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Tesla Q2 19 Earnings Call Is it all Gloom and Doom?

Tesla Delivery Center Roswell GA on July 24, 2019 – Day of Q2 Tesla Earnings Call
Photo Credit: Jeff Cohen

July 25, 2019 – As I listened to a fairly subdued Q2 earnings call last night, I felt almost a sense of helplessness on the part of a very tired and subdued sounding CEO Elon Musk. Surely Elon is tired from his non-stop 10+ year journey to build Tesla from an idea into an automaker pumping out 5,000 Model 3’s a week (with a target of 15,000 vehicles). Q2 results were simply poor. Delivering 95,356 electric vehicles (77,634 were Model 3’s, +52% vs Q1) and posting a $408 million operating loss continues to raise the question: will Tesla ever be profitable? Elon sounded a note of sadness announcing that founding Chief Technology Officer, JB Straubel was stepping away from his Executive role (moving to an advisor) – the man who hired Elon into Tesla over a decade ago; the man working side by side with Elon to launch every model from the Roadster to the Model 3 and largely shaping the forthcoming Model Y. Very big shoes to fill indeed.

Does Tesla Have A Demand Problem?

Tesla Model 3’s awaiting their new owners at Roswell GA Service and Delivery Center
Photo Credit: Jeff Cohen

The photos in this blog-post were taken yesterday (July 24, 2019) at my local Tesla Service and Delivery Center in Roswell GA. Just one month ago, this lot was EMPTY with all Model 3s and a few Model S and X had been delivered to new customers. ALL of these Model 3s have been sold and are waiting for delivery to their new owners. Most are the higher priced dual motor and performance versions of the Model 3 ($50,000+). With the Federal Tax Credit moving down to $1,875 for this last quarter (Q3 2019) before phase out, Tesla reduced the price of the Model 3, now starting at $38,990 very competitively priced! Tesla does not suffer from a demand problem for Model 3. Model S and X sales have matured (14,000 units produced on a single shift operation at Fremont CA). A refresh in the works? Elon says no. But he’s been known to deliver trompe l’oeil (trick of the eye) before.

Why is Tesla Currently Unprofitable?

The simple reason: it has yet to reach economies of scale. In 2019, Tesla has produced a total of 164,186 vehicles, all but 28,000 of which are Model 3s. The auto industry is driven by scale to amortize vehicle development and massive fix costs of production and assembly along with safety and compliance costs. Tesla continues to build toward that future with the launch of the mid-sized Model Y SUV (Fall 2020) and forthcoming Pick Up truck (the largest light duty segment in the US market) while ramping up Model 3 sales in the largest electric vehicle market in the world: China. It’s going to take 500,000+ vehicles produced per year, to drive Tesla to profitability. This is one age-old lesson from the auto industry that Tesla still needs to learn.

Pre-Production Model Y SUV
Concept Rendering for the Tesla Pick Up Truck

Full details of Tesla’s Q2 2019 Financial performance https://ir.tesla.com/static-files/1e70a30c-20a7-48b3-a1f6-696a7c517959


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Ford Makes Good on the Promise of an All Electric F-150

Ford F-150 Electric Prototype Tows 1.25 Million Pounds

Screen grab with Chief Engineer Linda Zhang and F-150 Owners with the All Electric F-150 Prototype

July 23, 2019 – Ford just released a 5:45 video featuring Linda Zhang, F-150 Chief Nameplate Engineer at Ford Motor Company demonstrating the amazing towing capacity of the all electric F-150 by pulling over 1.25+ millions pounds 1,000 feet. The payload was contained in 10 triple decker vehicle rail cars loaded with 42 F-150s representing each model year since the F-150 launched in 1976. Here’s the YouTube link: https://youtu.be/bXFHgoon7lg. As I shared in my June blog post Reflections on All Things EV https://atlantaevdc.com/2019/06/09/reflections-on-all-things-ev/, light duty trucks are the game changer for the EV industry. Ford is #1 in light duty vehicles and they clearly intend to extend that with electric light duty trucks! But capable competition from GM, RIVIAN and Tesla will both challenge Ford and expand the market for all-electric light duty vehicles. it’s gonna get interesting!


