Orange EV and McLane Company, Inc., announced the deployment of Orange EV T-Series pure-electric terminal trucks to the McLane Foodservice distribution center in Riverside, California. Deploying heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles furthers McLane’s Green Advantage initiatives to reduce the company’s environmental impact. McLane’s pure-electric yard trucks (aka terminal trucks, hostlers, spotters) are... Read more →

Continental has adopted Renesas Electronics Corporation’s high-performance Renesas R-Car M3 System-on-Chip (SoC) for its first-generation Body High-Performance Computer (HPC). The HPC is an automotive computing platform that provides centralized control of vehicle systems and is equipped with secure gateway functionality to enable cloud service connectivity. The R-Car M3 supports over-the-air... Read more →

Audi presented the Q4 e-tron concept at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show as a preview of the first compact electric SUV from Audi. (Earlier post.) With the Q4 Sportback e-tron, the brand is now presenting the second model of the product line that will go into production in 2021 as... Read more →

AMPLY Power (earlier post) is managing the charging of electric buses for SolTrans, a public transportation provider for south Solano County, California. Unique to this application, AMPLY is operating its cloud-based software in conjunction with the fueling of SolTrans buses that run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Soltran’s Operations and... Read more →

Volkswagen has begun conversion of its Emden, Germany plant to support the production of Evs; the first electric cars are to roll off the production line there from 2022. With the conversion of our plant at Emden into a production location for electric vehicles, Volkswagen is forcing the pace of... Read more →

A team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has used a vehicle dynamics model to evaluate the trade-off between automation and electric vehicle range and battery longevity. The researchers compared vehicle-level energy use, range and battery life of a vehicle equipped to attain Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) levels... Read more →

Demand for raw materials used in the production of electric car batteries is set to soar, prompting the UN trade body, UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), to call for the social and environmental impacts of the extraction of raw materials, which include human rights abuses, to be... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz AG has taken numerous measures to sustainably improve its cost structure and become significantly more efficient. An important lever for this is the adjustment and realignment of capacity within its global production network. Against this backdrop, the company intends to start talks on the sale of its car plant... Read more →

Ford has awarded TomTom a global multi-year deal to provide Ford’s next-generation SYNC with its real-time traffic service. The all-new 2021 Ford F-150 pickup and the soon to be delivered all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV are the first Ford vehicles available with the technology. TomTom Traffic provides accurate, real-time traffic information,... Read more →

The BMW Group has opened the Competence Center for E-Drive Production at its largest European manufacturing location in Dingolfing. Having produced electric powertrain components in Dingolfing since 2013, the BMW Group is now expanding its capacity significantly. Production of the highly integrated BMW e-drive—final assembly Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder and... Read more →

NEVS has presented its new mobility ecosystem: PONS—the first generation of autonomous vehicles with a connected user interface. The self-driving vehicle Sango is the centerpiece of the system. The self-driving vehicle Sango NEVS developed PONS because cities all over the world, clogged by pollution and traffic, want to do whatever... Read more →

A new Leaderboard Report from Guidehouse Insights evaluates the strategy and execution of 21 electric vehicle (EV) upstarts, with Rivian, NIO, and Nikola ranked as the leading market players. The Guidehouse Insights Leaderboard Grid Interest in and adoption of battery electric vehicles (BEVs), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), and fuel... Read more →

Volvo Penta has developed an electric driveline for leading fire service vehicle manufacturer Rosenbauer’s pioneering fire truck, enabling a new solution with zero exhaust emissions and significantly reduced noise levels. The truck is currently undergoing intensive testing and will soon begin real-world customer testing with fire departments in Berlin, Amsterdam... Read more →

Lucid Motors announced that it has achieved a new mark in aerodynamic efficiency for its luxury electric car, the Lucid Air. With tests recently completed at Windshear’s advanced rolling-road wind tunnel, Lucid verified a coefficient of drag of 0.21, making the Lucid Air the most aero-efficient luxury car. As quick... Read more →

Order banks are now open for the Ford Mustang Mach-E EV in the US, and reservation holders are now being invited to convert their reservations to official orders. Ford also is confirming updated performance specs following recent charging and driver-assist technology news (earlier post)—specifically: Extended-range all-wheel-drive Mach-E will deliver 346... Read more →

The Sonoma Coast Incentive Project is promoting easy access to electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure with nearly $7 million in incentives over the next three years for the purchase and installation of public EV chargers in Sonoma and Mendocino counties in California. Beginning July 8, qualifying sites can apply for rebates... Read more →

