Tesla has just had a double-shot of good news on the sales front today. Hertz has ordered 100,000 Tesla EVs for its fleet, with plans to rent them out in major US markets and parts of Europe starting in November, according to Bloomberg. That would mark the largest electric vehicle order of all time and a major move by Hertz into electric car rentals.

The order is reportedly worth $4.2 billion for the fleet (which appears to be Model 3s) according to the report. It represents about a 1/10th of what Tesla can currently produce annually, possibly allowing Hertz to lock out other rental companies. It reportedly purchased well-appointed, rather than base model versions, and paid nearly the full list price for each unit.  

Hertz customers will have access to Tesla's supercharger network, and Hertz is supposedly also building its own charging infrastructure. Eventually, Hertz (which also owns the Dollar, Thrifty and Firefly brands) plans to go nearly fully electric with its half-million vehicle fleet. 

That's a pretty sharp turnaround for Hertz, considering that it went bankrupt in 2020 and only emerged in June of this year. It was purchased out of bankruptcy by distressed-debt firm Knighthead Capital Management (among other firms) for $6 billion. Following a big turnaround in the market, however, it's currently valued at $11.6 billion ahead of relisting on Nasdaq, Bloomberg reported. 

That's just half the good news for Tesla, though. The company's Model 3 was the best-selling car in Europe in September with around 24,600 registered units, marking the first time that an EV has topped the monthly standings, according to automotive analyst JATO. It's also the first time a vehicle manufactured outside the EU has led in sales. Tesla's sales were up by 58 percent over last year, and EV/PHEV sales in general rose 23 percent from 2020.

Last month, registrations accounted for 74 percent of [Tesla's] third quarter volume. Since its’ entry to the European market, the Model Y has also performed well, securing second position in the BEV ranking.

The news is big for Tesla and the EV industry in general, showing that EV sales in Europe are continuing to grow. Much of that has been driven by generous tax rebates and trade-in incentives on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. September was a particularly good month for Tesla, accounting for 74 percent of its third quarter volume, according to JATO

Still, the automotive sector as a whole has plummeted in Europe and elsewhere because of a global chip shortage. Renault recently said that it would produce at least 300,000 fewer vehicles this year due to the global semiconductor shortage, according to Reuters. "This year, the industry has responded well to the the pandemic, but it is now facing new supply chain challenges," said JATO analyst Felipe Munoz. "The growing popularity of EVs is encouraging, but sales are not yet strong enough to offset the big declines seen across other segments."

Tesla is no stranger to raising prices for its EVs, but its latest round has been more aggressive than most. Electreknotes Tesla has hiked prices for all four of its in-production vehicles in the past two days. The base Model 3 and Model Y variants now cost $2,000 more, and respectively start at $43,990 and $56,990. Spring for the Model S and Model X, meanwhile, and you'll pay $5,000 more at respective prices of $94,990 and $104,990.

You'll have to wait a long time for your order, too. The entry Model 3 arrives in June 2022 with larger wheels, and September in a regular configuration. The Model Y arrives one month earlier in both cases. You'll have to wait until June for a Model S, and the Model X doesn't appear until September.

As is often the case, Tesla hasn't explained the price increases. Production woes might play a significant role, mind you. Tesla idled Model S production for the first half of 2021, and the automaker is grappling with supply shortages that aren't helped by increasing demand. The higher prices could offset the impact of shortages on Tesla's bottom line, amd help Tesla catch up by cooling demand.

Toyota plans to spend approximately $3.4 billion to scale its battery production capabilities in the US, the automaker announced on Monday. As part of the investment, Toyota says it will establish a new company that will, with help from its Toyota Tsusho subsidiary, build a battery manufacturing plant somewhere in the US. The company expects to invest $1.29 billion into the facility by the end of 2031.

Toyota said it would share details on the project, including where it plans to build the plant, in the future. However, the facility will initially focus on making batteries for hybrid electric vehicles, with production expected to start sometime in 2025. Toyota expects to create about 1,750 jobs through the project.

If nothing else, the investment is an acknowledgment by Toyota that it needs to diversify its electrification strategy. More so than almost any other automaker, it has invested significantly into fuel cell technology, with not a lot to show for its efforts, at least not in the US. Outside of California, you can’t buy its Mirai fuel-cell sedan. But as part of its Beyond Zero push, Toyota hopes to change that, with it currently planning to offer 70 different electric models, including 15 battery electric vehicles, by 2025.

At its HHTD21 event, Foxconn unveiled three electric vehicle prototypes including two sedans and an electric bus, according to a Nikkei report and YouTube video. The company said it is "no longer the new kid in town" when it comes to EVs, and aims to develop a business worth up to $NT 1 trillion, or around $36 billion per year.