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July 2019 Metro Atlanta Electric Vehicle Headlines

A 3 minute read for Battery, Vehicle and Charging Station News

#1 – Georgia Public Service Commission Approves Pilot for Used EV DC Charging Station Power

Nissan Leaf Battery Pack

July 16, 2019 – The Georgia Public Service Commission signed off on commissioner Tim Echols’ proposal to have Georgia Power and the commission work together to explore whether used batteries from electric vehicles could be re-purposed for fast-charging EV stations. Echols said there is an excess of partially-used products, particularly Nissan Leaf batteries, that still have a lot of energy left. Using these batteries for a pilot could help expand EV charging availability throughout the state while insulating the grid from electricity demand spikes. “There is no recycling available for these batteries at this time,” Echols said during the meeting. “Given we’re about to approve 80 MW of new lithium-ion batteries, it’s in our benefit to do a pilot program to see if it will work to reuse these batteries for a purpose that benefits the public and our grid and the Georgia community in general.” The program would be capped at $250,000 in costs passed down to ratepayers. ttps://www.spglobal.com/marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/UlMh2otzI0d9KO4FwGjEXQ2

#2 – Audi E-Tron Debuts in North Georgia

2019 Audi E-Tron All Electric 208 mile range SUV

July 11, 2019 – Members of the Audi Club of Georgia gathered for their regular club meeting at Audi North Atlanta Roswell and for their introduction and test drive of the new Audi E-Tron SUV with 208 miles of all electric range powered by a 95 kWh battery back and two electric motors mounted on the front and rear trans axles. Die-hard Audi owners (most owned 3+ of the German Marquee) were positively impressed by the instant acceleration, regenerative braking and all of the qualities that make the SUV an Audi.

Charging Port with Push to Open and Close

Re-charging is handled via Level 1 (110-120V), Level 2 (240V ) and DC charging (480V+ with CCS cord) with input rated at 150kW delivering 100 miles of range in 10-15 minutes. Audi is part of Volkswagen of America, whose Electrify America unit is deploying fast charging stations under the Partial Consent Decree. Priced from $74,900 to $90,000 the E-tron is competitively priced to the only large SUV competitor, the Tesla Model X (305-325 miles all electric range). https://www.audiusa.com/models/audi-e-tron

#3 – Electrify America Metro Atlanta Charging Network Cycle 2 Expansion

Electrify America DC Fast Charge Station – WalMart Super Center

July 12, 2019. From Chris Campbell, Secretary EV Club of the South via their FaceBook page:

“Those of you clamoring for DCFC stations on the southside of Atlanta will be happy to read this. Electrify Atlanta will be expanding its presence in metro Atlanta significantly during the “Cycle 2” phase of their long term effort, and they have already reached out to the City of Atlanta and other organizations for guidance. Travis Buholtz [from the City of Atlanta Sustainability EV Infrastructure Fellow] came to our monthly meeting on June 19th and briefly showed us this map of EA’s proposed locations, and he encouraged us to share it. This map is focused on City of Atlanta, generally ITP. So don’t bother pointing out that it’s missing a zillion stations in the suburbs.” https://www.facebook.com/evcots/notifications/

Note Access to EV Club of the South FB Page requires Club approval


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Reflections on All Things EV

Hey all! Sorry for the extended absence from my blog posts. The last 2 years working at ChargePoint have flown by and helped keep me at the forefront of the electric vehicle industry and especially EV charging. In past blog-posts, I’ve covered topics related to EV’s – mostly Tesla – and events in the State of Georgia. Today I want to share my reflections on the state of the electric vehicle industry and where I see it headed over the next 2-5 years. So here goes. Opinions are my own.

What’s Happening with car based EV’s?

