Three major automakers have come forward and announced an equally-owned company focused on creating a single, cost-effective platform to connect EV drivers, automakers, and utility companies. BMW Group, Ford Motor Company, and American Honda Motor Company have partnered up to create ChargeScape, LLC – potentially unlocking new value as an EV owners in North America.
If you didn’t think the world’s largest automakers weren’t taking electrification seriously, this past summer offers plenty of evidence otherwise. While the overall market and EVs especially remains highly competitive, legacy automakers like BMW, Ford, and Honda have been collaborative in the best way.
First we saw a major domino effect in North America after Ford vowed to adapt Tesla’s NACS charging standard which was followed by GM, and pretty much everyone else thereafter. Then, in late July, seven of the world’s largest automakers including the likes of BMW and Honda announced an alliance to build a clean energy-powered fast charger network in North America consisting of over 30,000 new piles.
While many of these companies remain competitors, it has been refreshing to see them join forces to tackle certain hurdles currently facing EV adoption, such as lack of chargers and a universal standard. Another issue currently lurking ahead is the strength electrical grids in North America as EV adooption grows, in addition to a universal platform for utility companies and EVs to communicate with one another.
Today, Ford, BMW, and Honda have announced ChargeScape, which looks to tackle these exact issues for the benefit of all.
BMW, Ford, and Honda look to decarbonize the grid
According to a press release from BMW Group today on behalf of its new partners in Ford and Honda, ChargeScape emerges as a new company that leverages all three companies’ industry experience with the goal of creating an Open Vehicle-Grid Integration Platform (OVGIP).
By creating a single, universal platform, ChargeScape looks to alleviate any need for individual automakers to interact separately with each electric utility. Instead, ChargeScape’s platform would give utility companies managing the grid in North America access a potentially universal pool of energy across EV batteries.
The newly formed company also says it will be able to gather a trove of energy use data from EVs tapped into the grid while charging, providing utilities with precious aggregated information that can be used to improve energy efficiencies and gain a more granular insight on peak demand windows.
Additionally, BMW, Ford, and Honda state that ChargeScape will give more power (literally and figuratively) to EV owners charging at home, including the potential to earn financial benefits by replenishing during off-peak hours. Better still, vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities should eventually enable those EV owners to send the stored energy in their vehicles batteries directly back into the grid, curbing peak demands while potentially putting some money back into consumer pockets.
Add solar technology and home energy storage systems to the equation and the potential for an energy users giving back to their local grids is tremendous. ChargeScape looks to tap into that prospect. BMW North America’s vice president engineering, Thomas Ruemenapp, spoke:
Electric grid reliability and sustainability are the foundation for an EV powered future. ChargeScape aims to accelerate the expansion of smart charging and vehicle-to-everything solutions all over the country, while increasing customer benefits, supporting the stability of the grid and helping to maximize renewable energy usage. We’re proud to be a founding member of ChargeScape and are looking forward to the opportunities this collaboration will create.
The new business formed by Honda, Ford, and BMW has vowed to also help decarbonize the electrical grid in North America, prioritizing clean energy that comes from renewable sources such as wind and solar. By encouraging EV drivers who own homes to integrate renewables into their charging routines, ChargeScape looks to help lower carbon emissions for all while again, putting more power into the hands of consumers regarding how they obtain, use, and sell their energy. American Honda Motor Co. vice president of sustainability & business development, Jay Joseph also spoke:
As Honda seeks to achieve our global goal of carbon neutrality, we are counting on this platform to create new value for our customers by connecting EVs to electric utilities, strengthening grid resources and reducing CO2 emissions. With automakers accelerating toward the electrified future, we must find solutions like ChargeScape that enable all stakeholders to work together for the good of our customers, society and our industry by enabling greater use of renewable energy for and from mobility.
Lastly, ChargeScape looks to further collaborate in brining its OVGIP future to life. Ford, BMW, and Honda have offered an open invitation to all the other automakers to join the company to help expedite and unlock its full potential.
Electrek’s Take
This is the news I love to see and to share with all of you.
