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We’ve got some travel devices and at-home tool discounts as the focus of today’s Green Deals. Front and center is Bluetti’s Halloween Sale which is not only taking 50% off a massive lineup of backup power solutions but also giving us the first official discount on the brand’s new Handsfree 1 and Handsfree 2 Backpack Power Stations that start from $299. Following right behind is four Vanpowers e-bikes seeing discounts, with the biggest savings on the City Vanture e-bike at $1,049. There’s also two great tool deals, with the Greenworks 40V 8-inch Cordless Electric Polesaw hitting a new $87 low, while we also have two varying options to save up to $130 on Worx’s Nitro 40V LEAFJET Cordless Electric Blower starting from $190. Plus, all the other hangover Green Deals in the links at the bottom of the page, like yesterday’s EcoFlow Halloween sale coverage or the return Prime Day low on Anker’s PowerCore Reserve 60,000mAh Power Bank Station, and more.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

Bluetti Halloween sale offers first discount on new Handsfree backpack power stations starting from $299

Bluetti has launched a Halloween Sale through the rest of the month that is taking up to 50% off power stations, bundles, and accessories – and even giving us the first discounts on the brand’s latest releases. These new units are the Handsfree 1 and Handsfree 2 Backpack Power Stations that start from $299 shipped and $399 shipped, respectively. Priced at $429 and $599, these new backup solutions are getting their first official price cuts since releasing a few days ago, receiving solid 30% and 33% markdowns that save you $130 and $200 off their going rates. You’ll also find their solar generator bundles offering savings too, with the Handsfree 1 coming with a 120W solar panel for $499, down from $629, while the Handsfree 2 with a 120W solar panel sits a little higher at $599, down from $799. You can also find these deals on the Handsfree 1 and Handsfree 2 matched at Amazon, just be sure to clip the on-page coupons.

A first that we’ve seen across the major backup power contenders on the market, Bluetti’s Handsfree 1 and Handsfree 2 backpack power stations are just as the name describes – ultra-slim power stations that have been tailored for either the 42L or 60L backpacks that come along with them, offering plenty more space for your camping/hiking/outdoor photography essentials. The two units offer either a 268.8Wh or 512Wh LiFePO4 battery capacity and can dish power output up to 300W (surging to 450W) or 700W (surging to 1,200W), with both providing one AC port, two USB-A ports, and two USB-C ports to connect your devices and small appliances.

Recharging these units is conveniently fast too, with both able to reach an 80% battery in 45 minutes, while the Handsfree 1 takes 1.5 hours and the Handsfree 2 takes 1.3 hours to reach a full charge. Of course, alongside being able to charge from your car, they also sport solar charging capabilities with a 200W and 350W solar input maximum (both recharge in 3 hours with the solar generator bundle options’ 120W panels). The bag itself comes splash-resistant against rain, with a flap that opens on the side for instant access to the station’s output ports, while also boasting multiple layers with various compartments to store equipment for drones, photography, or your regular office gear to take out into the world – plus, its flexible outer design allows you to hang tents, sleeping bags, solar panels, and more too. The shoulder straps have also bee stocked with buckles for your GoPro or other similiar cameras so everything stays within reach for whenever you need it.

Bluetti Halloween sale power bank deals:

Bluetti Halloween sale power station deals:

Bluetti Halloween sale on-the-go bundle deals:

Bluetti home backup bundle deals:

Bluetti Halloween sale accessory deals:

You can browse through the entirety of Bluetti’s Halloween sale on the landing page here.

Vanpowers City Vanture e-bike

Save $700 on Vanpowers’ 35-pound City Vanture e-bike that tackles commutes up to 50 miles at $1,049

Vanpowers is currently taking up to $700 off four of its reliable e-bike models, with urban riders seeing the biggest savings opportunity in the brand’s City Vanture Urban e-bike for $1,049 shipped. More recently fetching $1,749 in our post-tariff market, the lowest price we’ve seen to date was back during last year’s winter holiday sales, when costs fell to $840. In 2024, we’ve seen a few falls to $999, with discounts more regularly dropping the price to $1,049 or higher since summer’s end. Today, you’re looking at the third-lowest price we have tracked, which still provides a reliable commuting solution within a highly-affordable price pool.

The City Vanture e-bike arrives stocked with a 350W rear hub motor, a 252Wh battery, and five levels of pedal assistance to support the rider as it reaches top speeds of 25 MPH for up to 50 miles on a single charge. It comes with a sleek, aluminum alloy frame weighing in at just 34 pounds, which compliments and accentuates its minimalist design, and features a seamlessly integrated battery into the main bar, both hiding and protecting it from sight and/or harm. You’ll also find that it comes with 28-inch Kenda tires, Tektro hydraulic disc brakes, a Gates CDN belt drive to pedal the bike without assistance, and an integrated LCD display with an IP66 waterproof rating.

