Car Wearing: Ford's electric van is headed to buyers’ driveways

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Lexus reveals more of its SUV concept, Volvo plans a gigafactory, and the VW ID.Buzz is headed to SXSW. But first:

Ford Starts Delivering E-Transit Electric Vans to Buyers

This week Ford began the first customer deliveries of the E-Transit, marking an important milestone for the automaker in a segment that seen a lot of concepts and prototypes roll out over the last few years, but very little in the way of mass market debuts.
The E-Transit, produced at the automaker's Kansas City Assembly Plant, will change that, offered in several configurations including as a chassis cab, a cutaway, and as a cargo van with a choice of three lengths and the roof heights.
Ford notes that it has already received orders from over 300 business customers for over 10,000 vans, the first of which are heading to their buyers now.
"E-Transit is a testament to the fact that an electric commercial fleet is no longer a vision of tomorrow, but a productivity-boosting modern reality," said Kumar Galhotra, Ford's president of The Americas & International Markets Group.

Ford offers the E-Transit in a variety of configurations.

The world of battery-electric cargo vans has already seen a not-so-small cast of start-ups with fancy concepts, yet the two actual market launches of the past six months have been from General Motors' BrightDrop brand and Ford.
Speaking of BrightDrop, one of the few other electric vans in production is the BrightDrop EV600. That model won't be produced at full volume until later this year, and it doesn't boast the variety of body styles the E-Transit offers. Similarly, Rivian's take on the electric delivery van is a purpose-built model destined mostly for Amazon, instead of a large number of business owners big and small.

Right now it's Ford with the most variety and momentum in the field of battery-electric vans.

BMW Is Giving Its EV Buyers Some Free Charging

The battery-electric i4 will be here in a matter of weeks, along with the iX.

Speaking of new electric models arriving in the first quarter of 2022, two new BMW models are headed here starting next month. Ahead of their arrival in customers' garages, the Munich-based automaker revealed that i4 and iX buyers will receive two years of complimentary 30-minute charging sessions from Electrify America.
"The collaboration with Electrify America is one more step on our road toward a sustainable future," said Sebastian Mackensen, president and CEO, BMW of North America. "Charging availability is a key feature when it comes to electric vehicles. We're excited to offer our customers access to charging that is fast, affordable and convenient, as we launch the next generation of all-electric from BMW."
With the arrivals of the BMW i4 eDrive40 and i4 M50 sedans, as well as the BMW iX xDrive50, BMW will suddenly have competitors in two very different segments, one of which has been ruled almost entirely by the Tesla Model 3 for the past several years. And in a matter of weeks BMW will take the wraps off the i7 sedan, which will go up against the Mercedes-Benz EQS, Tesla Model S, and the Lucid Air later in the year.

It's safe to say 2022 will be a major turning point for BMW's electric lineup.

Lexus Gives a Better View of Electric SUV Concept

Just days after the exterior reveal of the upcoming 2023 Lexus RZ 450e, the automaker is shedding more light on another model that was briefly previewed in concept form two months ago.

Dubbed the Lexus Electrified SUV concept, the model is clearly meant to preview a vehicle positioned above the RZ 450e in size, but one that features many of the same design elements. The concept is effectively anticipating a model that we could see in the near future, likely based on a stretched version of the e-TNGA platform that will underpin the Toyota bZ4X, Subaru Solterra, and the Lexus RZ 450e.

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Biden Highlights Tritium EV Charger Factory Plans

EV charger manufacturer Tritium this week revealed Lebanon, Tennessee, as the site of its upcoming US plant. The facility will have the potential to build about 30,000 chargers per year on up to six production lines.

The announcement by the Australian company was timed to coincide with a White House event on EV infrastructure this week, with President Joe Biden issuing praise for Tritium, which says it expects to add 500 jobs to the Lebanon area over a five-year period.

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