Volvo Cars and NVIDIA are partnering on the development of a highly advanced, AI-capable core computer for the next generation of Volvo cars. The core computer is based on NVIDIA’s DRIVE AGX Xavier technology and will allow Volvo Cars to implement an advanced computing platform for its new cars on... Read more →

MAHLE has developed a highly efficient 48-volt electric vehicle concept for urban mobility. “MEET” (MAHLE Efficient Electric Transport) will make its world debut at IAA Cars 2017 in Frankfurt/Germany in September. The modular design could be transferred to a wide range of platforms, MAHLE said. The technical focus of MEET... Read more →

At CES 2017 in Las Vegas next week, Rinspeed will unveil its Oasis autonomous electric concept vehicle. The two-seat runabout—somewhat reminiscent of a modern interpretation of famous Star Wars icon R2D2—can turn on its wheels with almost a zero radius due to a special steering angle, two in-wheel electric motors... Read more →

To mark its centenary year in 2016, the BMW Group is looking further ahead than usual with a series of Vision Vehicles designed to anticipate and respond to future mobility needs. At its Munich Centenary Event on 7 March, the automaker introduced the BMW VISION NEXT 100. (Earlier post.) BMW... Read more →

Halfway into the three-year “Cité Lib by Ha:mo” car-sharing experiment in Grenoble (earlier post) Toyota and its project partners have shared the first results in terms of user profiles and usage. Based on the idea that multimodality was one of the keys to solving city traffic gridlock and pollution, the... Read more →

Riversimple Movement Ltd. unveiled the Rasa, a road-legal engineering prototype of its first two-seater hydrogen fuel cell road car, built for full European type approval. (Earlier post.) Supported by a £2-million (US$2.9-million) grant from the Welsh government in 2015, the Rasa was designed for lightness, strength, affordability and safety. Riversimple... Read more →

Nissan has provided 10 all-electric Nissan New Mobility Concept vehicles to the Scoot Networks mobility service in San Francisco. The Nissan New Mobility Concept, also known as a Scoot Quad, is a battery-electric, two-seater compact vehicle with a range of 40 miles (64 km) and top speed of 25 mph... Read more →

BMW Group has officially launched operations at its Center of Urban Mobility Competence, which it established earlier this year. Its experts are working with cities and the relevant stakeholders to develop sustainable concepts for future mobility in urban areas. BMW established the Competence Center to help bring the goal of... Read more →

Shell, in collaboration with Professor Gordon Murray and engine specialist Osamu Goto will co-engineer an ultra-compact, efficient car for city use based around the internal combustion engine (ICE). Initiated by Shell, the collaboration, which is called Project M, brings together Shell’s Lubricant’s Technology Team, The Gordon Murray Design Group and... Read more →

A project funded by the German government—“BiE – Bewertung integrierter Elektromobilität” (evaluation of integrated electromobility)—is exploring how mobility services (such as public transport services and car sharing) can be integrated better with electric vehicles and into the everyday life of users. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is... Read more →

Toyota i-ROAD and COMS for use in "Cité lib by Ha:mo" EV sharing trial in Grenoble, France. Click to enlarge. The City of Grenoble, France, its metropolitan area Grenoble-Alpes Metropole, EDF and its affiliate Sodetrel, Toyota Motor Corporation and Cité lib officially launched the new “Cité lib by Ha:mo” electric... Read more →

Following the letter of intent signed in September 2013 (earlier post), French groups Renault and Bolloré are joining forces to promote electric vehicles through a set of three agreements involving assembly, a car-sharing JV, and new vehicle development. In order to reduce significantly the environmental impact of cars, the partners... Read more →

New Renault Twingo. Click to enlarge. Renault has introduced its new, third-generation Twingo, which was developed in partnership with Daimler (earlier post). The latest generation of the city car is 10cm shorter than its predecessor, yet the interior of its cabin is 33cm longer; its turning circle is 4.30 meters... Read more →

The new smart fortwo: Body panels in white, tridion safety cell in lava orange (metallic). The new smart forfour: Body in white, tridion safety cell in black. Click to enlarge. In a world premiere staged in Berlin, Daimler brand smart unveiled the new versions of its iconic smart fortwo and... Read more →

Fiesta eWheelDrive. Click to enlarge. At Ford’s Lommel Proving Ground in Belgium, Ford Motor Company and Schaeffler demonstrated the Fiesta-based eWheelDrive car. (Earlier post.) Powered by independent electric motors in each of the rear wheels, eWheelDrive technology could lead to improvements in urban mobility and parking by enabling smaller, more... Read more →

The 400 kg (curbweight) Aixam quadricycle, with a 400cc two-cylinder diesel, is an example of the size and weight needed in future city vehicles, Meilhan suggests. Click to enlarge. Significant vehicle weight reduction and an accompanying change of enabling regulations and norms is the way forward in the quest to... Read more →

A new study released by BMW i and New York University (NYU) finds that, in the coming years and decades, fundamental changes in the demographic makeup of cities will profoundly alter the way people travel. This report, prepared by the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at NYU’s Robert... Read more →

