Weekly Roundup: 29th October-4th November
- Pakistan signs Global Methane pledge at COP26, obtains 250 biogas-powered buses
- Kia EV6 crowned 2022 German Premium Car of the Year
- Toyota announces debut of all-electric SUV
COP26:
Pakistan signs Global Methane Pledge at COP26
The US and the EU have announced a global partnership to cut emissions of the greenhouse gas methane by 2030. Malik Amin Aslam, Special Assistant to the PM on Climate Change, who is heading the ten person strong Pakistani delegation to the COP has signed the pledge too in an effort to tackle climate change. In the run up to COP26, Pakistan announced that it will shift to clean energy by converting 30% of its transportation to electric vehicles and that 60% of all energy produced in the country will be generated by renewable energy sources by 2030. Read more on this here.
Clean technology innovation markets get boost with “breakthrough agenda”
More than 40 world leaders have signed up for the Breakthrough Agenda including US, EU, China and developing economies. The agenda is hoped to accelerate investment into clean technology innovations. Under the agreement, the governments are expected to stimulate green investment to reach the net zero goal by 2050. Read more about it here.
On Clean Fuels:
Sindh to obtain 250 biogas-powered buses
Work on BRT Red Line project would start in July this year and two hundred and fifty state-of-the-art bio-hybrid buses will be on the road under the project to provide people with a zero-emission mass transit system. Presiding over a meeting on the BRT Red Line project, Sindh Transport Minister, Awais Qadir said the project would be constructed with the help of Asian Development Bank and will span 26 km from Safoora to Tower. Read more about the story here.
On Mass Transit:
Metro Bus Service for airport to be operational by March next year
The preparations for the operationalization of Metro Bus Service for the new Islamabad International Airport have begun. Capital Development Authority (CDA) has hired consultants to aid them in finishing up the project by first quarter of 2022. According to sources, Rs. 800 million have been dedicated to constructing a bus depot at Peshawar Morr. The buses will traverse various routes, to facilitate all the people traveling to or from the airport, within the capital city. Read more here.
NHA Approves consultancy contract for transportation projects
The National Highways Authority Executive Board has approved the award of agreement for “Hiring of Consultancy Services for Intelligent Transportation System & Development of Nationwide Strategy and Architecture” to Nespak (Pvt) Ltd in JV with DATA VIEW. The agreement has the evaluated cost of a little over 38 million. Read more here.
An Electrified Future:
Chinese EV makers invited to Pakistan to invest in Pakistani market
To enhance the cooperation between Pakistan and China in the industrial and technological sectors, Pakistan’s Ambassador to China, Moinul Haque called on the Member of the Municipal Standing Committee Liu Zinqing in Wuhan. He briefed the ambassador about the immense growth potential of Wuhan city in areas of new energy and smart networks and offered collaboration between automobile companies of the two countries in Demonstration Zone. Read more here.
Electric vehicle maker Rivian seeks to raise $8.4 billion in IPO
Rivian Automotive Inc., the electric truck maker backed by Amazon.com Inc., is seeking to raise as much as $8.4 billion in an initial public offering. Rivian said it plans to sell 135 million shares for $57 to $62 each. The company’s fully diluted value would be closer to $60 billion after the IPO. Read more about it here.
Toyota set to globally debut its first all-electric SUV in 2022
Toyota is all set for entering the electric vehicle ecosystem globally by introducing the Toyota bZ4X which will be a fully electric-powered SUV. This new SUV is a part of Toyota’s ‘Beyond Zero’ series of EVs and is developed in a partnership with Subaru. The SUV will compete against automobile giants such as Tesla, Ford, Volkswagen, and more. Read more about it here.
Earnings:
Ford sales improve, post best month in 21 years
Ford became the top-selling automaker for the second straight month. Despite its overall October vehicle sales falling 4% year-over-year, it continues to bounce back from a semiconductor chip shortage that has impacted the overall industry. SUV sales for the month were up 12.8% year-over-year, fueled by the strength of the new Bronco, Bronco Sport and Mustang Mach-E. Read more about it here.
Volvo sales rose 22% in October
Volvo Cars sold 581,464 cars in the first 10 months of 2021, up 12.6 percent compared with the same period last year. The company’s shares rose by 22% on their Stockholm market debut last Friday, with the Swedish brand going public due to increased investor demand for EV manufacturers. Volvo currently sells two all-electric vehicles, the XC40 Recharge and the C40 Recharge. Read more here.
In Other News:
Elon Musk says Tesla has not signed the Hertz deal yet
Hertz, a car rental firm announced a massive deal with Electric Vehicle maker Tesla last week. The company said it has ordered 100,000 Tesla Model 3S for its rental fleet. However, after a week, Elon Musk, CEO Tesla said the company has not signed any contract with Hertz yet and the order is far from firm. According to a report from Wall Street Journal, the disagreement between the two companies is regarding the delivery timeline. Read more about the story here.
Lucid Motors stock surges on automaker’s first deliveries
The Lucid Air, one of the most promising rivals to the Tesla Model S, has hit the road. Designed and developed in Silicon Valley and manufactured in Arizona, Lucid Air is the world’s first 500-mile electric vehicle. The company expects to produce 20,000 Lucid Air sedans in 2022, generating more than $2.2 billion in revenue. Check out more here.
Kia EV6 crowned 2022 German Premium Car of the Year
The all-new Kia EV6 electric crossover has been voted ‘2022 German Car of the Year’ in the ‘Premium’ category of the ‘German Car of the Year’ (GCOTY) awards. The EV6 fought off competition from a series of contenders to take the top honor.. A jury consisting of 20 automotive journalists evaluated new models with a base price of between 25,000 and 50,000 euros to determine the overall category winner. Read more here.
About Us:
This week in transport is a weekly round-up of everything happening in the transport world; from sustainable transport initiatives to expansion plans, and implementation of an intelligent transport system. Watch this space for more sector news!