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GM is charting a course away from its Ultium battery system. The company is dropping that standardized approach in favor of a wider range of battery cell chemistries and physical formats. The automaker had hoped that, by adopting a unified system across all of its EVs as well as other products, it would be able to reduce costs and ship them faster. The plan was to pack the flat pouch-style Ultium cells into a variety of modules depending on what was needed for each EV. Things haven't gone smoothly, as Ars Technica notes. Among other things, COVID-19 slowed down the company's EV roadmap and there were problems with the robots that assembled the modules. "It now makes business sense to transition from one-size-fits-all to new program-specific batteries," Kurt Kelty, GM's vice president of batteries, said at an investor event. The automaker hopes that switching from Ultium's nickel cobalt manganese chemistry to lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery tech will lower the cost of its EVs by as much as $6,000. As The Verge notes, Tesla and Ford are among those that use LFP cells, which are said to be cheaper and less complicated to manufacture. The second-gen Chevy Bolt, which is slated to arrive in late 2025, will use such batteries. GM plans to build a new battery research facility at the Warren Tech Center in Michigan. The team there will explore cylindrical and prismatic cells in addition to the pouch format. Researchers will also look into alternative battery chemistries. The shift in battery strategy comes as GM chases profitability in its EV division. The company said it's getting close to that point. It's on track to build and sell around 200,000 EVs this year. GM now claims to be the number two EV seller in North America behind Tesla.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/gm-is-ditching-its-one-size-fits-all-ultium-battery-system-and-adopting-other-cell-formats-193041348.html?src=rss
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Amazon just announced a coming expansion of its same-day prescription delivery service, with 20 more cities and affiliated metro areas entering the program next year. This expansion will open up the feature to nearly half of US residents. The company said its currently embedding pharmacies in many of its same-day delivery facilities to allow for the advanced rollout. The service already exists in cities like Miami, Phoenix and Seattle, but next year itll be coming to Boston, Dallas, Minneapolis, Philadelphia and around a dozen more national hotspots. Amazon says that in most cases a customer can order medication by 4PM and receive it at home by 10PM. This is achieved via traditional delivery methods, though the company has been testing prescription delivery drones in Texas. The delivery service is available via Amazon Pharmacy, which offers free shipments of prescriptions to Prime members. The service first launched in 2020 and has allowed the company to enter the healthcare space in a major way. Amazon also operates a virtual healthcare service, which is available in all 50 states. The company recently boasted that it has doubled the number of customers it delivers prescriptions to. This number will likely shoot up even higher once the service becomes available in more cities next year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-to-bring-same-day-prescription-deliveries-to-nearly-half-of-the-us-next-year-185708164.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
Amazon said on Wednesday that its rolling out new online ordering methods for Prime members, including the ability to bundle standard orders and groceries in one same-day shipment. The company is also adding more combined Amazon / Whole Foods fulfillment centers and trialing a store where robots pack your Amazon orders while you shop for groceries. The companys bundling of same-day Amazon.com orders with groceries kicks off in the Phoenix area. Customers there can shop tens of thousands of grocery items (including fresh ones) alongside regular Amazon orders for things like AirPods or Lego sets. The items will be bundled in one order and arrive together in a user-selected, same-day or overnight delivery window. The company plans to expand the combined same-day model to more areas after it tests and learns from the Phoenix trial. Along similar lines, Amazon is expanding its product range in some Amazon Fresh fulfillment centers. The company is modifying 26 of them globally to add the best of Whole Foods Market and household goods on Amazon.com. Like the Phoenix-area trial, it aims to more efficiently combine orders from separate branches of the sprawling online store. Finally, the company is trialing a Whole Foods Market of the future in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania (about 19 miles from Philadelphia). The store will add an automated Amazon.com micro-fulfillment center to serve up household items (Amazon used the examples of Tide Pods and Pepsi) while you cruise the aisles, buying organic spinach and pita bread. Youll order on your phone, and robots will prepare them in the back-of-house while you shop. The app will include a countdown of estimated time remaining before its finished. The idea is for the micro-fulfillment center order to be complete by the time you check out: Take your phone to the counter, grab your Tide Pods and get hopping. The service will launch at the Plymouth Meeting store in 2025. The video below shows a visualization of the futuristic Philly-area location in action. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-will-start-offering-regular-and-grocery-items-in-a-single-same-day-order-184227542.html?src=rss
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Marketing and Advertising
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