The Buick Electra concept vehicle made its global premiere in Shanghai. The all-electric crossover offers a glimpse of Buick’s vision for a new intelligent electric future. Adopting the new “potential energy” design language, the Electra comes with a new-generation electric propulsion system and the advanced Ultium battery, along with a... Read more →

Hyundai Motor Group has formed New Horizons Studio, a new unit focused on the development of Ultimate Mobility Vehicles (UMVs), including the concept Hyundai Elevate walking car introduced at CES 2019 (earlier post). Hyundai Elevate does not rely solely on wheels and is expected to address challenging driving situations—for example,... Read more →

Demand growth of the 2020s will soon be dwarfed by the astronomical demand growth of the 2030s, according to a new forecast by Adamas Intelligence. Therein lies the real defining challenge and opportunity facing the global rare earth industry today, the company said. After growing at a CAGR of 6.4%... Read more →

In August 2020, cumulative US plug-in vehicle sales reached 1.6 million units, according to data gathered by Argonne National Laboratory. Plug-in vehicles consist of both battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). Source: Argonne National Laboratory, Light Duty Electric Drive Vehicles Monthly Sales Updates, August 2020. A... Read more →

Solaris Bus & Coach has signed a contract with public transport operator Freiburger Verkehrs AG for the supply of 15 electric buses: five 12-meter Solaris Urbino 12 electric and ten 18-meter articulated Urbino 18 electric. The commissioned Urbino will be equipped with Solaris High Power batteries. Batteries with a total... Read more →

Chinese EV contender XPeng announced that its wholly owned subsidiary in China, Guangdong Xiaopeng Motors Technology Co., Ltd. entered into a cooperation agreement with Guangzhou GET Investment Holdings Co., Ltd., a wholly owned investment company of Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone. According to the terms of the Cooperation Agreement,... Read more →

A new analysis of the real-world usage of more than 100,000 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles shows a large deviation between on-road CO2 emissions and fuel efficiency and the official vehicle type-approval values. The results of the joint study, released by German Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research ISI and... Read more →

Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have created a composite that increases the electrical current capacity of copper wires, providing a new material that can be scaled for use in ultra-efficient, power-dense electric vehicle traction motors. ORNL scientists used new techniques to create long lengths of a composite copper-carbon nanotube... Read more →

At the 16th Beijing International Automotive Exhibition (Auto China 2020), Beijing Hyundai Motor Company showcased its RM20e electric racing midship sports car prototype and Prophecy concept EV model, demonstrating the reach of its EV ambitions. The new Tucson as well as new Elantra also made their debuts to Chinese customers.... Read more →

The California Center for Jobs & The Economy has released an updated report (earlier post) on the progress of ZEV sales in the state during the first half of 2020, drawing on sales data from the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA). For a baseline, the report uses the goal... Read more →

Volkswagen and Uber have launched a pilot project for the utilization of electric vehicles within the sustainable ride hailing service “Uber Green”. The objective of the pilot project is to use a number of year-old e-Golf vehicles which may run into three digits. Volkswagen has already been using the e-Golf... Read more →

Fisker Inc. announced details surrounding its first dedicated engineering and technology center, to be located in the Mission District of San Francisco. This facility will be the focal point and development center for the company’s software and vehicle electronics, including both in-car and Fisker data center elements. With the development... Read more →

Volvo Penta has developed an electric driveline for leading fire service vehicle manufacturer Rosenbauer’s pioneering fire truck, named “Revolutionary Technology” (RT). The truck was officially launched at an event in Austria. The RTs will now be sent to fire departments in Berlin, Amsterdam and Dubai to begin real-world customer testing.... Read more →

Communities throughout California can now purchase all-electric shuttle buses and ADA-equipped vans from Lightning Systems on a new California Association for Coordinated Transportation (CALACT) cooperative purchasing contract. City and county governments, transportation agencies, as well as nonprofits, can order all-electric Class 3 to 5 passenger buses under the program. Vehicles... Read more →

Keolis, in partnership with Urban ICT Arena, Telia, Ericsson Intel and T-engineering, has launched a new autonomous self-driving, electric minibus trial in Stockholm, Sweden, using 5G technology to control and supervise the vehicle remotely. This trial aims to explore the safe introduction of self-driving autonomous electric vehicles in complex urban... Read more →

A new analysis by Consumer Reports finds that owners of plug-in electric vehicles are spending half as much on maintenance and repair as the owners of similar gas-powered vehicles. Consumer Reports (CR) analyzed its 2019 and 2020 reliability survey data for many thousands of electric and gas-powered vehicles, and found... Read more →

Inmotive, a Canadian-based automotive supplier, has launched its patented Ingear two-speed transmission. Invented and designed for the next generation of electric vehicles, the Ingear features a simple and durable design that enables a more efficient powertrain, with extended range, at lower cost. Inmotive recently completed its extensive pre-production testing of... Read more →

