Tesla has officially discontinued its cheapest Model S variant, the 75 with rear-wheel drive. The Model S lineup now consists of just three models, all of them featuring dual-motor all-wheel-drive powertrains: the 75D, 100D, and P100D. Tesla hasn’t changed the pricing of the three trim levels, but the change means that the least expensive Model… Read more »
Electric bus builder Proterra and Korean battery giant LG Chem have partnered to develop a battery cell optimized for the heavy-duty vehicle market. The cell chemistry has been optimized for maximum energy throughput, charge rate acceptance and energy density. Proterra claims its Catalyst E2 bus, introduced last year, offers the longest range of any electric… Read more »
When British inventor Sir James Dyson’s eponymous company acquired Michigan solid-state battery pioneer Sakti3 in 2015, we suspected it wasn’t about better batteries for handheld vacuum cleaners. Now Dyson has announced that it has had 400 engineers working since 2015 on an EV that will be “radically different” from current models and go on sale… Read more »
Envoy Technologies has been awarded $1.5M in funding from the California Energy Commission to develop and implement an Electric Vehicle Shared Mobility Program that will primarily benefit disadvantaged communities in the greater Sacramento Metropolitan and the California Bay Area. Envoy provides shared mobility as an amenity where people live, work and stay. The company says its… Read more »
Mazda, Denso and Toyota have signed a contract to jointly develop basic structural technologies for EVs. The three companies have also decided to establish a new company consisting of selected engineers from each company to ensure the efficient implementation of the new projects. The companies say that the huge investments and time required to cover… Read more »
A recent ceremony in Turin, a city rich in automotive history, inaugurated the arrival of Italy’s first BYD electric buses. Three e-buses arrived in the historic Piazza Castello, to be met by the Mayor of Turin and other civic leaders. The three 12-meter e-buses are the first of 23 to be delivered by BYD to… Read more »
Renault has partnered with global infrastructure operator Ferrovial Services to create a car-sharing service in Madrid, called Zity. The new company will initially offer a fleet of 500 ZOE EVs located within the capital’s M-30 beltway, and in some adjoining areas. Ferrovial operates toll roads, airports and other municipal services in more than 20 countries…. Read more »
Ford’s new plug-in hybrid Transit Custom van made its debut at the recent Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle event in Millbrook, UK. Scheduled for volume production in 2019, the Transit Custom PHEV is expected to have a 31-mile electric range, and features Ford’s EcoBoost 1.0-liter gasoline engine as a range extender. The liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack… Read more »
Evum Motors, a spin-out from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), has a mission to promote electric mobility in the developing world. Evum’s concept vehicle, which the company developed in cooperation with local universities in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania, is a fully electric multi-purpose light truck designed to suit local needs. It features a… Read more »
A new study by researchers at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia has concluded that, even if a zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate drives significant ZEV adoption, there is no “free-riding” ZEV adoption in neighboring areas. Regions wanting to boost EV adoption will need to implement their own stringent policies. In “No free ride to zero-emissions:… Read more »
