Tesla has been driving on a rough road lately – a thoroughfare called Wall Street. The company’s future depends on being able to ramp up Model 3 production in a timely manner, and recent news items about the SolarCity deal, the new master plan and the new P100D battery pack make some folks think that… Read more »
Daimler and BYD have been building new energy vehicles for the Chinese market under the DENZA brand since 2014. Now their joint venture, BYD Shenzhen Daimler New Technology (BDNT), has introduced a new EV with a range of up to 400 km (249 miles). The DENZA 400 features an upgraded battery – capacity has been… Read more »
In Shanghai for a workshop at GM’s Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center, Executive Director for Electrification Larry Nitz outlined the company’s short-term electrification roadmap for China. The company will soon launch the Chevrolet Malibu XL Hybrid and Buick LaCrosse Hybrid in China, to be followed by the Cadillac CT6 PHEV later this year. The CT6… Read more »
Santa Monica startup Romeo Power plans to manufacture EV-specific battery packs that it says will outperform any systems on the EV market today. The recently-launched company has over 50 employees, and an executive team that includes some well-known EV pioneers. Co-Founder and CTO Porter Harris is a veteran of SpaceX and Faraday Future, and VP… Read more »
Specialty chemical firm Albemarle (NYSE: ALB) has signed an agreement to acquire the lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate conversion assets of Jiangxi Jiangli New Materials Science and Technology. The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of Q1 2017, includes manufacturing assets located in Jiangxi and Sichuan, China, focused on the production of… Read more »
As rechargeable batteries proliferate in everything from cars to smartphones, recycling is becoming a critical issue. Now a team of researchers at the University of South Florida has found a way to use naturally occurring fungi to extract cobalt and lithium from waste batteries. The scientists presented their work at a recent meeting of the… Read more »
Honda was an early electrification innovator, but the disappointing career of its Insight Hybrid apparently killed the company’s interest in electrons. However, there are signs of a turnaround – the hybrid version of Honda’s Odyssey minivan, launched in Japan in February, now accounts for 70% of Odyssey sales. Now Nikkei Asian Review reports that Honda… Read more »
There are several “luxury” EVs on the market or in the pipeline, but this concept car from Daimler takes automotive indulgence to a new level. The Vision Mercedes-Maybach 6 coupé, which was introduced at the recent Monterey Car Week, was designed as an EV, with styling that recalls the aero coupés of a bygone affluent… Read more »
GM seems determined to create confusion about the names of its plug-in models. The European cousin of the Chevy Bolt (not to be confused with the Volt), will be called the Opel Ampera-e (not to be confused with the Ampera, the European cousin of the Volt, which was discontinued in 2015). Be that as it… Read more »
German firm AKASOL will introduce a new modular lithium-ion battery system at the upcoming IAA Commercial Vehicle show in Hannover, Germany. The AKASystem OEM is designed for use in commercial vehicles such as buses, trucks, construction equipment and specialty vehicles. The base unit has a storage capacity of 24.4 kWh at a voltage level of… Read more »