Foxconn developed the EV prototypes under the Foxtron brand in collaboration with Taiwan's Yulon Motor. The latter has its own brand (Luxgen) and manufactures Nissan and Mitsubishi vehicles for the local market. The prototypes include a luxury sedan, SUV and transit bus, labeled the Model E, Model C and Model T, respectively. 

The vehicles are based on Foxconn's open software and hardware platform, MIH Consortium. They're essentially designed as kits, serving as reference designs that EV brands can mass produce to their own specifications. 

The Model T bus could hit roads as early as next year (hopefully under a different name), with a projected range of 400 km and top speed of 120 km/h (75 MPH). It also includes technology like pedestrian warnings, advanced temperature management and high crashworthiness, according to Taiwan News. 

Foxtron's Model C is an electric SUV that will be available in Taiwan by 2023 with high efficiency and zippy 3.8 second 0-to-62 MPH speeds. It's expected to cost below $NT 1 million ($35,700), said Foxconn chairperson Young Liu. The Model E, a luxury performance sedan designed in partnership with Pininfarina, will enter the market at a later, unspecified date. It will offer 750 horsepower and deliver a 0-62 MPH time of 2.8 seconds, along with a 750 km range. Yulon will be among the first EV makers to use the designs, said chairperson Lilian Chen. 

Foxtron said it aims to capitalize on a trend of producing EVs close to the markets where they're sold in order to keep costs down. The company plans to build EV factories in the US, and recently announced that it would acquire troubled Lordstown's Ohio manufacturing plant. It aims to manufacture Lordstown's Endurance pickup truck at the plant, and build Fisker EVs in the complex by late 2023. Foxconn said it would announce details of its EV production plans for Europe soon. 

Sunlight filters down through towering pines, dappling the “grabber blue” skin of my Ford Mach-E GT as it gallops along Highway 1, heedless trivialities like “defensive driving technique” and “speed limits.” Irma Thomas is crooning through the 9-speaker Bang and Olufsen sound system, her rendition of Time is On My Side a stark contrast to the simulated auditory roar of the GT’s twin permanent-magnet motors as the accelerator pedal slaps against the floorboard. Pouring on speed, I finally see what all the Mach-E fuss was about.

Ok so here’s the part of the story where I eat a big plate of crow. When I reviewed the Mach-E base model back in February I found it to be a perfectly serviceable EV, but more akin to similarly-shaped electric SUVs like the Kia Niro or the Volkswagen ID.4 than the venerated muscle cars I hung posters of in my childhood bedroom. Sure, the pony I drove had plenty of get-up-and-go — EVs are torquey that way — but it never rumbled the depths of my bowels like a naturally aspirated 4-barrel V8 could. The Mach-E GT does. Switch over to the performance-forward Unbridled power management mode — or Unbridled Extend, which optimizes traction and stability control and is great for lapping ICE owners on track day — and the Mach-E GT will haul more ass than a secret lab overflowing with butt monsters. Stomp on the gas in the 480 horsepower, 600 ft-pound torque GT and this thing will loosen your fillings. Do so in the uber-torqued GT Performance edition and you’re liable to swallow a few teeth.

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It won’t be difficult to spot the GT and Performance editions on the street. I mean, if the prominent GT badge on the rear liftgate and illuminated Mustang icon on the front grille don’t give it away, both iterations sit about 10 mm lower than the base model and have added styling on the front facia. You’ll also be able to spot them via their wheels as both the GT and the Performance sport unique 20-inch rims (as opposed to the 18s and 19s offered on the base) rocking 245/45R20 Continental all-season tires and fire engine red Brembo brake calipers. On the interior, however, the GT is practically identical to the base model, save for the seats which offer added cushioning and lateral support as there is a better than not chance you’re going to get sideways within the first week of owning one.

As for driving performance, I’m a bit torn. Nostalgia, as I’ve explained previously, is a hell of a drug and my fondest automotive memories stem from tearing up San Francisco’s streets in a 65 outfitted with a drag racing suspension and a T-10 3-speed, which has deeply biased my understanding of what to expect from the Mach-E. It is, honestly, difficult to reconcile in my head that the Mustang is now an SUV and, despite its overwhelming power, still largely drives like one. Give me a straight shot like, say, that length of highway 101 running through Silva Island towards Larkspur and the GT can, will, and very much did beat the pants off of any Tesla on the freeway as well as one overly confident, tailgating Supra.

