The Weekly Round Up - EV News for December
Bringing you the EV news dominating the headlines in December.
Welcome to BookMyGarage’s EV Hub Weekly Round-Up, where we bring you the EV news that is dominating the headlines this week. With only the essential details about the week’s biggest news articles, we aim to keep you in the loop with all things EV.
December 10th
VinFast to build second production plant in Vietnam
Reuters have reported that Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast have announced plans to build a second production plant.
The second plant will double its output capacity and ‘is needed to meet increased demand for its small and midsized models’.
The company says the new facility is expected to produce 300,000 units annually in its first phase, which is the same as the existing site. In the first nine months of 2024, the manufacturers produced nearly 45,000 cars worldwide.
The current plant is situated in Haiphong, and the new factory is proposed to be built in the central Ha Tinh province, with a focus on producing primarily VF 3 and VF 5 models, for both domestic and export sales.
You can read the full press release on Reuters.com.
EVs make up one in four cars sold in November in the UK
According to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) electric car sales grew in November for the 11th month in a row, meaning that one in four cars sold were electric.
The growth is attributed to ‘massive’ discounts issued by manufacturers to meet targets. The discounts were worth around £4bn.
Carmakers have certain EV sales targets to meet, or they risk facing fines. However, the rules are flexible, and they can buy sales credits from other firms or borrow from their own quotas in future years.
Mike Hawes, chief executive at SMMT, say that manufacturers were investing in electric vehicles at unprecedented levels and spending billions on compelling offers.
‘Such incentives are unsustainable – industry cannot deliver the UK’s world-leading ambitions alone,’ he said.
The government have vowed to meet with carmakers to discuss the targets, saying that while the targets will not be weakened, they will discuss flexibilities.
Europe’s Largest EV Charging Centre Plan Revealed
Plans are in place to build Europe’s largest concentration of super-fast electric vehicle charging spaces at Manchester’s Trafford Centre.
A planning permission application has been put in for the redevelopment of the former petrol station close to Marks and Spencer at on of the main entrances to the Trafford Centre.
The development includes a Starbucks drive-thru, an ultra-rapid charging hub, a super charger lounge, a car showroom, and a digital advertising screen.
The proposal states that 47 250kW ultra-rapid chargers would be delivered, bringing the total up to 65 – making it the largest ultra-rapid charging hub in Europe.
Matthew Anderson, development director at Trafford Centre managers Pradera Lateral, said: “We have worked closely together to design a scheme that compliments both Trafford Centre and the local area, is forward thinking, secures biodiversity improvements and supports more sustainable forms of travel to and from the centre."
If approved, construction will begin in 2025.
The content for these articles were supplied by:
Reuters
BBC
Links to these sources can be found in the body text.
December 2nd
Indian Steelmaker to Launch Own EV Brand
Indian steelmaker JSW have plans to launch its own EV brand, in a joint venture with SAIC Motors.
Sajjan Jindal, chair and family owner of the company, has said the planned car plant will be in Aurangabad, in India’s western state Maharashtra, and would be devoted to its own brand.
The new plant is rumoured to create 5,200 jobs.
The venture hopes to boost the EV industry in India, which is currently only total around 100,000 units a year, which makes up just 2% of the passenger car market.
You can read the full reporting on the Financial Times.
EV Charger Plan Given Green Light In Devon
The Devon County Council have received approval for 2000 electric car chargers to be delivered across Devon.
The £7 million funding will provide thousands of publicly accessible charging points up to 2030 and will allow the people of Devon to transition towards electric vehicle technology more easily and reliably.
The LEVI (Local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure) Fund is responsible for the funding, and its project is due to begin in 2025, to expand the already growing network of both on and off street charging points.
Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon’s Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said:
“With the sale of EV’s increasing it is important that charging infrastructure is readily available to further support the shift towards decarbonising on-road transportation.
“An increasing number of car parks in Devon now have EV chargepoints in place, but for those in rural areas or without a front drive, access to charging points remains a barrier.
“I know there are concerns cables could trail across pavements and I’m pleased to say that we are looking at ways to stop this from happening and trials placing charge points into streetlighting columns and into cable channels will soon be carried out and have recieved correspondance about this from a number of residents.
“This project will ramp up charging point availability across Devon to make it easier and more convenient for those with and EV or considering buying one.”
UK Reconsiders EV Sales Targets
The United Kingdom is reconsidering its EV sales targets, following warnings from automakers.
According to the government, the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate will be under consultation, which has been deemed ‘ambitious’. The government expects 100% of new cars to be zero emission by 2035.
Car manufacturers argue that the ZEV mandates have not met expectations, and would cost them as much as $7.6 billion in 2024 – threatening jobs and Britain’s appeal as a manufacturing hub.
UK Business Minister Jonathan Reynolds blamed the previous Tory government for giving mixed policy signals to both automakers and consumers, as reported by Reuters.
“They changed the destination and kept the fines and the ramp-up and the thresholds exactly the same. What they did was give no flexibility or pragmatism in how that policy operated, but still undermined the transition, leading to a massive reduction in consumer confidence,” Reynolds commented.
The content for these articles were supplied by:
The Financial Times
Devon County Council
teslarati.com
Links to these sources can be found in the body text.