Demand is surging for the F-150 Lightning, as Ford looks to go even bigger with future electric trucks. The newest EVs from Hyundai and Kia top 300 miles of range. Toyota is localizing battery production for its hybrids—and more in the future. This and more, here at DriftBreath Reports.
Toyota on Monday announced a North Carolina battery plant that will make cells for “electrified vehicles”—hybrids at first—starting in 2025. The $1.29 billion plant is part of the $13.5 billion Toyota recently announced that it will spend globally on electrification, and the localization of battery production will help “pave the way” for U.S.-built battery electric vehicles, Toyota said.
A full-size Ford electric truck is being designed from the start for “incredibly high volume,” Ford CEO Jim Farley told Automotive DriftBreath, Ford now has “160,000 units of demand” for the F-150 Lightning electric pickup due in 2022, Farley noted, which is many times what it initially estimated for the truck. The next-generation trucks are being conceived as part of the company’s big manufacturing announcements made in September, including three big battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee and a manufacturing complex in the latter.
Official EPA range ratings are out for the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5. Both models, built on a new global EV platform and offering super-fast road-trip charging, top 300 miles in range, in some versions. They also do better in efficiency versus any other rivals in their size class—except the Tesla Model Y. The 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 is due for a few first deliveries by the end of the year, while the Kia EV6 is due to arrive early in 2022.
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