Mercedes Benz is opening up its operating system and integrating Google Maps & YouTube. With this move, they lose access to the data and the most valuable business that automakers have in the BEV era

A big strategic mistake, but given their small size they had no other choice With the strategic partnership, data and functions from Google Maps will flow into the company's own navigation system in the future

With this deal, Mercedes is tying itself more closely to Google than any other car manufacturer

Volkswagen has decided to develop all the "central components" for its upcoming electric car drives itself. In addition to the battery and the electric motor, this also includes the pulse inverter and the thermal management system. The automaker cites considerable efficiency ... ... and cost advantages as the reason, saying that only "by optimally matching the individual components is it possible to achieve up to 20 percent greater efficiency." ...

On Monday DUH won a test case against the German Transport Authority KBA over throttled emissions control in diesel cars. The KBA had allowed in 2016 that diesel vehicles after a software update were allowed back on the roads that are actually banned because of the diesel scandal The manufacturers used a software patch that the KBA approved and that 5 years later the court ruled was not legal

5 years in which ICE vehicles continued to pollute people & nature

The Deutsche Umwelthilfe DUH called the ruling a "breakthrough against illegal defeat devices."

Tesla has been successful in its appeals to the state of Brandenburg, not only with a requirement to monitor groundwater the State Environmental Agency also overturned an ancillary provision for 🇩🇪 Giga Berlin on the handling of substances hazardous to water Less red tape for Tesla, which does not have to provide detailed information where Tesla has classified substances in a lower hazard class due to a small proportion

This allows Tesla to classify the water hazard class for these mixtures without having to submit analyses

An illustration why I don't believe in Hydrogen for airplanes. Hydrogen’s poor volumetric density makes it a very bad energy carrier using it as a fuel and that does not even include all efficiency you loose along the supply chain. You need an aircraft that can carry 97471 L of liquid hydrogen in a special insulated tank and the temperature of hydrogen must be maintained at -253 deg C and the liquid hydrogen tanks can only be in the aircraft fuselage or external tanks on pylons - a major engineering issue

Tesla has put today its 🇩🇪 Giga Berlin battery factory into operation. This was announced by Brandenburg's Minister of Economic Jörg Steinbach in the state parliament on Wednesday

However, the company produces only individual battery components due to the IRA act Contrary to original plans Tesla has relocated further production steps to the US for the time being bc tax incentives there make business conditions more favorable. It's overdue that the EU commission is starting a similar program because what they proposed so far is not on par

It's been 5 months since Oliver Blume, the new CEO of the VW Group, took office and Herbert Diess was fired - what has he achieved in that time and is it good or bad?
Cariad, "We already have some elements of the later VW.OS in current vehicle startups for the new generation of Audi & Porsche models"

"We are already integrating such elements into the new premium architecture 1.2"

🤔 So the new sw is responsible for the issues?

Europe’s economy is expected to avoid falling into recession this year, the 🇪🇺 European Commission says, with inflation expected to be lower than feared. The 🇪🇺 EU Commission forecasts now expect eurozone GDP to rise by 0.9% during 2023, up from the 0.3% predicted three months ago

Brandenburg's Ministry of Economics: "Tesla has not received a cent of funding so far" for 🇩🇪 Giga Berlin "A notification procedure under state aid law is currently underway in Brussels regarding Tesla's application"

The 🇪🇺EU Commission decided if and how much Tesla will receive Anyone who builds a new factory in 🇩🇪 Germany receives government funding. Up to 45 % of the costs are paid by the state and federal government - depending on the industry, region, company size and amount of the investment

Tesla applied for a subsidy in November 2020

VW will accelerate its transition to EVs and revise its software strategy in a five-year investment plan, Reuters said the company explained

According to the statement, the board discussed how to transform the production network to accelerate the transition The VW Group has also once again addressed how to improve its software strategy, which has been plagued by delays and cost overruns. Volkswagen plans to present details of this and its future e-car plans shortly