The UK’s Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) has announced six winners of the Low Carbon Urban Mobility Technology Challenge—a competition to identify and promote low carbon innovations with the potential to cut carbon emissions and other environmental impacts arising from transport in cities. The winning ideas proffer solutions to the... Read more →

Rough map of Ford’s Blueprint for Mobility. Click to enlarge. Ford Motor Company is mapping out a strategy to address the requirements for personal mobility in the context of the megatrend of increasing global urbanization, both in mature economies as well as in emerging markets. If Ford thinks of itself... Read more →

The new Volkswagen up!. Click to enlarge. Volkswagen will launch its new up! minicar in December, first in the European market, with 3 versions for different budgets and needs: take up! is the entry-level car; move up! the comfort-oriented one; and high up! the top version. Directly at the car’s... Read more →

The i8 (left) and i3 Concepts. Click to enlarge. BMW unveiled the i3 and i8 Concepts in Frankfurt, providing a look at first electrically powered production cars from the new BMW i sub-brand, due to be launched as the BMW i3 in 2013 and the i8 in 2014. (Earlier post.)... Read more →

The T.27. Click to enlarge. At an event held at the Royal Automobile Club, Pall Mall, London Gordon Murray Design unveiled its latest ultra-compact electric city vehicle, the T.27 (earlier post), along with the updated specification and performance targets for the car. In parallel with the announcement of the completion... Read more →

The convergence of a wide range of new technologies is leading to an unprecedented shift in what GM calls “the genetic makeup” of motor vehicles. Click to enlarge. GM has published a “blue paper” introducing its vision of sustainable urban mobility. The Blue Paper—published in English and Chinese—addresses the growing... Read more →

VU Log; IFP Energies nouvelles; the Electronics, Computing and Image laboratory (Le2i – UMR CNRS) of the Chalon-sur-Saône Institute; and the Centre de Cluny Arts et Métiers Paris Tech, together with the towns of Rueil-Malmaison and Nice have launched the VME (Ville, Mobilité, Énergie—Town, Mobility, Energy) project aimed at optimizing... Read more →

Lotus CIty Car drivetrain. Click to enlarge. At the Paris Motor Show, Lotus unveiled five new cars, two evolutions of existing models and a new concept city car. The Lotus City Car concept provides a showcase for Lotus Engineering’s Electrical and Electronic Integration and Efficient Performance competencies, featuring an advanced... Read more →

The Jiao EN-V model. Click to enlarge. GM and its strategic partner Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group (SAIC) unveiled three models of a concept new vehicle form called EN-V, short for Electric Networked-Vehicle. EN-V is a two-seat electric vehicle designed to alleviate concerns surrounding traffic congestion, parking availability, air quality... Read more →

The new SR1 hybrid concept indicates the Marque’s style direction. Click to enlarge. Peugeot launched a comprehensive new Marque plan, with the objectives of moving up three places in the world car market by 2015 (it is currently in 10th place); establishing Peugeot as a benchmark for style; and becoming... Read more →

Bill Gibson Chairman, Zytek Automotive; Lord Drayson , Science and Innovation Minister; and Gordon Murray, Chief Executive and Technical Director, Gordon Murray Design. Click to enlarge. The UK-backed Technology Strategy Board is investing £4.5 million (US$$7.5 million) in a new £9-million research and development project that will allow a consortium... Read more →

Two smart2go units in Austin. Click to enlarge. Daimler will bring its car2go mobility concept (earlier post) to the US in a pilot phase to start this fall in Austin, Texas with an initial fleet of about 200 smart fortwo mhd vehicles with start/stop functionality. The US introduction coincides with... Read more →

Nissan’s NuVu. Click to enlarge. Among its introductions at the Paris Motor Show, Nissan unveiled a new production city car—the Pixo—and a battery-electric concept car highlighting Nissan’s focus on electric drive for the future, the NuVu. Pixo, built in collaboration with Suzuki Motor in Delhi, India, is a five-door, four-seater... Read more →

The new smart fortwo coupé. DaimlerChrysler unveiled the new gasoline- and diesel-powered smart fortwo city cars yesterday evening in Stuttgart, Germany. The company said it will introduce a micro-hybrid version (starter/generator with stop-start capability) on one of the models in 2007. The new smart fortwo coupé and smart fortwo cabrio... Read more →

smart fortwo in sand. During the German beach volleyball championships in Timmendorf this weekend, Pavel Zasanyok, the three-time sand sculpture world champion from Russia, built a model of the new smart fortwo from special sand. This sculpture shows the new design language and the characteristic face of the upcoming new... Read more →

smart fortwo edition red. DaimlerChrysler is offering a final special model—the smart fortwo edition red—to mark the phase-out of the current model before the fortwo successor model becomes available in the spring of 2007. The two-seater will be exhibited at the Paris Motor Show (28 September – 08 October 2006).... Read more →

