Mullen’s electric trucks earn CARB certification, qualifying for over $45k in customer savings
Seven months after kicking off production of its Class 3 electric trucks in Mississippi, EV startup Mullen Automotive has secured fruitful environmental compliance and approvals from CARB and the EPA. As a result, those CARB-compliant states and Washington DC enable tremendous savings to fleet operators who purchase electric trucks from Mullen.
2023 was an interesting year for Mullen Automotive ($MULN) as the veteran EV startup took significant strides in expanding its commercial EV operations after claiming a majority stake in Bollinger Motors in September of 2022 and wholly acquiring ELMS and its IP one month later.
Since then, we saw Mullen commence production of its THREE Class 3 electric trucks in Tunica, Mississippi – a site that is also home to the production of its ONE Class 1 electric vans, which recently began deliveries.
Despite noted efforts to expand commercial EV development and sales to fund its passenger vehicle program, Mullen faced several financial hurdles, including the threat of Nasdaq delisting> In May of 2022, Mullen completed a 1-for-25 reverse stock split, followed by a 1-for-9 reverse split in August, but still fell below the $1 threshold to remain compliant on the stock market.
As of January 2024, however, Mullen is back well beyond the dollar threshold as its stock was trading over $7 at market open this morning. While it sits in a better place financially, Mullen looks to bolster its electric van and truck deliveries in the US and has gained the necessary certification to enable tens of thousands of dollars in state incentives for specific commercial customers.
Mullen electric truck joins Class 1 van in CARB certification
Per Mullen, its THREE all-electric Class 3 low cab forward chassis truck has officially received certification from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as well as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The electric truck now joins Mullen’s Class 1 van in dual certification, as well as full compliance with the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), thus qualifying for state incentives for those 15 territories that are CARB compliant:
- California
- Connecticut
- Colorado
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Vermont
Following CARB certification, Mullen says it can begin selling the THREE electric trucks in all 50 states plus D.C., starting at a suggested MSRP of $68,500. However, only the commercial customers in those 14 CARB-compliant states plus D.C. can take advantage of the total incentives for buying zero-emissions vehicles – rebates that can go as high as $45,000 per truck.
Mullen also points out that combined with the $7,500 federal tax credit, commercial customers can purchase a new THREE electric truck at a net cost below $20,000. Mullen chairman and CEO David Michery spoke:
CARB approval accelerates commercialization of the Mullen THREE and makes our vehicle even more appealing to customers who want to electrify their fleets. Having both our Class 1 and Class 3 commercial EVs now CARB and EPA certified will continue to drive sales in all states across America.
THREE deliveries were originally expected to begin last summer, but with ONE van deliveries now underway and THREE CARB certification in place, electric truck sales and fleet deliveries finally feel imminent.
Electrek’s take
Mullen had an up-down year in 2023, but it’s good to see it compliant after some stock issues, lawsuits, and lots of finger-pointing. The startup is making a name for itself in the commercial sector, which is encouraging.
Granted, Mullen is manufacturing and selling intellectual property it purchased from other companies, but it is currently the only company delivering Class 1 electric vans if I’m not mistaken. I’m still not convinced Mullen’s passenger EV business is anything more than vapor, but continued sales and deliveries in the commercial space could prove lucrative and help fund that R&D in the future.
Or, and I’m just spitballin’ here, Mullen may find its niche in commercial EVs and focus its entire business model around developing those products. We shall see. Either way, it’s refreshing to see this company delivering EVs, and thanks to CARB, those potential savings could prove mighty enticing to fleet operators in the US.
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Environment
Toyota the EV battery supplier? Honda will use them to power up its 400,000 hybrids in the US
Toyota is now a battery supplier? That’s the plan. Honda will use Toyota’s batteries to power up its around 400,000 hybrids sold in the US.
Toyota will supply batteries for Honda hybrids in the US
Toyota’s $14 billion battery plant in North Carolina is ready for business. The facility will begin shipping out batteries next month, and it looks like Toyota already has its first customer.
According to a new Nikkei report, starting in fiscal 2025, Toyota will supply batteries for the roughly 400,000 Honda hybrids sold in the US.
Honda currently uses batteries from China and Japan for vehicles sold in the US, but the company is (like most) preparing for changes under Trump.
Honda’s electrified vehicles, including EVs and hybrids, accounted for over a quarter of US sales last year. The company sold over 308,500 hybrids and 40,400 electric vehicles in the US in 2024. The batteries will likely be used in the CR-V and other Honda hybrid vehicles.
Earlier this month, an extra 10% tariff on imports from China took effect. And that’s on top of the 10% imposed in February.
With more expected, including a 25% increase in vehicles imported from Japan, automakers are tightening up their supply chains.
