The US Department of Energy (DOE) is awarding $59 million to 43 projects for new and innovative advanced vehicle technologies research. Funded through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, these projects include solid-state batteries (15 projects) and power-dense electric motors (5 projects); co-optimized engine and fuel technologies (3... Read more →

The Colorado Air Quality Control Commission adopted a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) standard for Colorado early today in an 8-1 decision. The new zero-emission standard adopts California ZEV requirements, with automakers to sell more than 5% zero-emission vehicles by 2023 and more than 6% zero-emission vehicles by 2025. Eleven states now... Read more →

EFG Companies, the innovator behind the award-winning Hyundai Assurance program, has launched the new Motorist Assistance Plan (MAP) Electric Vehicle Protection. This new exclusionary vehicle service contract is designed to meet the unique needs of electric vehicle owners and help dealers diversify their revenue streams through both the F&I office... Read more →

The world’s largest all-electric ferry, named E-ferry Ellen, made its first commercial trip on 15 August, connecting the ports of Søby and Fynshav, on the islands of Aerø and Als, in southern Denmark. Capable of carrying approximately 30 vehicles and 200 passengers, is powered by a 4.3MWh battery system provided... Read more →

Solaris has claimed the lead spot in Europe in terms of contracts for electric buses in 2019. In the first months of 2019, Solaris secured three large orders for the supply of electric buses to Berlin (BVG); Milan (ATM); and Warsaw (MZA). A total of up to 470 vehicles will... Read more →

Researchers at the University of Waterloo have integrated the use of blockchain into energy systems, a development that could result in expanded charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. In a study that outlines the new blockchain-oriented charging system, the researchers found that there is a lack of trust among charging service... Read more →

Daimler Trucks North America LLC (DTNA) has built the first two Class 8 battery electric Freightliner eCascadias for customers at its research and development center in Portland. The trucks are part of Freightliner’s Electric Innovation Fleet and built to test the integration of battery electric trucks in to large-scale fleet... Read more →

Transport operator Przedsiębiorstwo Komunikacji Miejskiej (PKM) in Katowice, Poland has ordered five Solaris Urbino 12 electric electrobuses. This contract marks the 100th one for the supply of battery vehicles from Solaris. At the beginning of the year, Solaris supplied five articulated Urbino 18 electric to the PKM operator. Earlier, two... Read more →

The 2019 Audi e-tron SUV is the first pure battery-electric vehicle to earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) 2019 Top Safety Pick+ rating, the highest rating awarded by the nonprofit organization. In developing the e-tron, engineers designed a battery pack with performance, longevity and safety in mind. The... Read more →

Power management company Eaton is partnering with global technology company KPIT to support the development of next-generation electrified mobility technologies for Eaton’s eMobility business unit (earlier post). Eaton’s collaboration with KPIT initially will focus on developing and deploying technologies, software solutions and platforms for several components, including inverters, on-board chargers,... Read more →

The transport operator ACTV SPA Venezia has ordered 30 Solaris Urbino 12 electric buses and the infrastructure for battery charging. The total value of the contract acquired exceeds €20 million. The contract follows the recent order from ATM Milan for up to 250 electric buses. (Earlier post.) The electric buses... Read more →

Researchers at WMG, University of Warwick, have repurposed end-of-life electric vehicle batteries as small energy storage systems (ESS) for off-grid locations in developing countries or isolated communities. The repurposed units, each containing approximately 2kWh of energy capacity, will be able to power a small shop, a farm holding, or multiple... Read more →

BMW is bringing BMW’s global Induction Charging Pilot Program to the US. The pilot program began in Germany in 2018. The pilot program is available in the state of California for 200 interested, qualifying residential home customers who are able to charge inside an enclosed garage space. Availability is based... Read more →

Consumer Reports said that emails and other government documents released publicly for the first time show failures by Tesla regarding its safety claims and the performance of Autopilot. Consumer Reports (CR) said that the documents reveal that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) must do more to ensure investigations... Read more →

Daimler Buses has equipped its Mannheim bus plant with a central charging station for the fully-electric eCitaro. It can also be used to provide the newly released eCitaro with electricity via a pantograph. The special feature of this charging station is that the charging devices are suspended at a height... Read more →

EV Connect has announced a collaboration with General Motors, through which EV Connect will help GM improve Chevrolet Bolt EV drivers’ charging experience with dynamic charge station data, including insights on station status. With 6,000 charge ports under contract through its EV Cloud, EV Connect is the largest open platform... Read more →

Hyundai Motorsport has begun work on its first electric race car in a new project that heralds a new motorsport era for the company. The car, which has been designed and built at Hyundai Motorsport’s headquarters in Alzenau, Germany, will break cover for the first time on 10 September at... Read more →