EV’s are Still “Fixin’ to Get Ready” to be a Major Force in Light Duty Transportation. While EV’s are breaking the 2% of vehicle sales barrier, they have a very long way to go to become the dominant form of light duty transportation. Why? Because the mass market automotive OEMs (GM, Ford, Fiat, Nissan/Renault) continue to offer niche EV’s in declining car segments in North America and Europe. While the high end lux vehicles are going ‘all in on electric’ (Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Volvo) they are still too small to effect a mass scale shift to electrified vehicles. And that leaves Tesla with it’s expensive and relatively narrow line of all electric vehicles to lead the industry and there are not enough cars coming out of Fremont (or Reno in the future) to make that happen.

What About Light Duty Trucks?

What will change all of this in North America? Light Duty Trucks! America is still the land of pick up and light duty trucks. After conducting training meetings in states like Texas and Florida, I got the attention of my audience when I showed a slide of the planned electric pick ups from Ford and GM and new entries from Michigan based Rivian. You start talking to a man about his truck and you are going to get his attention. Light duty trucks are perfect for electrification: remove the engine, drive train, gas tank and install one super large battery (think 150-250 kWh battery pack) and powerful electric motors at each of the four wheels, maintain towing capacity and luxo truck comfort and pricing ($70,000+) and you have the makings of a successful electric light duty truck offering. Fortunately, these vehicles are in the 12-24 month launch time horizon. Light duty trucks: game changer for electrified transportation.

What Role will Commercial Duty EV’s Play? A tremendous one!

A segment of the transportation industry that gets little notice but has a huge impact is commercial fleets. Think over the road tractor trailer trucks and municipal buses. Right now Tesla is in development testing of its Class 8 over the road semi truck with 400 all electric range at 100,000 pounds of payload, UPS is developing its own fleet of electrified delivery trucks. Add to that all electric buses offered by BYD and New Flyer that municipalities nationwide are purchasing for delivery in 6-24 months. Once the public starts seeing medium and heavy duty electric vehicles on the road they might start to be convinced that their much lighter vehicle could be an electric after all. And the charging infrastructure being developed for these vehicles will be massive and have a halo effect on light duty charging station installation growth.

What About Autonomous Driving?

Much digital ink is being spilled over the topic of autonomous driving. From where I sit (behind the wheel of a Tesla Model S Gen 1 MobilEye AutoPilot system in use since October 2015), US roads have a very long way to go to handle Fully Autonomous Driving (Level 5). While Alphabet and Tesla are at the forefront of Autonomous Driving vehicle technology, it is my considered opinion that it is not vehicle technology that limits Autonomous Driving. It is our ever deteriorating road beds, unpredictable weather and roadway lighting conditions, road construction and pedestrians that impede the progress of full self driving. It’s almost as if we’d be better served to create autonomous driving lanes than to try to create technology that can handle trillions of road conditions real time. I fully believe in driver assisted autonomous driving and absolutely love even my basic AP1 features but I am behind the wheel and can take over at a split seconds’ notice.

Will There Ever Be Enough Charging Stations to avoid Range Anxiety?

The answer depends on where and how far you drive. If you have a home charger installed in your garage and you have access to chargers at work or at retail locations where you drive, you will have plenty of charging stations to support your driving needs. With either the ChargePoint or PlugShare Apps you will find thousands of level 2 charging stations in the US and a rapidly growing number in Canada. With home charging, you can always leave your house in the morning on a full charge!

If you are driving between cities and states, then charging becomes more of a challenge and your trip planning skills will be fully used! If you own a Tesla part of the reason you bought it was to access their nationwide network of ‘superchargers’ (120-250kW output stations) or their ‘urban chargers‘ (72kW output) and other than California, you can usually get on a Tesla supercharger. Tesla has also installed ‘destination’ chargers at hundreds of hotels providing level 2 (full charge overnight).

If you own another make/model of EV, you will need to access to DC-Fast Charge networks across the US including: ChargePoint, EVGO, Electrify America, and Greenlots (Shell). You will need an account and network access card for each of these networks and need to know which DC Plug comes with your EV: Asian cars are CHAdeMO and NA/EU cars are CCS (combines a set of DC pins below the AC adapter). Charging session costs vary depending on DC fast charge station local and whether the station owner can charge for electricity (e.g. California) or only by time (e.g. Georgia). Your trip planning skills will be honed finely as you plan your route through DC fast chargers.