Xpeng Motors has begun China-wide delivery of its new P7 super-long range, high-performance, smart EV sports sedan to customers. This follows the receiving of the official production license on 19 May from China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology for its new own-built, wholly-owned factory, the Zhaoqing Xpeng Motors Intelligent... Read more →

The end of production of the Golf Variant concludes the Volkswagen Zwickau plant’s 116-year history of building combustion engine vehicles. The last model with a combustion engine—a seventh-generation Golf R Estate with 2.0-liter gasoline engine—left the assembly line on Friday at the Zwickau car factory. Going forward, only electric models... Read more →

The first electric school bus in Poland will carry children to classes in Godzianów near Łódź. The purchase of the electric school bus was subsidized by NFOŚiGW (the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management). Solaris will supply the electric bus to the Municipality of Godzianów in October this... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board has adopted a first-in-the-world rule—the Advanced Clean Trucks(earlier post)—requiring truck manufacturers to transition from diesel trucks and vans (Class 2b to Class 8) to electric zero-emission trucks beginning in 2024. By 2045, every new truck sold in California will be zero-emission. The proposed regulation has... Read more →

Electric vehicles (EVs) will be a major disruptor for the US electric power sector, with the number of EVs in the US projected to increase from 1.5 million in 2020 to 10–35 million by 2030. A new study released by economists at The Brattle Group concludes that an investment in... Read more →

Electrify America has completed the installation of its first cross-country route, which allows electric vehicle (EV) drivers to travel from coast to coast using the largest open DC fast-charging network in the United States. It is the first of two cross-country routes the network will complete this year, and spans... Read more →

BYD has completed the delivery of 10 battery-electric K9S buses to Link Transit in Wenatchee, Washington, a milestone for the company as production ramps up following a temporary plant closure in Mid-March from the COVID-19 pandemic. The final two buses of the order were recently delivered, joining the eight others... Read more →

The Orange County Transportation Authority board has approved a draft plan outlining how the agency will convert the OC Bus fleet to 100% zero-emission technology by 2040. OCTA’s zero-emission bus rollout plan will now be submitted to the California Air Resources Board. OCTA has already gradually transitioned its fleet over... Read more →

With more than $32 million in pending orders from commercial and government fleets, commercial electric vehicle supplier Lightning Systems is more than tripling the size of its manufacturing, research and development facility in Loveland, Colorado. Lightning moved its headquarters, manufacturing, and R&D into the former Hewlett-Packard/Agilent campus in southwest Loveland... Read more →

Silicon-Valley-based Ampcera announced a low-cost flexible solid electrolyte (SE) membrane technology for solid-state batteries (SSBs). Unlike conventional lithium ion batteries (LIBs) that include a flammable liquid or gel polymer electrolyte, SSBs use a safe SE and promise to double the driving range of electric vehicles when loaded with the same... Read more →

Motiv Power Systems announced the deployment of nine electric box trucks with Community Resource Project (CRP). The electric trucks will be deployed in greater Sacramento to provide home energy audits, weatherization and HVAC services to low-income residents in an area where air quality is some of the worst in the... Read more →

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak announced the “Clean Cars Nevada” initiative, which will evaluate the adoption of new regulations to provide Nevadans with more choices for low and zero emission electric passenger cars and trucks at dealerships throughout the state beginning in 2024. Also referred to as “Clean Car Standards” which... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corporation, and LG Chem are jointly sponsoring the “EV & Battery Challenge” (EVBC), a global competition to identify up to 10 EV and battery start-ups for potential investment and collaboration. New Energy Nexus, the international start-up support organization, will manage and facilitate the competition. With... Read more →

A team from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Idaho National Laboratory has produced a detailed assessment of the current levelized cost of light-duty electric-vehicle charging (LCOC) in the United States, considering when, where, and how EVs are charged. The LCOC includes costs associated with the purchase and... Read more →

Danfoss Editron has been selected by Danish shipbuilder and operator MHO-Co to deliver the drivetrain systems that will power the UK’s first two hybrid crew transfer vessels (CTV). The CTVs will serve Ørsted’s Hornsea Two offshore wind farm, which will be located approximately 55 miles off the Yorkshire coast in... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz reports that it already has definitive orders for more than 60 fully-electric eCitaro G articulated buses, with first deliveries slated for later this year. (Earlier post.) Shortly after its market launch, the new articulated bus will be available with new battery technologies. This includes being the first bus in... Read more →

Strategy Analytics forecasts that automotive sensor market growth will be driven by an expected increase in demand for electric vehicles. The “Strategy Analytics Powertrain Body Chassis and Safety (PBCS) service report, “Global xEV Sensor Market 2018-2027” forecasts that the global market for current, position/speed and temperature sensors, will grow at... Read more →