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The tight, twisting turns of Highway 1, especially the un-railed cliffside sections where a mistimed tap of the accelerator would fly you clear off a 100-plus foot drop, were a different matter entirely. You can feel the understeer, despite it being an AWD, as well as the GT’s 4,600 pounds of curb weight through hairpin turns. But again it’s an SUV, that’s to be expected — even from one with a sub-4 0-60. The GT’s MagneRide suspension — which leverages magneto-rheological fluid to stiffen the ride on demand — shined through during those slaloming sections. Even though the wide-bodied GT wallows like a pig in mud through sharp curves, not once did I have to fight the vehicle’s body roll when entering turns.

The GT starts at $59,900, boasts 480 peak horsepower, 600 lb.-ft. of torque with a 0-60 mph time of 3.8 seconds and an estimated 270 mile range. The GT Performance edition, on the other hand, starts at $64,900, with the same amount of horsepower but a full 634 lb.-ft. of torque and a 3.5 second 0-60 and 260 miles of range. Those figures put the Mach-E GT on par with the Chevy Bolt and VW ID.4 in terms of drivable distance, though the Mustang outclasses them both in terms of driving excitement.

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Range anxiety wasn’t much of a concern during my test drive thanks to the Mach-E’s connected navigation system which continually monitors the vehicle’s battery levels and points out available charging stations along the drive route. What’s more, Ford is offering two years of complimentary use of its Blue Oval Charge Network. For those drivers who wish to do their charging at home, Ford’s Connected Charging station can add 30 miles per charging hour on a 240V outlet while the included mobile charging cord can impart 20 miles of range per hour using a similar 240V outlet.

Deliveries for both the GT and the GT Performance edition have already begun.

When General Motors CEO Mary Barra delivers the opening keynote at next year's CES, she won't only be kicking off the event — she'll also be unveiling Chevrolet's electric Silverado. The automaker first revealed that it's working on an electrified version of the pickup truck in April, promising an EV with a 400-mile range, which can rival Tesla's 2020 Long-Range Plus Model S. 

In today's announcement, Chevrolet has also confirmed that the retail model will come with a glass roof with increased headroom to make the interior look and feel bigger. It will apparently be the first time GM is making a glass roof option available for a full-size pickup. Chevrolet has also confirmed that the vehicle will be capable of four-wheel steering. 

The electric Silverado is based on GM's Ultium platform, the automaker's modular technology that enables it to mix and match battery and drive units to electrify all kinds of vehicles across its brands. GMC's electrified Hummer vehicles are also based on the Ultium platform. And, like the Hummer EVs, the electric Silverado will be manufactured at GM's Factory ZERO, the company's new Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. GM spent $2.2 billion to set up the factory with the equipment needed to build all types of electric vehicles.

Mary Barra's CES 2022 keynote and the Silverado's debut will take place on January 5th.

In the third quarter of 2021 Tesla sold 241,300 cars. That's 102,000 more than the same time period last year. Sure, that's only slightly more than half of the 446,997 cars that GM sold in the last three months. But, that number represents a steep 33-percent decline year-over-year for GM. And (if my math is correct) would mean that it sold more cars than Subaru globally over the last three months.

That Tesla has surged while other automakers are struggling isn't a huge surprise once you start digging into the details, though. While other manufacturers have felt the brunt of the global chip shortage Tesla has begun sourcing different silicon, according to The Verge, and rewriting its software to work with those new components. 

Additionally the company only recently began selling its popular Model Y in Europe and it's still relatively new to the Chinese market as well, giving it plenty of room for growth.

Of course, things aren't all rosy for Tesla. The company is still facing investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board here in the US. And it's only a couple of month removed from a massive recall of nearly 300,000 vehicles in China. Not to mention both its Roadster, Cybertruck and electric semi-truck are facing prolonged delays. 

Cadillac has dropped quite an important feature from the 2022 Cadillac Escalade. According to Motor1 and Roadshow, the model won't come with Super Cruise, GM's hands-free driver-assistance technology. A spokesperson from the brand has confirmed to the publications that the Super Cruise would be "temporarily unavailable at the start of regular production," though they expressed the possibility that it would be available for vehicles manufactured later on. The spokesperson also revealed that the reason for this change is none other than the global chip shortage born out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cadillac's whole statement reads:

"Super Cruise is an important feature for the Cadillac Escalade program. Although it's temporarily unavailable at the start of regular production due to the industry-wide shortage of semiconductors, we're confident in our team's ability to find creative solutions to mitigate the supply chain situation and resume offering the feature for our customers as soon as possible."

The company also told Roadshow that it was only able to build "a few" CT4 and CT5 sedans scheduled for release this year with the capability to use Super Cruise. It had to postpone the full launch of its driver assistance system in the sedans until model year 2022, which will start shipping next year. 