That wraps up my reflections on the state of the electric vehicle industry. Have a question or comment, use our comment form at the bottom of this post.

Tesla Model 3 – Four Day Test Drive Review

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Curious about how the Tesla Model 3 performs in everyday driving? Read on!

Atlanta Electric Vehicle Development Coalition

Tesla Model 3 – Four Day Test Drive Review

IMG_2537On my last trip to the Bay area, I was lucky enough to score a rental of a brand new Tesla Model 3 through Turo, the “Air BNB” of personal owner car sharing. Over a four day, 312 mile rental, I had the opportunity to put the Model 3 through its paces traversing the highways and byways of Silicon Valley.  This review continues my first blogpost of the Model 3:  Tesla Model 3 – First Look Inside & Out

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This gallery contains 12 photos


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The 1% Solution – The 99% Reality

The 1% Solution – The 99% Reality

This past August 2017 marked the 5th Anniversary of my transition from “gas to electric” driving, logging about 70,000 miles in either all electric (Nissan LEAF, Tesla Model S) or Plug-In Hybrid Electric (Chevrolet VOLT) vehicles.  In thinking about my life experience as an EV driver, I wanted to share my perspective as the US EV market cracks the 1% mark and the 99% Reality of why I believe that EVs can be the ‘go to’ vehicle for the vast majority of driving circumstances.  [photo: 2013 VOLT on delivery day 8-16-2012]. Continue reading →


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Tell Your Representatives to Reduce the Punitive EV User Fee

Tell Your Representatives to Reduce the Punitive EV User Fee
Georgia has the highest EV user fee in the U.S. – let’s fix that!

Reposting from Southern Alliance for Clean Energy – Take Action Now

In 2015, Georgia passed a new user fee on electric vehicles (EVs). This $200 fee (increasing annually) makes EVs the highest taxed vehicles on the road in Georgia. It is negatively impacting adoption and reducing the ability of more Georgians to adopt this new, cleaner technology.

Georgia lawmakers have the opportunity, right now, to help reduce that fee. HB 317 was introduced that will reduce the fee from $200 to $100. While this fee is still higher than many of the other states that impose such a fee, it will reduce the burden to current and future EV owners. Help us keep the pressure on!

Please contact your Representative and the Transportation Committee Chairman (instructions below) TODAY! Time is critical!

Personal emails are more effective than automated emails, so please copy, paste and send from your personal email address. Add your personal story to the sample text provided below.

Follow these steps to TAKE ACTION TODAY:

  1. Email the Transportation Committee Chairman: kevin.tanner@house.ga.gov
  2. Find your legislator here and add them to your email going to the Chairman
  3. Copy and paste the sample text; customize it, especially if you drive an EV!
  4. Hit send!

Dear Representative [Insert Name] and Chairman Tanner,


I am writing to urge you to support HB 317 that would lower the punitive electric vehicle user fee. I drive a (INSERT YOUR EV HERE). I am paying more in road use fees than a pickup truck or an SUV. I agree that a road use fee is fair for an electric vehicle, but the current fee is unfair and punitive.

I currently pay tax on the electricity I use to power my EV, but I am now also paying the $204.20 user (registration) fee plus an additional fee for the Alternative Fuel tag ($35).


EVs are now the highest taxed vehicles on the road in Georgia. It is negatively impacting retention and adoption of electric vehicles and reducing the ability of more Georgians to adopt this new, cleaner technology.

Alternative fuel vehicles are good for the Georgia economy as they are using power generated in Georgia and the dollars stay in Georgia.

Please reduce the user fee and support bill HB 317.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

[Insert your name / address]


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Here’s why electric car sales are plummeting in Georgia

Here’s why electric car sales are plummeting in Georgia

Reprinted here is the entire story written by AJC staff writer Chris Joyner published on line on January 13th and in newsprint on January 16, 2017.  Copyrighted material – Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Here’s a fact maybe not generally appreciated by commuters gazing at Atlanta’s smudgy, smoggy skyline: Georgia has the second most electric vehicles in the nation.

