Workers marry the body structure with the battery pack and the front and rear sub frames as they assemble electric vehicles at the Lucid Motors plant in Casa Grande, Arizona, September 28, 2021.
Caitlin O’Hara | Reuters
President Joe Biden announced $2.8 billion in grants for 20 companies to produce batteries for electric vehicles in the United States.
The grants are being allocated through the Department of Energy with funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to companies in 12 states. The funding will go toward the creation of battery-grade materials including lithium, graphite and nickel.
Increasing manufacturing capacity of in the United States has been a priority for the Biden administration. In all, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act allocated more than $135 billion toward electric vehicle manufacturing. The president has directed the industry to have EVs comprise half of all new vehicles produced in the United States by 2030.
“The Infrastructure Law also invests in people and companies that are going to build our future like electric vehicles and the advanced batteries that are going to power those vehicles,” Biden said. “This is critically important because the future of vehicles is electric, but the battery is a key part of that electric vehicle and right now 75% of that battery manufacturing is done in China.”
Competing with China is a central incentive for the push. China controls nearly half of global production for some of the materials needed to produce these batteries, Biden said.
“China’s battery technology is not more innovative than anyone else’s,” Biden said. “In fact, our national labs, our research universities, our automakers led the development of this technology here in America, but by undercutting US manufacturers with their unfair subsidies and trade practices, China seized a significant part of the market.”
Biden said the United States is experiencing “one of the most significant economic transitions since the Industrial Revolution.”
In addition to the grants, Biden announced the creation of a new American Battery Manufacturing Initiative which will allow for a full government approach to produce batteries for uses ranging from electric vehicles and homes to defense purposes, the White House says. The move will continue the push to increase American competitiveness by creating more batteries and critical battery components in the U.S.
Although the Nissan Juke EV is set to debut next year, the crossover SUV may still be offered with a gas engine after all.
Nissan looks to sell gas-powered Juke SUV alongside EV
After announcing an investment of up to £3 billion ($3.9 billion) to upgrade its Sunderland, UK, plant, Nissan revealed plans to convert three of its top-selling vehicles to electric.
The new EV models include the next-gen LEAF, Qashqai, and Juke. All will be built at the Sunderland facility as part of the Japanese automaker’s brand revamp.
Nissan is preparing to launch the electric version of its iconic LEAF hatchback later this year, followed by the Juke EV in 2026 and the Qashqai EV in 2027. According to Automotive News, Nissan is looking to keep the gas-powered Juke SUV alive for a little longer.
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The Juke is Nissan’s second-best-selling vehicle in Europe, behind the Qashqai. The report claims Nissan is worried about regulations and the demand for EVs in parts of Europe.
Nissan Juke and Qashqai (Source: Nissan)
Like it did with the Qashqai, Nissan could continue selling the Juke with an upgraded hybrid powertrain. Nissan launched the next-gen Qashqai last month, claiming its e-POWER hybrid powertrain has the “best in C-Crossover segment fuel efficiency, with 4.5L per 100km and a potential range of 1,200km (WLTP).”
Although it uses an electric motor to power the wheels, it still has a gas engine that acts as a generator to charge the battery.
Nissan Juke HEV (Source: Nissan)
The next-gen LEAF, Juke, and Qashqai were expected to be a key part of Nissan’s recovery plans. After quietly delaying the electric Qashqai, will the Juke EV be next?
A report from Japan’s Kyodo News (via Reuters) last month claimed Nissan is already cutting production plans for the 2026 LEAF.
2026 Nissan LEAF (Source: Nissan)
In the US, Nissan is pushing back the production of two electric vehicles that were scheduled to be built in Canton, Mississippi. Is it time for the Japanese automaker to sound the alarm?
Later this year, Nissan will launch the new and improved LEAF EV. After dropping its signature hatchback look for a more crossover SUV-like design, the LEAF is a significant upgrade from the outgoing model, offering longer range, faster charging, and much more.
Should Nissan keep the gas-powered Juke on sale? Or go EV-only as initially planned? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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The case attempts to place some responsibility on Tesla for creating complacency with drivers, who were led to believe Autopilot could do more than it actually could.
