Commercial EV builder Smith Electric Vehicles has secured a $42 million investment commitment from Sinopoly Battery Limited, a multinational producer of lithium-ion batteries and related EV products. The first $2 million has been delivered, and the remainder will be invested in two tranches pending milestones to be achieved in the coming months. Sinopoly will become… Read more »
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Smith Electric Vehicles suspends production
Smith Electric Vehicles, a builder of electric medium-duty trucks that was featured in our January 2013 issue, has suspended production, but CEO Bryan Hansel is adamant that the company is not closing its doors for good. Hansel said that Smith decided on the temporary stoppage because the business is building vehicles at a loss and… Read more »
Tom Gage on ZEV mandates, Tesla’s early days, BMW’s EV commitment and V2G tech
Q&A with the EV trailblazer Tom Gage Tom Gage is one of America’s true EV pioneers. He’s perhaps best known as one of the designers of the tzero electric sports car that provided the inspiration for the Tesla Roadster. However, that is far from his only contribution to the electric mobility field. Charged recently caught up… Read more »
Mitsubishi shows two plug-in concepts in Geneva
Mitsubishi wasn’t looking quite as charged at this year’s Geneva Auto Salon. Last year, almost its entire display was devoted to plug-in technology, but this time around, the Outlander PHEV and i-MiEV had to share the stage with a wide assortment of legacy ICE models. However, the company did present two plug-in concepts (both of… Read more »
Mitsubishi makes minuscule motor with integrated inverter
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has developed a prototype EV motor drive system with a built-in silicon-carbide inverter that it claims is the smallest of its kind. As EVs require large spaces to accommodate their battery systems, Mitsubishi sees a strong need to reduce the size and weight of motor systems to leave a decent amount of… Read more »
Bosch, GS Yuasa and Mitsubishi: We intend to double Li-ion battery capacity
Three automotive giants have unfurled their banners in the crusade to build a better battery. Robert Bosch, GS Yuasa and Mitsubishi have set up a joint venture, called Lithium Energy and Power, to develop next-generation lithium-ion battery technology with an ambitious goal of doubling energy capacity. The intrepid partners announced no target date for reaching… Read more »
Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV selling smartly in Europe
Mitsubishi seems to be in no hurry to bring its Outlander PHEV to the US, but the new plug-in SUV has gotten off to a splendid start in Europe. MMC launched the new model in the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland last October, and has already booked over 12,000 orders. It had delivered over 8,000 units by… Read more »
VIA Motors receives $80-million commitment for transcontinental electrification project
VIA Motors has received an $80-million purchase agreement to electrify hotels and other businesses as part of a transcontinental electrification project. The privately-funded project, Sun Country Highway, has placed over 1,000 charging stations across Canada to allow EV owners to travel coast-to-coast with free charging. In the next phase, it will provide charging for the… Read more »
Polypore and Sumitomo sign license agreement for battery separator coating
Polypore International and Sumitomo Chemical have entered into a Settlement and License Agreement which ends outstanding litigation between the two companies. Last February, Charlotte-based Polypore’s Celgard unit filed a patent-infringement suit against Sumitomo over Celgard’s lithium-ion battery separators, which are designed to prevent short circuits and limit safety problems from overheating. Under the new License… Read more »
Mitsubishi delays US launch of Outlander PHEV
US drivers will have to wait until 2015 to test-drive Mitsubishi’s Outlander plug-in hybrid, thanks to bottlenecks in battery production. The promising plug-in SUV went on sale in Japan last January, and has sold 8,100 units there, and 3,200 in Europe. The legacy gas version arrived in the US in July. Mitsubishi President Osamu Masuko… Read more »