Tesla record, Fisker electric pickup, Mazda rotary, Big Tech partnerships: The Week in Reverse
Which carmaker, like Tesla, isn’t planning to use lidar sensors in its driver assistance system?
Which carmaker made an argument against one-pedal driving?
This is our look back at the Week In Reverse—right here at Green Car Reports—for the week ending January 8, 2021.
Nio is set to reveal a new flagship sedan this weekend, that will include not just a big 150-kwh battery pack but also a next-generation version of the company’s battery-swapping tech.
Hyundai Motor Group E-GMP platform
We ended the week with some big partnerships pairing big tech and big auto. The search engine giant Baidu—especially big in China—has reportedly turned to Volvo parent Geely for the basis of a smart EV venture. And Hyundai and Apple are potentially pairing up over jointly developed autonomous electric cars. And the longtime Apple manufacturing partner Foxconn is helping restart operations at Byton, with a “strategic cooperation framework” worth about $200 million.
California-based Lucid Motors has confirmed that it’s considering an electric-car factory in Saudi Arabia, in addition to the one that’s currently ramping up to produce Air sedans in Arizona.
Tesla Model Y
Tesla almost reached its target of 500,000 deliveries worldwide in 2020, despite a pandemic. And a recent J.D. Power survey covering the Chinese automotive market suggests that Tesla’s Shanghai plant might have some lessons in assembly quality for Fremont.
General Motors announced a marketing campaign that pitches its transformation to electric, revamps its brandmark, and suggests that nobody will be left out by the company’s upcoming EVs.
GM announces new campaign for EVs, revamped brand logo – January 2021
GM reportedly plans to make an Acura electric crossover alongside the Cadillac Lyriq in Spring Hill, Tennessee, and a similar-sized Honda crossover in Mexico.
Mercedes-Benz revealed the MBUX Hyperscreen, a full-dash screen system set to debut on high-end electric cars including its EQS flagship. It includes multiple screen spaces, haptic controls, and personalized AI-driven profiles for up to 7 users.
Sono Motors, based in Germany, is looking to next week’s CES for the introduction of a running prototype of its upcoming solar-supplemented Sion electric car, to be assembled at the former Saab plant in Sweden.
2021 Volkswagen ID.4
Volkswagen explained why it decided to tune the ID.4 electric crossover for lots of coasting rather than one-pedal driving.
A version of Mazda’s signature rotary engine is going to be offered in the U.S. market in a plug-in hybrid version of the MX-30, the carmaker finally confirmed earlier in the week.
Teaser for Fisker electric pickup truck
Fisker revealed some of the basics surrounding its driver assistance system, called Fisker Intelligent Pilot. Like Tesla’s Autopilot hardware suite, it won’t include lidar sensors. And Fisker teased that its next model might be a lifestyle-oriented electric truck intended to be the lightest and most efficient electric pickup in the world.
At the start of the week, we announced our Green Car Reports’ Best Car To Buy 2021: the Ford Mustang Mach-E.
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