Good morning! Today is Friday, April 12, 2024 and here it is Morning shift, your daily roundup of the top automotive headlines from around the world, in one place. Here are the important stories you need to know.
Device one: Ford discounts Lightning EV by up to $5,500
If you are looking Get a bargain electric carNow is a good time to hit dealerships as companies across the US are slashing prices on their electric vehicle models. Tesla has cut costs in its range for months, Lucid followed suit and Fisker even delivers Electric SUV for under $25,000. Now, Ford has become the latest automaker to slash prices on its electric vehicles, slashing thousands of dollars on an F-150 Lightning pickup truck.
Ford has slashed some F-150 Lightning models by up to $5,500 as it looks to reinvigorate electric pickup truck sales later Deliveries have resumed several weeks after a stop order was issued has been issued, Bloomberg reports. As the website explains:
Ford Motor Co. has slashed the price of its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck by up to 7.5% as electric vehicle inventory soars, and the automaker is set to resume deliveries this month after previously pausing because of the issue. Quality has not been disclosed.
The price cut, implemented on April 5, partially reversed a price increase in January when Ford was halving production of its signature electric vehicles and eliminating worker shifts. The automaker says the biggest reduction is $5,500 for the Flash extended-range model, which now starts at $67,995.
Ford said via email that the cuts will help it “adapt to the market to achieve the optimal combination of sales growth and customer value.”
Ford Temporarily suspend sales of F-150 Lightning back in February 2024 when the company issued an order to stop shipping electric trucks. The order was issued due to quality problems Ford was forced to settle. While it is looking into the matter, Lightning production appears to continue, Bloomberg reported, with inventory of the electric truck now rising to more than 130 days.
Excess supply leads to cuts electric truck pricealso qualify for additional factory incentives and tax breaks announced as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Device 2: Polestar sales plummeted 40% in the first quarter
While Ford is preparing to start delivering electric trucks again, the Swedish automaker Polestar will be hoping for increased deliveries own after posting disappointing sales in early 2024. According to the brand’s latest figures, sales of Flashy electric cars fell 40% in the first three months of the year.
Falling sales meant Polestar delivered just 7,200 vehicles in the first quarter, reports Reuters. That’s down from the more than 12,000 vehicles the company sold this time last year. As Reuters explains:
Chief Executive Thomas Ingenlath said in a statement that increased deliveries of the Polestar 3 and Polestar 4 luxury SUVs will contribute to sales later this year.
“These two models will form the basis for strong revenue and margin growth in the second half of the year, supporting our 2025 targets,” Ingenlath said.
The company aims to supply 155,000-165,000 cars by 2025.
Hitherto, deliveries of the new Polestar 4 just started in China and the company received about 1,200 new cars at the beginning of the year. The Polestar 4 and 2 will soon be joined by the Polestar 3 SUV, which will hopefully help boost company sales in markets like the US
Discount Polestar 3 shown will begin in the second quarter of 2024 and the Polestar 4 will launch in markets including Australia and Europe in the coming months. Hopefully this will give the Geely-backed carmaker the boost it needs through 2024.
3rd gear: Mustang Mach-E used BlueCruise in fatal crash
Federal investigators are investigating a fatal crash Ford Mustang Mach-E Crashing into two stationary cars in Pennsylvania revealed Ford’s advanced driver assistance features BlueCruise was running at the time of collisions.
The February crash is the subject of an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), which shared today that the driver assistance feature was running at the time of the incident. reports Reuters. According to the website:
The National Transportation Safety Board said the Ford was using “BlueCruise.” NTSB said, based on data from the vehicle, the Ford driver was operating in BlueCruise mode before the collision that killed the 56-year-old Honda driver.
A San Antonio police report said the Ford was on “partial automation” at the time of the crash.
Both the NTSB and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are investigating the San Antonio crash and are also investigating a March 3 crash in Philadelphia involving a Ford Mach-E , where the use of advanced driver assistance systems is suspected.
As a result of these findings, the investigation into the crash has now become a full-scale investigation, with the NTSB hoping to find the cause. the role BlueCruise has played in the accident.
4th Gear: The EPA’s push against toxic chemicals is coming to the auto industry
A campaign launched by the Environmental Protection Agency could be about to change the way we create Batteries power our electric cars. Government agencies have begun to control so-called “forever chemicals,” that is The compound is not easily decomposed in the environment or human body and can cause serious health problems such as cancer.
Substances such as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl, known as PFAS, are commonly used in the automotive industry. in things like batteries and o-ring. These compounds have been linked to hormonal problems and some types of cancer, so the EPA has launched an effort to phase out their use, reports Automotive News. As the website explains:
Regulators are trying to reduce the amount of permanent chemicals — which do not break down easily in the human body or in the environment — in U.S. waterways and reduce the amount the public is exposed to. Just this week, the EPA announced its first drinking water standards to protect people against the chemicals and offered $1 billion to states to test public water systems, its first major move. of this agency to limit cancer-causing chemicals.
High exposure to these chemicals has been linked to prostate, kidney and testicular cancer, as well as reduced fertility. Despite this, they are still common in everyday objects such as some non-stick pans. Because of the health risks of these compounds, EPA is working to collect information from companies that manufacture and use them.
There are currently few alternatives to PFAS used in the auto industry, but Automotive News explains that there are startups creating other options for the sector.
Reverse: Shuttle bus
On the Radio: Arcade Fire – Reflektor
