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A number of Chevrolet dealers across the nation are advertising a new 2024 Silverado EV in 3WT trim at around $60K, which is close to where Hertz is pricing year-old low-mileage examples of the fully electric pickup that are being culled from its rental fleet.

At $74,900, including destination, the Silverado EV 3WT is perhaps a bit pricey. Fortunately, Chevrolet is offering its $7500 Ultium Promise Bonus Cash on all 2024 Silverado EV work trucks. That incentive cuts the cost of the 3WT down to $67,400 before tax and license, which seems reasonable considering it has a 393-mile range that bests other $70K electric pickups and is equipped with a host of comfort and safety features that contradict the bare-bones implication of its “work truck” moniker.

We’ve been tracking dealer discounts on the Silverado EV in our Electric Vehicle Price Guide ever since the work truck first popped up in dealer inventories on the east coast a couple of months ago. Deep discounts and broadening availability are now making the Silverado EV 3WT much more attractive to shoppers. At the top of our list of discounts is Victorville Chevrolet, a dealership eighty miles northeast of Los Angeles that is advertising $19,500 off MSRP on its Silverado EV work trucks, pricing the 3WT at just $55,400. That’s two to three grand less than a previous rental with over 5000 miles on the odo. For buyers hoping to spend less than $50K, Victorville has a couple of Silverado EV 3WT work trucks with the 1FL Fleet Option priced at $49,400. The 1FL Fleet Option swaps the ruggedly attractive gloss-black aluminum rims for utilitarian-looking steel wheels. It also deletes the side steps, dual-level charge cord, and soft-top tonneau that come with the 3WT trim level.

GM dealership markups

If these prices appeal to you, act quickly. Victorville Chevy’s Silverado EV inventory seems to be depleting fast as they’ve systematically increased their discount over the past several weeks. When we updated Silverado EV discounts on our Electric Vehicle Price Guide at the beginning of this month, Victorville’s online inventory showed a total of 35 electric work trucks in stock. As of this writing, less than a dozen remain, including one in 4WT trim that boasts an impressive 450-mile range.

Angelenos that can’t make the trek to Victorville Chevy in time to grab one of their remaining Silverado EVs may want to consider contacting Penke Chevrolet in Cerritos about their in-stock electric work trucks listed at $15,500 off MSRP. If that doesn’t pan out, other LA-area Chevy dealers are showing 2024 Silverado EV work trucks in-transit, some already with modest discounts applied, so an increased supply may drive in-town prices lower in the near future.

Outside of southern California, dealers with Silverado EV work truck discounts worth considering include Koons Chevrolet in Maryland ($15,395 off MSRP), Bomnin Chevrolet in Florida ($14,000 off MSRP), Raymond Chevrolet in Illinois and Platinum Chevrolet in northern California ($13,500 off MSRP), Capitol Chevrolet in Texas ($12,900 off MSRP), Parks Chevrolet in Virginia ($12,777 off MSRP), McLoughlin Chevrolet in Oregon ($12,743 off MSRP), and Hendrick Chevrolet in Georgia ($12,500 off MSRP). Look for discounts on a Chevrolet Silverado EV in your area.

Discounts on the Ford F-150 Lightning are also improving

Dealer discounts on the 2024 Ford F-150 Lightning are starting to turn heads, especially those that qualify for the $7500 Federal EV Tax Credit. For example, Al Packer Ford in Florida has an F-150 Lightning XLT with a standard battery (240-mile range, MSRP $60,090) discounted by a whopping $8602. Stacking the $7500 Federal EV tax credit on top of that discount results in a net cost of just $43,988 before tax and license.

Ford-dealers-F-150-Lightning
2024 Ford F-150 Lightning Flash (Source: Ford)

For those that need more range, Ford of San Leandro in California is advertising an F-150 Lightning Flash (MSRP $71,185) at a $6500 discount, resulting in a $57,774 net cost after applying the $7500 Federal EV tax credit. The Flash trim includes an extended range battery that’s good for 320 miles on a full charge. Find a great deal on a Ford F-150 Lightning near you.

Check our Electric Vehicle Price Guide and Electric Vehicle Lease Guide for the best EV deals in the US.

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Tesla jumped the gun, Nissan drivers will have to wait a bit for Supercharger access

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Tesla jumped the gun, Nissan drivers will have to wait a bit for Supercharger access

It sounds like Tesla jumped the gun when announcing that Nissan drivers now have access to the Supercharger network in North America.

They will have to wait a bit.

Yesterday, we reported that Tesla added Nissan to the list of automakers with EVs capable of using the Supercharger network in North America.

However, Tesla has since removed Nissan from its list of automakers with access and switched the Japanese automaker back to the “coming soon” list.

Nissan confirmed to Electrek that access is not currently available, but it will be available by the end of the year.

It sounds like a miscommunication on Tesla’s side. We hear that it should be coming soon.

Elon Musk fired Tesla’s entire charging team – seemingly to make an example of its then-head of charging, Rebecca Tinucci, who reportedly disagreed with Musk about making further layoffs following another layoff wave.

Instead of just firing her, Musk decided to fire the entire team and then sent an email to other Tesla managers using the charging team situation as a warning.

Tesla has since had to rehire several former members of its charging team to rebuild the department.

This is believed to have slowed down the opening of the Supercharger network to other automakers in North America. We were told that communications with Tesla’s charging team were difficult to non-existent for those automakers for weeks earlier this year.

As we have previously reported, the situation has definitely slowed down Tesla’s own deployment of Supercharger stations.

Nonetheless, the Supercharger network recently hit the milestone of 60,000 chargers worldwide.

