Connect with us

Published

on

Volvo’s most affordable EV is already having a major impact on the brand. Despite the EX30’s success, Volvo Cars is cutting its sales growth forecast for the year.

“Our journey towards 2026 will not be linear, as our industry is facing an increasingly volatile environment,” Volvo Cars CEO Jim Rowan said on Wednesday.

Volvo topped third-quarter estimates, reporting an operating profit of nearly $550 million (SEK 5.8 billion), up 29% from the $425 million (SEK 4.5 billion) in Q3 2023.

The growth was primarily due to Volvo’s sales outpacing premium rivals. Volvo Cars sold 172,849 vehicles in Q3, up 3% from last year. Electrified models, including fully electric (EV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEVs), accounted for 48% of total sales. All-electric vehicle share reached 25%.

Volvo said it had the highest electrified share among premium automakers in Europe. The company sales in Europe are up 10% through the first nine months of 2024.

Volvo’s smallest and cheapest EV, the EX30, “remained among the best-selling EVs in Europe.” According to the latest figures from market researcher Dataforce (via Automotive News), the EX30 was the driving force behind Volvo’s sales surging 24% in Europe last month.

Volvo-EX30-sales-Q3
Volvo EX30 Cloud Blue and Vapour Grey (Source: Volvo)

Volvo cuts growth outlook despite surging EX30 sales

The growth boosted Volvo from 19 in Europe to 15 overall in September. Volvo sold over 5,600 more vehicles last month than in September 2023.

Volvo sold over 9,600 EX30 models in September, making it its third best-selling vehicle behind the XC60 (18,096) and XC40/EX40 (13,930).

Volvo-EX30-sales
Volvo EV sales share (Source: Volvo Cars)

Despite its success in Europe, Volvo expects to see lower overall sales growth this year. Volvo anticipates sales to grow between 7% and 8% in 2024, down from the previous 12% to 15% forecast.

Volvo cited slowing sales and lower-priced rivals in the US and China for the lower guidance. The company, which is majority-owned by China’s Geely, is also preparing for new EU and US tariffs on Chinese imports.

Volvo-EX30-sales
Volvo CEO Jim Rowan during the EX30 launch (Source: Volvo Cars)

The company confirmed plans to begin building EX30 models at its Ghent plant in Belgium in the first half of 2025.

As output ramps up, Volvo will launch the EX30 in the US later next year. Starting at $34,950, Volvo’s compact electric SUV will be among the most affordable EV options on the market.

It will be available in Single and Twin Motor Performance (AWD) powertrains. The former gets up to 275 miles range, while the latter Performance model will be Volvo’s fastest vehicle with a 0 to 60 mph sprint in 3.4 seconds. Volvo calls the EX30 a “cornerstone” of its EV strategy.

Volvo-EX30-sales
Volvo EV goals (Source: Volvo Cars)

Volvo still expects to outpace premium rivals with the three-row EX90 electric SUV (see our review) also rolling out in the US and the luxury EM90 minivan in China.

The company also recently backtracked on its 100% EV sales pledge by 2030. Volvo now expects 90% to 100% of global sales to be EV or PHEV by 2030. By 2025, Volvo aims for a 50% to 60% electrified sales share.

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

Continue Reading

Environment

Wisconsin’s first 3 NEVI-funded EV fast charging stations are open

Published

on

By

Wisconsin's first 3 NEVI-funded EV fast charging stations are open

Wisconsin’s first three EV fast charging stations using funding from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula program are now online.

The EV fast charging stations are in Ashland, Chippewa Falls, and Menominee, in western Wisconsin, which are rural areas that see a lot of visitors due to tourism and their location along key highway corridors.

As is required by the NEVI program, all three charging stations contain four ports with both CCS and J3400 connectors, and each station can deliver up to 150 kW per port.

NEVI-funded charging stations must also have 24-hour public accessibility and provide amenities like restrooms, food and beverages, and shelter, and must be sited within one travel mile of the Alternative Fuel Corridor.

The stations are located at local Kwik Trips, a Wisconsin-based gas station that serves 12 million customers weekly at more than 880 locations across six states, making the charging experience easy to find and increasing consumer trust.

“It’s great to see more states expanding the NEVI network and filling in coverage gaps for drivers and riders,” said Gabe Klein, executive director of the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. “EV charging often happens in communities. Whether it’s parents visiting their kids at college, families staying at their cabins, or people road-tripping on Interstate 94 for the holidays – expanding the network gives consumers accessible options to charge their vehicles.”

The stations are part of Kwik Trip’s Kwik Charge program, which will provide DC fast chargers to guests traveling throughout the Midwest. Kwik Trip has received $8.1 million in NEVI funds in Wisconsin to install chargers at 24 of its locations. The company is building an app using Driivz’s software so EV drivers can find Kwik Charge chargers and check charger availability and pricing.