Electric bus manufacturer Proterra launched Proterra Powered vehicle electrification solutions, leveraging Proterra’s electric vehicle technology and expertise to help commercial vehicle manufacturers electrify their heavy-duty vehicles. Proterra has developed high-performance battery systems, electric drivetrain technology, and standardized, heavy-duty charging systems for commercial vehicle applications. Proterra technology and equipment helped the... Read more →

Ports of Auckland (New Zealand) has signed a contract with Dutch company Damen Shipyards to buy the world’s first full-size, fully electric port tug. The new tug, a Damen RSD-E Tug 2513 to be delivered in 2021, will have a 70-tonne bollard pull, the same as the port’s strongest diesel... Read more →

Audi has developed a new e-scooter concept to respond to the urban trend towards multi-modal mobility. The Audi e-tron Scooter, combining the advantages of the electric scooter and the skateboard, is designed for sporty riders. To be transported by car, bus or train, the twelve-kilogram (26-pound) e-scooter can be folded... Read more →

Fifty-six models of electric-drive vehicles were available in model year (MY) 2018 in the US. One quarter of the models were midsize cars, followed by large cars at 16% and compact cars at 14%. Together, small sport utility vehicles (SUV), standard SUVs and minivans accounted for another quarter. Electric-drive vehicles... Read more →

Roskill has constructed a comprehensive copper industry reference dataset covering the period 2014-2018, built upon a production, trade and consumption platform of the eleven main markets for semi-manufactures in copper and copper alloys. This new original data has been used to verify historical time series statistics of apparent and reported... Read more →

A new study from North Carolina State University finds that while shared e-scooters may be greener than most cars, they can be less green than several other options, including, in some cases, buses. Their open-access paper is published in the journal E.nvironmental Research Letters Using life cycle assessment, the researchers... Read more →

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced that 34 cleaner energy transportation projects will receive $8,489,844 in Driving PA Forward grants and rebates. Funded by Pennsylvania’s share of the settlement with Volkswagen Group of America, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)is committing funding for a range of clean energy transportation projects on... Read more →

Audi will introduce a second, entry-level version of its e-tron electric SUV to select markets in early 2020. The Audi e-tron 50 quattro will complement the existing e-tron 55 quattro model, with a 71 kWh battery and two electric motors providing for a range of up to 186 miles according... Read more →

Electrify America announced an agreement with San Francisco-based electric vehicle (EV) fleet charging company Stable Auto to deploy robotic charging solutions for self-driving vehicles in a pilot demonstration site in San Francisco, as both companies develop infrastructure solutions needed to deploy self-driving and electric vehicle fleets. The two companies will... Read more →

Leading motor manufacturer Nidec Corporation will form a joint venture with GAC Components Co., Ltd., a member of China-based Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., Ltd. to manufacture automotive traction motors. The tentative name of the JV is Guangzhou Nidec Auto Drive System Co., Ltd. Nidec will hold 51%, and GAC Components... Read more →

New Flyer of America Inc. announced a new contract from the Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) for four forty-foot, battery-electric Xcelsior CHARGE heavy-duty transit buses. New Flyer Infrastructure Solutions was also selected to provide and commission four Siemens direct current depot chargers that conform to Society of Automotive Engineer (SAE)... Read more →

Sales of all zero-emission vehicles in Canada for the first six months of 2019 are up 30% compared with last year. Zero-emission vehicles represented roughly 3% of all new, light-duty vehicles sold in the first half of 2019, compared to roughly 2% during the same period in 2018. Since 1... Read more →

The US Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced $84.9 million in grant selections through the Low- or No-Emission (Low-No) Grant program, which funds the deployment of transit buses and infrastructure that use advanced propulsion technologies. Thirty-eight projects in 38 states will each receive funding through the program.... Read more →

Volkswagen is expanding its activities in the field of charging infrastructure and will cooperate closely with has·to·be GmbH, a provider of operating systems for e-mobility. Volkswagen Group company Elli will acquire a minority stake in the company. Together, has·to·be and Volkswagen will work to expand the pan-European charging network and... Read more →

Thomas Built Buses Inc. has received full California Air Resources Board (CARB) and Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (HVIP) certifications for its Type C electric bus, the Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley powered by Proterra electric vehicle technology. This certification officially qualifies Jouley for state vouchers. Thomas Built... Read more →

New Flyer Industries Canada, a subsidiary of NFI Group Inc. (NFI), one of the world’s largest independent global bus manufacturers, announced the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) and Brampton Transit have jointly secured $11.15 million in federal funding from Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) to support the adoption... Read more →

The new Honda e EV features intuitive and advanced connectivity in a contemporary passenger cabin. The Honda e’s full-width digital dashboard, comprised of five integrated high-resolution color screens, is designed for effortless usability of the onboard connected apps and services. The Side Camera Mirror System screens are ergonomically placed at... Read more →

