Why are EVs catching on faster in some regions than in others? Government incentives play a large role, as a May study from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) detailed. The world’s top three EV hotspots, Norway, the Netherlands and California, are all places whose leaders have enacted strong pro-plug-in policies. However, the ICCT… Read more »
Brammo CEO Craig Bramscher noted in a recent Charged feature that there are only so many cool jobs for people who love electric motorcycles. It sounds like the coolest job imaginable just opened up – Harley-Davidson is looking for a Director of Electrical Vehicle Technology. According to a posting on the company’s web site, the EV Director will be responsible… Read more »
This week, Toyota revealed the exterior design of its hydrogen fuel cell sedan (pretty much the same as the concept shown at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show) and Japanese pricing. Production of the Toyota Fuel Cell Sedan (as yet, it has no other name) is expected to start in December. Toyota plans to launch the car in… Read more »
Chinese EV-maker BYD’s electric buses are attracting a lot of interest from North American cities. At least two transit authorities in California, and two in Canada, are currently testing BYD buses, with a view to ordering a dozen or so each (meanwhile, the Chinese city of Hangzhou has just placed an order for 2,000). The… Read more »
Authorities in smoggy Beijing are keen to encourage what they call “new energy” vehicles, but at present the city has few public charging stations – the 60 or so that exist are reserved for buses and taxis. A new plan aims to change that, requiring new residential communities in the Chinese capital to install chargers… Read more »
The Hawaii Center for Advanced Transportation Technologies (HCATT) has awarded a contract to US Hybrid to deliver a plug-in fuel cell shuttle bus to the County of Hawaii Mass Transit Agency. US Hybrid’s H2Ride 25-passenger shuttle bus uses a 30 kW fuel cell fueled by a 20 kg hydrogen storage and delivery system. The fuel… Read more »
In 2011, Continental introduced the Conti.eContact, a tire optimized for electric vehicles, with lower rolling resistance translating into increased range. Now the company has further refined the design to meet the needs of hybrid models. The Conti.eContact is available in six sizes for 17 and 18-inch rims. The rolling resistance of the new Conti.eContact for hybrids is… Read more »
The University of Delaware is making a small number of BMW Mini-E EVs available for lease as part of an ongoing vehicle-to-grid (V2G) demonstration project. “Individual drivers are now needed to expand the demonstration over a wider range of driving patterns,” said project leader Willett Kempton. The Grid on Wheels program will lease the vehicles… Read more »
It was one year ago that Tesla introduced its battery swapping technology in a theatrical presentation, with lights flashing and music thumping. At the time, Elon Musk said that the company planned to make swapping available as soon as the end of 2013, and eventually install the capability at every Supercharger station. In early 2014… Read more »
GM is developing a next-generation power inverter capable of 55 kW peak/30 kW continuous power. According to GM’s Sean Gleason, who gave a presentation on the project at the DOE’s Annual Merit Review, GM is almost two-thirds of the way through the $16.6-million project ($6 million of the funding support came from the DOE), which… Read more »
