Volvo Buses is launching a new electrically-powered articulated bus that can carry up to 150 passengers and with 80% lower energy consumption compared to a corresponding diesel bus. With the Volvo 7900 Electric Articulated, Volvo Buses is making it attractive to electrify even high-frequency bus routes with large numbers of... Read more →
Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd. has started mass production for its 800V compatible high-voltage and high-output electric vehicle (EV) inverter, which increases EV practicality and enables long-distance driving. The product contributes to both comfortable acceleration performance of the vehicle and faster charging times. For this inverter, the mounting technology of the... Read more →
UK electrification company Equipmake revealed the latest version of its electric bus powertrain at Busworld Europe; the new low-floor version of its EBus electric chassis (earlier post) is aimed at double-decker applications. Equipmake’s existing low-entry EBus powertrain—designed for single deckers—has been in testing for the last 12 months and enters... Read more →
Swindon Powertrain is developing a new compact 80kW “crate” electric powertrain that will make it easier for specialist OEMs to electrify their low volume sports cars, light commercial and recreational vehicles. Swindon Powertrain’s High Power Density (HPD) EV system will ease the transition for manufacturers currently frustrated by the lack... Read more →
Ford is offering its all-electric vehicle customers North America’s largest electric vehicle public charging network—the FordPass Charging Network—with more than 12,000 places to charge, including fast charging, and more than 35,000 charge plugs—more than any other automotive manufacturer. Ford is providing two years of complimentary access. The Ford all-electric vehicle... Read more →
Toyota Motor will display its new, production-ready Ultra-compact BEV (battery electric vehicle) at the FUTURE EXPO special exhibition of the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show ahead of the vehicle’s planned commercial launch in Japan in 2020. The next-generation mobility solution is designed to provide short-distance mobility while limiting impact on the... Read more →
Volvo Cars introduced the XC40 Recharge, the company’s first fully electric car and the first model to appear in its brand new Recharge car line concept. The XC40 Recharge, based on the multi-award-winning and best-selling XC40 small SUV, is the first of a family of fully electric Volvos. The EV... Read more →
New Flyer of America Inc. has successfully met and supported the launch of the San Francisco Green Zone requirement, using New Flyer Connect to execute GPS-triggered (geofencing) functionality with the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and BAE Systems PLC (BAE). Green Zones support San Francisco’s approach to greenhouse gas... Read more →
Orange EV and Dependable Supply Chain Services announced the deployment of Orange EV pure electric terminal trucks (aka yard trucks, hostlers, spotters) as the first step in fulfilling the Dependable Highway Express (DHE) plan to transform its Ontario, California facility into a sustainable, energy-efficient, emission-free freight terminal. Launching their transition... Read more →
According to a new report from Navigant Research, although the business model is in question, analyses indicate public charger deployments are positively affecting PEV adoption. The report analyzes the relationship between public charger deployment and plug-in EV (PEV) demand, providing an overview of upcoming industry innovations and ways industry stakeholders... Read more →
Motiv Power Systems, a provider of all-electric medium-duty chassis for buses and trucks, has secured $60 million in equity funding. The Series B round of investment was led by investors GMAG Holdings Corp. and Winnebago. These funds will support the overall growth of Motiv, including opening a new engineering and... Read more →
Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus (VWCO) announced its partners for its first mass-produced electric truck: the 14-tonne e-Delivery. Partners are Bosch, CATL, Moura, Semcon, Siemens, Weg, Meritor and Eletra. All are part of the e-Consortium in VWCO’s development and production complex in Resende (RJ). VWCO announced the formation of the e-Consortium... Read more →
From 14 October to 8 November 2019, throughout the Paris-Saclay urban campus, a panel of some 100 people will use Groupe Renault’s on-demand car service as part of the ‘Paris-Saclay Autonomous Lab’ project. The objective of this experiment is to test the technical aspects of this on-demand mobility service, and... Read more →
Buick launched the VELITE 6 PLUS MAV (multi-activity vehicle) electric vehicle in China. The newest member of the VELITE 6 family, the VELITE 6 PLUS has a constant-speed range of up to 410 kilometers (255 miles) under New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) conditions on a single charge. This enables it... Read more →
Electric bus manufacturer Proterra has introduced a multi-dispenser charging solution which enables Proterra charging systems to have multiple low-profile charging dispensers paired with a single Power Control System (PCS). With less hardware to purchase and less equipment to install, the multi-dispenser charging solution lowers the cost of infrastructure for customers.... Read more →
Shortly following on the global debut of the electric Taycan in September, Porsche is presenting the third version of the electric sports car: the Taycan 4S. The new model is available with two battery sizes: the Performance battery (79.2 kWh) models with up to 390 kW (530 PS) or the... Read more →