A 25% tariff on Japanese vehicles, up from 2.5% currently, is estimated to cost the six major Japanese automakers about $20 billion in the US.
Tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada could cost Honda roughly $4.7 billion alone. Teaming up with Toyota to use its batteries for its hybrids is part of Japan’s broader global plans to ween off dependence on China and others for batteries and other emerging tech.
The new US plant, Toyota Battery Manufacturing North Carolina (TBMC), is over seven million square feet, or about the size of 121 football fields.
As Toyota’s first in-house battery factory outside of Japan, the plant could be a game changer as Trump’s tariffs take effect. Securing Honda as a buyer will already help Toyota cut costs as it ramps up output.
Toyota plans to ramp up electrified vehicle (EV, PHEV, and hybrid) sales in North America from around 40% last year to 80% by 2030.
Electrek’s Take
Trump’s tariffs are already causing havoc, with nearly every automaker warning that they put the US further behind. Overseas automakers are not the only ones feeling the heat, either.
The “Big Three,” GM, Ford, and Jeep maker Stellantis all build vehicles in Canada and Mexico. GM cut output at its plant in Mexico in January, where the electric Chevy Equinox, Blazer, and Honda Prologue are made. Stellantis halted operations at its Brampton Assembly Plant in Canada last month, where it was expected to launch the Jeep Compass EV production. What’s next?
For Toyota, it looks like its $14 billion bet to build batteries in the US is already paying off. Now, we just need it to introduce more EVs.
After unveiling three new electric SUVs in Europe last week, including the updated bZ4X, Toyota hinted more is on the way for the US. Check back soon for updates.
What do you think? Do you want to see more Toyota EVs in the US, like the new C-HR+? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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Environment
If Musk wants to sell Tesla cars to conservatives, Tesla needs stores and service in red states
Elon Musk wants to sell Tesla cars to conservatives, but if that’s the strategy, the automaker should start with having stores and service centers in red states and rural areas.
It’s no secret that Elon Musk’s approval ratings with progressives have been plummeting over the last few years and even more so in the previous few months.
Since he has control over Tesla and he is the only official spokesperson since he let go of the PR department in 2020, the CEO is dragging the automaker along for the ride.
This is a problem for Tesla as Democrats are much more likely to buy electric vehicles than Republicans:
Tesla’s sales have been crumbling over the last few months, and after the stock crashed 15% last Monday, President Trump held a controversial commercial for Tesla with Musk on the steps of the White House on Tuesday.
A day later, it was reported that Musk plans to give Trump another $100 million in political donations.
It was an apparent attempt to try to promote Tesla to Trump’s fans: conservatives.
Based on a Tesla inventory check and new order delivery timeline, we reported that the Trump ad appeared to have little to no impact on the demand for Tesla vehicles.
It could be that people see through Musk and Trump’s quid pro quo and, therefore, don’t value Trump’s “Tessler” endorsement seriously. Still, there’s also a more practical reason why Trump’s fans and conservatives generally don’t buy more Tesla vehicles: the locations of Tesla’s stores and service centers (hat tip to Ben).
Even if some Trump fans were interested in buying a Tesla after the White House commercial last week, they might have been turned off by the idea of having to drive several hours to a store or service center.
Tesla does not have stores or service centers in Alabama, Arkansas, North and South Dakota, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, or Wyoming.
In some cases, it’s not entirely Tesla’s fault, as some of these states have laws against Tesla’s direct sale models. They force automakers to go through third-party franchise dealerships. This is an abuse of old state laws aimed at protecting dealers against unfair competition from the automakers they represent.
Car dealer lobbies use their influence on state legislatures to use these laws to block Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, and other automakers who never had franchise dealerships from operating their own stores and service centers.
But on top of not having locations in several red states, Tesla also primarily has locations in urban areas, whereas conservatives disproportionally live in rural areas.
The automaker has several dead zones and doesn’t operate locations in smaller cities and towns where there are several Ford, GM, Toyota, and other car dealers:
While it certainly does happen, it’s hard to convince someone to buy a car if they have to drive several hours to pick it up and have it serviced.
Electrek’s Take
In short, it’s not only harder to convince conservatives, on average, to buy an electric vehicle, but Tesla is also not correctly set up to sell and service cars in conservative regions of the US.
Though, I think that’s a small part of the problem.
Cars are not supposed to be political.
Even if Tesla successfully converted a significant percentage of conservatives to electric vehicles, it wouldn’t stop the company’s brand destruction.
Tesla’s reputation amongst Democrats and independents has sharply decreased over the last few years, and especially over the last few months, and that’s thanks to Elon Musk alienating them.
It’s tough to be a successful consumer product company when you have alienated 50% or so of your market.
Tesla is basically becoming the MyPillow of Trump’s second term.
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