Here’s another fact: Not for long.

Georgia has about 25,000 electric cars on the road, mostly in metro Atlanta and largely funded by what was one of the most generous state tax incentives in the nation — a $5,000 state income tax credit. But state lawmakers, many of them conservatives who are predisposed against consumer tax credits anyway, canceled the credit in 2015 and installed a $200 registration fee instead.

That whipsaw effect pushed new electric vehicle purchases off a cliff. In July 2015, the state registered 1,426 electric vehicles purchased as the tax credit expired. The next month, just 242 were registered — that’s an 83 percent drop and sales have not rebounded.

The impact also can be seen in the decline of specialty license plate sales for alternative fuel vehicles, which are tied to the registration fee. Every all-electric vehicle — as well as some other alternative fuel vehicles — is subject to a $200 fee. Owner of such cars can opt to get the specialty license plate in return, giving them access to Atlanta’s HOV lanes.

However, since the change in state policy, monthly license plate sales are down nearly 60 percent.

For champions of the clean-fuel cars, the statistics are sobering.

“We should be around 40,000 vehicles now,” said Jeff Cohen, founder of the Atlanta Electric Vehicle Development Coalition. “We’re not growing.”

Backers of alternative fuel vehicles like Cohen have complained that lawmakers turned one of the friendliest states to the electric car into one of the least hospitable.

“According to the Georgia Department of Revenue, sales and leases have dropped over 90 percent,” said Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols, a proponent of the tax credit and owner of two electric cars. “The tax credit was key to our growing this market.”

No one disagrees with that, but it made some conservative lawmakers uncomfortable. Sen. Butch Miller, R-Gainesville, served on a special joint study committee created last year to look into alternative fuel vehicles and said the dramatic decline shows the tax credit only propped up an industry that didn’t have wide consumer support.

“Our previous electric car tax credit was too generous, too rich. We have to strike a balance on what is good for the economy, what’s good for the environment and what’s good for the consumer,” said Miller. “It should be market driven, and a free-market approach answers a lot of questions.”

Credit not likely to be revived

Attempts last year to reinstate a version of the tax credit failed, and the joint study committee met three times last year and issued no recommendations. And Miller made it clear the committee was taking a wait-and-see approach to any new measures.

“At this point it’s really fluid because we are still working on trying to develop the right kind of policy that will move us forward,” Miller said. “With energy prices at their current state, it’s difficult for people to justify the investment in alternative energy and that has slowed the pace of our exploration.”

Advocates hoping the state would consider new incentives got little encouragement from the study committee.

“I’m going be as generous as I can,” said Don Francis, director of Clean Cities Georgia, a federally supported initiative. “I was disappointed at how they approached it and what the output was.”

Francis testified at the final meeting of the study committee that the elimination of the tax credit was costing both consumers and the state money as drivers spent more on gasoline and most of those dollars left the state.

Francis said it was pretty clear the committee wasn’t interested in revisiting the tax credit and instead focused on what the state could do to support business uses for alternative fuels while supporting refueling and recharging infrastructure.

There are no disinterested parties here. Miller, for example, is a car dealer and not for Tesla. Cohen is North American sales manager for General Electric’s vehicle charging stations. Car companies like Chevrolet and Nissan, which produce the most popular all-electric cars, are weighing in as well.

+ Sales of specialty license plates for alternative fuel vehicles plunged when the General Assembly removed a $5,000 tax credit for electric photo
THE ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION

Sales of specialty license plates for alternative fuel vehicles plunged when the General Assembly removed a $5,000 tax credit for electric cars in 2015, as figures from the Georgia Department of Revenue show.

Registration fee highest in nation

But there are legitimate policy questions too.

Should the state put a thumb on the scale to entice consumers to buy one type of car over another? Are consumer tax credits bad policy generally? Doesn’t the state have an obligation to address air quality and climate change by encouraging clean energy?

