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Since the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law one year ago this week, there's been $59 billion in new EV investments announced in the U.S., according to BloombergNEF.

It's hard to parse how much of that might have happened anyway — automakers were pouring money into new EV plants before the law passed — but it is clear that the IRA's massive outlay of subsidies and tax credits is attracting investment. Look at Tesla Inc.'s expansion plans in Nevada, or Stellantis NV's threat to move its under-construction battery plant from Canada to the U.S.

Still, big hurdles remain for the much-hyped law to fully make good on its goals. If the endgame is speeding EV adoption while creating well-paying clean energy jobs, we also need to look beyond investment dollars and high-profile EV unveilings to measure the law's efficacy. A year isn't enough time to see all these outcomes, so here are four things to watch:

Shawn Fain, who won the first direct election i…

Ford Motor Co. on Monday said it hired Peter Stern, a former Apple executive in charge of launching services such as Apple TV+, to lead a newly created group focused on developing software-based services across Ford's gasoline and electric vehicle business units.

Stern was named president of Ford Integrated Services, effective Monday, and will report to CEO Jim Farley. He'll be in charge of building out a business tied to Ford's BlueCruise hands-free driver-assist system, as well as safety and security services for the company's commercial business unit, Ford Pro.

"This is transformational, because the cornerstone of our Ford+ plan is creating incredible customer services and experiences enabled by great hardware and software," Farley said in a statement. "There's simply no one in the world better able than Peter Stern to build this strategically vital part of our business."  

Stern spent the past six years at Apple as vice president of services a…

Nikola Corp. said on Friday it was recalling all the battery-powered electric trucks that it has delivered to date and is suspending sales after an investigation into recent fires found a coolant leak inside a battery pack as the cause.

There are a total of 209 battery-powered electric trucks in the marketplace between dealers and customers and the company is recalling those vehicles and is in the process of contacting all parties, a spokesperson for Nikola told Reuters.

The preliminary findings of the probe by a third-party investigator were corroborated on Thursday by a "minor thermal incident" on one pack on a parked engineering-validation truck, the company said, adding that no one was injured.

"Foul play or other external factors were unlikely to have caused the incident," Nikola said in a statement, adding efforts were underway to provide a remedy.

The company originally said it suspected foul play when it started an investigation in June a…

BEIJING -- Tesla Inc. said it cut prices in China for its Model Y long-range and performance versions starting Monday.

The automaker dropped the starting prices of both models by 14,000 yuan ($1,934.58). The Model Y Long Range's starting price drops 4.5 percent to 299,900 yuan and the starting price of the Model Y Performance is now 349,900 yuan, down 3.8 percent.

In the same announcement, Tesla also said it would offer insurance subsidies in China of 8,000 yuan for Model 3 buyers of entry-level, rear-wheel-drive versions of the Model 3 inventory vehicle between Aug. 14 and Sept. 30.

Last month Tesla CEO Elon Musk said further price cuts were a possibility, even if it squeezed the automaker's margins.

Tesla has slashed prices several times in the U.S., China and other markets since late last year, and increased discounts and given other incentives to reduce inventory, trying to shield itself against competition and economic uncertainty.

Sal…

CDK Global has launched CDK Dealership Xperience, a megaplatform that it says will incorporate multiple dealership workflows, boost customer service capacity and eliminate the need for extra software systems.The software company said the new platform addresses longstanding dealer complaints about extra costs and time wasted trying to create technology workarounds with existing dealership management systems.

"It enables a dealer to operate their entire business on one platform," CDK Global CMO Barb Edson told Automotive News.

Existing dealership management system customers in their CDK renewals will be signed up for the platform's Foundations Suite at no extra cost, said Edson, who added that the platform will be marketed actively to both existing and potential new customers.

"We're spending millions to implement this for our valued customers because we believe so strongly that we have pieces of the technology puzzle that they've b…

Competition is driving new innovations like a rocket

This week we give you the names of the finalists for the 2023 Automotive News PACE Award.

There are 34 of them, from 28 companies in 11 countries, including Australia, China, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland.

Automotive News started the PACE Award 29 years ago. It is a way to identify the technical innovations developed by suppliers — in components, materials, functionality, manufacturability, cost and efficiency in both product and process — that have made the journey from the brainstorm stage into the commercial market.

To be honest, we are as astonished as you are every year that companies keep coming up with brilliant innovations to wow their automaker customers and help advance the auto industry.

It's not easy.

What hasn't been thought of already? Drawing board ideas hit roadblocks that cause them to be pushed off into the R&D center trash bin. The mechanics won't work.…

This week we give you the names of the finalists for the 2023 Automotive News PACE Award.

There are 34 of them, from 28 companies in 11 countries, including Australia, China, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland.

Automotive News started the PACE Award 29 years ago. It is a way to identify the technical innovations developed by suppliers — in components, materials, functionality, manufacturability, cost and efficiency in both product and process — that have made the journey from the brainstorm stage into the commercial market.

To be honest, we are as astonished as you are every year that companies keep coming up with brilliant innovations to wow their automaker customers and help advance the auto industry.

It's not easy.

What hasn't been thought of already? Drawing board ideas hit roadblocks that cause them to be pushed off into the R&D center trash bin. The mechanics won't work. It adds unwanted weight. It costs too much. The automaker isn…

SBD Automotive’s EV principal discusses to what extent vehicle owners view their brands as leaders in sustainability, why software is a stronger motivator for an EV purchase in China and how increasing awareness about the environmental costs of battery production might impact adoption.

How do I subscribe?

Apple Podcasts: “Shift: A podcast about mobility” is available on the iTunes Store and through the ‘Podcast’ app pre-installed on all iOS devices. Click here to subscribe.

Spotify: "Shift: A podcast about mobility" can be streamed through Spotify on your desktop, tablet or mobile device. Click here to subscribe.

Google Play: "Shift: A podcast about mobility" is available on Android devices through the Google Play store. Click here to subscribe.

Before the end of the year, JLR says it will give an early look at the first of three new all-electric Jaguars that will begin appearing in 2025.

Although JLR officials updated the progress on their plan to reinvent Jaguar as a low-volume, super-premium luxury brand cast more in the mold of Bentley and Aston Martin than BMW and Audi, there are still more questions than answers as the 2023 model year winds down.

Will there be just one new Jaguar in 2025 until JLR builds out the lineup? JLR has said one new EV model will be launched each year after 2025. If all of the current lineup dies in 2025, Jaguar showrooms are likely to be largely empty and lonely places with just one model.

What will the U.S. Jaguar dealer network look like? This year, JLR has been encouraging Jaguar dealers to terminate their franchise agreements in exchange for a greater allocation of hot-selling Land Rovers.

JLR officials have not been forthcoming with many of those and…

NEW YORK — Cadillac's electric Escalade was barely a day old, but Will Churchill already had more than 30 emails from clients and friends wanting to buy one.

Since General Motors' luxury brand unveiled the 2025 Escalade IQ last week at an event here, it has generated some of the biggest response the Texas dealer said he has received for a new model.

"Escalade's become its own brand, and I think this continues that narrative," said Churchill, who has Cadillac stores in Fort Worth and Arlington. "It delivers on what you expect from an Escalade."

Staying true to that brand as an electric vehicle will be key for Cadillac's top-selling franchise. The Escalade IQ is, on one hand, a clean-sheet EV designed from the ground up on GM's Ultium battery platform, rather than a gasoline vehicle architecture retrofitted with batteries and an electric motor.

But unlike Cadillac's first two EVs — the Lyriq midsize crossover and upcomin…