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greenworks 40V 8-inch cordless electric polesaw

Get 11 feet of total reach with Greenworks’ 40V 8-inch cordless electric polesaw at new $87 low

We’re now tracking the best price yet on the Greenworks 40V 8-Inch Cordless Electric Polesaw for $86.53 shipped coming to us from Amazon. Normally priced at $180, we’ve seen a handful of discounts cut down on costs every two or so months, often keeping the price above $144, with one discount in April having gone lower to $135. Not only is today’s deal saving you $93 thanks to the unexpected 52% markdown, but it also beats out all the previous pricing that has come before it – including the former $115 low from April 2022, which we haven’t seen any prices get significantly close to since summer 2023. Don’t miss out on this new all-time low price while it lasts, giving you the opportunity to upgrade your tool arsenal at the best rate we have tracked.

Sporting a 40V brushless motor that comes powered by the included 2.0Ah battery, with this 40V 8-inch polesaw from Greenworks you’ll be able to perform up to 50 cuts per charge for regular tree-trimming needs (especially in those colder months if your trees run the risk of snow pileup and thus breaking in the process). This model gives you an adjustable 8-inch bar and chain that keeps itself lubricated for an extended lifespan thanks to the built-in auto-oiler. The extendable aluminum 3-piece shaft also provides up to an additional nine feet so you can have 11 feet of total reach (including the saw) and hit those higher branches that need tending to.

Worx Nitro 40V LEAFJET cordless electric blower

For today only you can save up to $130 on the Worx Nitro 40V LEAFJET cordless blower starting from $190

Amazon is offering the Worx Nitro 40V LEAFJET Cordless Electric Blower for $189.99 shipped. Normally priced at $250, regular discounts have been seen over 2024, with the biggest of them cutting the price tag to $153 so far, though we’ve seen it go as low as $140 in past years. There’s also a a great bundle opportunity through Best Buy’s Deals of the Day, offering this same Worx LEAFJET blower for $199.99 shipped. What makes this one-day only deal so great though, is the additional bundled savings you’ll get when also purchasing the Worx 20V Power Share PRO 4.0Ah battery alongside it, which starts with a $30 discount to $70 when buying it alone, but then falls even further to $20 when both items are added to your cart – meaning all-in-all, you’re getting three batteries and the tool while saving a total of $130.

If you already have Worx equipment in your arsenal, adding three more of the brand’s interchangeable batteries to the rotation is definitely not something to overlook as that’s one of the highlights of investing in brands with such an ecosystem. The Nitro LEAFJET itself is also a powerful upgrade to secure, arriving with the brand’s brushless motor 2.0 tech that provides a 620 CFM (165 MPH air flow) when you have it set in volume mode for faster clearings of larger areas. There’s a 3-speed control on this model, with an added turbo mode to bump up the power for tougher and more stubborn jobs (ever get embarrassed by wet debris not just blowing away? Exactly). It’s an easy model to operate with one hand at just 6.4 pounds too, allowing most people of varying sizes and ages to clear out their yards without concern.

Fall e-bike deals!

Bluetti Halloween sale

Best new Green Deals landing this week

The savings this week are also continuing to a collection of other markdowns. To the same tune as the offers above, these all help you take a more energy-conscious approach to your routine. Winter means you can lock in even better off-season price cuts on electric tools for the lawn while saving on EVs and tons of other gear.

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More Iran sanctions and ‘drill baby, drill’: Oil market’s future is still uncertain under Trump

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November 6, 2024

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More Iran sanctions and 'drill baby, drill': Oil market's future is still uncertain under Trump

Offshore workers examine hydrocarbon samples aboard the Chevron Corp. Jack/St. Malo deepwater oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana, U.S., on Friday, May 18, 2018.

Luke Sharrett | Bloomberg | Getty Images

U.S. oil producers are looking forward to less regulations on crude production under a Donald Trump presidency, meaning higher oil supply and consequently lower prices.

But it’s not that straightforward: Trump who was announced Wednesday as the winner of the 2024 election, has also vowed to put more sanctions on Iranian and Venezuelan barrels, meaning the global market could become tighter, potentially boosting prices.

At the same time, the increased likelihood of trade wars under Trump could dampen global economic growth and slow oil demand. So the picture for the market’s longer-term outlook is, well, decidedly mixed.

“Conceptually, the impact of a potential second Trump term on oil prices is ambiguous, with some short-term downside risk to Iran oil supply … and thus upside price risk,” Goldman Sachs commodities analysts wrote in a research note Monday. “But medium-term downside risk to oil demand and thus oil prices from downside risk to global GDP from a potential escalation in trade tensions.”