The BEV share in 🇪🇺 Europe continues to grow and ICE to shrink in 2022 BEVs continue to grow in 🇪🇺 Europe in 2022 but Hybrids start to shrink

In 2022, wind and solar together generated more electricity in 🇪🇺 Europe than coal and gas, respectively and this is just the start 2023: Hydro generation will rebound, French nuclear units will return, wind & solar deployment will accelerate & electricity demand will likely continue to fall over the coming months. In 2023, Europe is set to witness a huge fall in fossil fuels— of coal but especially gas power

VW CFO Antlitz referring to new software, battery factories and e-car models

"We expect the peak of investment in two or three years,"

"We will be able to harvest from 2026 at the latest." VW would then need "almost nothing more" invest in the phased-out ICE technology When Antlitz was asked about the VW Group valuation he replied, "We do have to ask ourselves: how well do we explain our qualities to the capital market, even at the Group level?"

"I am convinced we will deliver within the next two to three years."

The VW Group's MEB driving assistance system does not work according to NextMove and users report that the Skoda Enaq's system shuts down with an error message. Service centers confirm the problems. Software updates could not fix teh issue. Skoda Enyaq user report
"Especially if the vehicle suddenly switches off when braking for a slower vehicle ahead, this can sometimes lead to dangerous situations, as you have to perform a full braking maneuver in a flash to avoid hitting the vehicle"

For years, South Pole sold fake emission projects to hundreds of companies, including Volkswagen, Porsche, Nespresso and Gucci, say Bart Crezee and Ties Gijzel in "Follow the Money"
ftm.eu/articles/south… Some of South Pole’s leading clients’ green claims exist only on paper. This is according to research conducted by Follow the Money, based on internal documents and interviews with multiple sources.

Mercedes-Vans CEO Mathias Geisen "In perspective, we also want to build VAN.EA models at our sites in the USA and China. It is a global architecture."

He continued "Of course, with Rivian as a partner we would have had further cost advantages in the construction and operation .. ... of the plant in Jawor. However, we made the decision for the business case independently of a possible cooperation."

Tesla Q4 and 2023 financial results $tsla Tesla market share grows in Europe and USA, MoM flat in China

Giga Nevada Expansion confirmed

Mitch Landrieu, Infrastructure Coordinator for President Biden “The manufacturing boom of President Biden’s first two years continues today with Tesla’s announcement that they will invest more than $3.6 billion in battery and electric semi-truck ... manufacturing in Sparks, Nevada. This announcement is the latest in more than $300 billion in private sector investment in clean energy and semiconductor manufacturing announced since the President took office ...

Q: You currently build around 400k cars a year at the Wolfsburg plant which is about half the installed capacity

VW CEO Schäfer: It is clearly due to the disruption in the supply chain. We have an order backlog that we would like to fulfill but we can't bc of the disruptions🤔 The VW CEO continued: The forecast for this year is better than last year, but expecting a 30 or 40% increase in production does not seem realistic, at least not in the first quarter of 2023

Me: So, you intend to shrink lslower than in 2022?

The 🇩🇪 Giga Berlin workers council is accusing the IGM union of exerting influence on employees and deliberately providing false information. This emerges from an e-mail sent by the works council to the plant's employees on Tuesday. The letter is available to t-online. Traditionally in the German auto industry, at least some works council members belong to the IGM union. The IGM has been running a smear campaign against Tesla for years, most recently claiming that Tesla has problems punishing employees because of harsh working conditions.

Tesla received all water control rights for 🇩🇪 Giga Berlin from The Brandenburg State Office for the Environment

Previously, those rights were held by the WSE Association with its CEO Bähler, who tried to sue Tesla about 18 months ago unsucessfully According to a condition in the permit for 🇩🇪 Giga Berlin the company had previously been obliged to involve the WSE in all matters with groundwater relevance. This clause was removed by the Environment Agency in November 2022