The global semiconductor shortage has had an extensive effect on the tech and auto industries. GM, Cadillac's manufacturer, had to suspend production at all but four of its North American factories due to supply constraints. Nissan, Ford, BMW and Honda had to cut vehicle production, as well. In Ford's case, it led to the delay in shipments of the Mach-E electric vehicle.

GM has big plans for Super Cruise and previously announced its plans to bring the technology to 22 vehicles by 2023. It's unclear if these delays and adjustments caused by the chip shortage would affect the timeline it set for itself.

Swiss company ABB, which supplies EV chargers to Ionity and Electrify America, has unveiled what it calls the "world's fastest electric car charger," Reuters has reported. As its name suggests, the Terra 360 has a 360 kW capacity, meaning it could fully charge a (theoretical) EV in 15 minutes. More realistically, it can charge four vehicles simultaneously, saving space at charging stations. 

The Terra 360 isn't the most powerful charger by much, as companies like Electrify America, Ionity and EVGo have been using 350 kW chargers manufactured by ABB and others since at least 2018. However, it's the "only charger designed explicitly to charge up to four vehicles at once," the company said. "This gives owners the flexibility to charge up to four vehicles overnight or to give a quick refill to their EVs in the day." They also have a relatively small footprint, allowing installation in small depots or parking lots. 

There aren't a lot of EVs that can handle that kind of charge. The fastest-charging EV available is Hyundai's Ioniq 5, which supports DC fast-charging at up to 350 kW, in theory. The only two approaching that are Porsche's Taycan, with 270 kW of charging capacity and the new Lucid Air, which allows for up to 300 kW fast-charging. Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y EVs can charge at up to 250 kW. 

Such high charging levels aren't necessarily great for an EV's battery. Porsche, for instance, has a battery preservation setting on its Plug & Charge Taycan feature that lowers voltage to 200 kW from the maximum 270 kW allowed — so it's essentially acknowledging that faster charging degrades the battery. On top of that, extreme charging levels don't necessarily save you much time, as Car and Driver found. Tesla recently promised to upgrade its own Supercharger V3 network from 250kW to 300kW. 

ABB's new chargers will be able to add 100 km (62 miles) of range in less than three minutes. They'll arrive in Europe by the end of the year and start rolling out in the US and elsewhere in 2022.

Compared to what we were driving just a decade ago, today's connected cars and trucks are practically computers on wheels. From content streaming infotainment systems to the background processes that interpret sensor data and power the advanced driver assist features, software has become a fundamental component in modern vehicles. To better manage those countless lines of code, GM announced on Wednesday that it has developed an end-to-end software platform, dubbed Ulfiti (rhymes with "multiply").

GM's latest vehicles already enjoy features like OTA software updates and on-board internet connectivity thanks to the company's Vehicle Intelligence Platform (VIP). the Linux-based Ulfiti is designed to sit on top of that existing architecture and serve as a central hub for select software systems, separating them from the vehicle's core operations. 

"In all of the embedded controllers, we refactored them and extracted the software from the hardware out of them, making them available to our SOA layer," Scott Miller, Vice President of Software Defined Vehicle. at General Motors, said during a recent teleconference. "Basically we're abstracting them and making them available for a powerful hub for all the vehicle's systems."

"Then we're adding this service oriented layer on our high performance computing that we have in the vehicle for infotainment and safety," he continued. "And we're going to organize those abstractions as services."

This will enable GM to more quickly develop and deploy updates, new features and apps to customers. In essence, Ultifi will serve a similar function as Android does on smartphones — an API layer sitting between the underlying hardware and the end user. GM did note that Ultifi will run in conjunction with existing automotive OSes, such as Android Automotive, which GM announced in 2019 it would begin supporting. 

"Android Automotive is a certain subset of functionality in the car," Darryl Harrison, GM's Director of Global Product Development, explained. "Ultifi is more of an umbrella overall strategy. Some vehicles will have Android Automotive and some will have other infotainment apps and services."

In essence, GM wants to treat your vehicle like a rolling smartphone, offering users continuous OTA updates, cloud-based personalization options that drivers can transfer between GM vehicles, and smart home connectivity. The company is also considering pushing out various safety and comfort upgrades through via OTA, such as using the vehicle's onboard cameras to automatically engage the child locks when they detect children in the back seat or remotely closing the vehicle's sunroof if you parked outdoors and the weather forecast calls for rain.  

GM is also considering using Ultifi to offer subscription services to users, such as on-demand Supercruise that drivers can enable on long road trips but cancel once they reach their destination. Ulfiti could also allow for improved V2V (vehicle to vehicle) and V2X (vehicle to everything) applications including near-real time traffic and road hazard updates. Expect to see Ulfiti in select GM vehicles — both internal combustion and EV — starting in 2023.