Magna International recently announced that it produces the liftgate assembly for BMW’s popular i3. The collaboratively-designed liftgate maintains the BMW i brand appearance and achieves the vehicle’s mass requirements through the use of a lightweight composite structure which integrates the liftgate’s functional systems. Locking and latching systems, rear windshield wiper system, interior trim, exterior painted trim… Read more »
Mark your calendars! On October 9, Tesla is going to announce…something. Elon Musk has issued one of his famously cryptic tweets, to wit: About time to unveil the D and something else pic.twitter.com/qp23yi59i6 — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 2, 2014 The mysterious missive is accompanied by a picture of what is undoubtedly a Model S… Read more »
When will lithium-ion battery prices reach the price point of $100 per kWh that so many in the media are calling the “magic number?” According to Winfried Hoffmann, an analyst at the consulting firm ASE, the glad day will dawn sometime around 2030. Hoffmann, the former CTO of Applied Materials, is a well-known figure in… Read more »
Parker’s Electromechanical Automation Division has announced its new GVM142 generator and auxiliary motor series, which is intended to be used in electric and hybrid vehicle accessory applications. Pre-production units are currently being tested for high-power alternator replacements as well as electrohydraulic pump applications such as power steering and aerial lift hydraulics. The latest addition to… Read more »
Tesla plans to double its Hong Kong workforce to over 100 people by the end of the year, and has hired a country director for the Chinese city. “Hong Kong could potentially be the place to showcase the success of electric vehicles to the rest of Asia,” said Veronica Wu, Tesla’s VP for China operations…. Read more »
The German cabinet is backing a bill to let municipalities offer drivers of plug-in vehicles incentives such as free parking and the right to use bus lanes. Germany’s goal is to have a million electric vehicles auf der strasse by 2020 (as of the beginning of 2014, there were about 21,000). “Electric cars will get… Read more »
Tesla has launched a new offensive in the ongoing War of the Auto Dealers, claiming that New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) did not have the authority to stop the company from selling its electric cars at showrooms in the state. Tesla sold cars directly to customers at two New Jersey showrooms for a couple… Read more »
Every EV driver understands the importance of an accurate “fuel gauge.” Engineers working on the batteries of the future also need a reliable way to measure the state of charge (SOC), even in cases where they may be testing different battery chemistries. Researchers at the University of Connecticut have developed a chemistry-adaptive battery fuel gauge… Read more »
The City of Grenoble, France has launched a unique car-sharing service featuring ultra-compact EVs and close integration into the local public transport system. Cité lib by Ha:mo (for Harmonious Mobility), which is patterned after a system that Toyota has been piloting in Japan, opens October 1 for a three-year trial period. Toyota is providing 70… Read more »
After years of operating in secrecy, battery startup Sakti3 has been much in the news lately, the subject of feature articles in Scientific American and Fortune (via Green Car Reports). The Ann Arbor company, founded in 2008 by Ann Marie Sastry, has developed a solid-state electrolyte, which could eliminate some of the drawbacks of liquid electrolytes, including… Read more »