Class 8 electric powertrain company Hylion intends to merge with Tortoise Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: SHLL), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company with a strategic focus on the energy sector and decarbonizing commercial transportation in North America. Upon the closing of the transaction, the combined entity will be named Hyliion... Read more →

The technology group Wärtsilä has been awarded a contract to design and equip two new zero-emissions ferries. The ships are to be built for Norwegian operator Boreal Sjö at Holland Shipyards in the Netherlands. The orders with Wärtsilä for the design and the equipment were placed in April 2020. The... Read more →

Buick will introduce its first electric SUV, the VELITE 7, in China this year. Developed on GM’s global electric vehicle platform, the VELITE 7 compact SUV will offer an electric range of up to 500 kilometers (311 miles) under New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) conditions on a full charge. The... Read more →

The second of Ricardo Software’s quarterly product releases for 2020 brings new capabilities in the area of electrified vehicle powertrains. With battery systems a key focus of hybrid and electric vehicle development, both the Ricardo VECTIS CFD package and IGNITE complex systems modeling product now provide solutions for optimizing battery... Read more →

Volvo Trucks North America has deployed its first pilot VNR Electric truck in Southern California as part of the Volvo LIGHTS (Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions) project—a collaboration with the South Coast Air Quality Management District (South Coast AQMD) and 13 other organizations to develop a blueprint to successfully... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is soliciting proposals from the National Laboratories and industry partners that pursue radical innovations for American battery manufacturing leadership. Under this opportunity, DOE will directly fund the National Laboratories to establish public-private partnerships that solve engineering challenges for advanced battery materials and devices, with... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board announced that the first installment of $35 million in VW Environmental Mitigation Trust funding for Zero-Emission Freight and Marine Projects throughout California is now available via a competitive solicitation. A second solicitation offering an additional $35 million is expected to be released in mid-2022. The... Read more →

Transdev Canada is investing close to CAD$4.5 million in its fleet of electric school buses with the Québec company Lion, thus becoming, with a total of 31 vehicles, the largest private operator of electric school buses in North America to date. This major investment is made possible by the Québec... Read more →

Electric cars are becoming an attractive business proposition for high-mileage vehicle operators such as ride-sharer Uber in key EU capitals such as Paris, Berlin, Madrid and Lisbon, a new study by research and campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E) has found. Medium-sized battery-electric cars are on average 14% cheaper to... Read more →

Ridesharing company Lyft—in collaboration with Environmental Defense Fund—has commited to reach 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. By working with drivers to transition to electric vehicles, we have the potential to avoid tens of millions of metric tons of GHG emissions to the atmosphere and to reduce... Read more →

The West Coast Clean Transit Corridor Initiative, a study commissioned by a collaboration among nine electric utilities and two agencies representing more than two dozen municipal utilities, recommends adding electric vehicle charging for freight haulers and delivery trucks at 50-mile intervals along Interstate 5 and adjoining highways. Sponsors of the... Read more →

New research from Energy Innovation and the Environmental Defense Fund calculates that California’s Advanced Clean Trucks rule proposal—the first of its kind in the US—will generate between $7-$12 billion in overall economic savings by 2040 and would also help create a market for up to 500,000 new electric trucks across... Read more →

Transport operator Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji Miejskiej (PKM) in Katowice, Poland, has signed a contract for five Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses to be supplied in the second quarter of 2021. . These will join the 10 already commissioned by the capital of Silesia. At the beginning of the year, Solaris supplied... Read more →

The City of Fort Worth, Texas has approved a $68.9-million economic incentive package for electric-motor-manufacturer Linear Labs (earlier post) to further solidify the city as the next tech innovation hub. Linear Labs plans to secure a 500,000-square-foot facility for advanced, smart manufacturing to support thousands of new, skilled jobs over... Read more →

Tesla’s Model S Long Range Plus now carries an official EPA-rated range of 402 miles—a 20% increase compared to a 2019 Model S 100D with the same battery pack design. This is the first US EV to break the 400-mile range mark. The company said that the achievement is realized... Read more →

HOMER Energy by UL, a global developer of energy modeling software, announced that HOMER Grid, software for designing grid-tied distributed energy projects, can now model how hybrid systems power electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. The new capability helps users design optimal renewable energy and storage systems to reduce utility costs—especially... Read more →

Ford Mustang Mach-E owners in the US will receive 250 kWh of complimentary charging through FordPass Rewards at Electrify America fast-charging stations. For Mustang Mach-E owners with the extended-range battery, the 250 kWh of fast-charging energy is equal to more than three fill-ups. For standard-range battery models, the 250 kilowatt-hours... Read more →