July plug-in sales were lower than in May or June, but 2014 is still on track to handily beat 2013’s figure. Sales of the industry-leading LEAF surged to 3,019 in July, the 17th consecutive monthly record, and just a little shy of May’s all-time monthly best. The 2015 LEAFs are now available for adoption –… Read more »
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Tesla quarterly report: progress on all fronts
Steady progress was the theme of Tesla’s second-quarter report, released after the bell on Thursday. Development of the Gigafactory is firmly on track – the company formalized a partnership agreement with Panasonic, and has broken ground at a site near Reno, Nevada. Although, the final location of the factory is still uncertain. “Consistent with our… Read more »
Q&A with Ian Wright: The CEO of Wrightspeed on Tesla, gas turbines and electric trucks
Ian Wright is originally from New Zealand. He came to California in 1993, where he happened to be a neighbor of Tesla founder Martin Eberhard. He worked with optical switching systems at a company called Altamar Networks until it went out of business, then decided he wanted to start his own company. Eberhard and his… Read more »
Daimler and BMW commit to common technology for wireless charging
Daimler and BMW have agreed to jointly develop and implement a common technology for wireless charging. The system consists of two components: a secondary coil integrated into the under tray of the car and a primary coil integrated into a floor plate that can be placed on a garage floor. Electrical energy is transmitted at… Read more »
June plug-in sales: Fusion Energi powers into second place
The US auto industry had another stellar month in June, as sales rose at the fastest pace since 2006. At 11,893 units, plug-in sales saw a slight drop compared to May (12,053), but a healthy increase over last June (8,292). The Nissan LEAF held onto its lead with monthly sales of 2,347 units, although that… Read more »
Daimler switching battery suppliers again?
Does Daimler have a coherent electric-vehicle strategy? Its battery supply chain is literally all over the map, and this week’s announcement that the company may close a German battery plant that it was boasting about a month ago has the EV press puzzled. The first generation of Daimler’s smart fortwo electric drive, which is selling… Read more »
Tesla and Daimler: Is the honeymoon over?
The partnership between Tesla and Daimler, which dates from 2008, has been advantageous for both companies, with the stodgy Germans enjoying a little of Tesla’s bad-boy chic, and the Silicon Valley upstarts benefiting from Daimler’s old-world respectability. However, it’s sounding as if Daimler has lost that lovin’ feeling. Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche told reporters at… Read more »
Daimler acquires two key German battery firms
Daimler has agreed to acquire Evonik’s shares of Li-Tec Battery GmbH and Deutsche ACCUmotive GmbH, making Daimler the sole owner of the two companies. In recent years, Daimler and Evonik have worked together to develop industrial series production of lithium-ion battery cells for EVs. The two companies produce the batteries used in the current model… Read more »
Pot Daimler calls kettle Tesla black re fast charging standards
It seems that not everyone is enchanted by Tesla’s plans to install 40 to 50 Supercharger stations in Germany by the end of 2014. Carmaker Daimler and parts supplier Robert Bosch recently criticized the American company for pursuing its own proprietary DC charging standard. “The future lies in standardization. As with gas stations, we need… Read more »
IHS Automotive: global plug-in production will increase 67 percent this year
According to IHS Automotive, EV sales are about to take off like a Model S on a freeway onramp. The research firm predicts that worldwide production of plug-ins will soar to more than 403,000 in 2014, a 67% increase. The Europe, Middle East and Africa region will account for the largest share of production at… Read more »