Series production of the Mercedes-Benz eActros heavy-duty truck is due to start in 2021 at the Wörth plant, alongside the existing manufacture of trucks with combustion engines. The electric truck models are set to be assembled alongside trucks with conventional drives in a flexible process. The construction of the different... Read more →

The BMW Group is further expanding its Germany-based production capacities for electric drives. From 2021, the Leipzig plant will also produce battery modules for the high-voltage batteries of the BMW Group’s electrified vehicles. By 2022, the company will invest more than €100 million in the site to prepare for the... Read more →

Lion Electric will deliver 10 battery electric trucks to Amazon; the first two will be delivered this year. Amazon plans to use Lion’s trucks in its middle-mile trucking operations, which transports items within the company’s network. This vehicle delivery for Amazon represents a very significant milestone for Lion. Amazon is... Read more →

The average cost of a Li-ion battery cell—used to power electric vehicles and to provide flexibility in the power grid as more renewables, such as solar and wind, are added will fall below $100 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in the next three years, according to a new analysis by IHS... Read more →

California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued an executive order requiring sales of all new passenger vehicles to be zero-emission by 2035 and additional measures to eliminate harmful emissions from the transportation sector. Following the order, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) will develop regulations to mandate that 100% of in-state... Read more →

Volkswagen of America revealed the all-new ID.4 electric SUV—the brand’s first long-range EV to be sold in the US. This compact SUV, which will be available in rear-wheel drive 201-hp 82 kWh (launching first) and all-wheel-drive 302-hp 82 kWh configurations, offers three years of fast charging with Electrify America for... Read more →

Elon Musk used Tesla’s much-anticipated Battery Day presentation not to disclose some super cell, but to outline an aggressive, comprehensive and radically innovative approach to battery design, manufacturing and vehicle integration that he projected will result in a 56% reduction in cost/kWh and a $25,000 electric vehicle in about three... Read more →

Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality, in partnership with ElectReon and Dan Bus Company, has launched a pilot project to install wireless electric roads for charging public transportation in the city. The pilot, the first of its kind in Israel, will be carried out between Tel Aviv University Railway Station and Klatzkin Terminal... Read more →

Volvo Trucks North America announced today that third-party supply chain solutions provider NFI began piloting two Volvo VNR Electric trucks as part of the Volvo LIGHTS (Low Impact Green Heavy Transport Solutions) project, becoming the third company to deploy its battery-electric trucks. The Volvo VNR Electric trucks will be integrated... Read more →

PACCAR is collaborating with Faith Technologies and Schneider Electric to provide a charging infrastructure package solution for customers that purchase battery electric Kenworth and Peterbilt heavy- and medium-duty trucks in the United States and Canada. PACCAR electric charger with Kenworth K270E and Peterbilt Model 220EV trucks By leveraging their respective... Read more →

Walmart will electrify and zero-out emissions from all of its vehicles, including long-haul trucks, by 2040, as part of its current goal to become a “regenerative company”. Walmart announced it is targeting zero emissions across the company’s global operations by 2040. Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are also committing to... Read more →

By Randal Beattie, President, SAKOR Technologies Inc. Over the past decade, most transportation markets, from automotive, to military, aircraft, and even space systems have seen a tremendous surge of interest in hybrid and electric vehicle technology. To gain the promised efficiency benefits and green profile of these vehicles, it is... Read more →

Irizar e-mobility has signed a new contract with the Municipal Transport Company of Madrid (EMT Madrid) to supply 20 electric 12-meter Irizar ie buses. This is the third order from EMT Madrid for Irizar electric vehicles. The contract also includes the supply of 20 interoperable chargers, developed and manufactured by... Read more →

Solaris has won a tender announced by the public transport operator Miejski Zakład Komunikacyjny (MZK) in Piła for the supply of five Urbino 12 electric buses including the charging infrastructure. The deliveries will be completed in April 2022. The charging infrastructure includes three stationary plug-in chargers, a pantograph charging station... Read more →

The city of Houston is set to receive the first Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Buy America-compliant mid-size autonomous bus in the US. Jointly developed by Phoenix Motorcars and EasyMile, the EZ Zeus self-driving bus will be deployed in real-life traffic conditions. Furthering... Read more →

Nuvve Corporation, a San Diego-based vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology company, is participating in a program to deliver resource adequacy to local utility San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) and California’s electrical grid using a large stationary battery located on the University of California San Diego’s (UC San Diego’s) campus microgrid. Nuvve... Read more →

Virtual Peaker and Fermata Energy are partnering to integrate Fermata Energy’s vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology with Virtual Peaker’s cloud-based residential energy demand response platform used by utilities across the country. Fermata Energy V2X bi-directional charger The joint venture will make it easier for utilities and their customers to combat climate change... Read more →

