New Flyer of America Inc., a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc., the largest transit bus and motor coach manufacturer and parts distributor in North America, announced that New Flyer’s 60-foot articulated heavy-duty transit bus has become the first and only sixty-foot battery-electric bus to complete the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)... Read more →

Following Zwickau, Volkswagen intends to change its plants at Emden and Hanover in Germany over to the production of electric vehicles. After Zwickau, Volkswagen is therefore establishing its second e-mobility center in Germany in Lower Saxony. At a works meeting held on Wednesday in Emden, HR Board Member Gunnar Kilian... Read more →

The Country Hills Shopping Plaza in Torrance, California will be the site of the first DC fast charging station to open in the state as part of Electrify America’s plan to install approximately 160 charging stations in California by June 2019. Through its Cycle 1 California ZEV Investment Plan, Electrify... Read more →

Alliance Ventures, the strategic venture capital arm of Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi, has invested in the latest round of funding in Enevate Corporation, an advanced lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery technology company based in Irvine, California. (Earlier post.) The investment reflects the capability of Enevate in advanced Li-ion batteries capable of extreme fast charging with... Read more →

The Volkswagen Group has selected South Korea-based battery manufacturer SK Innovation (SKI) as the fourth major supplier of battery cells for electric vehicles based on the Modular Electric Toolkit (MEB). SKI will supply the batteries for North America and a share of the batteries for the production of Volkswagen Group... Read more →

Leading global maritime technology company Kongsberg Maritime has selected Leclanché as its battery partner and supplier of customized marine energy storage solutions. The partnership contributes to Kongsberg’s new generation of hybrid power solutions, which are set to deliver efficiencies and to reduce the environmental impact of transportation with autonomous and... Read more →

The number of battery-electric buses ordered in Europe more than doubled in 2017 compared to 2016, reaching 1,031 vehicles, according to a new analysis by environmental NGO Transport & Environment. T&E estimates this to be equivalent to around 9% market share of new registrations in 2018. The are currently about... Read more →

At the beginning of the third quarter, the BMW Group signed a long-term contract with the Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) to supply battery cells with a value of four billion euros. The award of this contract was a decisive factor in CATL’s decision to build an... Read more →

The BMW Group and Turkish manufacturer Karsan have signed an agreement for the supply of BMW i3 motors and batteries for the battery-electric 6-meter city bus “Jest electric”, which is produced in Bursa in Turkey for both the domestic market and for international markets. The electric motors and high-voltage batteries... Read more →

SEAT will introduce the electric eXS KickScooter powered by Segway at the Smart City Expo World Congress next week. The new SEAT eXS powered by Segway is a micro-mobility solution for users who want to get around the city in an efficient and sustainable way. As part of its Easy... Read more →

Greenlots, a global provider of EV charging software and solutions, will collaborate with Volvo Trucks to deploy charging infrastructure for electric trucks operating out of warehouses in Southern California. This is the first heavy-duty fleet-charging project stemming from a significant public-private partnership with the California Air Resources Board (CARB). CARB... Read more →

Electrify America will collaborate with six organizations in California to help develop and launch community-based programs to support brand-neutral education and awareness of Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) for disadvantaged and low-income communities. Electrify America is investing $2.7 million in the education and outreach campaign. Electrify America uses definitions for low-income... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group and Grab Holdings Inc., Southeast Asia’s leading O2O (online to offline) mobile platform, announced an agreement under which Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation will invest an additional US$250 million into Grab and establish a partnership to pilot EV programs across Southeast Asia. Under the EV... Read more →

The new electric Harley-Davidson LiveWire electric motorcycle—originally unveiled in Milwaukee during the company’s 115th Anniversary this past Labor Day weekend—made its European debut at the Milan press conference of the EICMA show. Due for release in 2019 and being shown at the event as a production-ready motorcycle, LiveWire was first... Read more →

Fifty years after the original COPO Camaro special order performance models were introduced, Chevrolet’s eCOPO Camaro Concept is demonstrating an electrified vision for drag racing. Developed by General Motors and built in partnership with the pioneering electric drag racing team Hancock and Lane Racing, the concept race car—based on the... Read more →

Volvo Cars has reached an agreement with Baidu, the leading Chinese internet search provider, jointly to develop electric and fully autonomous drive-compatible cars with the aim of mass producing them for China, the largest car market in the world. The partnership will allow both companies to develop and to sell... Read more →

Nearly half of the world’s electric vehicles are in 25 cities, according to a new briefing by the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). As of the end of 2017, these 25 cities were home to nearly 1.4 million of the world’s 3.1 million passenger electric vehicles. These 25 cities,... Read more →