Here we have an American, German, and Japanese automaker each joining an equally-shared company to promote EV adoption in North America. Granted none of these three are truly direct competitors in most vehicle segments, but remain companies fighting for the wallets of North American consumers.
The idea of ChargeScape is a marvel to ponder and to me, represents a step toward a future in EVs I feel is inevitable. I foresee EV drivers who own homes adopting solar and wind, charging their vehicles using renewables and storing it in the cars and in their home power packs, then gaining access to V2G capabilities (pending lots of permitting, regulation, and legislation I’m sure), and becoming active participants in grid infrastructure rather than mere users.
Giving consumers to ability to sell their excess energy back during peak demands – especially if it comes 100% from renewables, is tremendous – and a universal platform from BMW, Ford, and Honda could truly help expedite that dream. I love the open invite to join too and hope more automakers take notice and offer to help. Looking at you Toyota. Haha, yeah right!
This feels like a win for everyone – except maybe utility companies who are going to lose their monopoly on energy sales, but I think they’ll still fare just fine. Power to the people, baby!
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More than 3 years later, the vehicle never went into volume production. Instead, Tesla only ran a very low volume pilot production at a factory in Nevada and only delivered a few dozen trucks to customers as part of test programs.
But Tesla promised that things would finally happen for the Tesla Semi this year.
The goal was to start production in 2025, start customer deliveries, and ramp up to 50,000 trucks yearly.
Now, Ryder, a large transportation company and early customer-partner in Tesla’s semi truck program, is talking about further delays. The company also refers to a significant price increase.
California’s Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee (MSRC) awarded Ryder funding for a project to deploy Tesla Semi trucks and Megachargers at two of its facilities in the state.
Ryder had previously asked for extensions amid the delays in the Tesla Semi program.
In a new letter sent to MSRC last week and obtained by Electrek, Ryder asked the agency for another 28-month delay. The letter references delays in “Tesla product design, vehicle production” and it mentions “dramatic changes to the Tesla product economics”:
This extension is needed due to delays in Tesla product design, vehicle production and dramatic changes to the Tesla product economics. These delays have caused us to reevaluate the current Ryder fleet in the area.
The logistics company now says it plans to “deploy 18 Tesla Semi vehicles by June 2026.”
The reference to “dramatic changes to the Tesla product economics” points to a significant price increase for the Tesla Semi, which further communication with MSRC confirms.
In the agenda of a meeting to discuss the extension and changes to the project yesterday, MSRC confirms that the project went from 42 to 18 Tesla Semi trucks while the project commitment is not changing:
Ryder has indicated that their electric tractor manufacturer partner, Tesla, has experienced continued delays in product design and production. There have also been dramatic changes to the product economics. Ryder requests to reduce the number of vehicles from 42 to 18, stating that this would maintain their $7.5 million private match commitment.
In addition to the electric trucks, the project originally involved installing two integrated power centers and four Tesla Megachargers, split between two locations. Ryder is also looking to now install 3 Megachargers per location for a total of 6 instead of 4.
The project changes also mention that “Ryder states that Tesla now requires 600kW chargers rather than the 750kW units originally engineered.”
Tesla Semi Price
When originally unveiling the Tesla Semi in 2017, the automaker mentioned prices of $150,000 for a 300-mile range truck and $180,000 for the 500-mile version. Tesla also took orders for a “Founder’s Series Semi” at $200,000.
However, Tesla didn’t update the prices when launching the “production version” of the truck in late 2023. Price increases have been speculated, but the company has never confirmed them.
New diesel-powered Class 8 semi trucks in the US today often range between $150,000 and $220,000.
The combination of a reasonable purchase price and low operation costs, thanks to cheaper electric rates than diesel, made the Tesla Semi a potentially revolutionary product to reduce the overall costs of operation in trucking while reducing emissions.
However, Ryder now points to a “dramatic” price increase for the Tesla Semi.
What is the cost of a Tesla Semi electric truck now?
Electrek’s Take
As I have often stated, Tesla Semi is the vehicle program I am most excited about at Tesla right now.
