California’s getting tough on its emissions rules. Mercedes is stepping its EQS electric flagship forward. Arrival sets up for U.S. production. And Elon Musk picks all the numbers for winks and nods in a pricing move potentially aimed to undercut rival Lucid. This and more, here at Green Car Reports.
Tesla just lowered prices on the Model S family by $3,000. So chalk it up as quite the coincidence that CEO Elon Musk lowered prices again hours after Lucid solidified its entry pricing for the Air—with Musk landing on a new $69,420 Model S entry price.
Mercedes-Benz appears to be in the middle of a complete rethink in its electric-vehicle strategy. According to a new report, it’s moving the EQS flagship up to the front of the line, as the first of a new generation of EVs from Mercedes to arrive in the U.S., within the next year or so. Meanwhile it’s downplaying the higher-volume and shared-mobility sides of its EQ brand.
Arrival, the UK company known for its stylish urban EV delivery trucks, has announced that it will be building electric buses, and perhaps other trucks, for the U.S. at a South Carolina plant, with production due to start in about a year.
California is aiming to sniff out emissions cheats with a new laboratory and stiffer penalties arriving in 2021. But in the meantime, it’s issued a warning letter to automakers, urging them to come clean on cheats, workarounds, and defeat devices.
And over at The Car Connection: The 2021 Toyota Prius finally gets compatibility for both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. A stronger set of active-safety features is now included, too.
_______________________________________