Hitachi Automotive Systems recently established a spinoff—Hitachi Automotive Electric Motor Systems America—for the development, manufacture and sale of EV motors. The new company, led by President Shingo Nakamura, will utilize the existing 260,000 square-meter Hitachi office and manufacturing facilities in Berea City, Kentucky. Full production is expected to start in 2022, depending on the effects… Read more »
In addition to manufacturing its own electric buses, Proterra licenses its powertrain technology under the brand name Proterra Powered. It has collaborated with OEMs such as Thomas Built Bus, Van Hool, Freightliner and Optimal Electric Vehicles to electrify their buses and other heavy-duty vehicles. Proterra’s newest partner is Bustech, a major Australian bus manufacturer. The… Read more »
Electric buses are proliferating, many of them far beyond the expected early-adopting cities. Russia is hardly an EV hotspot, but there are already 450 electric buses on the streets of Moscow, running on 36 routes. The capital prides itself on having one of the largest e-bus fleets outside of China. Mosgortrans, the city’s major bus… Read more »
End-of-Line (EOL) testing of EV powertrains now generates more data than ever, thanks to the ubiquity of smart sensors and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). With a focus on testing and measurement, teamtechnik applies Industry 4.0 tools and techniques to optimize production and testing processes. Sometimes called “the fourth industrial revolution,” Industry 4.0 expands… Read more »
General Motors will use an almost completely wireless battery management system (wBMS)—the first of its kind, according to GM—for production EVs. This wireless system, developed with Analog Devices, will allow GM to power many types of EVs from a common set of battery components. The wBMS is expected to drive GM’s Ultium-powered EVs to market… Read more »
Volkswagen’s ID.3 is all very well, but we Americans are more excited about the ID.4, an electric SUV that’s slated to go on sale here in the US in late 2020 or early 2021. Production has started in Germany, and VW recently revealed some details of the interior. Now VW has released a new video… Read more »
In a year packed with new EV launches, few vehicles have been as eagerly anticipated as the Lucid Air. Lucid had already been around for over a decade when we profiled the company in our March/April 2018 issue. The company has built some impressive prototypes, including a converted delivery van that beat a Ferrari and… Read more »
When it comes to automobiles, Sandy Munro knows whereof he speaks. His company specializes in taking new cars apart and analyzing every little bracket and screw—what it’s made of, who made it, and how much it cost. Charged was fortunate enough to have Sandy present a couple of video sessions at our Virtual Conference on… Read more »
Journalists sometimes have to write the same articles over and over, like teachers repeating the same lecture for a new class each semester. The myth of the “long tailpipe”—the notion that EVs generate just as much carbon emissions as ICE vehicles do—has been debunked by dozens of scientific studies (see below for a partial list)…. Read more »
Nikola Motor and GM have announced a strategic partnership under which GM will engineer and manufacture the Nikola Badger pickup truck, which will be built in fuel cell and battery-electric versions. Nikola will use GM’s Ultium battery system and Hydrotec fuel cell technology. The Badger will still bear the Nikola brand, and Nikola will be… Read more »