The Regional Transit Service (RTS) of Rochester, New York has signed a contract to purchase ten 40-foot electric Xcelsior CHARGE transit buses from New Flyer of America. The agreement includes the option to purchase up to 20 more buses over the next five years. “As a long-standing partner to RTS, New Flyer looks forward to… Read more »
Sandy Munro, the auto manufacturing expert who delivered some detailed insights about Tesla’s manufacturing strengths and weaknesses after tearing down a Tesla Model 3, recently made some comments about the upcoming Cybertruck. Of course, Munro hasn’t gotten his hands on an actual Cybertruck (as far as we know, Jay Leno is the first non-employee to… Read more »
Tesla’s board of directors has approved an agreement with the state of Brandenburg to buy a property in an industrial area on the outskirts of Berlin, bringing the company a step closer to opening its European Gigafactory. According to a Brandenburg government spokesman, Tesla will buy the 300-hectare property for a price of around 41… Read more »
Sweden’s government has appointed a commission of inquiry to offer proposals on when and how sales of new fossil fuel cars, and fossil fuels themselves, should be phased out. The group is also tasked with developing a plan to bring about the same changes in the EU as a whole. The commission is to propose… Read more »
Automotive powerhouses Mercedes-Benz and Geely have formally established the global joint venture “smart Automobile Co., Ltd.” for the smart brand. Each company will contribute 2.7 billion RMB in capital. The new JV, headquartered in Hangzhou Bay, China, will design the new vehicles using the Mercedes-Benz Design network, while Geely Holding will be responsible for development… Read more »
Dominion Energy has selected Thomas Built Buses (TBB) as the provider of 50 electric school buses, which will make up the initial phase of Dominion’s electric school bus replacement program in Virginia. According to TBB, this program represents the largest deployment of electric school buses in the US to date. TBB’s Saf-T-Liner C2 Jouley is… Read more »
Volkswagen plans to acquire 20% of Chinese battery maker Guoxuan, Reuters reports, accelerating the German giant’s foray into China’s growing EV market. At current prices, the 20% stake would be worth about $560 million. Volkswagen is currently the top foreign automaker in China, and has set a goal of selling 1.5 million new energy vehicles… Read more »
Lexus is up to its old tricks again. The Toyota subsidiary has drawn ridicule from the EV industry in the past for running highly misleading ads touting the superiority of its hybrids over pure EVs – one trashed the BMW i3, and another inexplicably claimed that EV drivers needed to wait around for their vehicles… Read more »
Hyundai and Kia plan to invest €100 million ($111 million) in UK-based Arrival, and to work with the EV startup to develop new vehicles. Arrival has sold its electric delivery trucks, which are native EVs – not conversions of ICE vehicles – to the Royal Mail and UPS. “Arrival, Hyundai, and Kia will use Arrival’s… Read more »
Fiat Chrysler (FCA) recently joined forces with the Responsible Sourcing Blockchain Network in a move to improve its sustainability efforts. The automaker will begin using blockchain technology to help ensure sustainable sourcing and production practices through audits that map the mining history of its raw cobalt supply. The first of these blockchain-powered audits is set… Read more »