The electrification of transport is accelerating, but industry observers agree that it won’t be a truly mass-market trend until there’s an electric version of America’s favorite vehicle: the pickup truck. Now Ford has hinted at plans to launch an all-electric version of the F-Series pickup truck, which has been called the most successful consumer product… Read more »
In September 2017, a top Chinese official said that the country would set a deadline for automakers to end sales of fossil-fuel vehicles in the country. No details were announced, and we’ve heard little about the plan since. Now, China has implemented new rules that seem to make it almost impossible for automakers to invest… Read more »
Tesla announced that it will cut around 3,000 jobs – some 7 percent of its workforce – as it struggles to bring Model 3 prices down to an affordable, mass-market level. Elon Musk said the company did manage to squeeze out a profit in the final quarter of 2018, but warned that the “road ahead… Read more »
Maxwell Technologies, a manufacturer of energy storage and power delivery technology, has sold its high-voltage product line to Renaissance Investment Foundation for $55.1 million in cash and up to $15 million in future payments. Included in the deal were Maxwell’s Swiss subsidiary, Maxwell Technologies SA, and its CONDIS line of high-voltage capacitors. Maxwell will now… Read more »
Cars are becoming computers, and Tesla has always been at the forefront of that trend. For years, the company has worked with the “white hat” hacker community to pro-actively identify and fix security flaws in its vehicle software. Electrek reports that, over the past few years, Tesla’s bug bounty program has paid out serious money… Read more »
Daimler Trucks North America has delivered the first vehicle in its Freightliner Electric Innovation Fleet – a Freightliner eM2 – to Penske Truck Leasing. Next year, Penske will put an additional 9 medium-duty electric eM2 trucks and 10 heavy-duty eCascadia electric trucks into service in California and the Pacific Northwest. Penske will place the EVs… Read more »
Barcelona-based Circontrol has expanded its WallBox range of chargers with eNext, a new series that features an elegant design and a simplified charging process. The new charger is designed for homes, condominiums, workplaces and car parks. As e-mobility spreads, EV chargers will be ever more present in our environment, says Circontrol, so the external appearance… Read more »
Chinese automaker GAC Motor has completed construction of a Guangzhou-based factory where it hopes to produce 200,000 EVs annually. It’s the first phase in the development of an industrial park for EVs and smart vehicles. GAC and parts maker Aisin have also begun construction of a joint automatic transmission facility in the industrial park. GAC… Read more »
Wolfspeed (a Cree company), has introduced its 5th-generation SiC Schottky diode, which is optimized for renewable energy, industrial power and EV applications. The 1,700 V C5D is commercially available in both bare die and package formats. It joins the current line of 1,700 V MOSFETs, which feature an optimized TO-247-4 Plus package that provides extra… Read more »
VW has been talking big lately about producing EVs in volume, but now we’re beginning to see some real action. The German giant has announced plans to add a second assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee to build EVs for VW, and possibly other Volkswagen Group brands. The company plans to invest $800 million and create… Read more »