If Tesla can produce class 8 trucks capable of moving cargo of similar weight as diesel trucks over 500 miles on a single charge in high volume at a reasonable price point, they have a revolutionary product on their hands.
But the reasonable price part is now being questioned.
After reading the communications between Ryder and MSRC, while not clear, it looks like the program could be interpreted as MSRC covering the costs of installing the charging stations while Ryder committed $7.5 million to buying the trucks.
The math makes sense for the original funding request since $7.5 million divided by 42 trucks results in around $180,000 per truck — what Tesla first quoted for the 500-mile Tesla Semi truck.
Now, with just 18 trucks, it would point to a price of $415,000 per Tesla Semi truck. It’s possible that some of Ryder’s commitment could also go to an increase in Megacharger prices – either per charger or due to the two additional chargers. MSRC said that they don’t give more money when prices go up after an extension.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the 500-mile Tesla Semi ends up costing $350,000 to $400,000.
If that’s the case, Tesla Semi is impressive, but it won’t be the revolutionary product that will change the trucking industry.
It will need to be closer to $250,000-$300,000 to have a significant impact, which is not impossible with higher-volume production but would be difficult.
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British oil and gasoline company BP (British Petroleum) signage is being pictured in Warsaw, Poland, on July 29, 2024.
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
British oil major BP on Friday said its chair Helge Lund will soon step down, kickstarting a succession process shortly after the company launched a fundamental strategic reset.
“Having fundamentally reset our strategy, bp’s focus now is on delivering the strategy at pace, improving performance and growing shareholder value,” Lund said in a statement.
“Now is the right time to start the process to find my successor and enable an orderly and seamless handover,” he added.
Lund is expected to step down in 2026. BP said the succession process will be led by Amanda Blanc in her capacity as senior independent director.
Shares of BP traded 2.2% lower on Friday morning. The London-listed firm has lagged its industry rivals in recent years.
BP announced in February that it plans to ramp up annual oil and gas investment to $10 billion through 2027 and slash spending on renewables as part of its new strategic direction.
Analysts have broadly welcomed BP’s renewed focus on hydrocarbons, although the beleaguered energy giant remains under significant pressure from activist investors.
U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management has built a stake of around 5% to become one of BP’s largest shareholders, according to Reuters.
Activist investor Follow This, meanwhile, recently pushed for investors to vote against Lund’s reappointment as chair at BP’s April 17 shareholder meeting in protest over the firm’s recent strategy U-turn.
Lund had previously backed BP’s 2020 strategy, when Bernard Looney was CEO, to boost investment in renewables and cut production of oil and gas by 40% by 2030.
BP CEO Murray Auchincloss, who took the helm on a permanent basis in January last year, is under significant pressure to reassure investors that the company is on the right track to improve its financial performance.
‘A more clearly defined break’
“Elliott continues to press BP for a sharper, more clearly defined break with the strategy to pivot more quickly toward renewables, that was outlined by Bernard Looney when he was CEO,” Russ Mould, AJ Bell’s investment director, told CNBC via email on Friday.
“Mr Lund was chair then and so he is firmly associated with that plan, which current boss Murray Auchincloss is refining,” he added.
Mould said activist campaigns tend to have “fairly classic thrusts,” such as a change in management or governance, higher shareholder distributions, an overhaul of corporate structure and operational improvements.
“In BP’s case, we now have a shift in capital allocation and a change in management, so it will be interesting to see if this appeases Elliott, though it would be no surprise if it feels more can and should be done,” Mould said.
On today’s hyped up hydrogen episode of Quick Charge, we look at some of the fuel’s recent failures and billion dollar bungles as the fuel cell crowd continues to lose the credibility race against a rapidly evolving battery electric market.
We’re taking a look at some of the recent hydrogen failures of 2025 – including nine-figure product cancellations in the US and Korea, a series of simultaneous bus failures in Poland, and European executives, experts, and economists calling for EU governments to ditch hydrogen and focus on the deployment of a more widespread electric trucking infrastructure.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus 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.
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