Fuel

The pandemic-driven shopping spree is having at least one unintended consequence: Emissions from shipping are on the rise again.

In the single largest manufacturing investment in its 118-year-history, Ford Motor Co. on Sept. 27 said it and a partner will invest $11.4 billion and create 11,000 new jobs to build electric vehicles and batteries at two new sprawling campuses in Tennessee and Kentucky.

The national average price for diesel rose 2.1 cents to $3.406 a gallon, the first time it has eclipsed $3.40 in nearly seven years, according to Energy Information Administration data released Sept. 27.

Xos Inc., a manufacturer of Classes 5-8 battery-electric commercial vehicles, announced a collaboration with Cox Automotive Mobility to leverage the automotive services provider’s remanufacturing capabilities for Xos battery packs.

Boris Johnson caved in to industry demands to issue visas to foreign truck drivers, as a crisis that has led to panic-buying at gas stations and empty supermarket shelves threatens to undermine his government.

Polestar, the electric vehicle maker backed by Volvo Car Group and actor Leonardo DiCaprio, agreed to go public through a merger with a blank-check company at a roughly $20 billion enterprise valuation.

Daimler AG will team up with Stellantis NV and TotalEnergies SE to boost the scale of their European battery venture to more than 7 billion euros ($8.2 billion) in a move to secure supplies for electric Mercedes-Benz cars.

A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S is investing in a startup that develops electrofuels as part of a strategy to own technologies that can help it become carbon neutral.

Fleets in four market segments could switch to battery-electric vehicles right now, the North American Council for Freight Efficiency concluded after its recent Run on Less — Electric event.

Retail fuel outlets such as truck stops and gas stations say they are seriously weighing investment in electric vehicle chargers, but face such challenges as customer “range anxiety,” high utility charges for electricity and political policy uncertainties.