SEAT has begun work on its future Test Center Energy (TCE), the new automotive battery lab that will be located at the SEAT plant in Martorell. With an investment of more than €7 million, the new center will develop and test various energy systems for electric and hybrid vehicles. With... Read more →
Ipsos’ new 2020 Global Mobility Navigator Study, focusing on Electrification, found global interest remained on par with the numbers from 2019. However, the study reveals there has been an increase in interest in the US and Chinese markets. Source: Ipsos Ipsos attributes this increased interest can be attributed to the... Read more →
Volvo Group’s subsidiary Mack Trucks has delivered a pre-production Mack LR Electric model (earlier post) to Republic Services to begin in-service trials in the demanding refuse segment. Mack will use key learnings from the trials to further refine the LR Electric as it prepares to accept orders for the truck... Read more →
Mercedes-Benz’ EQS—the all-electric member in the new S-Class range—will arrive on the market next year. The EQS is the first to use the new electric architecture for electric vehicles of the luxury and executive segment at Mercedes-Benz. With the EQE business sedan and the SUV variants of EQS and EQE,... Read more →
The Metropole Rennes has signed a declaration of intention to buy 92 Mercedes-Benz eCitaro fully electric city buses. The planned order consists of 59 articulated and 33 solo buses. They are due to be delivered between 2022 and 2025. This marks the largest order outside of Germany for the Mercedes-Benz... Read more →
The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy selected 13 projects to receive approximately $1.95 million in federal funding to develop conceptual designs of commercially viable technologies that will extract rare earth elements (REEs) from US coal and coal by-product sources. Each project will receive up to $150,000... Read more →
Allison Transmission, the largest global manufacturer of medium- and heavy-duty fully automatic transmissions and a supplier of commercial vehicle propulsion solutions, including electric hybrid and fully electric propulsion systems, launched eGen Power, Allison’s new series of fully integrated electric axles. The eGen Power product family, previously referred to as AXE... Read more →
Hino Trucks announced Project Z, the company’s development path to zero emissions vehicles, ranging from class 4 to class 8. In a live virtual event, Hino showcased the line-up of zero emissions trucks, partnering with technology leaders in advanced electrification drive systems. The ZEV products ranged from a class 5... Read more →
BYD has entered the Finnish market for the first time after securing an order for 106 buses with Nobina, one of Finland’s and Scandinavia’s largest Public Transport Operators (PTOs). The order, the largest ever for eBuses in Finland, includes 64 units for Nobina services in Helsinki and 42 units for... Read more →
Royal HaskoningDHV’s office in the city of Amersfoort, the Netherlands, is the first location in the world where electric vehicles are smart charged using machine learning. The charging stations are managed by the charging point operator Eneco eMobility, with smart charging technology provided by the GreenFlux platform. With the number... Read more →
Teijin Limited is now introducing its mobility technologies and products to enterprise customers via Teijin Mobility Online. The site will enable customers and the company to stimulate creativities and explore innovation opportunities responding to the new normal lifestyle. Main exhibits include: The Teijin Group’s “PU_PA III” EV concept car. The... Read more →
EIT InnoEnergy announced a €4.2-million A+ investment in Elaphe Propulsion Technologies Ltd. (Elaphe), a developer of electric in-wheel-drive technology for electric vehicles. The investment will serve as a springboard to secure further growth. Elaphe’s approach to the in-wheel powertrain system is a fully modular platform, combining the in-wheel powertrain with... Read more →
The first fully-electric BMW iX3 has left the production line at the BMW Brilliance Automotive joint venture (BBA) in Shenyang, China. The workforce at the BBA Plant Dadong in Shenyang already celebrated the successful start of production on 29 September 2020. In addition to intelligent manufacturing and advanced technologies, the... Read more →
US President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order declaring a “national emergency” to deal with the threat to US security, foreign policy and economy from its “undue reliance” on supplies of critical minerals from “foreign adversaries”—specifically China. Though these minerals are indispensable to our country, we presently lack the capacity... Read more →
HUBER+SUHNER, a leading supplier of high voltage connectivity solutions for electric vehicles (EVs), unveiled its RADOX EV-C Multi-Core cable system which has been specifically engineered for use with auxiliary devices within Electric Vehicles (EVs). Designed with the growing trend of electrification in mind, the new EV-C Multi-Core cable system is... Read more →
Peninsula Clean Energy, a Community Choice Aggregation agency and the official electricity provider for San Mateo County in California, is expanding its program offering rebates to help first-time buyers of new electric vehicles. The 2020 New EV Rebate Program will offer rebates of $1,000 towards the cost of a new... Read more →
CTS (Compagnie des Transports Strasbourgeois) in France has ordered 49 electric zero-emission 12-m Irizar ie new generation buses. These environmentally friendly buses will contribute to the electrification of the Strasbourg bus network. The vehicles will have 3 doors, 23 seats (4 of which are for people with reduced mobility) and... Read more →
Rolls-Royce has completed testing of the technology that will power the world’s fastest all-electric plane. All the technology has been tested on a full-scale replica of the plane’s core—called an ‘ionBird’—including a 500hp electric powertrain powerful enough to set world speed records and a battery with enough energy to supply... Read more →
XL Fleet and Pivotal Investment Corporation II, a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC), have recently entered into a definitive merger agreement. Upon closing, the combined company will be named XL Fleet and is expected to remain listed on the New York Stock Exchange under a new ticker symbol,... Read more →
Electrify America (EA), the largest open DC fast charging network in the US, is increasing access to sustainable electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure for rural Californians with the deployment of eight new solar-powered, off-grid charging stations across Fresno County. The eight are the first tranche of 30 Beam Global (formerly Envision... Read more →
Volvo Cars successfully placed its first green bond, raising €500 million from a diverse group of institutional investors and further increasing the company’s financial flexibility. A green bond is a type of fixed-income instrument that is specifically earmarked to raise money for climate and environmental projects. The proceeds of the... Read more →
A new study by researchers at the University of Toronto has found that current US policies are insufficient to remain within a sectoral CO2 emission budget for light-duty vehicles that is consistent with preventing more than 2 °C global warming. Current policies will create a mitigation gap of up to 19 GtCO2... Read more →
Operator Miejski Zakład Komunikacji (MZK) in Toruń, Poland, has bought six Solaris electric buses. The vehicles, which will enter into service in about 18 months, will be recharged by day using fast pantograph chargers deployed in three locations in the city; at night they will be charged at the bus... Read more →
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 →