The U.S. has a 'clear competitive advantage' on energy, says TotalEnergies CEO

Trump expressed his enthusiasm for increased U.S. oil production while giving a speech from the Republican campaign headquarters in Florida on Wednesday, just hours before his victory was confirmed. He made a reference to Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., the independent candidate who he said would become a part of his team.

“Bobby, stay away from the oil, stay away from the liquid gold!” Trump said in a joking tone. “We have more than Saudi Arabia and Russia.” Kennedy is known for his history of environmental activism.

U.S. oil and gas production hit record highs under the Biden administration, which gradually changed its approach to the industry despite campaigning on pledges of environmental stewardship.

U.S. crude futures — both West Texas Intermediate and international benchmark Brent crude — are currently trading in the $70 to $75 per barrel range, which is lower than what many oil producers seek to balance their costs and budgets amid slowed global demand for oil and growing supply.

Energy sector is the best sector under Biden

But a further push to open drilling projects, putting more supply on the market, would lead to lower prices, thereby decreasing revenues for American producers, said Cole Smead, president and CEO of Smead Capital.

“If the Trump administration opens up federal leases for oil and gas, Federal lands would get 25% per barrel of revenues. You will have a lot of trouble finding an oil company that can make money at $52.50 per barrel with what they have left from a $70 barrel,” Smead said in emailed notes. “The only thing that will cause drill baby drill to happen is higher oil prices based on these margins.”

“Drill baby, drill is going to run into the energy vigilantes,” he added. “Now that equity investors in the energy business know what free cash flow looks like they won’t give it up. They will allow capital expenditures to go up over their dead body.”

‘Clear competitive advantage’

The U.S. is the world’s largest oil producer, accounting for 22% of the global total, according to the Energy Information Administration, with Saudi Arabia next, producing 11%. The vast majority of U.S. crude is consumed within the country, which is also the world’s largest oil consumer.

The CEO of French oil major TotalEnergies told CNBC over the weekend that whoever wins the presidency should ensure that the U.S. doesn’t lose its energy advantage.

“U.S. energy has been unleashed … since the last two, three years, production of oil has never been so high,” in the country, Patrick Pouyanne told CNBC in Abu Dhabi.

“For me, today, the U.S. has a clear competitive advantage on energy compared to many [in the] rest of the world,” he said. “So I will be surprised to see whoever is elected lose the competitive advantage.”

OPEC always plays the long game, Energy Aspects' Amrita Sen says

Many in the market forecast lower crude prices due to Trump’s encouragement of domestic oil production and greater supply. Amrita Sen, founder and director of research at London-based Energy Aspects, sees it differently due to the specter of sanctions.

“Every hedge fund I’ve spoken to thinks bearish, because [Trump has] tended to tweet about low oil prices … I actually think it’s the opposite,” she said. “There’s an enormous amount of sanctioned barrels right now in the market, especially Iranian volumes.” Iran is currently producing 3.5 million barrels per day of crude or more, Sen said, with 1.8 million of those being exported, as sanctions and their enforcement loosened under the Biden administration.

“You could lose a million barrels per day of that … when Trump was in power, Iranian exports were just 400,000 barrels per day,” Sen said. “Now I’m not saying it’s going to go down all the way, because smuggling networks are bigger and better probably now, but you could lose a million there,” she said, adding that some Venezuelan barrels could go off the market as well.

For Smead, the outlook is bearish, as he predicts lower prices putting many producers — particularly those with higher production costs — in a less-than-ideal situation.

“The price of goods that are produced is the number one factor in America’s policies,” he said. “If you are not the low-cost producer, you should be scared.”

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Toyota will hold off on EV investment decisions until ‘the very last moment’ as profits slip

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November 6, 2024

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Toyota will hold off on EV investment decisions until 'the very last moment' as profits slip

Toyota-EV-investments

Toyota is tightening the reins after seeing its first quarterly profit drop in two years. To maintain profits, Toyota plans to “hold off on investment decisions until the very last moment,” including EV and hybrid investments.

Toyota announced that its operating income in the first half of fiscal 2025 fell to around $16 billion (2.64 trillion yen).

In the second quarter, operating profit slipped 20% to about $7.55 billion (1.16 trillion yen), Toyota’s first quarterly profit loss in two years.

The lower profits are due to fewer car sales caused by certification issues that caused Toyota to pause production of its popular Yariss Cross and Corolla Fielder in Japan. A Prius recall in the US also led to fewer cars being sold globally.

As a result, Toyota’s global output fell for the first time in four years in the first half of fiscal 2025. Toyota built 4.71 million vehicles, down 7% from its record 5.06 million vehicles produced last year.

Toyota’s domestic output fell 9.4%, while overseas production dropped 6%. The company was hit especially hard in China, where domestic automakers like BYD continue squeezing foreign automakers out of the market with competitive, low-cost EVs.

