The US House Energy and Commerce Committee this week advanced legislation designed to keep autonomous vehicles safe and promote the advancement of the technology. The self-driving act is billed as the PAVE Act, which expands the existing authorization of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to evaluate exemptions from federal motor vehicle safety standards only if there is no reduction in safety and increases the number of vehicles for which exemption may be granted. The exemption will help the advancement of the autonomous driving development by allowing the industry to collect data and help Government to recall self-driving cars for safety reasons. The act is becoming increasingly important as more and more companies and states get involved in the testing of self-driving technology. Ride-hailing company, Lyft, this week announced that it formed a self-driving division and will establish a self-driving research facility, named Level 5 in Palo Alto, California.

EV sales in the USA are up 43% Year-to-Date after sales in May resulted in it being the second best month for electric cars for the year so far. May 2017 sales outperformed May 2016 with a 46% increase. The tussle between BEVs and PHEVs is to close to call as pure electric vehicles continue giving ground on the lead at had over PHEVs, with PHEVs outselling BEVs in May with 8,325 units vs. 8,243 pure electric vehicles which include the BMW i3 REx. The best performing electric vehicle for the month was the Toyota Prius, dethroning the Chevrolet Bolt for the first time this year. The Tesla Model S also dropped out of the top 3, a rare occurrence, making way for its sibling, the Tesla Model X. The Hyundai Ionic and Chrysler Pacifica both climbed five or more positions for the year, with the Chevrolet Bolt increased its units sold with 21% on April but remaining in the 5th place overall for the year. The big losers for May 2017 were the Mercedes C350e, Audi A3 e-tron, and Ford Focus Electric. The Top 3 brands remained the same as this time last year with Tesla, Chevrolet and Ford taking the top three positions. The rest of the brands had to make way for the rise of Toyota, taking the 4th place. Volvo gave up the most ground, falling from 9th to 12th spot.

CNBC ran an article on the prediction by the US thinktank RethinkX that 95% of miles traveled will be in electric powered autonomous cars by 2030. The controversial prediction is way above that of Boston Consulting which predicted that only 25% of such trips would be in self-driving or shared vehicles. Looking at the website of Tony Seba, a co-author of the RethinkX study, “Rethinking Transportation 2020-2030: The Disruption of Transportation and the Collapse of the ICE Vehicle and Oil Industries.” the report also predicts that only 20% of Americans will own cars by 2030. The predicted shift in mobility leads into other news this week where Ford’s CEO was challenged on his strategy for the company, resulting in its performance lagging its competitors. Mark Fields, CEO since 2014, embarked on what is the auto sector icon’s biggest strategy shift in history by investing heavily in self-driving technology. The challenge for the Ford CEO’s strategy is that he has one foot in the future and one in the present, resulting in an earnings decline of 42%.

USA EV SALES for April were released this week showed an increase of nearly 25% on a year-on-year basis, bringing the 2017 figure to 54,000 units for the year-to-date, which is 41% ahead of the 38,000 for the same period in 2016.

PHEV vehicles are gaining on the lead of BEV vehicles as Toyota Prius sales continued its upward momentum while deliveries for the Nissan Leaf and Tesla’s Models S and X slipped (hard). Sales for new models introduced through the month were a mixed bag, with the Cadillac CT6 PHV only racking up 6 units while the Chrysler Pacifica PHEV mustered 205 units after a delayed start to the year. The Chevrolet Bolt recovered nicely and Fiat had a record month with the 500e after introducing special deals. A big loser was the Mercedes C350e, dropping to only three units from a high of 210 in January.

Various states in the USA had recently levied taxes or fees on electric vehicle owners, and more are expected to follow. The trend, which some claim to be a bid to recover investments in electric vehicle adoption and infrastructure, or due to pressure from lobby groups opposing electric vehicles. The most recent, and most surprising have been California, which will start levying a fee on electric car owners from 2020. Almost 50% of all-electric vehicles in the USA is sold in California, and the state has been a big promoter for the adoption of the technology. The fee will consist of a $100 registration charge and an annual tax based on the value of the vehicle.

The fee, which the California legislature says is to fill the gap it would lose from lost gasoline taxes, in our opinion will not have a negative impact on EV sales when it is introduced in 2020. By the turn of the decade, EV prices will be very affordable, and the total cost of ownership is expected to remain below that of combustion vehicles.

President Donald Trump may be a good thing for electric vehicles. In the same week as the President acted to review the emission standards set by the EPA on automakers, as a sign of defiance as much as 30 US cities jointly asked automakers indications on providing 114,000 electric vehicles. Bloomberg reported that the move, coordinated by Los Angeles mayor, Eric Garcetti, requested vehicles which included police cars, street sweepers, and trash haulers to prove the demand for EV’s. The move by President Trump was part an election promise and part a request by Big Auto to slow the march of electric vehicles which caught them unawares. Big Auto in a letter to President Trump, claimed the demand for electric vehicles were not sufficient enough to justify the EPA emission standard. It has become a national past time to defy the new President. wattEV2Buy first reported on the attack on electric vehicles in a blog post, called controversial by some, on the 1st of March.

