Electric buses are on a roll worldwide, thanks to their compelling economic and environmental benefits. South America, which is rapidly urbanizing, heavily dependent on bus transit and plagued by air pollution, is emerging as a major market for e-buses. According to Intelligent Transport, South American bus networks transport nearly 13 times more passengers than European… Read more »
The good news: global automakers are getting more serious about electrification, announcing numerous new models and planning massive investments. The bad news: the trend is increasingly bypassing the North American market, as many of the new EVs, including models from US automakers, are to be sold only in China or Europe. Honda recently underlined this… Read more »
It’s rare for any current Tesla exec whose name isn’t Musk to speak to the press, so Ryan McCaffrey pulled off a coup when he scored an interview with Tesla Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen for his Ride the Lightning podcast. Holzhausen, the designer of Models S, X, 3, Y and the Tesla Semi, discusses… Read more »
The War on Fuel Economy Standards took another twist, as the Trump administration backed down from its plan to freeze fuel economy standards. “People familiar with the process” told the Wall Street Journal that the administration is now considering calling for a 1.5% annual increase in corporate average fuel efficiency. This target would be a… Read more »
Australian startup Zero Automotive has launched an electric pickup truck for commercial use, based on the Landcruiser 79 series. “It’s available in 20 to 120 kWh battery packs, with modular battery packs and a 700 Nm electric motor,” said Zero Automotive co-founder Tim Possingham. “That has more torque than the factory turbo-diesel V8 that’s normally… Read more »
GM, Toyota and Fiat Chrysler have announced that they will side with the Trump administration in its war with California over fuel economy standards, in direct opposition to competitors Ford, Honda, Volkswagen and BMW, which struck a compromise with the California Air Resources Board in July. CARB’s deal with the four automakers calls for fleet… Read more »
Buick has launched its latest EV, the Velite 6 Plus MAV (multi-activity vehicle) in China. The Velite 6 Plus MAV offers a range of 255 miles, improving on the Velite 6’s range of 187 miles. Buick has increased battery capacity to 52.5 kWh and its energy density to 140 wh/kg. The new EV offers 110… Read more »
Tesla’s earnings announcements often feature big surprises, but this one was a bolt of lightning. The California carmaker earned $1.86 a share in the third quarter, far exceeding even the most optimistic projections (according to Bloomberg, the smart money was expecting a 24-cent loss). Revenue actually came in just short of expectations, at 6.3 billion… Read more »
Why the big surprise, folks? Robert Bollinger warned us. When Charged interviewed the founder of Bollinger Motors for a feature in our May/June 2018 issue, we asked him if he was designing to a price point. “We’re doing it the opposite way,” he replied. “What would be the coolest truck? What are all the things… Read more »
In July, when Mini revealed specs for its new electric Mini Cooper SE, some hailed it as the savior of parent BMW, which has been losing market share to rivals such as Daimler (and Tesla) while sales of electrified BMWs and Minis has grown. Others in the EV press were skeptical of the new EV’s… Read more »