| If you have trouble reading this message, view it in a browser.  This week GM plans to get lithium from the Salton Sea, NHTSA warns Chevy Bolt owners of fire risk, the EU introduces plans to phase out sales of gas- and diesel-engined cars. But first:  This week Volkswagen rolled out its business strategy for the next decade, one that intends to focus on electric vehicles, software, autonomous tech, and mobility as a service (MaaS). The automaker had already hinted at plans to become a major player in all of these areas, but the newly announced strategy, dubbed "New Auto," added a few interesting details to the mix including the automaker's intent to have a single platform eventually replace three internal combustion engine platforms and two current electric ones. This includes eventually replacing the MEB architecture that currently underpins the Volkswagen Group's smaller electric offerings, such as the ID.4, with the SSP (Scalable Systems Platform). "This next generation will be all-electric, fully digital and highly scalable," VW said. "Over its lifetime, more than 40 million vehicles are projected on this basis. Like the MEB today, the SSP will be open to other auto manufacturers."  VW laid out its business strategy this week, dubbed "New Auto." "Introducing the SSP means leveraging our strengths in platform management and building on our capabilities to maximize synergies across segments and brands," said Markus Duesmann, CEO of Audi. "In the long run, our SSP will significantly reduce complexity in mechatronics." Of course, this new platform is just one part of the automaker's strategy for the next several, revealed by Volkswagen this week. Autonomous tech will play a big role in the coming years as well, with VW planning to own and operate autonomous shuttle fleets in the more distant future.  Lotus EVs are slated to be based on three different platforms, including one for an SUV. Speaking of platforms, shortly after revealing its last new internal combustion engine model, the Lotus Emira, the automaker is working on not one but three new battery-electric platforms. One of these will underpin the Evija hypercar, which was announced some time ago, while another is slated to be used on Lotus' future lineup of sports cars but will also be shared with Renault subsidiary Alpine for a battery-electric follow-up to the A110. A third Lotus platform is planned to underpin its battery-electric SUV, and comes from corporate parent Geely.    Following a number of countries' plans to gradually ban internal combustion-engined vehicles by certain years, the European Union itself has advanced legislation that would seek to phase out such vehicles by 2035, as part of a greater climate initiative. The European Commission is set to introduce proposals for binding emission targets within the member states, including a 55% cut in CO2 emissions by 2030, and 100% cut by 2035.  We all know that lithium is needed to produce EV batteries, and that there aren't too many places in the world to mine it. But GM now has a plan to extract it from the Salton Sea in California. Here's how this process is supposed to work.   Spread the word: If you know someone interested in staying on top of the rapidly growing EV segment, feel free to pass this newsletter along.
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Friday, July 16, 2021
VW already planning to replace its EV platform
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