Blastpoint forecasts a 71% increase in U.S. EV sales in 2021. Blastpoint noted the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, forecasting a substantial recovery in 2021. Its outlook is among the most bullish predictions in the industry.

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• Blastpoint's 2021 EV Outlook Report also noted a 25% increase in the number of publicly-available U.S. charging stations in 2020.
• Tax credits and the availability of electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) will drive incremental EV sales in some states. Vermont, for instance, is offering a tax credit of up to $5,000 for EV purchases, and has over 105 EVSE per 100,000 residents.

Tesla sold the top three best-selling EVs during 2020.

• Tesla's Model 3 was the best-seller at 38,000 sales. Next was Tesla's Model Y at 18,000 sales, then its Model X at 9,000 sales.
• The best-selling used EV in 2020 was the Nissan Leaf (28% of used EV sales); second, the Tesla Model S (18%); and third, the Fiat 500e (9%).

What is Blastpoint?

• Crunchbase reports that Blastpoint has raised $900,000 and employs approximately a dozen employees, corroborating Pitchbook and ZoomInfo estimates of one dozen employees.
• Founded by Tomer Borenstein, Alison Alvarez, and Derek Gregg, Blastpoint has less than $5M in revenue, according to ZoomInfo estimates.
• Founded in 2016, the company is headquartered in Pittsburgh. Its Twitter account has less than 500 followers.

Click to tweet the following text (you can edit before sending): Blastpoint forecasts a 71% increase in U.S. EV sales in 2021. @blastpointinc outlook is among the most bullish predictions in the industry.

Lightning eMotors (NYSE:GIK) is expanding into another 107,000 square foot building at its Loveland, Colorado complex. The company now occupies 231,000 square feet, with a first right of acceptance for 500,000 additional square feet.

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• Lightning eMotors, which is going public through Gig3Capital, produces commercial EVs. Its offerings include work trucks, city buses, cargo and passenger vans, and motorcoaches.
• The factory expansion will add equipment for automation, CNC laser-cutting, and powder-coating.
• The company occupies a facility that was once utilized by Hewlett-Packard/Agilent.
• Lightning eMotors personnel cite in-house production of vehicles as critical to its quality assurance.

Elon Musk offered to contribute $100M toward a prize for the "best carbon capture technology."

• Carbon capture proponents believe that technology can safely and cost-effectively reduce greenhouse gases generated by industrial activity from escaping into Earth's atmosphere.
• Proposals include a wide array of geoengineering projects, such as orbital mirrors, scrubbers, biochar, genetic engineering, misting vessels, or tree planting.
• With a fortune amassed from mining, manufacturing, and construction, Musk's pledge is worth less than 1% of the net worth he has gained during the last 12 months.
• Musk promised to release details of the donation next week.

Click to tweet the following text (you can edit before sending): Elon Musk offered to contribute $100M toward a prize for the "best carbon capture technology."

Electric car charging provider EVGo will go public. It operates 800 locations in 67 U.S. metropolitan areas.

• EVGo plans to merge with a special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC) called Climate Change Crisis Real Impact I Acquisition Corporation (NYSE:CLII).
• The move could value EVGo at $2.6B or higher.
• EVGo could raise up to $575M through sales of stock, including $400M through a private placement.
• It will use the money to expand its charging network, which the company claims is already the largest in the country.
• A flurry of SPACs has preceded President Joe Biden's pledge to support the installation of 500,000 public electric car chargers in the U.S.

Austria's government urges its automakers to prioritize EVs.

• Automakers employ 370,000 or 9% of working adults in Austria. Now one of the country's largest export industries to Germany, Austria's automaking jobs have grown 55% since 2000.
• New government studies suggest that EVs could eliminate 7% of Austria's direct and indirect automaking jobs if industry leaders do not rapidly prioritize electrification.
• "Many companies underestimate the urgency to switch," wrote researchers at Fraunhofer Austria. Companies who hesitate will be "faced with the risk of not mastering the changeover in time," researchers continued.
• Alternatively, if the industry fully embraces electrification, the government anticipates Austria's economy could gain 8,000 jobs by 2030 and increase exports by €645M ($786M) annually.

QUICK HITS:

• See how consumer electronics brand Nomad went headless with their existing Shopify store to increase their ecommerce conversion rate by 25%.*
• Tesla lowered the price of its Model 3 in several European markets.
• Lotus taps Renault's Alpine for assistance with its electric sports car plan.
• Tokyo-based Shin-Etsu Chemical Co. (4063.T) unveiled an innovative silicone thermal interface material for EVs.
• The U.S. Dept. of Energy announced a partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Youngstown State University in a $1M project to develop an "Energy Storage Workforce Innovation Center."
• U.K. Power Networks, Norwich City Council and Norfolk County Council are installing more EV charging points in Norwich.
• Nasr Automotive Manufacturing Company, under Egypt's Ministry of Public Enterprises, signed two agreements with China's Dongfeng Motor Corporation (0489.HK) to reconstruct its factory and produce EVs in Egypt.
• American Axle & Manufacturing (NYSE:AXL) signed a technology development agreement with Suzhou Inovance Automotive to develop a new 3-in-1 electric drive system.
• ResearchAndMarkets.com anticipates a 12% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the electric unmanned aerial vehicle market through 2025.
• The Associated Press reviews the major EV news from the 2021 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) conference.
• What are the costs of inefficiencies in your product release cycle? Read how top companies save over $1M each year.*

*This is sponsored content.