The Chevrolet Bolt EV has earned some impressive reviews since its 2016 launch. Earlier this year, it performed the notable feat of increasing sales by 36% in the first quarter—a period during which overall Chevy sales were down (at least part of that success was due to heavy discounting). The Bolt is believed to be… Read more »
Mercedes-Benz and Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) are collaborating to create new battery technology for the high-volume electrification of Mercedes vehicles. The carmaker is accelerating its Electric First strategy, and plans to use carbon-neutral battery cells, modules and systems supplied by CATL. The agreement covers the full range of battery technologies, from cells to modules for… Read more »
A new survey reports that the use of aluminum is growing faster than that of any other automotive material, and is expected to grow to content levels of 514 pounds per vehicle (PPV) by 2026, up 12% from 2020 levels. The survey, conducted by DuckerFrontier, analyzes the latest information on material content for North American… Read more »
The transport treehouse podcast is a good place to hear some of the world’s top EV experts talk about trends in the industry. Hosts Chelsea Sexton and Russell Frost are two of the most experienced EV journalists out there, and they have an ongoing stream of guests who have expertise in various aspects of the… Read more »
Energy Exploration Technologies (EnergyX) and ProfMOF have announced a partnership to promote the use of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), a relatively new class of nanotechnology materials suitable for applications in the renewable energy and battery storage fields. Capable of separating, transporting and isolating specific elements at the ionic level, MOFs are dense and malleable materials made… Read more »
The state of California is offering $27 million in funding to replace polluting trucks with zero-emission vehicles. This is the first installment of $90 million that will be made available for the Zero-Emission Class 8 Freight and Port Drayage Trucks category, which includes freight trucks (including drayage), waste haulers, dump trucks and concrete mixers. Existing… Read more »
Vitesco Technologies, a maker of electric powertrains, will provide drive control units for the Volkswagen ID.3. “This product makes us part of Volkswagen’s electrification ecosystem, which is proof of our strong system and electronics expertise across the entire vehicle propulsion system and beyond,” said Vitesco VP Wolfgang Breuer. Vitesco developed the drive control unit for… Read more »
Electric utilities have always been pretty keen on EVs, for obvious reasons. However, now that the possibilities of V2G technology are coming into focus, some utilities are becoming fervent EVangelists. Aggregating large numbers of EVs into giant “virtual batteries,” which is already taking place in pilots around the world, facilitates the integration of renewable energy… Read more »
Electric buses and trucks are coming. In June, the California Air Resources Board instituted a zero-emission mandate for truck sales—manufacturers must make zero-emission trucks at least 30% of sales by 2030. Following that announcement, 15 states plus DC have said they want all new trucks to be electric by 2050. Granted, such measures are best… Read more »
BorgWarner has announced that it is building an Integrated Drive Module (iDM) for Ford’s new all-electric Mustang Mach-E SUV. The iDM comes complete with a BorgWarner thermal-management system and a gearbox integrated with a motor and power electronics from other suppliers. “Our knowledge of system integration, paired with our gearing proficiency, allows us to design… Read more »