Kia Motors and Hyundai Motor plan to introduce solar roof charging technology on selected Hyundai Motor Group vehicles. Electricity-generating solar panels will be incorporated into the roof or the hood of vehicles, and will support internal combustion, hybrid and battery electric vehicles with additional electrical power, increasing fuel efficiency and... Read more →

The first of hundreds of electric car-sharing vehicles coming to Sacramento, California as part of Electrify America’s $44-million investment in the City will be unveiled tomorrow at the Whispering Pines Apartments in Meadowview. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Electrify America and Envoy, an electric car-sharing company awarded funds by Electrify America,... Read more →

Blink Charging Co., a leading owner, operator and provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging station products and networked EV charging services, and Hubject, a joint venture formed by leading companies in the automotive, energy and technology sectors that includes BMW Group, Daimler, Siemens, and the Volkswagen Group, have formed a... Read more →

Volkswagen Group, Mobileye and Champion Motors plan to commercialize Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) with self-driving electric vehicles in Israel. Development will begin in early 2019 and roll out in phases reaching full commercialization in 2022. The partners will establish a joint venture, subject to approval by the responsible authorities and bodies. Operating... Read more →

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has developed a technology for efficiently managing photovoltaic (PV) and other power-generation systems and also the charging/discharging of electric vehicles (EVs) parked on company campuses. Mitsubishi Electric estimates the technology will reduce users’ electric power costs by 5% by optimizing EV charging/discharging schedules. By optimizing the schedules... Read more →

The EU OPTEMUS (Optimized Energy Management and Use) project seeks to address the electric range limitation due to limited storage capacity of electric batteries by leveraging low energy consumption and energy harvesting through a holistic vehicle-occupant-centered approach, considering space, cost and complexity requirements. Specifically, OPTEMUS intends to develop a number... Read more →

Earlier this month, members of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee proposed a higher target (35%) than the European Commission (30%) for new heavy-duty trucks to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, with an intermediate target of 20% by 2025. Manufacturers will also have to ensure that zero- and low-emission... Read more →

The BMW Group’s Dingolfing plant in Germany will supply the batteries for the all-electric MINI to be built in late 2019 in Oxford, South England. The batteries for the vehicle will come from the new battery production facility in Dingolfing; the electric motors from the neighboring BMW Group plant in... Read more →

In comments being filed today on the Safer Affordable Fuel-Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule for Model Years 2021-2026 Passenger Cars and Light Trucks, the Trump Administration’s proposal to freeze fuel economy regulations, General Motors proposes the establishment of a National Zero Emissions Vehicle (NZEV) program to support a 50-state solution, promote... Read more →

In an effort to address growing traffic congestion and air quality concerns, UPS and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan announced the deployment of an innovative downtown delivery pilot project using pedal-assist cargo eBikes and customized, modular trailers. The cargo eBikes will operate in the historic Pike Place Market and downtown Seattle... Read more →

The California Air Resources Board approved a $483 million plan to fund clean car rebates, zero-emission transit and school buses, clean trucks, and other innovative, clean transportation and mobility pilot projects. The Fiscal Year 2018-19 Funding Plan for Clean Transportation Incentives, largely funded with cap-and-trade proceeds, is part of California’s... Read more →

For the third quarter of 2018, Tesla reported GAAP net income of $312 million; free cash flow of $881 million, supported by operating cash flow of $1.4 billion; and a Model 3 GAAP gross margin of more than 20%. Q3 2018 was a truly historic quarter for Tesla. Model 3... Read more →

Volvo Cars has acquired a stake in mobile EV rapid charging company FreeWire Technologies (earlier post) via the Volvo Cars Tech Fund. BP’s venturing business invested $5 million in FreeWire earlier this year. FreeWire is a San Francisco-based company that has been a pioneer in flexible fast-charging technology for electric... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz Trucks has delivered a fully electric eActros (earlier post) for on-road testing to EDEKA. The German retail association will be testing a 25-tonne truck with refrigerated body for one year in Berlin, where it will be used to transport fresh, temperature-sensitive foodstuffs in Germany's capital. The daily route from... Read more →

The new Jaguar I-PACE’s (earlier post) electric powertrain can operate at currents of up to 650 amps. To handle these large currents and the resulting extreme load changes, Continental developed a next-generation power electronics system for Jaguar Land Rover that is specifically adapted to the requirements of sporty, performance-oriented powertrains.... Read more →

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded $9.6 million in Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) grants to public and private partners in California. The funds will be used to retrofit and replace old, polluting diesel vehicles and equipment, including school buses, heavy-duty trucks, tractors and port equipment. The DERA program... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded Virginia Tech a $3 million grant for research on electric vehicle charging infrastructure cybersecurity as part of a larger $80 million investment by the department on advanced technologies research (earlier post). As the world shifts to a higher production and usage of... Read more →