Francis, Cohen and others who want more state support for electric vehicles are retooling and focusing heavily on the annual registration fee. The fee, which this year will be slightly above $200, is meant to offset the gas tax which electric vehicle owners obviously do not pay but go to fund repairs on the roads everybody uses. However, the indexed fee, which this year will be slightly above $200, is the highest in the nation and there appears to be some support for lowering it.

“I think that’s a realistic priority,” Cohen said.

Cohen is bullish on electric cars (he owns three) and believes that sales will slowly rebound on their own, particularly if the lawmakers reduce the penalty to something less punitive.

“I’d rather see the registration fee addressed to maintain our population,” he said. “I’d rather not fight for a tax credit that market data may not prove we need.”

Francis said there may be a way to return a portion of the tax credit’s incentive by giving buyers a break on sales tax at the point of purchase.

“A lot of states are doing sales tax exemptions rather than credits,” he said.

Whatever the outcome, unless policy changes soon, Georgia’s unlikely position as No. 2 on the electric car rankings (way, way, way behind No. 1 California) likely is doomed.

As AJC Watchdog, I’ll be writing about public officials, good governance and the way your tax dollars are spent. Help me out. What needs exposing in your community? Contact me at cjoyner@ajc.com.

 


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EV Charging Comes to Atlanta Airport!

EV Charging Comes to Atlanta Airport and in a BIG way!

atlanta-leaders-airport-jan-2017 

What started out as a conversation between Georgia Public Service Comissioner Timothy G. Echols, City of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and his Director of Sustainability Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (recently promoted to Chief Resiliency Officer) has advanced to the first phase of three phases of electric vehicle charging stations at Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson International Airport. The first 102 charging ports were officially unveiled on Thursday January 12, 2017.  And that was very welcome news to metro Atlanta EV drivers.

How did this finally happen?  Read on about the individuals who led the charge to make electric vehicle charging at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport happen.

don-francisDon Francis, Executive Director Clean Cities Georgia.  Don has been championing charging at the Atlanta airport for at least five years and has been actively part of the planning process that has brought the first phase of chargers. Don’s widespread network of government, industry and think tank partners along with his deep knowledge of EVs and EV charging drives his quest to ensure that the state of Georgia continues to support the growth of electric vehicles and reduces our dependence on foreign oil. Don has overseen charging station infrastructure in Georgia for over 20 years, going back to the GM EV1 project.

tim-echolsTim Echols, Commissioner, Georgia Public Service Commmission. Tim has been the most vocal publicly elected official supporting electric vehicles and charging stations for years. Tim took a position during the 2015 Georgia General Assembly to retain a modified ZEV/LEV vehicle tax credit to continue to support clean energy and to improve Georgia’s air quality. Guest Post by Tim Echols, Commissioner, Georgia Public Service Commission: Why Retain the ZEV/LEV Income Tax Credit In Georgia?As a tireless champion, Tim does not give up easily.  It was Tim’s conversation with Mayor Reed and Ms.Benfield that sparked the commitment on the part of Mayor Reed to aggressively ‘close the EV charging gap’ at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport.  Tim builds bridges ‘across the aisle’ as demonstated by his re-election to the Georgia Public Service Commission this past November, garnering the largest number of votes of any elected official in the history of the State of Georgia.

stephanie-stucky-benfieldStephanie Stuckey Benfield joined the Mayor’s Office as Director of Sustainability in mid-2015 and immediately began to make her mark on alternative fuel vehicles. The City’s fleet began to transition from ‘gas guzzlers’ to fuel efficent vehicles with charging infrastructure to support the city’s EVs.  Stephanie, who is known to ride one of the city’s bicycle’s to meetings downtown, together with Don Francis and Tim Echols, saw the huge need for electric vehicle charging at the airport and in partnering with the Airport Sustainability team, initiated the dialogue with Mayor Reed suggesting that maybe 50 stations were needed. His Honor quickly increased that number 6-fold. Stephanie is truly walking the talk and recently purchased a pre-owned 2014 Tesla Model S 60 following a test drive of a new Tesla at the City of Atlanta’s first Electric Vehicle Ride & Drive event. True to her values, Stephanie purchased a ‘recycled’ electric vehicle!