Global sales of BMW Group electrified models (fully-electric and plug-in hybrid) increased by 10.1% in September year-on-year to 16,035 units—due in part to the new BMW 330e. Sales of electrified vehicles for the first nine months have dropped by 1% at 96,570 units, compared to the same period last year.... Read more →
In China, the recently opened Airbus China Innovation Center (ACIC) battery lab is looking to power a new generation of electric-powered aerial vehicles. Asia is the global epicenter of battery development and production, with Japan and Korea as the worldwide leaders. However, China is rapidly catching up to the traditional... Read more →
Vitesco Technologies, the drivetrain business of Continental, has signed agreements with Groupe PSA and Hyundai to supply the first fully integrated electric axle drive system for various volume-production models. Production of the new electric drive system at Vitesco Technologies plant in Tianjin, China, has already started. First fully integrated electric... Read more →
Three BYD 8Y electric yard trucks will be deployed by PepsiCo’s Modesto Frito Lay facility as part of a state project designed to showcase economically and environmentally sustainable warehousing and distribution technology. The BYD 8Y electric yard trucks are part of what the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has termed... Read more →
Porsche and Boeing signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the premium urban air mobility market and the extension of urban traffic into airspace. With this partnership, both companies will leverage their respective market strengths and insights to study the future of premium urban air mobility vehicles. As part of... Read more →
Volvo Cars is fundamentally rethinking its approach to infotainment in the forthcoming fully electric Volvo XC40. Powered by Android, the new infotainment system offers customers unprecedented personalization, improved levels of intuitiveness and new embedded Google technology and services. Volvo Car Group is the first company to team up with Google... Read more →
BAE Systems unveiled its next-generation full battery electric power and propulsion system for transit buses. The newest system positions cities around the world to get to zero transportation emissions and improve the range and efficiency of their electric transit bus fleets. The technology adds to the company’s 20-plus years of... Read more →
StreetScooter has presented the next generation of its successful all-electric light commercial vehicles (eLCVs): the WORK and WORK L. StreetScooter’s next generation of vehicles features a redesigned box body with a larger payload of more than one ton and space for up to four euro pallets. The new versions of... Read more →
Miami-Dade, Florida, has agreed to purchase 33, 40-foot Proterra Catalyst E2 electric buses with DuoPower drivetrain technology and up to 75 plug-in Proterra chargers. With 33 electric buses and charging systems, Miami-Dade represents the largest electric bus order on the East Coast. Deploying battery-electric buses is one of the best... Read more →
The rebooted Aptera Motors has teamed with Elaphe Propulsion Technologies on a long-range, volume production electric vehicle powered by in-wheel motors. Aptera, initially known as Accelerated Composites, formed in 2005 to bring highly efficient, three-wheeled vehicles to the market (earlier post), went out of business in 2011. Now resurrected, with... Read more →
With immediate effect, ZF Friedrichshafen AG is the new “Official Powertrain Partner” of Mahindra Racing, one of the founding teams in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. Together with Mahindra Racing, ZF has already started development of the electric driveline for the 2020/2021 season. The first test bench tests and... Read more →
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced a competitive grant solicitation for an administrator to implement the Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-20. This solicitation includes an option for new Grant Agreements for fiscal years FY 2020-21 and FY 2021‑22, if... Read more →
Proterra announced that the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation (SMART) and Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) have agreed to purchase electric buses and chargers from Proterra, becoming the 100th customer for the company. DTE Energy will work with DDOT, SMART and Proterra on the charging infrastructure. To date Proterra... Read more →
Anheuser-Busch, BYD, the Center for Transportation and the Environment (CTE), and ENGIE Services US announced that Anheuser-Busch will be deploying 21 BYD battery electric trucks in their California fleet as part of a state project to showcase economically and environmentally sustainable warehousing and distribution technology. This is a landmark achievement... Read more →
Mercedes-Benz announced a technology supply agreement with Venturi Racing in the run-up to the Formula E season 6 opener in late November at Diriyah. In Season 6, Venturi Racing will run two examples of the new Mercedes-Benz EQ Silver Arrow 01, alongside the cars fielded by the works Mercedes team,... Read more →
ChargePoint and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which oversees all ground transportation in the city, announced an agreement that paves the way toward deployment of high-powered charging infrastructure to support the agency’s transition to battery-electric buses. ChargePoint’s Express Plus charging architecture will be installed as part of the revitalization... Read more →
BYD achieved a first when its 60-foot battery-electric articulated transit bus completed durability road testing under the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) new Pass/Fail guidelines at the Model Bus Testing Program in Altoona, Pa. BYD’s K11M became the first battery electric transit bus of its size to complete the full 15,000-mile... Read more →