The MEGA CITY MEGA, part of the AIXAM-MEGA Group, has launched its new electric city car—the MEGA CITY—in collaboration with the NICE (no internal combustion engine) Car Company, at the British International Motor Show. (Earlier post.) Powered by a 4 kW motor and an 8.2 kWh AGM lead-acid battery pack,... Read more →

The current smart fortwo. DaimlerChrysler will bring the successor to the smart fortwo to the US market in 1Q 2008, according to Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management DaimlerChrysler AG. The new smart will be distributed by international automotive retailer UnitedAuto Group (UAG), which will establish between 30... Read more →

ZAP CEO Steve Schneider announced that the company has shipped its 200th Smart Car Americanized for ZAP. ZAP is now delivering Smart Cars to its authorized dealers across the US. ZAP recently reported first quarter revenue of $2.9 million, an increase of 141% over sales from the first quarter of... Read more →

ZAP reported first quarter revenue of $2.9 million, an increase of 141% over sales from the first quarter of 2005 due primarily to the recent sales of Smart Cars Americanized for ZAP, as well as electric vehicles and consumer items. The month of March saw $2 million in sales for... Read more →

DaimlerChrysler has decided the fate of the smart car—it will focus on the smart fortwo car, and cancel the planned production of the smart forfour, subject to negotiation with Mitsubishi Motors and its other partners. Additionally, DaimlerChrysler will integrate smart into the Mercedes organization. The smart group had unveiled a... Read more →

US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fuel economy testing of the Smart Car Americanized for ZAP yielded results of combined fuel economy of 40 mpg. That’s well below the ZAP’s initial claim of 60 mpg, but above the EPA’s original estimate of 37 mpg. (Earlier post.) The 40 mpg combined results... Read more →

G&K Auto Conversion is completing the conversion of several hundred Smart Cars at its facility in Santa Ana, California to be purchased and distributed by ZAP. In addition, G&K will be delivering eighty-five Smart Cars owned by ZAP within the week. G&K is in agreement with ZAP to modify the... Read more →

Honda ZEST. Honda Motor has introduced the new ZEST minicar in Japan. The ZEST is based on a low-floor platform technology, resulting in a high-capacity storage area. The ZEST features Honda’s 3-cylinder 658cc i-DSI (dual and sequential ignition) engine that delivers 38 kW (51 hp) of power and 61 Nm... Read more →

The Moco Sales of Nissan’s new Moco minicar reached 10,320 units in the two weeks since its introduction in Japan. Nissan had planned for monthly sales of 4,400 units. The Moco (which comes in both two-wheel and four-wheel drive models) features a 658cc engine in both turbo and non-turbo versions.... Read more →

MyCar Via WorldChanging comes news of a microcar designed in Italy, manufactured in China and headed for European markets at a price of about €6,500 (US$7,000). Competitive microcars sell for €8,500 to €15,000. Like other microcars, the MyCar is meant only as a short-range city street vehicle—and is regulated by... Read more →

The BOC Foundation has awarded OSCar Automotive, a UK company, a grant to develop a powertrain for a two-seat hydrogen fuel-cell urban vehicle. The grant will help fund the two-year “Hyrban” project which aims to prove that practical hydrogen fuel-cell urban vehicles can be engineered using existing fuel-cell technology. The... Read more →

The CLEVER A European research consortium is wrapping up a three-year project to develop a three-wheeled, natural-gas powered micro-car: CLEVER (Compact Low Emission VEhicle for URban Transport). CLEVER, a €3.3 million (US$3.9 million) effort, is an enclosed two-seater that combines the safety of a microcar, and the maneuverability of a... Read more →

Daihatsu Motor has introduced its new KF minicar engine, previewed earlier this year at the Tokyo Motor Show. The 660cc Topaz KF achieves 5% greater torque, 10% better fuel economy and is 25% lighter than its predecessor. The three-cylinder, 12-valve engine uses long-stroke pistons and ultra-compact combustion chambers, enhanced with... Read more →

The XEBRA EV ZAP introduced an electric three-wheeled city car, the XEBRA, at the San Francisco International Auto Show. ZAP, the seller of an Americanized version of the smart car, has entered into a manufacturing contract with a Chinese automaker to produce the vehicle. The company is currently taking advance... Read more →

ZAP’s Americanized Smart Car (earlier post) has received a Certificate of Conformity from the US Environmental Protection Agency for the 2006 Certification Year. The certificate expires on December 31, 2006. ZAP is still moving forward on its plans to bring Smart cars to the US, despite recently filing a suit... Read more →

The Obvio! 828 ZAP has broadened its future minicar offerings by becoming the exclusive North American distribution for a pair of new flex-fuel minicars to be produced by Obvio! in Brazil. The two companies expect to unveil prototypes of the two in the US by the end of 2005. Initial... Read more →

Mazda’s Sassou Mazda will introduce a new sub-compact concept car featuring an idle-stop system at the upcoming Frankfurt motor show. The idle-stop system cuts off the engine when the vehicle is stopped, resulting in fuel savings and emissions reductions. Created at Mazda’s design center in Germany, the three-door hatchback Sassou... Read more →