paul-bowersPaul Bowers, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Georgia Power, A Southern Company.  It takes amazing commitment on the part of a public utility to get behind an initiative with candidly, a negligable ROI. With just over 25,000 EV’s, it would have been very easy for Paul Bowers to politely decline support for the EV Community Charging program, which is in the process of rolling out up to 61 recharging islands with both DCFC and Level 2 stations throughout the State of Georgia.  Instead under Mr. Bowers leadership, Georgia Power has embraced and significantly advanced the ability to own an electric vehicle in Georgia as the result of the series of committments that he and his organization have made, including supporting the multi-year charging stations project at Atlanta Airport.

mayor-kaseem-reedCity of Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Hartsfield Jackson Airport General Manager Roosevelt Council Junior.  Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport plays host to 100,000,000 passengers a year, the majority of whom do not live in metro Atlanta. The airport is in the midst of a $6 Billion modernization program which includes the demolition and reconstruction of the North and South terminal parking decks targeting 2018-2020 timeframe.  Mayor Reed is committed to making Hartsfield Jackson International Airport the “Greenest Airport in the World.” Mayor Reed Puts Atlanta on the Global Climate Stage

councilman-gm-airportWhen asked about the timing for electric vehicle charging at the airport, Mr. Council’s predecessor said 2-3 years aligned with the new parking decks.When Mayor Reed gave the word just several months ago (summer 2016), Mr. Council got to work and found a way, partnering with Polly Sattler, Senior Sustainability Planner, to make electric vehicle charging happen throughout the airport in January 2017!   Thank you Mayor Reed for lighting the fire and thank you Mr. Council for carrying the torch!

The January 12, 2017 media event was held in the International Terminal Short Term parking deck where 75 people gathered for the announcement, several of whom were delighted to plug and and charge up during the event many had been waiting for a very long time!

evs-at-international

 Photo Credit:  Jeff Cohen


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Encouraging Electric Vehicle Developments in Georgia

As the leaves began to turn, three very significant events have taken place which bode well for the advancement of electric vehicles and supporting recharging infrastructure in the State of Georgia.

Mayor Reed in ParisHartsfield-Jackson International Airport  City of Atlanta Mayor Kaseem Reed has committed to the installation of 300 electric vehicle charging parking spots by the end of 2017. Sources indicate the charging infrastructure will be a mix of Level 1 charging stations, L1 plug-in outlets (owners can plug in their charging cordsets), Level 2 stations and even a few DCFC stations. Regardless, this is a HUGE step forward as the most notable gap for EV charging in metro Atlanta is the airport.  The first 100 charging spots will be on-line by the end of 2016 with the remaining 200 coming on stream over the course of 2017.

Featured Image -- 804

State of Georgia General Assembly Joint House-Senate Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Study Committee. At the end of the 2016 Legislative Session, a resolution passed forming a Joint Study Committee led by Rep. Bubber Epps and Sen. Jeff Mulls. The committee received testimony during three sessions (Macon, Ringgold, Atlanta) and concluded their public hearings on November 9th.

During the last meeting at the State Capitol, electric vehicle testimony was provided by Nissan North America, the City of Atlanta (Director of Sustainability Stephanie Stuckey Benfield) and CleanCitiesGeorgia. The latter was provided by Executive Director Don Francis, whom everyone knows is the “Godfather of EV Charging” in Georgia.

