Porsche has dropped plans to sell gasoline and diesel versions of its long-planned Pajun sedan, the German magazine auto motor und sport reported (via Automotive News Europe). Unnamed sources have indicated that Porsche execs think the sport sedan segment is too crowded for a new model with a legacy powertrain, so the Pajun will go on sale… Read more »
Driven by the triple trends of vehicle electrification, automation and connectivity, the automotive semiconductor market had a splendid 2014, and is on track for more growth, according to a new report from research firm IHS (NYSE: IHS). Automakers built more cars and used more semiconductors in 2014, bringing the market to $29 billion, a 10… Read more »
Kansas City Power & Light (KCP&L) has announced plans to install and operate more than 1,000 EV charging stations in the Kansas City region, which the company says will be the largest charging station installation by an electric utility in the US. KCP&L’s Clean Charge Network will be part of the ChargePoint network, and will… Read more »
The parallel between today’s EV market and the early days of the internet is easy to see, at least for those old enough to remember the many articles in the 1990s that insisted that the web was a passing fad, and in fact was already on its way out. BMW cleverly plays on this irony… Read more »
Chinese automaker BYD is poised to profit from two converging trends: the government’s support for new energy vehicles, and what the company calls China’s insatiable appetite for SUVs. BYD has begun taking pre-orders for the Tang, a plug-in SUV that’s named for the most prosperous of Chinese dynasties. The Tang is built on BYD’s second-generation… Read more »
Five years ago this week, the DOE finalized its Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan to Tesla Motors, which paid back the $465-million loan nine years early. So it seems like a propitious date to announce a new program that will make over $55 million in loans available for “cutting-edge vehicle technologies that strengthen the clean… Read more »
One indicator of an automaker’s seriousness about EVs may be its willingness to invest a substantial amount in charging infrastructure, as Nissan and Tesla have done. This week, BMW and Volkswagen, together with ChargePoint, announced an initiative to create express charging corridors on the east and west coasts of the US. In the initial phase,… Read more »
As the next generation of EVs takes shape, the next couple of years are going to see some electrifying competition. No sooner had GM finished its sound-and-light show for the upcoming Bolt EV than Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn reminded us that a redesigned LEAF is due to come to market in about two years, with… Read more »
The city of Mountain View, California has put four electric shuttle buses on the road in a two-year pilot project funded by Google. The Mountain View Community Shuttles use a modular electric powertrain from Motiv Power Systems. Aimed at elderly residents and others who need an alternative to the city’s existing public transit, the service… Read more »
The California Energy Commission (CEC) is making almost $1.2 million in grant funds available to develop a new center for alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies in Central California. Public and private entities with a presence in California can apply for the funds. The proposed center must be open to the public and must support… Read more »
