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Recharge Wrap-up: BYD building e6 for Taiwan, Formula E announces season two test dates

The West Coast Electric Highway in Oregon and Washington offers EV drivers a lot of freedom to travel. With fast chargers available along I-5 and many other highways, drivers can travel through large parts of the Northwest without worrying about being stranded. Most chargers are 20 to 30 miles apart throughout the network - which is helpful considering the extra energy needed to climb the many hills - but things get a little more difficult at the border with California. From Ashland, Oregon southward, there isn't another fast charger for about 200 miles. Read more at Green Car Reports. The BYD e6 will be built in Taiwan for the Taiwanese market. AJ Greentech Holdings will manufacture the electric crossover taxi, which can travel 186 miles on a single charge. "This contract will ensure that our initiative for revolutionizing green energy transportation is carried out," says AJ Greentech Holdings CEO Chu Li An. "By driving this e6 electric taxi, drivers will save 10,000 Taiwan dollars a year on transportation costs, an unparalleled deal, while at the same time, providing a safer environment for all the citizens of Taiwan." Read more at Hybrid Cars. Nissan and Ricker Oil are partnering to bring EV fast charging to Ricker's Convenience Stores in Indianapolis. Nissan Leaf customers who purchase beginning April 1 will be able to charge for free at the nine locations as part of the automaker's "No Charge to Charge" program. "In Indianapolis, we are taking bold steps to reduce our city's oil dependence," says Mayor Greg Ballard. "Growing our citywide network of EV charging stations is important as we transition the city's entire fleet off foreign oil and work with residents to increase their access to electric vehicles." Read more at Convenience Store News. Formula E has announced its preseason test dates for its second season. Testing will take place in August at Donington Park in Leicestershire, England, where Formula E has its headquarters. Teams will be testing cars with powertrains from eight new manufacturers for the second season. The public is welcome to come watch on the last day of testing, August 25. See the full testing schedule and read more from Formula E.

Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi adopts Android infotainment in coup for Google

PARIS — The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi carmaking alliance said on Tuesday it will adopt Alphabet's Google Android operating system, handing a victory to the U.S. tech giant as it pushes for a bigger share of the infotainment market. Renault, Nissan and Mitsubishi, with combined sales of 10.6 million vehicles last year, said future models will "integrate Google applications and services" including Maps and the voice-commanded Google Assistant. The move, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, leans more heavily on Big Tech than large or luxury rival carmakers have hitherto been willing to do. Many fear losing control of customer relationships, data and potentially significant future revenue from connected services. Some smaller manufacturers such as Volvo Cars have decided to embed Android Auto in their vehicles. But the scale of the shift by Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi may cause a broader rethink of costly standalone tech strategies. "Major carmakers earlier were reluctant to do business with Google, but this has now changed," said Jauke de Jong, a research analyst at AFS Group in Amsterdam. "More carmakers could follow suit and partner with Google." Until now, carmakers have largely chosen Linux, Microsoft or QNX software to power infotainment. That yields clunkier platforms they can control, but which offer little scope to add new apps or functionality. Far more than just hooking up a phone The news may spell trouble for certain existing auto-tech suppliers such as mapping specialist TomTom, which counts Renault among its customers. Shares in the Dutch group fell by more than quarter after the announcement. In return for handing Google the infotainment keys, the alliance will bring the full clout of Android's thousands of apps to its brands' lineups — which include a strong contingent of affordably priced, no-frills models for emerging markets. The partnership promises "rich user experiences that are currently available only outside the vehicle or, to a limited extent, by connecting an Android device to supported vehicles," alliance development chief Hadi Zablit said. While many volume carmakers offer infotainment "mirroring" to pair with Apple iPhones or Android smartphones, premium rivals such as BMW and Daimler's Mercedes-Benz are investing heavily in their own operating systems, vocal assistants and connected services.

Trucks, SUVs drive U.S. October new vehicle sales

DETROIT — Major automakers posted mixed U.S. new vehicle sales in October on Wednesday, though America's love affair with high-margin pickup trucks and SUVs remained in full bloom as larger, pricier vehicles fared better than passenger cars. Auto industry publication WardsAuto put the seasonally-adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) for light vehicle sales in October at a robust level of 18 million units. But after a long boom cycle, carmakers are still ill-prepared for the slight decline in sales anticipated for full-year 2017 and have taken too few steps to trim production, said Doug Mehl, a partner in consultancy A.T. Kearney's automotive practice. "When you make a new vehicle, you have volume assumptions tagged to it, and who wants to be the guy who says, 'I'm going to make less of this really cool model'?" Mehl said. "But eventually the market is the reality, and it's going to force companies one way or other here." General Motors GM reported a sales drop of 2.2 percent for the month, with consumer sales down 6.6 percent. But sales of high-margin pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and crossovers all rose. GM also cut its inventory of unsold vehicles — a source of concern for the market — slightly. The automaker has worked to reduce its volume of excess inventory, including through significant production shutdowns in the third quarter. GM had said its inventory would rise in October. "We are heading into the fourth quarter with good momentum, thanks to a strong U.S. economy and very strong pickup and crossover sales," said Kurt McNeil, GM vice president for U.S. sales operations. GM slightly reduced consumer discounts as a percentage of average transaction prices to 13.5 percent, from 13.7 percent in the third quarter. Industry experts believe consumer discounts above 10 percent of the average transaction price are unhealthy as they erode resale values and are unsustainable in the long term. Consultants J.D. Power and LMC said last week that based on preliminary October sales numbers, discounts have exceeded 10 percent in 15 of the past 16 months. Ford The U.S. auto industry posted record sales of 17.55 million vehicles in 2016. New sales received a strong boost in September as consumers replaced vehicles damaged in southeast Texas by Hurricane Harvey the previous month. Full-year 2017 sales are expected to be slightly lower than 2016.