NEWSNOTES | February 21, 2025
News Notes

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A warm welcome to new CALSTART member: Green Water and Power.


Ree Automotive has partnered with Mission Mobile to supply a fleet of P7 electric trucks to bring healthcare services to underserved, rural communities in the U.S. Mission Mobile Medical is the world’s largest mobile health company and recently ordered and secured priority production of the P7, with the first delivery planned this year. With a fully flat chassis, the P7 is an ideal candidate for Mission Mobile to build out medical facilities on the trucks and provides REE’s x-by-wire system for enhanced maneuverability. Tali Miller, Chief Business Officer of REE, said, “This collaboration demonstrates how zero-emission vehicles can provide essential services efficiently and at scale, creating positive impact for our communities.”

At least one OEM is navigating the current market with some success: Ford set two new records for EV sales last month. They sold nearly 19,000 electrified vehicles (which includes hybrids and plug-ins), a new record for January. The automaker sold over 5,600 EVs in the states, and over 3,500 of them were Mustang Mach-Es. Compared to last January, Ford saw a 21.2% increase in overall EV sales and a 173% increase in Mach-E sales. Ford reported a 35% year-over-year increase in EV sales in 2024 and has kept the momentum in 2025 despite massive political changes dominating the news. These numbers could be a result of the new Ford Power Promise, which offers free hardware and installation of a Level 2 charger at home and robust customer education and support resources.

Isuzu Trucks is building a new manufacturing facility in South Carolina to assemble battery-powered and ICE vehicles, aiming to be operational in 2027. The manufacturer sold a record 44,000 vehicles in North America last year and is hoping to further boost production capacity with a second facility in the states. This will be Isuzu’s first factory without conveyors or pits in their production line, which should help employees switch between ICE and EV assembly easily.

The world’s largest EV producer, BYD, might be leading the pack in technology as well as sales. Last week they announced a new advanced driver-assistance system (ADAS) known as “God’s Eye”, and it’ll be accessible for even the most-affordable vehicles in their lineup. The most basic of the offering, the God’s Eye C system has 12 cameras, 5 mm-wave radars, and 12 ultrasonic radars, while the more advanced A and B systems have LiDAR. It’s speculated the technology will be activated in existing cars and customers won’t have to pay to utilize it. Not stopping at one tech breakthrough, the CTO of BYD’s battery business said they’ve already produced their first solid-state cells and anticipate starting “mass demonstrations” in a couple years. Theoretically, solid-state batteries would be safer and more efficient than their liquid electrolyte counterparts, but widespread production and use is still years away.

ABB is helping NASCAR, an association synonymous with ICE vehicles, dip their toe in the electric revolution. The two powerhouses unveiled an EV prototype last year that debuted as a pace car at the Daytona 500 this past Sunday. ABB is also providing guidance and equipment for NASCAR’s IMPACT initiative, aimed at reducing the carbon footprint across operations by 2035. Along with the ABB vehicle, an electric Chevy Blazer was the first official EV pace car at this year’s Daytona 500, and NASCAR announced plans for deployment of 30 Level 2 chargers at Daytona International Speedway.
 

RESOURCES 

• Mission Mobile Medical and REE Automotive Collaborate to Transport Healthcare to Millions of Rural Americans, GlobeNewswire
• Ford EVs Set New Sales Records in the U.S. in January, InsideEVs
• Isuzu to Build New EV Truck Factory in the U.S., InsideEVs
• BYD Beats Tesla Again as its ‘God’s Eye’ Self-Driving Tech Leapfrogs FSD, TheDrive
• BYD Has Already Produced its First Solid-State Cells, Electrive
• Daytona 500: ABB and NASCAR’s Electric Vehicle, Sustainability Magazine