Environment

CEO of a major autos retailer on the reasons behind electric vehicle hesitancy

Published

3 years ago

September 15, 2021

admin

In this article

UBER
PDG-GB

A space for electric vehicle charging in London, U.K.

Keith Mayhew/SOPA Images | LightRocket | Getty Images

The CEO of major automotive retailer Pendragon has acknowledged the challenges facing the electric vehicle sector but believes that adoption rates will increase going forward.

Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday, Bill Berman said powertrains needed to change and described himself as “a big fan of electric vehicles.”

“I’m also a big fan of hydrogben — I think it has a role to play and I think it’ll start coming on a little bit stronger in the years to come,” he said. “People’s hesitancy … around electric is multifaceted,” he added.

“First off, it’s unknown — no one’s ever driven an electric car so there’s a lot of uncertainty that goes along with that,” Berman said, alluding to the fact many people are yet to get behind the wheel of an EV.

“There’s range anxiety which most consumers call out. Even though … most consumers drive less than 50 miles a day, knowing that you can’t easily refuel your vehicle creates hesitancy.”

Range anxiety refers to the idea that electric vehicles aren’t able to undertake long journeys without running out of charge and getting stranded. In order to tackle this, sufficient charging infrastructure will need to be developed in the years ahead.

To this point, Berman explained how, in his view, there were challenges related to where a vehicle could be charged. “Most homes aren’t equipped power supply wise, most office buildings don’t have it,” he said.

“It’s kind of the proverbial ‘chicken and egg’ but as more electric vehicles are sold and more infrastructure is put in — whether it’s in North America, Europe or the U.K. — I think adoption rates will rise.”

More from CNBC Climate:

Read more about how businesses and consumers are fighting and adapting to climate change:

Solar prices jumped in the second quarter, reversing recent trends

More than 80% say they’d change their behavior to fight climate change, but U.S. conservatives lag

Firm behind ‘world’s most powerful tidal turbine’ to head up new $31 million energy project

As technology develops and concerns about the environment grow, the automotive industry looks set for some significant changes in the years ahead.

In his interview with CNBC, Berman sought to paint a picture of how this might play out. “I think people will adopt … alternative modes of transportation,” he said.

“I think people will adopt different ways to commute and get around, as well as different powertrains … whether it’s electric, hydrogen.”

“At some point down the road there’s going to be autonomous vehicles,” he said. “And, you know, you could be calling a pod to pick you up, Uber-esque and … take you to the market every day.”

Pendragon, which is headquartered in the U.K. and listed on the London Stock Exchange, on Wednesday announced an underlying profit before tax of £35.1 million ($48.55 million) for the first half of the financial year. This compares to a £31 million loss for the first half of the financial year in 2020.

Environment

Cybertruck backlog runs out, Model S gets stuck, GM hits a sales milestone

Published

7 hours ago

November 5, 2024

admin

Cybertruck backlog runs out, Model S gets stuck, GM hits a sales milestone

On today’s episode of Quick Charge, Tesla’s Cybertruck is now available in Canada – and, like in the US, there’s no waiting! Plus, we’ve got an “actually” smart summon Tesla that’s actually stuck, GM reaches a sales milestone, and we get a brand-new title sponsor!

Today’s episode is the first with our new title sponsor, BLUETTI – a leading provider of portable power stations, solar generators, and energy storage systems.

Source Links

Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.

New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonusLucid proves than an EV company can keep its promises while Xiaomi teams up with Chevrolet and Honda to prove – at least conceptually – that records are made to be broken. audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news!

Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show!

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Environment

This ‘supercharger on wheels’ brings fast charging to you [update]

Published

9 hours ago

November 4, 2024

admin

This 'supercharger on wheels' brings fast charging to you [update]

Mobile car care company Yoshi Mobility launched a DC fast charging EV mobile unit that it likens to “a supercharger on wheels.”

November 4, 2024 update: Yoshi Mobility will only be charging EVs on the side of the road now – it announced today that it’s selling its fleet fueling operation to EZFill Holdings (Nasdaq: EZFL).

It was originally founded as a direct-to-consumer, mobile fueling business in 2016, but now it’s going to focus on mobile EV charging, virtual vehicle inspections for partners like Uber and Turo, and onsite preventative maintenance.

