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 transportation sector in the US consumes more petroleum than any other sector, and that share has increased over time from about 50% in 1950 to about 70% in 2018, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE). US petroleum consumption increased threefold between 1950 and 2018, from 6.5 million... Read more →

Intermodal cargo continues its powerful rise at the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), achieving 10.5% growth in July. Over the past three years, the Port of Savannah has grown its rail volume by 35.4%, completing more than 507,000 intermodal lifts in the fiscal year that ended in June. The Port of... Read more →

BP and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) have agreed to form a new joint venture that will include a retail service station network and aviation fuels business across India. Building on Reliance’s existing Indian fuel retailing network and an aviation fuel business, the partners expect the venture to expand rapidly to... Read more →

Eni has released the 18th edition of the World Oil, Gas and Renewables Review, the annual statistics report on oil, natural gas and renewables sources. The first volume of the report, the World Oil Review, is devoted to oil reserves, supply, demand, trade and prices with a special focus on... Read more →

In the US, more than 50 million children between the ages of 5 and 17 traveled to school in 2017, according to the 2017 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS). More than half (54.2%) were driven to school in a private vehicle, while 33.2% typically traveled by school bus. The distance... Read more →

Intel and Apple signed an agreement for Apple to acquire the majority of Intel’s smartphone modem business. Approximately 2,200 Intel employees will join Apple, along with intellectual property, equipment and leases. The transaction, valued at $1 billion, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2019, subject to regulatory... Read more →

VC funding in Battery Storage companies in 1H 2019 was up by 139% with $1.4 billion in 17 deals compared to the $543 million in 30 deals in 1H 2018, according a new report from Mercom Capital Group. The increase was spurred by Northvolt’s $1-billion funding round. The Top 5... Read more →

The used vehicle Consumer Price Index (CPI) in 2018 was 4.4 times higher than in 1970, while the new vehicle CPI was 2.8 times higher—i.e., used-vehicle prices have risen more than new-vehicle prices. Used-vehicle prices were more volatile than new-vehicle prices over the period from 1970 to 2018 and used-vehicle... Read more →

Volkswagen of America announced today that the Volkswagen Golf Alltrack and Golf SportWagen will end production with the 2019 model year. Volkswagen will continue building the Alltrack at the Puebla, Mexico plant through December 2019 to provide enthusiasts additional opportunity to own an affordable, European-designed wagon. 2019 Gold Alltrack Over... Read more →

In the US, the used light-duty vehicle market is more than twice the size of the new light-duty vehicle market for each year shown. Used vehicle sales for 2018 were 40.2 million vehicles, while new vehicle sales were 17.2 million. Used vehicle sales include pre-owned vehicles sold by dealerships, franchises,... Read more →

Efforts to shift away from fossil fuels and replace oil and coal with renewable energy sources can help reduce carbon emissions but do so at the expense of increased inequality, according to a new study by researchers at Portland State University (PSU) and Vanderbilt University. Julius McGee, assistant professor of... Read more →

World population is estimated to reach 7.58 billion this month as World Population Day is celebrated on 11 July, but the US Census Bureau is projecting another milestone: Annual population growth will slip under 1.0% in 2020-2021 for the first time since 1950. The United Nations declared 11 July as... Read more →

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced more than $24 million in funding for 77 projects supported by the Office of Technology Transitions (OTT) Technology Commercialization Fund (TCF). The TCF was created by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to promote promising energy technologies. The new TCF selections will expand... Read more →

As of May 2019, there were more than 68,800 Level 2 and DC fast charging units throughout the United States. Of that total, 16%, or approximately 10,860 units, were DC fast chargers that make long-distance travel more practical for electric vehicles (EV). A DC fast charger adds 60 to 80... Read more →

The Joint Research Center (JRC), the European Commission’s science and knowledge service, has released a report exploring the future of road transport, given the advent of automated, connected, low-carbon and shared mobility. The report shows how thes massive changes on the horizon caused by automation, connectivity, decarbonization and sharing, represent... Read more →

The average age of light vehicles in operation (VIO) in the US has risen again this year to 11.8 years, according to new research from business information provider IHS Markit. This acceleration of average age can easily be seen when looking across the last 17 years. From 2002-2007, the average... Read more →