Enel X, the Enel Group’s advanced energy services business line, has been awarded two grants by the Accelerating Clean Transportation Now (ACTNow) program through the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC). The grants will support the development of public transportation electrification in the Commonwealth and coincide with the company’s entrance into... Read more →

Ford celebrated the production start of the all-new F-150 at the Ford Rouge Center and confirmed construction of the new Rouge Electric Vehicle Center where it will build the all-electric F-150 by mid-2022. Rendering of the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center. The new manufacturing center at the Dearborn-based Rouge Center, once... Read more →

Li-Cycle Corp. a lithium-ion battery resource recovery company, will invest more than US$175 million in its first commercial lithium-ion battery recycling Hub at Eastman Business Park (EBP) in Rochester, New York. (Earlier post.) The Hub is a wet chemistry/hydrometallurgical facility that will refine battery-grade materials from black mass generated from... Read more →

Corvus Energy has been selected by Holland Ship Electric to supply lithium-ion battery-based energy storage systems (ESS) for five new all-electric ferries being built by Holland Shipyards Group, a total system integrator of electric systems for the global marine market, for Amsterdam’s municipal public transport provider, GVB. The ferries will... Read more →

Daimler Trucks unveiled the concept Mercedes-Benz GenH2 Truck, marking the beginning of a fuel-cell push by Daimler for the long-haul transport segment. The premiere was staged during a presentation at STATION-Berlin of the company’s technology strategy for the electrification of its vehicles, with a focus on the technology for hydrogen-based... Read more →

Volvo Group’s American subsidiary Mack Trucks announced plans to commercialize the Mack LR Electric, its refuse model equipped with a fully electric integrated Mack drivetrain. Orders for the Mack LR Electric will open in Q4 2020, with deliveries beginning in 2021. The production Mack LR Electric model will fulfill the... Read more →

Electrify America introduced a new pricing structure designed to provide electric vehicle (EV) owners with consistent and transparent rates across its public brand-neutral fast-charging network. Customers will now experience more competitive rates and overall savings in most cases as Electrify America now offers kilowatt-hour (kWh) pricing, depending upon the state... Read more →

Endera, a technology company specializing in commercial electric vehicles, charging stations and software solutions, delivered 18 all-electric passenger shuttles to ACE Parking, for use at the San Diego International Airport. By the end of 2020, 29 all-electric vehicles will be delivered, making it the largest deployment of an all-electric fleet... Read more →

General Motors announced that it will design, develop and manufacture a family of five interchangeable electric drive units and three motors, known collectively as “Ultium Drive.” GM said that Ultium Drive and its modular architecture will help it transition to a fully electric lineup, and provide significant advantages over GM’s... Read more →

Kia Motors Corporation previewed its global electric vehicle (EV) business strategy; the brand will launch seven new dedicated BEVs by 2027 across several vehicle segments. Kia also released an early sketch of several of the brand’s future dedicated Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs). Details of Kia’s future EV product strategy were... Read more →

Proterra introduced its newest battery-electric transit vehicle: the Proterra ZX5 electric bus. The ZX5 bus, Proterra’s fifth-generation battery-electric transit vehicle, features a new streamlined vehicle design and maximizes the amount of energy that can be stored on board the vehicle to increase power and range. The 40-foot Proterra ZX5 can... Read more →

Representatives of the City of Szczecin and of Solaris Bus & Coach have signed a contract for the purchase of 8 Urbino 18 electric buses. The electric buses will be delivered to Szczecin by the end of September 2021. The contract is worth PLN 32 million (nearly €8 million). The... Read more →

The BMW Group continues to adapt its production structures to growing demand for fully and partially electrified vehicles. In China, the BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA) joint venture has expanded its battery factory at the Tiexi location, the “High-Voltage Battery Center”, with a further battery center that will immediately begin producing... Read more →

With a 1% increase in sales and increasing battery pack size, all-electric vehicles (EVs) captured a record amount of total plug-in vehicle battery capacity sold in 2019, 17.4 gigawatt-hours, according to analysis by Argonne National Laboratory. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) accounted for a smaller portion of total plug-in vehicle... Read more →

The UK’s driving population has veered towards increased environmental consciousness, with 76% of the population admitting that they are aware of the environmental impacts of driving. However, a recent survey by RingGo, the UK’s leading cashless parking provider, found that only two-fifths of UK drivers say that they are planning... Read more →

Worldwide, Daimler battery-electric trucks and buses have already logged more than seven million customer kilometers (4.3 million miles). As part of its electrification strategy, Daimler Trucks plans to offer electric vehicles in all its main sales regions by 2022: from the FUSO eCanter in the light-duty segment, the Freightliner eM2... Read more →