The 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV will surely be remembered as a milestone model in automotive history – and hopefully for more than just the hype that heralded it. For several years, the punditocracy has been saying that the “killer app” that would bring electromobility to a “tipping point” and build that all-important “critical mass” would… Read more »
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GM sells Opel to PSA – What does this mean for the European Bolt?
GM has confirmed that it will sell its European Opel division to PSA Peugeot Citroën, for 2.2 billion euros ($2.33 billion). GM has controlled Opel for more than 90 years, but it has lost almost $20 billion over the past two decades. Currency fluctuations due to Brexit contributed to a $257 million loss in 2016,… Read more »
Navigant Research analyzes how transition to shared vehicles will effect energy markets
By Scott Shepard, Senior Research Analyst at Navigant Research’s Transportation Efficiencies program Smartphones have really changed the way things get done, and the continuous and sometimes overwhelming revolutions enabled by our hand-held devices are only just beginning. The transformations still to come include the basic process by which people and things are moved. The addition… Read more »
AKASOL says its battery modules ace long-term endurance tests
German battery builder AKASOL subjected the latest generation of its battery modules, AKAMODULE 46Ah and 53Ah, to an eight-month endurance test featuring a range of brutally extreme conditions. The test showed service life to even longer than expected. At 50 to 55 degrees, the battery components worked for 1.5 years in full cycles at a… Read more »
Hitachi and Honda establish joint venture for EV motors
Hitachi Automotive Systems and Honda have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish a joint venture, with a capitalization of around 5 billion yen ($45 million), to develop and manufacture EV motors. Hitachi first started selling motors for electrified vehicles in 1999, and has since delivered “a high volume” of these motors to vehicle manufacturers… Read more »
Strict US auto emission and efficiency standards are history (updated)
As expected, the USA’s Climate-Change-Denier-In-Chief will move towards rolling back federal regulations on vehicle emissions. The change, which could undo one of President Barack Obama’s most significant environmental legacies, does not require action by Congress. Reuters reports that an announcement is expected from the Trump administration as soon as Tuesday. The expected order will reopen… Read more »
UPS tests drone launched from EV for last-mile delivery
We may not have flying cars, but we could have flying packages very soon. In a recent test in a suburb of Tampa, UPS used a drone, launched from the top of an EV, to autonomously deliver a package and return to the vehicle, while the delivery driver continued along the route to make a… Read more »
Volvo to introduce 3-cylinder PHEV in 2018, BEVs in 2019
Volvo will introduce a new variant of its Twin Engine plug-in hybrid system in 2018, featuring front-wheel drive and a 3-cylinder engine. In 2019 it will launch its first production battery-electric vehicles and a new 48 V mild hybrid system. This news comes from Mats Anderson, Senior Director of Electric Propulsion Systems, who spoke to… Read more »
GM’s LA car-sharing fleet adds 100 Chevy Bolts, offers free charging
Maven, General Motors’ year-old car-sharing service, is adding over 100 Chevy Bolts to its fleet in Los Angeles. Maven also plans to offer the Bolt in San Diego and San Francisco in the near future. According to GM, Maven has been “doing gangbusters” in LA: since launching in October 2016, the service has seen average… Read more »
Japanese automakers doggedly forge ahead with fuel cells
The debate over fuel cells rages on. Many in the EV industry, most prominently Elon Musk, have explained at eloquent length why hydrogen fuel cells are inferior to batteries for automotive applications. Others however, especially in Japan, do not agree. The main proponent is Toyota, which has been selling the Mirai fuel cell vehicle since… Read more »