At the second-annual Climate Mayors Summit in Honolulu, Hawaii, 127 cities and 15 counties from across 38 states joined the Climate Mayors Electric Vehicle Purchasing Collaborative, and committed to purchasing more than 2,100 electric vehicles by the end of 2020. The Collaborative also announced plans to place a competitive bid... Read more →

While some stories in the media present automation as having the potential to eliminate large swaths of jobs in the near future, a new study by researchers Maury Gittleman and Kristen Monaco at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics argues otherwise. In the open-access study, published in ILR Review, the... Read more →

The world’s population is expected to increase by 2 billion persons in the next 30 years, from 7.7 billion currently to 9.7 billion in 2050, according to a new United Nations report. The study concluded that the world’s population could reach its peak around the end of the current century,... Read more →

Deep declines in wind, solar and battery technology costs will result in a grid nearly half-powered by the two fast-growing renewable energy sources by 2050, according to the latest projections from BloombergNEF (BNEF). In its New Energy Outlook 2019 (NEO), BNEF sees these technologies ensuring that—at least until 2030—the power... Read more →

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistical projection of traffic fatalities for 2018 shows that an estimated 36,750 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes. This represents a slight decrease of about 1.0% as compared to the 37,133 fatalities that were reported to have occurred in 2017. Preliminary data... Read more →

In a major new report on hydrogen, the International Energy Agency says that the time is right to tap into hydrogen’s potential to play a key role in a clean, secure and affordable energy future. The in-depth study, which analyzes hydrogen’s current state of play and offers guidance on its... Read more →

ZF Friedrichshafen AG has expanded its E-Mobility division with new buildings and locations. On Friday, the technology company opened a new building for administration, R&D, and sales at the divisional headquarters in Schweinfurt. In Pančevo near the Serbian capital of Belgrade, a new plant for electric drives will go into... Read more →

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) rating agency ISS ESG has awarded Valeo pole position in its ESG performance rating of global companies (auto components industry, 64 companies assessed). Valeo has also achieved Prime status for its excellent performance. Valeo scored particularly well in the three areas identified by ISS ESG as... Read more →

BP released the 68th annual edition of the BP Statistical Review of World Energy (BP Stats Review), a comprehensive collection and analysis of global energy data. This year’s edition highlights the growing divergence between demands for action on climate change and the actual pace of progress on reducing carbon emissions.... Read more →

Infineon’s planned $10-billion acquisition of Cypress Semiconductor will produce the world’s largest automotive chip supplier, surpassing current market leader NXP and giving the German firm a stronger position in the critical markets for infotainment and advanced driver assist systems (ADAS), according to IHS Markit. In 2018, Infineon ranked second in... Read more →

LevelTen Energy, a renewable energy procurement platform, closed a $20.5-million Series B funding round led by Prelude Ventures, with participation from Constellation Technology Ventures, the venture investing arm of Exelon Corporation, Equinor Energy Ventures, Total Ventures and participants from LevelTen’s Series A funding, including Avista Development, Element 8 Fund, Founders’... Read more →

North America-based bus manufacturer NFI Group Inc. has acquired UK-based bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) for a total transaction value of £320 million (US$405 million) on a cash-free, debt-free basis, subject to certain adjustments. The combined business creates an independent global bus OEM with market-leading positions in the United... Read more →

Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the US was seven times higher in 2017 than in 1950, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE). The number of vehicles in operation was more than six times higher in that same period, while the resident population doubled. Growth of VMT and vehicles... Read more →

The Volkswagen Group is further expanding its business in its most important market, China, with the entry of SEAT, a member of the Volkswagen Group, and the Smart City Project. Volkswagen Group China, SEAT and the Chinese auto manufacturer JAC, which together form the joint venture JAC Volkswagen, continue to... Read more →

A new University of California, Irvine-led pilot study finds, on average, Waze “crash alerts” occur two minutes and 41 seconds prior to their corresponding California Highway Patrol (CHP)-reported crash. These minutes could mean the difference between life and death. A paper on the work is published in JAMA Surgery. According... Read more →

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. delivered a non-binding letter to the Board of Groupe Renault proposing a combination of their respective businesses as a 50/50 merger. The combined business would sell approximately 8.7 million vehicles annually. The combination would create a brand portfolio that would provide full market coverage with a... Read more →

Agility Robotics has unveiled a new bipedal robot named Digit, which adds an upper torso, arms, sensors, and additional computing power to the company’s Cassie robot design. Digit’s four degree-of-freedom (4-DOF) arms greatly extend both the mobility and utility of Digit, as compared to Cassie. Digit Agility is teaming up... Read more →

