Elon Musk spoke at the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit this week, and as usual, he had plenty to say – in an hour-long interview and a Q&A with reporters, he covered a wide range of topics. The gadfly of the automotive industry reiterated his long-standing challenge to other automakers to move faster on… Read more »
Hyundai introduced hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of its popular Sonata sedan at this week’s Detroit auto show. The two electrified models have similar powertrains, including a 2.0-liter four-cylinder GDI engine and a six-speed automatic transmission with an integrated electric motor. The PHEV has a larger motor (50 kW) and lithium polymer battery pack (9.8… Read more »
Torqeedo, a manufacturer of electric boat motors, has announced its new Deep Blue Hybrid, an integrated system that acts as an energy supply for both a vessel’s hybrid drive and all AC/DC electrical loads on board. This solution allows boat owners to harness solar, wind, plug-in and regenerative power in the system’s high-capacity batteries, keeping… Read more »
Johnson Controls is adding a lithium titanate battery to its line of automotive battery offerings. The new 12-volt technology, the product of a collaboration with Toshiba, is designed to power Advanced Start-Stop vehicles. “Johnson Controls is pursuing opportunities to develop evolutionary low-voltage energy storage systems that will help our customers meet increasing fuel regulations at… Read more »
Unveiling the new Bolt and Volt (or is it Volt and Bolt?) together doesn’t seem like the smartest of marketing moves – the game-changing new 200-mile electric hatchback is bound to steal some thunder from the upgraded practical plug-in sedan, and that would be a shame, because the improvements to the Volt are worth trumpeting…. Read more »
Heralded by the requisite sound and fury, the Chevrolet Bolt EV concept burst onto the stage at the Detroit auto show. The much-anticipated Bolt can truly be said to represent a new generation of EVs – according to GM, it has attained the figures that the EV media seems to regard as a pair of… Read more »
If you’re working on an outside-the-box technology that’s a little hard to explain, there may be hope of getting government research funding after all. ARPA-E has issued a $125-million open Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to support “disruptive new technologies in all areas of energy research and development.” Unlike most of the agency’s FOAs, OPEN 2015… Read more »
The EV world has been looking forward to the launch of the next-generation Volt at next week’s Detroit auto show, but the latest news promises to make the Volt a sideshow. According to sources cited by the Wall Street Journal and Detroit News, GM plans to launch a new EV called the Chevrolet Bolt, with… Read more »
An electric motorcycle may seem like an incongruous idea – after all, if there’s anyone who loves noisy, smoky gasoline engines, it’s the stereotypical leather-clad biker. However, as Charged readers well know, e-cycles are here, and their performance is steadily winning converts. Kevin Cameron of Cycle World observes that lovers of two-wheeled speed have two… Read more »
This week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas features a fleet of vehicles from Volkswagen that showcase the triple trends of electrification, autonomy and connectivity. VW notes that its plug-in models, the e-Golf and Golf GTE, would be inconceivable without computers that control such functions as battery charging and switching between gas and electric drive… Read more »