Read more: Kwik Trip is installing DC fast chargers across the Midwest


If you live in an area that has frequent natural disaster events, and are interested in making your home more resilient to power outages, consider going solar and adding a battery storage system. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, 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. –trusted affiliate link*

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

Continue Reading

Environment

The California grid ran on 100% renewables with no blackouts or cost rises for a record 98 days

Published

on

By

The California grid ran on 100% renewables with no blackouts or cost rises for a record 98 days

A new study published in the journal Renewable Energy uses data from the state of California to demonstrate that no blackouts occurred when wind-water-solar electricity supply exceeded 100% of demand on the state’s main grid for a record 98 of 116 days from late winter to early summer 2024 for an average (maximum) of 4.84 (10.1) hours per day.

Compared to the same period in 2023, solar output in California is up 31%, wind power is up 8%, and batteries are up a staggering 105%. Batteries supplied up to 12% of nighttime demand by storing and redistributing excess solar energy.

And here’s the kicker: California’s high electricity prices aren’t because of wind, water, and solar energy. (That issue is primarily caused by utilities recovering the cost of wildfire mitigation, transmission and distribution investments, and net energy metering.)

In fact, researchers from Stanford, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the University of California, Berkeley found that states with higher shares of renewable energy tend to see lower electricity prices. The takeaway – and the data backs it up – is that a large grid dominated by wind, water, and solar is not only feasible, it’s also reliable.

The researchers concluded:

Despite the rapid growth and high penetration of [wind-water-solar] WWS, the spot price of electricity during the period dropped by more than 50% compared with the same period in the previous year, and no blackouts occurred, giving confidence that the addition of more solar, wind, and batteries should not be a cause for concern.

Mark Z. Jacobson, co-author of the paper and professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the atmosphere/energy program at Stanford University, explained in an email to Electrek:

This paper shows that the main grid in the world’s fifth-largest economy was able to provide more than 100% of the electricity that it used from only four clean renewable sources: solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal, for anywhere from five minutes to over 10 hours per day for 98 out of 116 days during late winter, all of spring, and early summer, as well as for 132 days during the entire year of 2024, without its grid failing.

The growth of solar, wind, and battery storage, in particular, resulted in fossil gas use dropping 40% during the 116-day period and 25% during the entire year. In comparison with 2023, solar, wind, and battery capacities increased significantly, with batteries doubling in capacity.

The paper also shows that high electricity prices in California have nothing to do with renewables; in fact, without renewables, prices would have been higher.

In fact, 10 of the 11 US states with higher fractions of their demand powered by renewables have among the lowest US electricity prices.

Instead, in California, the spot price of electricity dropped by over 50% during the period of interest between 2023 and 2024, indicating it was easier to match demand with supply with the increase in renewables and batteries in 2024.

Read more: New CA smart grid law will help solar and fix the grid by… simply replacing wires


To limit power outages and make your home more resilient, consider going solar with a battery storage system. In order to find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, 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 you 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. –trusted affiliate link*

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

Continue Reading

Environment

Watch the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT smoke a Ferrari SF90 and Yamaha R1M in a drag race

Published

on

By

Watch the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT smoke a Ferrari SF90 and Yamaha R1M in a drag race

Is Porsche’s new Taycan faster than a Ferrari SF90 or Yamaha R1M? In an epic new drag race, the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT flexed its power, leaving the Ferrari and Yamaha bike in the dust. Watch the video below.

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT races a Ferrari and Yamaha

Porsche unveiled the Turbo GT model after introducing the upgraded Taycan in February. The new Porsche Taycan has significant improvements, including more range and performance.

The Taycan Turbo GT is Porsche’s fastest production car yet. With up to 1,092 hp, the electric sports car, equipped with its Wiessach Package, can hit 0 to 60 mph in just 2.1 seconds.

Porsche’s GT model took the title from the Tesla Model S Plaid as the fastest electric series production car at the Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca in California earlier this year. With a lap time of 1:27:87, Porsche topped the previous record of 1:30:30 set by the Tesla Model S Plaid in 2020.

Is the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT fast enough to beat a Ferrari SF90 and Yamaha R1M? The folks at Carwow put them up against one another in a drag race to see.

Porsche Taycan Turbo GT vs Ferrari SF90 vs Yamaha R1M drag race (Source: Carwow)

The Taycan goes up against the SF90 with 769 hp from a 4.0 liter twin-turbo V8 combined with three electric motors. Meanwhile, the Yamaha RM1 is powered by a 1 liter 4 stroke engine, which is good for 200 hp.

You can see that Porsche had no problem handling the Ferrari and Yamaha in the first race. Even with the Ferrari jumping the line in the next race, the Taycan proves its might, beating both to the line. After a few more attempts, the Porsche remained undefeated.

Porsche-Taycan-Turbo-GT-Ferrari
Porsche Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach Package (Source: Porsche AG)

The Taycan Turbo GT completed a quarter-mile in 9.9 seconds, compared to the Ferrari SF90’s 10.0 seconds and the Yamaha RM1’s 10.3 seconds.

With all that power, Porsche’s Taycan Turbo GT, with the Weissach package, comes with a hefty price tag, starting at $230,000. The base 2025 Porsche Taycan starts at $99,400, while the more expensive Turbo and Turbo S trims start at $173,600 and $209,000, respectively.

After finally getting its hands on one, the GT model already took down one of the kings of Carwow’s drag strip. Which vehicle will it take down next?

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

Continue Reading

Trending