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Northvolt files for bankruptcy, CEO quits

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Northvolt files for bankruptcy, CEO quits

Europe’s “green dream” Northvolt has filed for bankruptcy protection in the US after a rescue package failed to go through, leaving the battery maker with just one week’s worth of cash in the account. Cofounder and CEO Peter Carlsson, who spearheaded a costly expansion, has also quit.

The Swedish-owned battery maker filed for Chapter 11 in the Southern District of Texas, reports Bloomberg, with $5.8 billion debt. CEO Peter Carlsson, Telsa’s former chief products officer, stepped down from his role as CEO after the filing, but will remain onboard as advisor and director.

According to a statement, Northvolt said that its main factory will maintain business as usual during the reorganization, as the company now has a buffer from creditors, giving it time to restructure the balance sheet. However, the company said that this will not impact its business in Germany, and through the court process, Northvolt now has access to about $145 million in cash collateral. An additional $100 million in debtor-in-possession financing will be added to the pot via one of its customers, the report said.

In recent weeks, Northvolt has been in intense negotiations in the hope of securing a $300 million rescue package to give the company a bit more time to seek longer-term funding. But when that deal fell through, the battery maker was forced to seek protection from creditors via the Chapter 11 filing.  

The company still has a $7 billion project in place in Quebec – a new campus that is set to include a cell production plant, battery recycling, and cathode active-material production facilities –  and the bankruptcy won’t affect those plans, the company said on its website. “Northvolt Germany and Northvolt North America, subsidiaries of Northvolt AB with projects in Germany and Canada, are financed separately and will continue to operate as usual outside of the Chapter 11 process as key parts of Northvolt’s strategic positioning.”

The plant is expected to have capacity to produce 30 GWh of battery cell every year, with an expansion set to double that output, making it enough to power 1 million EVs. The Canadian government is putting $1.334 billion CND toward the project, with Quebec chipping in another $1.37 billion CND.

Northvolt has hit hard times in recent months, once thought of as Europe’s best shot to homegrown EVs and the makers of “the world’s greenest battery.” Enthusiasm mounted as the company opened the doors to its first plant in Sweden, in the small town of Skelleftea near the Arctic Circle, in 2021. Billions of dollars have been invested into the company, and Volvo, VW, and BMW rushed to place future orders.

All of this enthusiasm has been fueled by a vision to cut dependency on China by creating greener EV batteries using 100 percent recycled nickel, manganese, and cobalt. Plans were put in place to build factories in Gothenburg, in southern Sweden, and Poland, Germany, and Canada, all backed by huge government subsidies. Back in January, the company raised an additional $5 billion, firmly locking in its position as one of Europe’s best-funded startups and recipient of the largest-ever green loan in the EU.

But then things started going south, with Northvolt’s production problems and massive delays forcing BMW to cancel its €2 billion battery cell order with the company. This past May, Northvolt also announced that it pushing back its plans for an IPO until next year. The interim report that followed revealed the dire state of its finances and how far its production had fallen short of goals, with Carlsson admitting he had been “too aggressive” with the company’s expansion plan.

Since Northvolt has put in place a series of changes to reset the company’s course, including bringing onboard a new CFO, leaving the former CFO to focus solely on expansion plans. Plus the company started making cuts, including closing down its research center, Cuberg, in San Francisco and deprioritizing secondary businesses. At the end of September, Northvolt announced that it would cut 1,600 staff from three Swedish sites and about 20 percent of its international workforce.

Last month, Volvo started proceedings to take over their joint venture with Northvolt, while Volkswagen Group’s representative to Northvolt’s board stepped down this month. Sweden, for its part, is ruling out taking a stake to save its homegrown enterprise, Bloomberg reports. Carlsson had said last month that the company needs more than $900 million to permanently shore up its finances.

Photo credit: Northvolt


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YMX Logistics deploys 20 new Orange EV electric yard trucks

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YMX Logistics deploys 20 new Orange EV electric yard trucks

Leading yard operation 3PL YMX Logistics has announced plans to deploy fully twenty (20) of Orange EV’s fully electric Class 8 terminal trucks at a number of distribution and manufacturing sites across North America.

As the shipping and logistics industries increasingly move to embrace electrification, yard operations have proven to be an almost ideal use case for EVs, enabling companies like Orange EV, which specialize in yard hostlers or terminal tractors, to drive real, impactful change. To that end, companies like YMX are partnering with Orange EV.

“This relationship between YMX and Orange EV is a significant step forward in transforming yard operations across North America,” said Matt Yearling, CEO of YMX Logistics. “Besides the initial benefits of reduction in emissions and carbon footprint, our customers are also seeing improvements in the overall operational efficiency and seeking to expand. Our team members have also been sharing positive feedback about their new equipment and highlighting the positive impact on their health and day-to-day activities.”

This Orange looks good in blue

YMX Logistics electric yard trucks; by Orange EV.

One of the most interesting aspects of this story – beyond the Orange EV HUSK-e XP’s almost unbelievable 180,000 lb. GCWR spec. – is that this isn’t a story about California’s ports, which mandate EVs. Instead, YMX is truly deploying these trucks throughout the country, with at least four currently in Chicago (and more on the way).

“Our collaboration with YMX Logistics represents a powerful stride in delivering sustainable yard solutions at scale for enterprise customers,” explains Wayne Mathisen, CEO of Orange EV. “With rising demand for electric yard trucks, our joint efforts ensure that more companies can access the environmental, financial, and operational benefits of electrification … this is a win for the planet, the workforce, and the bottom line of these organizations.”

We interviewed Orange EV founder Kurt Neutgens on The Heavy Equipment Podcast a few months back, but if you’re not familiar with these purpose-built trucks, it’s worth a listen.

HEP-isode 26

SOURCE | IMAGES: YMX Logistics.

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