Search Results Found For: "Motiv"

New report: EV charger market to expand twelvefold by 2020

The global market for EV chargers is set to grow from about one million units in 2014 to more than 12.7 million units in 2020, according to a new EV Charging Infrastructure report by IHS Automotive. IHS expects public charging to be a small but important part of the picture. In 2020, approximately 10% of… Read more »

Daimler joins Tesla in the energy storage market

Another entrant has joined the suddenly trendy market for stationary energy storage. Daimler’s wholly-owned subsidiary Deutsche ACCUmotive has announced plans to sell energy storage systems to both residential and commercial customers. ACCUmotive’s lithium-ion battery modules have an energy capacity of 2.5 kWh for the residential model, and 5.9 kWh for the industrial version. Up to… Read more »

Guess which minivan maker may produce an all-wheel-drive plug-in?

Fiat Chrysler sometimes seems to be the most vocal holdout of the waning oil age. It’s about the only major automaker that offers no hybrid models, and CEO Sergio Marchionne is often depicted in the EV press as an anti-electric curmudgeon – he has stated that the company loses $10,000 on every unit of the Fiat… Read more »

Maryland allows Tesla to sell direct

One more state turned Tesla-colored this week, as Maryland governor Larry Hogan signed a bill that will allow Tesla to expand its direct sales model to the Ocean State. Unlike dealer groups in other battleground states, the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association actually supported the bill, probably because automakers covered by the new law are limited… Read more »

LG Chem Power CEO: We’re the Li-ion leader for PEVs because of material science

Q&A with LG Chem Power’s CEO: Dr. Prabhakar Patil on how the company became a Li-ion battery front-runner, the economics of building batteries, and why it spends little energy on what comes after lithium. Among Tier 1 automotive suppliers of lithium-ion cells, LG Chem is off to a clear lead, based on the number of announced… Read more »

New PlugShare Data tool offers comprehensive EV infrastructure analytics

In the past five years, the amount of public PEV charging infrastructure in the US has skyrocketed to over 25,000 charging stations. In June 2010, that number was fewer than 1,000. That’s when the PlugShare team first began mapping EV chargers, allowing its app users to share tips and tricks about their favorite places to… Read more »

Tesla acquires Michigan tool-and-die manufacturer

Tesla reached another corporate milestone this week, making its first acquisition, Michigan tool and die manufacturer Riviera Tool. The company will be renamed the Tesla Tool and Die Factory, and most of the 100 employees are expected to stay on, the Detroit News reported. “This acquisition enables Tesla to bring additional capabilities in-house, streamlining production… Read more »

EXCLUSIVE: Stealthy EV startup Atieva ramps up hiring, including many top ex-Tesla engineers

Last month at the SAE World Congress in Detroit, Charged came across a very interesting booth in the career development section. Atieva, a company we’ve heard little about, is hiring a lot of engineers for a new EV project. “Atieva is designing and creating a breakthrough electric car in the heart of Silicon Valley,” says the… Read more »

How close did Google come to buying Tesla? (UPDATED)

[Updated 5/10/15 to include Elon Musk’s comments on talks with Google. Originally posted 4/22/15.] Since shortly after Tesla began its automotive adventures, folks have been speculating that the company might be acquired by one of the cash-rich technology giants, but more industry-savvy observers have generally poo-poohed the idea. In a new biography of Elon Musk,… Read more »