Don made a fact based presentation to the Joint Committee seeking to demonstrate:

  • PHEV  sales in Georgia are falling. While the State of Georgia is still #2 in the nation with 24,328 plug in electric vehicles registered (California is 10x larger at 229,723 PHEV’s according to IHS Polk data year ending August 31, 2016), Georgia PHEV sales are off over 90% and Georgia’s percent of total registrations is at only 0.4% vs. 0.8% national average.  The combination of the elimination of the LEV/ZEV personal income tax credit in June 2015 coupled with the “usurious” PHEV registration fees ($204 this year) have brought the mainstream EV market to a screeching halt. At the national average of 0.8% there should be another 6,500-7,000 new PHEV’s on Georgia’s roads versus the 1,247 according to IHS Polk.
  • Foreign Oil Dependency in Georgia is Unabated. More money is spent on petroleum in Georgia ($30 Billion) than the State Budget ($20 Billion) with the vast majority of those funds leaving the state. In contrast, electricity is generated and consumed in Georgia and those funds stay in the state. CleanCities goal nationally is to reduce and ideally eliminate the United States dependence on foreign oil.
  • Legislators are leaving money on the table. The economic impact of EV’s in Georgia is well over $100 million per year between vehicle sales/resales, electricity consumed in Georgia and disposable income effects from lower cost electricity (yes even with gasoline at $2.50/gallon).
  • The PHEV Registration Fee is Punitive. The $200+ PHEV registration/road use fee is twice that of the next highest states ($100 in Michigan, North Carolina and Washington State). It needs to come down.

At the end of this final session, Mr. Francis put up the “Ask” slide and boldly put forth three recommendations which the Joint Study Committee positively received:

  1. Restore a reasonable LEV/ZEV tax credit targeting 10% of the qualifying PHEV price with a cap of $3,000. Follow the Federal model of tax credit by battery size.
  2. Reduce the Alternative Fuel Vehicles registration fee to $50.00.
  3. Support EV charging station infrastructure. Address the language in the current legislation to enable the existing EV charging stations tax credit to be applied to commercial and retail properties. BOMA spokesman Mark Gallman provided similar testimony.

The committee thanked those providing testimony on behalf of Electric Vehicles with the prevailing sentiment expressed by Senator Butch Miller: “Something needs to be done but it is a question of balance. We need to find the right balance.”

Tim Echols created Georgia’s annual Alternative Fuel Vehicles Roadshow to showcase the capabilities of a wide variety of alternative fuels including electricified transportation.

tim-echols-afv-roadshow Iv

Electric Vehicles and the Southeast Grid – Newly re-elected Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols and Union of Concerned Scientists‘ Peter O’Connor convened a two-day ‘think tank’ session to discuss the current and future state of electric vehicles, and charging infrastructure, to hear case studies from regional public utilities, and take a glimpse into the future of charging infrastructure.  Workplace charging was tackled by one panel and Residential charging by another. Four public utilities (Duke Energy, Georgia Power, Florida Power and Light, Jacksonville Energy Association) shared the outcomes of their initiatives to support PHEVs and recharging infrastructure. Ally Kelly from The Ray foundation shared the plans to test bed roadway embedded EV recharging on the 18 mile stretch of Interstate 85 between Georgia and the Alabama State line named in honor of the late Raymond C. Anderson, the visionary Chairman of Interface who led the carpet industry into the recycled fibers technology.   Audi’s EV Architect (coolest job title at the conference) Wayne Kallen said that the first full Battery Electric Vehicle from Audi is coming in late 2018!

So if one were to believe that all of the PHEV development work was taking place in California, this conference would surely have demonstrated that incredible advances are being made in the Southeast and in fact Jeff Kessler representing CARB (California Air Resources Board) said as much during his panel remarks.

During the post 2015 Georgia General Assembly era, the electric vehicle constituents in Georgia have been very busy advancing infrastructure (4,500 Public Level 2 charging stations and 375 Fast Charge plugs), and building the case for the Legislature to restore the State to a leadership position in the advancement of Electric Vehicles in Georgia.

2017-chevy-bolt-ev-commercialStay tuned as we watch how the next major development – the almost $60 million VW settlement Fund [if the State accepts it], is to be administered in Georgia. You can be sure that more charging stations (and even Superchargers) are on their way as the 2017 Chevrolet BOLT, the 2018 Tesla Model 3, all new Nissan LEAF and that all-electric Audi extend the reach the electric vehicles throughout the State of Georgia and beyond.