As Audi, Porsche and other luxury brands show their concepts for the electric future in Frankfurt, Jaguar Land Rover has released details of three R&D projects that explore three different levels of electrification. The Concept_e MHEV is a mild-hybrid system featuring an electric motor/generator that regenerates braking energy, stores it in a battery and uses… Read more »
ClipperCreek’s line of EV chargers includes a wide range of power levels for different applications. The new HCS-30 is a 24-amp Level 2 charging station that can fully recharge most EVs in about 4 hours. “EV owners want faster charging, but don’t necessarily want to upgrade their electrical service panel. This 24-amp model allows more… Read more »
Automakers are touting ever-faster charging speeds – Audi and Porsche both showed concept cars at this month’s auto show in Frankfurt that they claim will be able to charge at speeds of up to 300 kW – and Dutch charging network operator Fastned is determined to be ready. Fastned, which operates 38 stations in the… Read more »
Automakers are starting to produce vehicles with 48-volt power systems, and this technology is expected to catch on rapidly. Austria-based ams, which manufactures a wide range of sensors and analog ICs, has introduced a reference board for a small and simple 48 V battery monitoring system. The new board provides a complete monitoring and safety… Read more »
The idea of Apple building a car is media catnip – it sends ordinarily sober journalists (yes, there are a few) into flights of wild speculation. In the wake of a Wall Street Journal article that seems to confirm that the Cowboys of Cupertino are indeed dabbling in the automotive realm, one writer gushed that… Read more »
The Chinese are coming. Joining most of the American automakers, BAIC has opened an R&D facility in Silicon Valley. The BAIC EV R&D Center will be dedicated to the research and development of four to six models per year, and will become an important part of BJEV’s globalization plans, the company said. The BAIC subsidiary… Read more »
A pair of professors at the University of Maryland Energy Research Center have been awarded a three-year, $460,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop an onboard fast charger for EVs. Professors Alireza Khaligh and Patrick McCluskey are collaborating with Steven Rogers of Genovation, an EV builder in nearby Rockville, Maryland on the project,… Read more »
Competing fast charging standards are a major impediment to electric road trips. If Tesla’s vast Supercharger network could be used by other automakers’ EVs, it would do much to remove this roadblock. Elon Musk has discussed this possibility in the past, and at a recent press conference in Germany, he hinted that it may soon… Read more »
Visitors to one of the world’s top tourist destinations now have the option to drive electric. Enterprise Rent-A-Car has added 14 Volts to its Orlando car rental fleet. EVs have a high profile in Florida’s tourism capital, thanks partly to Drive Electric Orlando, a local organization that partners with the major theme parks and over… Read more »
The world’s second-largest automaker has admitted that it systematically broke the law in order to evade environmental regulations. “Our company was dishonest with the EPA, and the California Air Resources Board and with all of you,” said Volkswagen’s US chief Michael Horn. “We have totally screwed up.” Tipped off by the International Council for Clean Transportation, the… Read more »
