheapest MG EV is less than the cheapest ICE Ford Focus too.

As an automotive analyst I see it as an interesting development that has long reaching tentacles.

As a customer I see it as I want the best product at the best price and would be only moderately interested in where it comes from.

As an American I am concerned about the economic effects of dumping low cost / high quality product on the US market. Domestic production would decline, jobs would be lost and the US economy would take a solid broadside hit. For those old enough to remember when the US had companies that manufactured televisions and radios, or had a thriving textile industry in the middle Atlantic states, or the impact Japanese imported cars had on employment in the US, combine the impacts of all of these and you have reason to be concerned.

With the auto industry, it’s not just the plant that rolls the vehicle out the door. It’s also all of the parts suppliers from the big Tier I suppliers to the mom and pop that supplies towels and janitorial services. And its the small towns that grow up around these plants and businesses.

[Martinjlm]

Two interesting but incredibly different takes on electric vehicles. Totally opposite ends of the vehicle spectrum.

Electric Garbage Trucks help supplement the grid

Mack garbage trucks join bidirectional charging game
Evergreen Waste Services electric Mack garbage trucks will collect refuse during the day and charge the grid overnight.

Multiple automakers see bidirectional charging — which allows electric vehicles to send stored electricity back into the power grid — as a useful tool for managing regional energy networks.

However, those players, including BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Kia and Volvo, all make light vehicles. It turns out there's a bigger dog in the house: the Mack bulldog.

Evergreen Waste Services just acquired the first of five Mack LR Electric garbage trucks it plans to use in Delaware. The EVs will allow the refuse collector to play an energy arbitrage game made possible by the truck's bidirectional charging feature.

The Hockessin, Del., company's acquisition increase its 50-truck fleet by 10 percent. The first truck went into service this week. It will make 600 pick-ups and travel about 40 miles each day.
Besides reducing the noise from garbage trucks as they navigate neighborhoods on their collection runs, Evergreen Waste Services plans to charge the vehicles at night when electricity rates are low and sell some of that energy back to grid operators during peak demand hours. The savings will help offset operational costs.

"The LR Electric purchase will be a home run if the vehicle can handle 600 stops and go back to the yard because it significantly allows us to save money on diesel and maintenance needs," Marcus Stevens, CEO of Evergreen Waste Services, said in a statement.

"It will be a grand slam if we discharge energy back to the grid and receive a credit back. That makes this really attractive," he said.

Stevens expects the refuse trucks to return to the company's depot with the batteries about 40 percent depleted. The plan is to send the remaining power back to the grid during peak hours and then charge late at night into the early morning. Evergreen will have the trucks plugged in and ready to go by 5 a.m. each day.

Rivian reports huge losses
Rivian reported $1.45 billion net loss for the 1wst quarter of 2024. Revenue also increased to $1.2 billion on a 71% increase in sales. A lot of the loss is tied to retooling the Normal Ill plant where they build the R1T pickup and R1S utility. After the retool Rivian will be able to also build the recently revealed R2 and R3. The original plan was to build a plant near Atlanta to produce those vehicles. They expect to still build that plant, but for the short to mid-term, all product will come out of the Normal plant. So now the race is to get the R2 to market at higher volume to drive enough revenue to stem the money bleed.

[GreenZLE]

Originally Posted by Martinjlm

Two interesting but incredibly different takes on electric vehicles. Totally opposite ends of the vehicle spectrum.

Electric Garbage Trucks help supplement the grid

Mack garbage trucks join bidirectional charging game
Evergreen Waste Services electric Mack garbage trucks will collect refuse during the day and charge the grid overnight.

Multiple automakers see bidirectional charging — which allows electric vehicles to send stored electricity back into the power grid — as a useful tool for managing regional energy networks.

However, those players, including BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Kia and Volvo, all make light vehicles. It turns out there's a bigger dog in the house: the Mack bulldog.

Evergreen Waste Services just acquired the first of five Mack LR Electric garbage trucks it plans to use in Delaware. The EVs will allow the refuse collector to play an energy arbitrage game made possible by the truck's bidirectional charging feature.

The Hockessin, Del., company's acquisition increase its 50-truck fleet by 10 percent. The first truck went into service this week. It will make 600 pick-ups and travel about 40 miles each day.
Besides reducing the noise from garbage trucks as they navigate neighborhoods on their collection runs, Evergreen Waste Services plans to charge the vehicles at night when electricity rates are low and sell some of that energy back to grid operators during peak demand hours. The savings will help offset operational costs.

"The LR Electric purchase will be a home run if the vehicle can handle 600 stops and go back to the yard because it significantly allows us to save money on diesel and maintenance needs," Marcus Stevens, CEO of Evergreen Waste Services, said in a statement.

"It will be a grand slam if we discharge energy back to the grid and receive a credit back. That makes this really attractive," he said.

Stevens expects the refuse trucks to return to the company's depot with the batteries about 40 percent depleted. The plan is to send the remaining power back to the grid during peak hours and then charge late at night into the early morning. Evergreen will have the trucks plugged in and ready to go by 5 a.m. each day.

Rivian reports huge losses
Rivian reported $1.45 billion net loss for the 1wst quarter of 2024. Revenue also increased to $1.2 billion on a 71% increase in sales. A lot of the loss is tied to retooling the Normal Ill plant where they build the R1T pickup and R1S utility. After the retool Rivian will be able to also build the recently revealed R2 and R3. The original plan was to build a plant near Atlanta to produce those vehicles. They expect to still build that plant, but for the short to mid-term, all product will come out of the Normal plant. So now the race is to get the R2 to market at higher volume to drive enough revenue to stem the money bleed.

Feeding power back into the grid during an emergency might be attractive but I cant see it being a great up front sell. There's energy loss when charging those batteries and energy loss when they feed it back in. The power company would have to pay a ?% premium for taking that energy back or its a huge net loss for the truck owner.

[Evergreen6]

Originally Posted by docwra

Why not? Where a car is manufactured doesnt affect the ownership experience, does it?

You see quite a few MGs round these parts and BYD are making inroads too - my company uses them as rental cars and the guys are generally very positive about them, the cheapest MG EV is less than the cheapest ICE Ford Focus too.

MartinJim basically said what I was thinking. To expand on that, China isn't a great partner to the US for a lot of reasons. China makes some arguably good and high quality vehicles, but that's only half the equation for me.

I don't need or want a cheap EV; saving money isn't my top priority.