Bryan Frist, Yoshi Mobility’s CEO & cofounder, said, “By spinning off our fuel business and focusing all of our energy on solving hair-on-fire problems that fleet owners face, we are meeting the changing needs of enterprise customers while making the future of transportation safer, cleaner, and more sustainable.”

May 22, 2024: Yoshi Mobility saw that its existing customers needed mobile EV charging in places where infrastructure has yet to be installed, so the Nashville-based company decided to bring the mountain to Moses.

“We recognized a demand among our customers for convenient daily charging, reliable private charging networks, and proper charging infrastructure to support their fleet vehicles as they transition to electric,” said Dan Hunter, Yoshi Mobility’s chief EV officer and cofounder.

The company says its 240 kW mobile DC fast charger, which can turn “any EV” into a mobile charging unit, is the first fully electric mobile charger available. It can provide multiple charges in a single trip but doesn’t detail how they charge the DC fast charger or who manufactured it. (I asked for more details, and they replied that they won’t disclose client names or the manufacturer of its DC fast charger yet.)

Yoshi is launching its mobile charger on two GM BrightDrop Zevo 600s and will introduce additional vehicles throughout 2024. It aims for full commercialization by Q1 2025. (I wonder if the Zevo 600 ever charges itself? Yes, I asked that too.)

Yoshi Mobility says it’s already deployed its EV charging solutions to service “major OEMs, autonomous vehicle companies, and rideshare operators” across the US. Its initial customers are made up of large EV operators managing “hundreds” of light-duty vehicles requiring up to 1 megawatt of energy per day that don’t yet have grid-connected EV chargers. I’ve asked Yoshi for details of who it’s working with, and will update if they share that info.

The company says pricing is based on location and enterprise charging needs. Once under contract for service, the service will be deployed to US-based customers within 10 days.

To date, Yoshi Mobility has raised more than $60 million, with investments from GM Ventures, Bridgestone, ExxonMobil, and Y-Combinator in Silicon Valley.

If you’re an electric vehicle owner, charge up your car at home with rooftop solar panels. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing on solar, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. They have hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.

Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisers to help you every step of the way. Get started here. –ad*

FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.

Environment

Marqeta shares plunge more than 30% on big forecast miss

Published

9 hours ago

November 4, 2024

admin

Marqeta shares plunge more than 30% on big forecast miss

Marqeta celebrates its initial public offering at the Nasdaq on June 9, 2021.

Source: The Nasdaq

Marqeta shares tumbled more than 30% in extended trading on Monday after the company issued weaker-than-expected guidance for the fourth quarter.

Here’s how the company did compared with Wall Street estimates, based on a survey of analysts by LSEG:

Loss per share: 6 cents adjusted vs. a loss of 5 cents expected
Revenue: $128 million vs. $128.1 million expected

While third-quarter results showed a slight disappointment on the top and bottom lines, Marqeta’s forecast for the current period was more concerning.

The payment processing firm said revenue in the fourth quarter will increase 10% to 12% from a year earlier. Analysts were looking for growth of more than 17%, according to LSEG.

Marqeta, which primarily functions as a card-issuing platform, attributed the guidance miss to “heightened scrutiny of the banking environment and specific customer program changes.” The company has been struggling for a while, and its stock is now down more than 80% from its peak in 2021, the year it went public. The stock was down 15% for the year prior to the report.

Total processing volume of $74 billion was up more than 30% from a year earlier. Net revenue and gross profit were up 18% and 24%, respectively.

Marqeta’s digital commerce business sells payment technology designed to detect potential fraud and ensure that money is properly routed. It also issues customized physical cards that look like a credit or debit card that can be used for point-of-sale purchases.

The company has been trying to break into the buy now, pay later business with a recently launched product called Marqeta Flex. The service brings BNPL from lenders such as Affirm or Klarna to any credit card wherever Mastercard and Visa are accepted.

“It’s an orchestration layer, but it’s tied to issuing and processing and disputes and chargebacks,” CEO Simon Khalaf told CNBC at Money2020 in Las Vegas last week. “So it is not actually a Wild West in BNPL. It is actually very well established. And there is a reason why a lot of people are jumping to it.”