The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has approved the first of four phases of VW’s infrastructure plan. The German giant will invest $800 million in charging and other EV-promoting initiatives, as penance for its dirty diesel dealings. The funds will be invested by VW subsidiary Electrify America, in four installments of $200 million each over… Read more »
BMW was the top seller of plug-in vehicles in Germany in the first half of 2017, with just under 5,000 units registered. The company says it captured about 20% of the market for “alternative drive” vehicles. The BMW has 8 electrified vehicles in the German market: five PHEVs sold under the BMW brand; the i3… Read more »
Panasonic’s new 2170 Li-ion battery cells, which it manufactures at Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 in Nevada, are a key component of the new Model 3. The Japanese manufacturer says it is now supplying the batteries at a loss, but expects to turn a profit next year. “For battery cells for the Model 3, costs outweighed profit… Read more »
Major oil companies are beginning to explore the possibility of offering EV charging at their retail outlets. Shell has begun installing DC fast chargers at selected stations in the Netherlands and the UK. Now British Petroleum has begun talking to EV-makers about partnering on a network of charging stations. “We have discussions going on with… Read more »
Bus manufacturer Irizar, based in Ormaiztegi, in the Basque region of Spain, has won a contract to supply fifteen electric buses to Madrid and four electric articulated buses to Barcelona. Madrid’s Municipal Transport Company has purchased fifteen 12-meter buses, each with a 376 kWh battery pack, as well as fifteen 100 Kw chargers for night… Read more »
A consortium of three firms plans to install a network of 34 fast charging stations along the Trans-Canada Highway (TCH). Toronto-based eCAMION and the Swiss firm Leclanché are providers of energy storage solutions. SGEM is an independent power producer. The three companies will partner for the $13.6-million project, which is partially funded by a $6.2-million… Read more »
ChargePoint Services has placed a £1-million ($1.3 million) order with French EV hardware supplier EVTronic for fifty rapid chargers to expand its GeniePoint Network in the UK. The first of the new chargers is due for delivery by the end of August, and the rest will be installed over the next three months. The EVTronic… Read more »
Silicon anodes are receiving a great deal of attention, as they can enable batteries to deliver 3-5 times higher capacities compared with current graphite anodes. Although silicon is abundant and cheap, Si anodes have a limited number of charge-discharge cycles – typically less than 100 times. Their volume expands enormously during each cycle, leading to… Read more »
Consumer Reports has restored the Tesla Model S to its position as the top-rated ultra-luxury sedan after the automaker updated its software to enable automatic emergency braking (AEB) at highway speeds. In April, CR lowered its scores for the newer versions of Model S and Model X, because their AEB systems were not enabled. While… Read more »
“The Bolt is our platform that we’re going to continue on and have a huge range of vehicles,” said GM CEO Mary Barra earlier this year. Now InsideEVs reports that GM is planning an electric Buick crossover based on the Bolt platform. According to InsideEVs’ “trusted/known source,” who recently attended a GM focus group, the… Read more »