A growing number of drivers are plugging into British Columbia’s public EV charging stations. Powertech Labs, a subsidiary of local utility BC Hydro, tracks 350 of BC’s 550 public chargers, and reports that the number of charging sessions at those stations doubled between August 2013 and August 2014. “Over 40,000 charging sessions were reported in… Read more »
Tesla is developing a certified pre-owned vehicle program similar to those already offered by luxury brands such as BMW and Mercedes. “With the Model S fleet now heading toward the first cars hitting three years old, we are looking at CPO and how best to structure.” VP of Communications Simon Sproule told Automotive News. In… Read more »
Hybrids, with or without plugs, are comparatively rare on European roads, but Automotive News believes that’s about to change, as EU limits on CO2 emissions become stricter, forcing Continental automakers to electrify. German and French automakers dominate the market in Europe, and diesels have long been their chosen solution, accounting for half of new-car sales… Read more »
Tesla’s mysterious D has been revealed and it is cool. Elon Musk introduced the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive version of Model S at a theatrical event at Hawthorne Municipal Airport (where SpaceX is headquartered). Musk didn’t just show a slide of the goodies – a huge robot arm lifted up a Model S chassis and turned it… Read more »
Aluminum seems to be in the ascendant these days – Ford will use aluminum for the body of its 2015 F-150 pickup truck, and a recent report from the Aluminum Association predicts that by 2025, three out of four pickups will have all-aluminum bodies. Not so fast, says the industry information service World Steel Dynamics…. Read more »
Public DC fast-charging stations are proliferating around the world at what some might call an alarming rate. In at least 50 countries, EV drivers can top up their batteries in the time it takes to (leisurely) enjoy a cup of tea, or whatever the local beverage may be. While automakers agree on the importance of… Read more »
Johnson Matthey has completed its acquisition of A123 Systems’ cathode materials manufacturing facility in Changzhou, China. The plant produces lithium iron phosphate (LFP), the cathode material that A123 has been using. The companies have signed a long-term supply agreement by which Johnson Matthey will supply all of A123’s LFP requirements. Johnson Matthey will produce A123’s… Read more »
The EV world was shocked by recent reports that Nissan is thinking about cutting production of its proprietary battery packs in favor of sourcing packs from South Korea’s LG Chem. Speculation ran riot in the media, but facts were few. This week, the picture became clearer, as Green Car Reports asked Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn… Read more »
Chrysler will launch a plug-in hybrid version of the next-generation Town & Country minivan late next year, about a year earlier than the company had previously indicated. Other hybrids, including a full-size crossover, are also in the product pipeline. The plug-in minivan, which would be a first for the industry, will get 75 MPGe, according… Read more »
Michigan Technological University researchers exhort you to take pity on “the poor lithium ion.” As it endlessly rushes from anode to cathode and back again, all kinds of chemical processes take place, eventually causing batteries to lose capacity, and possibly even overheat. Much of what goes on at the atomic scale as lithium-ion batteries are… Read more »
