GM put someone with a Tesla Gigafactory resume in charge of ramping up batteries for affordable EVs. Electrify America takes it indoors for urban charging. And Rivian rolls out lower-cost versions of its electric trucks. This and more, here at Green Car Reports.
Rivian on Thursday released details for the cheaper R1T and R1S Standard pack versions that had been expected to arrive with an LFP battery pack. Instead of that, the Standard and Standard+ versions are getting a smaller version of the same battery pack offered on the rest of the lineup. That qualifies them for the $3,750 EV tax credit from the get-go—effectively $67,950, including destination, for a 270-mile electric truck, or upping it to a 315-mile range for $3,100 more..
Electrify America is showing a template for the future in its flagship urban EV charging station, which shifts it indoors with climate-controlled lounge areas, food and beverage vending, and free wifi along with connectors up to 350 kw. It starts a new strategy for larger stations serving urban areas, while its new outdoor layout adds solar canopies and more.
And GM has tapped former Tesla battery-development chief Kurt Kelty to bring lower-cost GM EVs to production sooner. GM’s production ramp has been going extremely slowly, with the battery ramp itself pointed to as part of the reason why the company has missed production targets by such a margin.
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