Toyota-EV-investments
2024 Toyota bZ4X (Source: Toyota)

Toyota to hold off on EV investments until last moment

Although Toyota said production is expected to recover in the second half of the fiscal year, the full-year total is expected to be 9.4 million, which is 100,000 vehicles less than last year.

Toyota’s vice president, Yoichi Miyazaki, outlined how Toyota plans to maintain operating income while still investing in the company’s future.

Toyota-EV-investments
Toyota Land Cruiser Se EV concept (Source: Toyota)

With EV and other next-gen tech investments dragging down profits, Toyota will “hold off on HEV, PHEV, BEV, or FCEV” investment decisions until “the very last moment,” Miyazaki said. The company plans to closely monitor the market before making a decision.

Meanwhile, the company is still advancing new tech, including advanced EV batteries. Toyota’s vice president confirmed the company is developing three types of EV batteries in-house: Ternary, LFP, and all-solid-state.

Toyota-EV-investments
Toyota EV battery roadmap (Source: Toyota)

In March, Toyota’s battery unit (Toyota Battery) became a wholly owned subsidiary. The company said the move helps “optimize timing” and is crucial for mass-producing different types of batteries.

“There are two main things we want to accomplish,” Miyazaki explained. The first “is to increase how quickly we can respond to environmental changes in an age in which it is hard to predict the future.” Secondly, it is “to improve the fundamental capabilities that will enable us to carry on into the future.”

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Trump wins, automakers worry, but BMW says it’ll be OK

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4 hours ago

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November 6, 2024

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Trump wins, automakers worry, but BMW says it'll be OK

BMW-milestone-EV

Donald Trump wins a second presidential term, and BMW’s CEO Oliver Zipse came out with some quick remarks – amid what is likely panic among European automakers – that BMW will be fine because of its “very, very large footprint in the US.” Meanwhile, BMW’s profit margins hit a four-year low.  

European automakers are now assessing the Trump victory and what that may mean for their businesses, as shares plummet today due to fears over escalating trade disputes. It’s no secret Trump’s stance on electric vehicles – despite bringing Elon Musk into the fold – and foreign goods, and his second term will likely see an unraveling of Biden’s investments in green energy, a rolling back on EV mandates and other policies aimed at cutting CO2 emissions alongside stricter tariffs on foreign-made vehicles, and a total abandonment of US involvement in the Paris Climate Accords. Of course, the news this morning hit hard for some automakers in Europe, adding to a mountain of problems amid low sales in key markets, both at home in Europe and in China.  

But Zipse says BMW can likely breathe a sigh of relief since the company has even “more of an advantage” despite what will be higher tariffs due to having a huge footprint in the US, Reuters reported.

The remarks came this morning central Europe time after Trump proclaimed he had taken the win, with Zipse presenting BMW’s third-quarter results. “In this respect, we shouldn’t be too nervous about what might happen,” Zipse said.

BMW has the group’s largest factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in addition to 30 locations around the country in 12 states, the report said.

BMW’s third-quarter profit fell 61% to 1.7 billion euros ($1.82 billion) due to lagging sales in China, the US, and Europe, Reuters reported. Bloomberg also reported that “BMW AG’s main measure of profitability fell to the lowest in more than four years in the third quarter,” the fallout from the massive recall of 1.5 million vehicles due to a faulty braking system supplied by Contential and weak demand in the Chinese market. Still, despite these hardships, BMW has said that it increased its sales of fully electric vehicles by +19,1% in the first nine months of this year, with a total of 294,054  BEVs delivered. BMW added that sales of BEVs rose by +22.6% to 266,151 vehicles, with the Mini brand seeing its fully-electric vehicle sales grow by +54.3% in the third quarter.

We’ll likely hear some response from other automakers on Trump’s win soon. “We’re expecting that it will be difficult for car makers and exporters this morning,” Nicolas Forest, chief investment officer at Candriam, told Reuters. “Trump could implement tariffs through executive orders, so for German carmakers or French luxury groups, everything Europe exports, it’s a risk.”

The election news is extremely fresh, but Trump has suggested a 10% or more tariffs on goods imported into the US, while giving him the option to set higher tariffs on certain countries that have put tariffs on US imports. He has suggested imposing as high as 200% tariffs on some imported cars, and wants to keep cars from Mexico out of the country. China’s BYD, for one, has paused its plan to build a factory in Mexico, which would be a key production site for access into the US, until after the election. BMW plans to start building its next-gen BEVs dubbed the “Neue Klasse” in Mexico in 2027.

Trump of course has China in his crosshairs and plans to phase out Chinese imports during his second term, while also prohibiting Chinese companies from owning US real estate and infrastructure in the energy and tech sectors.

Photo: BMW  

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