Hyundai Motor Group has announced a record-high budget for 2012 that includes 5.1 trillion Korean won (about $4.4 billion) for R&D, of which the lion’s share will be for hybrids and EVs, according to Singapore news portal AsiaOne. Company spokespeople made it clear that eco-friendly cars will be its main focus in 2012. The giant… Read more »
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BMW offers a sneak peek at its new EV iPhone app
BMW has posted a few screenshots of the new i3 iPhone application to its Facebook page, and EV groupies are drooling for more.
Taiwan to build 60 battery exchange stations for electric motorcycles
Taiwan’s EPA has made a large pot of subsidy money available to businesses to set up the battery swapping systems.
Fisker: Everything’s cool
Today, Fisker Automotive released a statement regarding the battery pack recall that has received much media attention.
Indian firm Hero to expand its EV empire to the UK and North America
Could an Indian firm come to dominate the world market for electric two-wheelers? The Hero Eco Group may be planning just that. Hero, which builds 65,000 electric scooters and bicycles per year at its plant in the Punjab, recently acquired UK-based Ultra Motors, which sells its A2B and F4W brands of electric bikes and scooters… Read more »
Smithsonian magazine taps EVs as a tech trend to watch in 2012
“Will 2012 be the year the electric car takes off?”
Time Magazine names PolyPlus lithium battery one of 2011’s 50 Best Inventions
The PolyPlus lithium-water battery could someday have a huge impact on EV technology.
Toyota secures mother lode of lithium in Argentina
Listen to my story ‘bout a company named Toyota Crankin out the Pria, tryin to make their sales quota Without enough batteries, production would halt Good thing they found a bunch of carbonate salt Lithium, that is…white gold…Argentine applesauce… …but seriously folks, Japanese news site Nikkei reported this week that the Toyota Tsusho Corporation… Read more »
Washington State DOT breaks ground on West Coast Electric Highway
Construction began Wednesday on a public EV charging station in Bellingham, Washington, the first in a network that the state plans to build along major highway corridors. The West Coast Electric Highway will provide EV drivers with fast chargers every 50 miles or so, all the way from Oregon to Canada. This in turn is… Read more »
Mitsubishi plans to launch electric light truck
Mitsubishi Motors is developing an electric light truck, which will be aimed at farmers, contractors and other commercial users, Japanese business daily Nikkei reported today.