George McGee was driving his Model S on Autopilot in Key Largo in April 2019 when he dropped his phone and looked down to pick it up when the car blew past a stop sign at a T intersection, and crashed into a parked Chevrolet Tahoe.
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22-year-old Naibel Benavides Leon and her boyfriend Dillon Angulo were standing next to the parked Tahoe. Benavides died and Angulo was seriously injured.
The police charged McGee with reckless driving, but the families of the victims sued both McGee and Tesla. McGee settled with the plaintiffs, but Tesla hasn’t.
The trial lasted almost a month, but both parties had their closing arguments yesterday, and the jury is now deliberating.
The plaintiffs have asked the jury to award them nearly $345 million in damages, comprising $109 million in compensatory damages and $236 million in punitive damages.
They have alleged that Tesla was careless in how it released and marketed Autopilot, leading owners like McGee to become overconfident in the driver assistance system, which contributed to the crash.
Tesla has been putting all the blame on McGee, who admitted to being distracted.
The automaker has also attempted to claim that it has telemetry data indicating the driver pressed the accelerator pedal. Still, the plaintiffs’ counsel has raised concerns about Tesla’s handling of the data.
It will be interesting to see the results of this trial, which I expect to see any day now. It is a bit of a complicated case, but I don’t think the jury will take weeks of deliberation.
In recent months, Tesla settled two similar cases and we don’t know for how much.
At this point, it’s unclear why the case did not settle before trial, as the trial is not a good look for Tesla, regardless of the outcome. Tesla is working hard to keep most of the information confidential, but specific details are emerging that make the Company look bad.
It’s possible that Tesla tried to settle, but the plaintiffs wouldn’t, or Tesla felt confident about winning this case.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this specific case is being watched by many other legal teams working on other fatal crashes involving Tesla’s ADAS systems.
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Despite sales in the US rising 9%, Ford’s (F) EV sales remained flat in July. Ford says the Mustang Mach-E is back on track, but CEO Jim Farley promises the company will reveal its next “breakthrough” EV in just a few days.
Ford’s US sales rise in July, but EV growth remains flat
Ford sold a total of 198,313 vehicles in the US in July, up 5% year-over-year (YOY). Although it outpaced the estimated industry average of about 5%, Ford’s electric vehicle sales fell a modest 0.2%.
With 5,308 Mustang Mach-Es sold last month, Ford said the electric SUV had its best July ever and is now ahead of its 2024 pace. The Mach-E was hit with a recall earlier this year, affecting nearly 200,000 models in the US.
Overall, Ford sold a total of 8,229 EVs in July, down slightly from the 8,242 it handed over last year. F-150 Lightning posted slightly higher sales (0.3%) with 2,831 units sold.
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Meanwhile, sales of the E-Transit electric van continued slipping with only 90 units sold last month, a decrease of 89% from July 2024.
Ford Mustang Mach-E (left) and F-150 Lightning (right) (Source: Ford)
With 47,217 units sold through the first seven months of 2025, Ford’s EV sales are down 9.9% compared to the same period in 2024.
During Ford’s second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, Farley announced that the company would unveil “plans to design and build a breakthrough electric vehicle and platform in the US.”
2025 Ford Mustang Mach-E (Source: Ford)
Farley called it “a Model T moment” for Ford, adding that it will offer “a chance to bring in a new family of vehicles” with advanced tech, efficiency, space, and features.
Rather than competing with Japanese and South Korean brands in the mass-market EV market, Ford will focus on what it does best — trucks and SUVs. Ford is developing a new, low-cost EV platform and plans to manufacture LFP batteries in Michigan, enabling more affordable and profitable electric models.
2025 Ford F-150 Lightning (Source: Ford)
The first electric model built on Ford’s new platform is expected to be a mid-size pickup truck, set to arrive in 2027. Ford will reveal more about its big EV plans on August 11 in Kentucky.
Following the success of its “From America, For America” campaign, which offered employee pricing to all, Ford launched a new promotion in July, “Triple Zero.” The new campaign offers $0 down, 0% interest, and zero payments for the first 90 days.
Looking to test one out for yourself? You can use our links below to find deals on the Mustang Mach-E and F-150 Lightning at a dealer near you.
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