NY Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the availability of $3 million in state funds to help municipalities purchase zero-emission vehicles and install related infrastructure. The rebates and grants are administered by the State Department of Environmental Conservation and supported by the state’s Environmental Protection Fund. This round of funding will... Read more →
Gogoro, a leading provider of eScooters, has introduced the Gogoro VIVA Smartscooter, a smaller, lightweight electric scooter targeting the 50-100cc gasoline scooter segment. VIVA leverages Gogoro’s Smartscooter electric powertrain, smartphone connectivity and battery swapping in a lightweight urban design for shorter, quicker trips. VIVA is designed to be compact and... Read more →
Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corporation signed a Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement to deepen their partnership in the fields of electrification and intelligent networking. Chairman of Guangzhou Automobile Group Zeng Qinghong (left) and Toyota President Akio Toyoda (right) Under the agreement, based on the basic concept that... Read more →
Solaris Sverige AB, the Swedish market representative of Poland-based Solaris Bus & Coach company, is participating in the EVolution Road project which is creating an electric road which automatically detects and charges electric vehicles. A Solaris-built trolleybus will be adopted for test drives on a test road. EVolution Road will... Read more →
Ideanomics Inc. announced that its MEG Group, through its joint venture with iUnicorn, has finalized its first order of EV Taxis for the city of Chengdu. As part of the deal, MEG took over a previous order of 4,000 EV taxis from a third-party and helped facilitate the delivery of... Read more →
California’s transition to zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) will begin to save the state money by as early as 2030, according to a study by researchers at the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis (ITS-Davis). Although the transition will need to be rapid, and near-term costs and... Read more →
Volvo Cars will introduce the fully electric XC40 SUV to the public on 16 October. The company says that, in true Volvo tradition, it is also introducing one of the safest cars on the road, despite a fresh set of challenges presented by the absence of an internal combustion engine.... Read more →
In its International Energy Outlook 2019 (IEO2019), the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) projects that world energy consumption will grow by nearly 50% between 2018 and 2050. EIA projects most of this growth will come from regions where the consumption of energy is driven by strong economic growth, particularly in... Read more →
Canoo, a Los Angeles-based company creating electric vehicles (EV) for subscription only, unveiled its first model, simply called canoo. The design capitalizes on EV architecture in a way that provides significantly more interior space. Canoo created this spacious vehicle for a world in which transportation is becoming increasingly electric, shared... Read more →
Hyundai Motorsport has completed the first on-track running with the new Veloster N ETCR, the company’s first electric race car project. Unveiled earlier this month at IAA in Frankfurt, the Veloster N ETCR is the first electric racing car to be built by Hyundai Motorsport. The mid-mounted motor and rear-wheel-drive... Read more →
Ricardo will present the early results of an R&D project to develop a scalable Electric Drive Unit (EDU) for future electric vehicles at the CTI’s 8th International Congress and Expo, to be hosted on 24-25 September 2019, in Shanghai, China. The scalable EDU being developed by Ricardo comprises a high-performance... Read more →
BYD will unveil a new electric transit bus (K7M-ER) and a new electric motor coach (C9M) at BusCon 2019, held at the Indianapolis Convention Center in Indianapolis 23-25 September. The K7M-ER will also be displayed at the Colorado Association of Transit Agencies (CASTA) conference at the Keystone Conference Center in... Read more →
The CEO and General Manager of Terna, Luigi Ferraris, and the Chief Operating Officer of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) in EMEA, Pietro Gorlier, signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the joint trialing of sustainable mobility services and technologies such as Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G). Terna is one of the main European electricity... Read more →
Amazon has ordered 100,000 electric delivery vehicles from Rivian—the largest single order yet of electric delivery vehicles—with vans slated to start delivering packages to customers in 2021. Amazon plans to have 10,000 of the new electric vehicles on the road as early as 2022 and all 100,000 vehicles on the... Read more →
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed two bills to strengthen emission standards for trucks, semis and other high-pollution vehicles. The Governor also issued an executive order directing the leveraging of the state’s $700-billion CalPERS, CalSTRS and UC Retirement Program portfolio to drive investment toward carbon-neutral technologies. The order also directs the... Read more →
Audi has set the goal of successively reducing vehicle-specific CO2 emissions by 30% by 2025 compared with reference year 2015 and over the entire product lifecycle. In the long term, Audi is pursuing the vision of CO2-neutral mobility and aims to be climate-neutral throughout the company on balance by 2050.... Read more →
Freudenberg Sealing Technologies is developing a new generation of conductive seals designed to ensure a durable electrical connection between housings and shafts while preventing bearing damage caused by electricity and electromagnetic radiation. In many operating conditions, the shafts used in electric powertrains are electrically insulated from their housings. The insulation... Read more →