In 2018, plug-in light-duty vehicles on the road displaced 323 million gallons of gasoline—about one quarter of a percent of all gasoline used in the United States, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE). Gasoline displacement from plug-in vehicles is about 42% more than it was in 2017 and... Read more →

Global energy investment stabilized in 2018, ending three consecutive years of decline, as capital spending on oil, gas and coal supply bounced back while investment stalled for energy efficiency and renewables, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest annual review. The findings of the World Energy Investment 2019 report signal... Read more →

Daimler AG aims to have a carbon-neutral new passenger car fleet by 2039, said Ola Källenius, the future Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, and currently still responsible for Group Research & Mercedes-Benz Cars Development as a member of the Board of Management. Let’s be clear what... Read more →

A new study from the Capgemini Research Institute has found that consumer preference for riding in self-driving cars is set to double within the next five years. While only 25% of consumers would prefer to ride in a self-driving car over a traditional vehicle in 12 months’ time, more than... Read more →

Migration has been a driving force behind some of the biggest changes around the world—particularly over the past two decades. The shift of individuals moving from rural areas to urban areas has not only driven economic development, but also created myriad challenges for policymakers who need to understand the needs... Read more →

The amount of electricity consumed by plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) in the United States has nearly doubled in the last two years—from 1.44 terawatt-hours in 2016 to 2.85 terawatt-hours in 2018, according to the US Department of Energy (DOE). The share of electricity consumption from all-electric vehicles (EV) increased compared... Read more →

In an opinion piece in the journal Nature, a team from the US and Europe suggests that the transition to a low-carbon world will create new rivalries, winners and losers, and that it is therefore necessary to put geopolitics at the heart of debates about the energy transition. … abating... Read more →

The wholly-owned US manufacturing subsidiary of LG Chem, Ltd. filed a pair of lawsuits against South Korean-owned SK Innovation., Ltd. for misappropriation of Li-ion battery trade secrets, tortious interference with prospective economic advantage and other claims. Brought jointly by LGCMI, the US-subsidiary, and its parent corporation, the suits were filed... Read more →

A combined $210 million was raised by battery storage, smart grid, and energy efficiency companies in Q1 2019—a 55.5% decrease from the $472 million raised in Q1 2018, according to a new report from Mercom Capital Group, llc, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm. Total corporate funding (including... Read more →

by Michael Sivak. In a recent article, I examined changes in distance driven in the United States during the period from 1984 through 2017. Distance driven per person reached a maximum in 2004. While this rate has been on a rebound since 2013, the 2017 rate is still down from... Read more →

Total OECD annual production of crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGL), and refinery feedstocks increased by 10.3% in 2018 compared to 2017, reaching a record total monthly production of over 100 million tons at the beginning of the year and remaining above this for almost all of 2018, according to... Read more →

Manufacturers have been adopting technologies that improve the efficiency of light-duty vehicles and allow them to achieve greater fuel economy. Of all the emerging technologies, gasoline direct injection (GDI) has seen the highest level of adoption among manufacturers, reaching 51% for the 2018 model year, according to the US Department... Read more →

Volkswagen of America (VoA) plans to show the Tarok pickup concept for the first time in the US at the New York International Auto Show. This compact unibody pickup was first seen at the São Paulo International Motor Show at the end of 2018 and is expected to enter production... Read more →

Chevron Corporation entered into a definitive agreement with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Anadarko in a stock and cash transaction valued at $33 billion, or $65 per share. Chevron said that its acquisition of Anadarko will significantly enhance its upstream portfolio and further strengthen... Read more →

By Cyril Widdershoven for Oilprice.com. The long-awaited Saudi Aramco acquisition of Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC) is finally here. With a statement to the press, Aramco CEO Amin Nasser reported that Aramco has acquired a 70 percent stake in SABIC, with an estimated value of $69.1 billion. Aramco’s CEO Nasser... Read more →

Volkswagen and Amazon Web Services (AWS) will develop the Volkswagen Industrial Cloud together. Both companies announced a multi-year, global agreement jointly to develop this project. In the future, the Volkswagen Industrial Cloud will combine the data of all machines, plants and systems from all 122 facilities of the Volkswagen Group.... Read more →