If you like this rundown/summary of what’s going on with EVs in Canada please share it with someone (or people) that you think might enjoy it as well!

Also, if you would like to contribute, have any feedback or comments please email me:

FIRST!

I reached out to Daymak with a few questions (See previous newsletter for context) - here are their responses:

1. Q: How are the plans developing for the manufacturing plant in Toronto?A:We are researching production tooling/robotics and manufacturing facilities at present.

2. Q: Is Daymak still planning a $20 million SPAC this year?A:We are doing a financing for $25 million split $3 million /22 million with Foundation markets.

3. Q: Are you still on track to deliver the Spiritus in 2023?A:First Deliveries of Spiritus Ultimate are on track for late 2023.

Canada

• Electric vehicle registrations in Canada are up 25.7% in the third quarter of 2021 versus Q3 of 2020 according to Statistics Canada - although they also report a 8.2% decline in overall total vehicle registrations in the country.For those interested in the full numbers: Click hereFrom the StatCan data release:“Despite a lower number of total new motor vehicle registrations, new zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) registrations increased 38.5% compared with the third quarter of 2020. Within this group, the number of new plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) registrations rose 72.8%, and new battery electric vehicles (BEV) registrations rose 25.7%. New ZEV registrations comprised 5.4% of new vehicle registrations in the third quarter of 2021.Conversely, new registrations of vehicles with traditional internal combustion engines declined, with gasoline-powered vehicles declining 15.9% and diesel-powered vehicles declining 26.1%. In contrast, new hybrid electric vehicle registrations increased 61.7% compared with the third quarter of 2020.”FULL STATCAN RELEASE

• Canadian National Railway Company (CN) announced the purchase of Wabtec’s FLXdrive battery-electric freight locomotive. Wabtec is a manufacturer and freight company that has been around for over 150 years. Wabtec launched a pilot program of its FLXdrive in California in summer 2021. The FLXdrive battery-electric freight (BEF) locomotive has a maximum weight capacity of430,000 lbs. The BEF locomotive delivered 22.5 tons of energy capacity (2.4 MWh) from over 20,000 lithium-ion battery cells and can reach speeds around 129 km/h and a has a range of approximately 560 kms. CN has already committed to reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fuel and energy-related activities by 40% per million gross ton-miles by 2030, compared to a 2019 base year. The Wabtec FLXdrive is expected to deliver to CN in 2023.

• In Surrey, British Columbia, a series of Tesla Superchargers have been vandalized. Before the Tesla Superchargers were even set to be activated, vandals sprayed graffiti on the chargers and also pulled off the plastic covers. A second vandalism of the chargers also occurred a week later where vandals damaged them while seemingly extracting the copper from the chargers.The construction of this Tesla Supercharger station began in October 2021 and set to open soon but has since been delayed due to the damage. Tesla Superchargers are no strangers to vandalism - whether for copper extraction or for dislike of the brand and the EV evolution.FULL ARTICLE

• Canada isn’t on the radar, in talks, or even in the room when it comes to electric vehicle manufacturing. There is opportunity for Canada to stake claims in the exploding electric vehicle industry. The electric vehicle industry does not simply consist of selling electric vehicles - it includes the supply, refinement and manufacturing of the materials required as well. Also, this is not a North American phenomenon, it is a global evolution. Jamie Deith of Eagle Graphite, based in British Columbia, says that he is ready to supply their extracted graphite to the Canadian industry rather than export to China. “All of North America is basically zero when it comes to anything in the battery supply chain,” says Deith.Despite Prime Minister Trudeau’s push on his cabinet ministers to bring Canada to the table as a global leader in the EV battery industry - Canada may be too far behind to catch up. Many of the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers are already making key decisions so that they don’t get left in the dust and right now those decisions do not involve Canada. Although Canada has roughly 3% of the world total reserves of 4 minerals (cobalt, lithium, graphite & nickel) that are used in battery manufacturing, major vehicle companies are choosing other countries for their manufacturing plants.The consulting firm McKinsey and Company estimates that the world market for battery cells will grow each year until 2030 where the industry will be valued at roughly US$360 billion. The World Bank estimates global demand for critical minerals, which include those needed for electric vehicle batteries, could increase to over 500 per cent within the next 30 years.Experts say that instead of being a one-stop shop that Canada should focus on a few opportunities within mining to refining to manufacturing and have government support the growth of Canadian companies to lead the way. A few examples would be to focus on the mineral processing and fabrication of chemicals or focus on manufacturing parts like anodes and cathodes that are used in the batteries.FULL ARTICLE

EV Around the World 🌏

• Car manufacturer Lotus and battery producer Britishvolt are partnering on developing battery cell technology which will power Lotus’ electric vehicle offerings. Lotus has already invested £100-million (~$171-million CAD) in their manufacturing facilities in the UK - which includes their manufacturing plant in Hethel, England. The Hethel plant is set to produce Lotus’ all electric hypercar the Evija (pronounced eh-VIE'-ya) pictured below.Lotus has also confirmed that they are working on an all electric SUV as well as 3 additional EV models. This further solidifies their commitment to Lotus’ “pure electric future” - only producing electric vehicles - which they announced in 2021. FULL ARTICLE

• Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) will be developing their own EV platform internally instead of looking outside for something that will suit their vision of their future. The platform, named Pantera, will help JLR reach their goal of being fully-electric by 2025. JLR has reported that they are pushing towards a lower-volume, higher value future. In other words they are striving for an extra-super-luxury future and be priced well above their current pricing. In my opinion, this is absolutely a short in the dark. When I think of Jaguar and Land Rover / Range Rover vehicles, I think high-price low-reliability. Jaguar and Land Rover models have long been plagued by quality and reliability issues globally. Land Rover finished last out of 31 car makers, with a score of 78.2%, almost 10% worse than the brand directly above it on a reliability survey.Poor performance in China notably led to protests outside JLR’s Shanghai headquarters in 2018.FULL ARTICLE

• Warren Buffet backed BYD USA has developed an electric school bus named Type A. The BYD Type A can transport 30 students and has a range of 140 miles (225km). A lithium iron phosphate, considered the most safe and reliable battery, powers the bus where safety was the number priority during design and development. The battery also gives the bus vehicle to grid capabilities and can act as energy storage whenever the bus is not being used to transport students to and from school. Therefore, school buses can be charged overnight when energy demand is low and less expensive, and clean, emission free energy can be fed back into the school during school hours when the bus is parked.

QuickEV

• NRCAN to invest $2-million for 294 EV chargers in Ontario. 

• $2-million in fed funds to Alberta for 260 EV chargers by 2023.

• Tesla launches ‘TeslaMic,’ a microphone for in-car karaoke. 

• The Hummer EV is BIG.

• [VIDEO] EV Race: BMW iX, Tesla Model X, Audi e-tron S, Mercedes EQC.

• [VIDEO] Rivian R1T towing capabilities are put to the test.

• Porsche Taycan goes across the US with just 2.5 hours worth of charge.

• [VIDEO'] Tesla Cybertruck walkaround.

• [VIDEO] Tesla Model S Plaid teardown series

EV Meme of the Week

(Not really a meme but..)