MTS Systems Corporation, a global supplier of high-performance test systems and sensors, announced further power density improvements to its electric motor and inverter technology for motorsport. Power density is a key component of successful racing. Leveraging experience and technology gained from developing energy recovery systems for Formula 1 racecars, MTS... Read more →

Mercedes-Benz Trucks has delivered another all-electric eActros (earlier post) to a customer for on-road testing: Meyer-Logistik. For one year, the company based in Friedrichsdorf in Hessen will now be test-driving a 25-tonne truck with a refrigeration unit for transporting temperature-sensitive foodstuffs from the warehouse to different supermarkets in the center... Read more →

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have demonstrated a 120-kilowatt wireless charging system for vehicles—providing six times the power of previous ORNL technology and a big step toward charging times that rival the speed and convenience of a gasoline station fill-up. The wireless system transfers... Read more →

Volkswagen Group China is beginning construction in Anting of the Group’s first factory specifically designed for the Modular Electric Drive Kit (MEB) platform. The first model that will be produced in the factory of SAIC Volkswagen will be an electric Volkswagen brand SUV in 2020. Together with the FAW-Volkswagen factory... Read more →

AxleTech, a provider of specialty powertrain solutions, is developing a heavy-duty e-powertrain system with Thor Trucks, a fleet-focused transportation lab building fully electric commercial trucks. AxleTech and Thor Trucks will integrate AxleTech’s e-axle technology with Thor’s proprietary battery technology to create a fully electric commercial vehicle powertrain. Thor Trucks is... Read more →

Groupe Renault and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Limited (Brilliance), who earlier this year formed Renault-Brilliance-Jinbei Automotive Co., Ltd., a joint venture to manufacture and sell light commercial vehicles (LCV), signed a Strategic Cooperation agreement with Chinese officials from Liaoning Province to further accelerate growth of LCVs in China. Renault also... Read more →

WiTricity announced an intellectual property licensing agreement with Anjie Wireless, a China-based automotive Tier 1 supplier. Under the terms of the agreement, Anjie Wireless will license WiTricity’s patented magnetic resonance technology and industry-leading designs to develop and commercialize highly efficient wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging systems for sale to leading... Read more →

BYD unveiled two new electric tow tractor models, or tugs, this month. The tugs are suited for airport ground support equipment (GSE) needs including tarmacs and supporting aviation logistic centers and facilities, and also allow for rapid, restriction free charging. BYD tugs offer greater energy and productivity efficiencies as well... Read more →

The BMW Group, Northvolt and Umicore have formed a joint technology consortium in order to work closely together on the continued development of a complete and sustainable value chain for battery cells for electrified vehicles in Europe. The chief objective is to make battery cells sustainable by establishing a closed... Read more →

Audi is the first automobile manufacturer worldwide to receive a certificate from the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI). With the Performance Standard certification, the ASI confirms that Audi meets the ASI requirements for industrial users of aluminum and sustainably designs and manufactures the aluminum components of the battery housing of the... Read more →

Ford has begun production of the Deutsche Post StreetScooter WORK XL electric van at its European HQ in Cologne, Germany. Based on a Transit chassis, produced at the Ford Otosan joint venture plant in Kocaeli, Turkey, the medium-sized electric delivery van is fitted with a battery-electric drivetrain and a body... Read more →

Novelis, the global leader in aluminum rolling and recycling, broke ground on the expansion of its automotive aluminum manufacturing facility in Changzhou, China. The $180-million investment will double the facility’s production capacity of heat-treated aluminum sheet by 100,000 metric tons in order to better meet the growing demand for automotive... Read more →

Hyundai presented its new 2019 Kona Electric crossover (introduced in March at the New York Auto Show, earlier post) and 2019 NEXO fuel cell SUV (showcased at CES in January, earlier post) to US media at a driving introduction in Los Angeles. Kona Electric models will be produced in Ulsan,... Read more →

Attaining environmental benefits and lower cost of ownership are driving more commercial fleets to electrify, according to a new study by UPS and GreenBiz. In the “Curve Ahead: The Future of Fleet Electrification” report, industry leaders identify the main motivations and barriers to electrification, as well as strategies to move... Read more →

The BMW Group and Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. (CBA) announced the early extension of the joint venture contract for BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) and the further deepening of the existing successful collaboration. The extended contract is valid for 22 years (from 2018 to 2040). Furthermore, the BMW Group intends... Read more →

Bollinger Motors previewed the all-electric, all-wheel-drive B2 pickup truck. The new street-legal B2 Pickup truck leverages the company’s development of the B1 Sport Utility Truck. (Earlier post.) As Bollinger Motors moves through the final stages of the B1, the B2 Pickup became a natural addition to their upcoming vehicle suite... Read more →