The summer might be a time to slow down and enjoy a bit of sunshine and relaxation, but the major automotive manufacturers are busier than ever with plenty of updates, new releases, and anticipated announcements in the coming weeks. Here's a roundup of the latest info we're hearing about.
Volvo Partners With Tesla on Charging: The EV market is heating up! Swedish carmaker Volvo just inked a deal with powerhouse EV brand Tesla to gain access to its 12,000 fast charging stations across the US. As per the announcement, future Volvo cars, starting from 2025, will be equipped with the North American Charging Standard (NACS) charging port in the region. Volvo currently offers several electric models, including the newly released EX90, its largest electric SUV. Volvo has committed to offering a fully electric platform across its lineup by 2030. Read the full release here.
Derek Jeter Approves: The newly relaunched and completely redesigned large luxury peoplemover, the Grand Wagoneer, continues its alliance with the baseball legend and model (respectively) Derek and Hannah Jeter for a lineup of new advertising. The power couple were first featured in a Grand Wagoneer ad this past October. The upcoming campaign will lean heavily on the summer vibes, evoking the feels with the classic “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” amid a bevy of relaxing sunny day activities and even a stop on the red carpet—with the premium full-size SUV, of course. Expect the 30-second spots to start hitting soon. Read the full release here.
Mercedes Embraces ChatGPT: The luxury German automaker is tapping into the power of AI’s newest darling, ChatGPT, for the latest update to its voice-activated control center, MBUX Voice Assistant. This new collab is part of a beta testing program and customers can opt in by accessing through the Mercedes me app or by using the prompt “Hey Mercedes” and asking to join the program. Mercedes says that it’s working with the AI to make its voice control even more intuitive for its users. As for privacy: “Through Azure OpenAI Service, Mercedes-Benz is tapping OpenAI's large-scale generative AI models combined with the enterprise-grade security, privacy, and reliability capabilities of Azure. Mercedes-Benz retains complete control over the IT processes in the background. The voice command data collected is stored in the Mercedes-Benz Intelligent Cloud, where it is anonymized and analyzed.” Read the full release here.
ABC Unveils Bus Charging Station: ABC Companies and Proterra will debut its largest private motorcoach facility in North America this July 19. The facility, located in Newark, Calif., is part of ABC’s multiyear project to achieve zero emissions for passenger transportation via bus. All in all, the facility is capable of fast charging up to 40 motorcoaches at a time. Attendees will also be able to see in person the fully electric TDX25E, Van Hool’s 45-foot double-deck motorcoach. The coach, which uses Proterra battery power, has a range of up to 260 miles and can seat up to 69 passengers. More information will be available at abc-companies.com.
Cadillac Escalade IQ EV Debuts Next Month: Excitement is building as one of the industry’s most popular full-size SUVs, the Escalade, goes electric in 2025. This is part of the brand’s extremely aggressive move to offer an all-electric lineup by 2030 (Also, GM announced that its goal was to sell 1 million EVs across all its brands by 2025). The OEM is keeping the vehicle under wraps for now, but you can be sure that we’ll have all the details once it’s revealed in New York next month. You can peek at the silhouette of the vehicle for now in its teaser video here.
[06.30.23]