Auto companies plug into global EV party

Amid challenges, uncertainties and hardships sparked by COVID-19, it's been difficult to find reasons to celebrate this year.

Perhaps that's why some companies latched onto a newly designated day to commemorate vehicle electrification. Wednesday marked the inaugural World EV Day, and there were celebrations in Europe, Southeast Asia and across the globe.

Leading the initiative were Swiss technology company ABB, which is a major Formula E racing sponsor, and Green.tv, an online media company based in Oxford, England, that focuses on sustainability. Among the automakers and brands that signed on as partners for World EV Day were Hyundai, Jaguar, Land Rover, Nissan, Mahindra, Polestar and electric vehicle startups Nio and BYD.

Nissan marked the production of its 500,000th Leaf EV on Wednesday at its plant in Sunderland, England.

Also in the United Kingdom, Highways England – the government-owned company responsible for maintaining motorways – announced that it was charging ahead with a $12 million initiative to allow businesses with diesel van fleets to try electric vehicles for free for two months. The objective is to reduce carbon emissions and encourage a shift toward more sustainable vehicles.

Jaguar Land Rover got green with a social media campaign to commemorate the day.

"It's important now more than ever that we as a business and as an industry prioritize our move towards a whole new phase of an electrified automotive world," Stefan Berger, director of electrification at JLR, said in a blog Wednesday.

Outside of World EV Day, automakers across the globe are bullishly investing in electric vehicles these days. General Motors has made recent headlines with its commitment to electric vehicles. The automaker announced this week it is building an electric pickup for EV startup Nikola as part of a new partnership.

-- Alexa St. John

What you need to know

Lucid unwraps production-intent Air sedan If the Lucid Air engineering mules starting to roll down the line at the company's new $700 million Arizona assembly plant don't expose any flaws in manufacturing or in punishing real-world testing, production of the high-performance electric sedan will start next spring. Lucid officials on Wednesday showed the production-intent Air large sedan, the first of several planned variants of the car. The Dream Edition model will launch first. It will have 1,080 hp, hit 60 mph in about 2.5 seconds and cruise as far as 517 miles on a single charge, the company says. The car has a 900-volt electrical system that can yield 20 miles of range per minute of charging.

GM-Nikola partnership General Motors is taking an 11 percent stake in startup electric-truck maker Nikola Corp. under a partnership that calls for GM to engineer and assemble Nikola's first vehicle, the companies said Tuesday. Under the agreement, which is expected to close this month, GM will build the Nikola Badger, a fuel cell pickup planned for production in late 2022, using GM's proprietary Ultium batteries. The agreement will commercialize GM's fuel cell technology in high volumes and extend the use of its fuel cell system to the semitruck market.

Auto tech startups' alternate route to go public When Steve Girsky set his sights on investments in transportation technology startups two years ago, the idea of taking a fledgling company to public markets via a special-purpose acquisition company was a novel one. Little did the former General Motors vice chairman know he stood at the forefront of a trend that has morphed into a stampede. This summer, the SPAC has quickly become a favored method for automotive technology companies seeking to raise capital and go public — one that comes without the perceived hassles and wait times associated with the traditional initial public offering process.

Roundup

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E-commerce surge spurs race for electric delivery vehicles.

Yandex, Uber to spin off self-driving unit of joint venture.

New Mercedes-Benz S-Class stirs pot on self-driving regulations.

ZF partners with startup Aeva to produce self-driving sensors.

Uber promises 100 percent EVs by 2040; GM offers Bolt assistance.

Hitachi establishes new EV motor company in Kentucky.

Gig workers or employees? Uber, Lyft face fight in California.

Elon Musk tests VW EVs during meeting with Volkswagen Group CEO Herbert Diess, report says.

Electric vehicle membership bill fizzles in California Legislature.

Disaster planning needs to address EVs' limitations, says this week's Automotive News editorial.

Toyota's R&D arm to form $800 million investment fund.

Brain food

Automotive News reporter Richard Truett asks: How is GM going to build the fuel cell stacks for Nikola?

Last mile

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