Some policy gains were made this week in support for electric vehicles in the ongoing tussle targeting regulations for and against the technology. New York will from the 1st of April 2017 provide a $2,000 incentive to buyers of electric vehicles. In Wyoming, despite efforts by the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers backed by Ford and GM to block Tesla from opening its direct sales business, the State Legislature this week approved a bill allowing Tesla to open its showrooms and sell vehicle’s without the use a middle man.

February Electric Vehicle sales data released for the USA this week reveals some interesting talking points. Overall, February sales gained a further 13.4% in January 2017 and over 55% on year on year basis. Contributors to the increase came from a nearly doubling in sales of the Tesla Model S and continued demand for the new Toyota Prius Plus. Unfortunately, the Prius in our books hardly counts as an electric vehicle due to its underwhelming continued reliance on its combustion engine. Disappointingly, sales for the Chevrolet Bolt declined over 18% from January, bringing total sales for the four months to 3,272 units, far short if one takes that at a claimed 30,000 units per annum the Bolt should have sold 10,000 units during the four months. In the carmaker standings, GM retained its lead with 2,776 units over Tesla’s 2,550 units with Ford taking third place with 1,704 units.

1. The new energy sector has always been wary of a Trump win in the US general elections. Barely a couple of days after the surprise win President Elect Trump was approached by the lobby group for the automotive sector to review fuel efficiency mandates. Automotive News reported that the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers requested a review of the 2025 target of a 50 MPGE fleet average by 2025 as set by the Obama administration in a letter to the Trump transition team. The ZEV mandates become increasingly stringent from 2017 onwards, forcing the sector to produce more electric vehicles, which most of them, of course, are unprepared for.

2. Regulatory support for electric vehicles gained further momentum this week in Massachusetts and Norway. The Massachusetts Senate passed the Electric Cars Bill this week, committing the State to the procurement of 25% Zero Emission vehicles by 2025. The bill also makes provision for cities to establish rules to promote the adoption of electric vehicles, including allowing for incentives for public parking and penalties for combustion vehicles.

Legislation promoting the sale of electric vehicles, one of the key pillars for growing the new technology, has gained traction in the last week with new draft proposals being put forward in Europe, the UK, and the USA. New European legislation expected by the end of 2016 would require that all new and refurbished homes be equipped with electric vehicle charging points from 2019. Further, it would be required by 2023 than 10% of all public parking space should include charging facilities. In the UK the draft Clean Air Framework published on Tuesday tabled proposals which included EV’s to use bus lanes, the right to go first at traffic lights and cheaper parking. In the USA, Senator Sherrod Brown (Ohio Democrat) introduced the Electric Vehicle Credit Act which aims to introduce a non-taxable employee benefit to promote electric vehicles.

1. Bloomberg Technology reported on the recent release by US Department of Energy that there is now 14,349 electric vehicle charging stations nationwide, totaling around 36,000 outlets. The report speculates that the number is the tipping point for the mass adoption of electric vehicles.

2. The National Drive Electric Week 2016 kicked off in the USA on Saturday. The event presented by The Sierra Club, Plug In America and the Electric Auto Association aims to promote the adoption of electric vehicles and started in 2011 and has been growing exponentially since then. Various States use the event to promote their emission goals through state-wide initiatives which include EV parades, ride-and-drives, electric tailgate parties, press conferences, award ceremonies, informational booths, and more.

The Californian Legislature this week put through a bill to further the adoption of electric vehicles. Law Makers passed a bill on the last day of it’s year which will see around $1 billion collected from polluters passed to programs affecting climate targets. The States Air Board will receive $368m to boost public transit, provide incentives for the modernization of heavy-duty vehicles and rebates for electric vehicle purchases. Low-income vehicle owners will receive a $12,000 to trade in their gasoline vehicles for plug-in vehicles. OrangeEV announced that it would be the first to qualify for an Incentive Voucher of up to $120,000 for purchasing its plug-in truck after receiving approval from the State.

Legislative support for electric vehicles is growing as California is preparing regulations to support the technology. The proposed legislation is designed to put pressure on car makers by requiring that 15% of all vehicles be emission-free within a decade. Carmakers that do not comply will either have to pay a fine to the state or compensate their rivals that reached the proposed targets. In related news, New Zealand‘s energy minister committed $3million to support the introduction of electric vehicles on the country’s roads.