Last week’s historic unveiling of Tesla’s Model 3 left auto lovers with a host of questions. Since then, some answers have been trickling out, mostly from the thumbs of Elon Musk, who’s been tweeting like a tree full of birds over the past few days. Musk hopes to log 500,000 reservations before the “Part 2… Read more »
While US plug-in vehicle sales contracted slightly in 2015, in the global market they went wild, posting an increase of almost 80% over 2014. The latest to trumpet this fact is the US Department of Energy, which has released a breakdown of sales for the world’s main EV markets. According to the DOE, 565,668 EVs… Read more »
Governments around the world have set various goals that call for a certain number of EVs to be on their roads by a stated date. Surely the most ambitious plan yet heard was announced this week in the Netherlands, where lawmakers put forth a proposal to allow only zero-emission cars to be sold in the… Read more »
Ricardo, a consultancy business specializing in powertrain and vehicle engineering, has licensed Qualcomm’s Halo wireless EV charging (WEVC) technology. Ricardo plans to develop, make and supply WEVC systems for automobile manufacturers. Ricardo sees WEVC as an enabling technology that will drive mass adoption of plug-in vehicles by simplifying charging. Qualcomm subsidiaries will provide technical expertise… Read more »
Auto dealers and service technicians need quick and easy access to EV charging cables. EVoCharge’s new EVoReel cable management system offers a 50-foot retractable cable for Level 2 charging stations that’s designed to keep cables off the ground and reduce tripping hazards. EVoReel can be installed overhead in the rafters of a service bay, similar… Read more »
(Updated 4/5/16 11:00am EST to include link to IRS code and information suggesting how Tesla could maximize available tax credits.) Tesla’s mission has always been to bring EVs to the mass market, and the culmination of the company’s grand strategy is the Model 3, unveiled last week at a price of $35,000. Auto market analysts tell… Read more »
US plug-in sales have resumed their steep upward climb. March sales shattered last year’s figure, setting a new all-time record. Around 13,725 plug-ins were sold in March, a 33% increase over March 2015 and a few units more than the previous monthly record set in December. American car buyers now have around two dozen EV and… Read more »
Automobiles, and the automotive industry itself, have a lot of features that survive as vestiges of earlier technological times, and may no longer serve any real purpose. Tesla has eliminated a few of these (model years, free press trips) and tried hard to eliminate others (rear-view mirrors, independent dealerships). With the advent of the Model… Read more »
BorgWarner has announced that its eGearDrive transmission will be used in the Geely EC7-EV, which is scheduled to launch on the Chinese car market in Q1 2016. The Chinese automaker’s first mass-produced EV is powered by a 96 kW electric motor and features a top speed of 87 mph and a range of 157 miles…. Read more »
Researchers at the DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated a production method that they estimate will reduce the cost of carbon fiber by as much as 50% and the energy used in its production by more than 60%. After analysis and prototyping by industrial partners, ORNL is making the new process available for licensing…. Read more »