The aluminum producer Hydro now supplies sustainable aluminum for the battery housing of the Audi e-tron EV. The material is processed and manufactured along the entire process chain in an environmentally friendly manner and under socially acceptable working conditions. This has been confirmed by the Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) with... Read more →

Lightning Systems, a developer of zero emission drivetrains for commercial fleets, has received an Executive Order from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for the Lightning Electric Ford F-59 platform, commonly used in food truck and delivery van applications. The latest Lightning Electric powertrain for the Ford F-59 chassis is... Read more →

GKN Automotive will this month deliver its one-millionth eDrive system. Demand for GKN Automotive’s expanding eDrive portfolio, which encompasses a range of driveline technologies for electrified vehicles, has increased markedly over recent years. The company currently has five major eDrive mass production projects in progress in China and Europe. GKN... Read more →

Magna and the BAIC Group have signed a framework agreement governing their electric vehicle manufacturing joint venture (earlier post) in Zhenjiang, China, which marks another milestone of their continued cooperation. The transaction, which is pending regulatory approval and other closing conditions, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of... Read more →

For Q2 2019, Tesla hit record deliveries of 95,356 vehicles and record production of 87,048 vehicles, surpassing its previous quarterly records of ~91,000 deliveries and ~86,600 units produced in Q4 of 2018. The company also posted a GAAP operating loss of $167 million, and a GAAP net loss of $408... Read more →

Ballard Power Systems announced a purchase order from Wrightbus, a leading bus OEM and Ballard partner headquartered in Northern Ireland, for 15 FCveloCity-HD 85-kilowatt fuel cell modules to power buses for deployment in Aberdeen, Scotland under the Joint Initiative For Hydrogen Vehicles Across Europe (“JIVE”) funding program. The Wrightbus double-decker... Read more →

Stäubli Electrical Connectors, a leading manufacturer of electrical connector solutions, has signed an agreement with SSA Marine to provide automatic charging stations for 33 terminal tractors at the Port of Long Beach. This project will create the largest automated electric vehicle charging program of any port in the United States.... Read more →

City transport operator Miejskie Zakłady Autobusowe w Warszawie (MZA) has ordered 130 Solaris electric buses for nearly PLN 400 million (US$106 million). The articulated Urbino 18 electrics will be delivered to the capital of Poland in 2020. The order for 130 articulated electric buses is the biggest tender of its... Read more →

The Audi e-tron GT is the first vehicle in the VW Group to dispense with an actual prototype in the 3P (Production Preparation Process) workshops, according to Markus Moinot, Head of Production Planning Processes in Neckarsulm. Using VR glasses and controllers, employees from various departments test all assembly processes entirely... Read more →

BYD Company Ltd. and Toyota Motor Corporation have signed an agreement for the joint development of battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The two parties will jointly develop sedans and low-floor SUVs as well as the onboard batteries for these vehicles and others with the aim to launch them in the Chinese... Read more →

Volvo Group and Samsung SDI have entered into a strategic alliance to develop battery packs for Volvo Group’s electric trucks. Working together with Samsung SDI, Volvo Group aims to accelerate the speed of development and strengthen the long-term capabilities and assets within electromobility, to the benefit of customers in different... Read more →

The Climate Group announced that global pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca will join its business leadership initiative on electric vehicles, EV100 (earlier post); AstraZeneca will switch its 16,000-vehicle fleet to electric by 2030. 808 of AstraZeneca’s vehicles are already electric, and as a next step the company will focus on the roll-out... Read more →

In May 2019, the Tesla Model 3 alone was responsible for 16% of all passenger EV battery capacity deployed globally versus 4% for the second-ranked BYD Yuan and 3% for the fifth-ranked Nissan Leaf, according to Adamas Intelligence’s latest “EV Battery Capacity Monthly” report. Collectively, the Tesla Model 3, Model... Read more →

Groupe Renault and Jiangling Motors Corporation Group (JMCG) announced the official establishment of their joint venture to further promote the development of the EV industry in China, following a first agreement on 20 December 2018. Groupe Renault will increase its share capital by RMB 1 billion (about €128.5 million) to... Read more →

Lotus unveiled its electric hypercar, the Evija, formerly called the Type 130 (earlier post). Carrying a starting price of €1.7 million (US$2.1 million)—plus duties and taxes—the Evija is intended to be the most powerful series production road car ever built with output of 2,000 PS and 1,700 N·m. An ultra-lightweight... Read more →

ZF has introduced a new 2-speed electric drive for passenger cars that integrates an advanced electric motor with a shift element and appropriate power electronics. The improvement in energy conversion efficiency compared to previous e-drives extends the driving range for each battery charge. The compact design also makes this new... Read more →