Members of the press took BMW’s X5 eDrive PHEV for a test drive at an event in Germany this week. BMW also presented several elements of its EfficientDynamics strategy, which depends on a combination of ever-more-efficient gasoline and diesel engines with eDrive electrified drive technology developed by the BMW i sub-brand. BMW plans to develop… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "VIA Motors"
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 »
UQM Technologies secures $5.3 million in additional financing
Colorado-based UQM Technologies, a manufacturer of electric motors, generators and power electronic controllers, has closed on a $5.3-million offering of stock and warrants to institutional investors. The company plans to use the new funds for potential joint ventures, capacity expansion in new regions, and working capital for new business opportunities that are currently being pursued…. Read more »
Fuel cells vs batteries for vehicle powertrains
Jeffrey Wishart, a Senior Project Engineer at Intertek, conducts research and development on products and services in the areas of energy, the environment, and advanced transportation. In addition to his supervisory position at Intertek, Dr. Wishart worked for several years at ETEC LABS (the research and consulting division of ECOtality) and at a utility company… Read more »
Navigant names 10 trends in the EV market for 2014
A new white paper from Navigant Research forecasts global EV sales of over 346,000 units in 2014. Navigant sees expansion at the higher end of the market, as Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Mercedes, Saab, and Volvo introduce new plug-in models; and in the middle, with new offerings from Kia, Mahindra, Skoda, and Volkswagen. “Electric Vehicles: 10… Read more »
Model S owners report air suspension altered to increase clearance at highway speed
Could Tesla improve the Model S’s resistance to highway fires just by issuing a remote software update? This week, Model S owners were notified to update their software from version 5.6 to version 5.8. Some are reporting that, after the update, the Active Air Suspension no longer goes to the lowest setting at highway speeds…. Read more »
Altran and Quimera collaborate to advance electric motor sport
Engineering consulting group Altran and the Quimera Project have signed a new agreement to invest in the continued development and construction of electric racing vehicles. Quimera Responsible Racing (QRR) is a global R&D endeavor that focuses on motor sport’s role as a test bed for the automotive sector. As part of the new agreement, Altran… Read more »
oneDRIVE of a kind: KLD Energy’s new propulsion system
In August 2013, KLD Energy announced that it has received official UN and IEC certification for the battery pack solution of its proprietary electric drive system. The announcement marked the end of a five-year development effort and the beginning of high-volume production for the company’s ultra-efficient turnkey oneDRIVE propulsion system. There are hundreds of different… Read more »
Web of Power: Spider9’s Operating System for Energy
Spider9 weaves a matrix for stationary energy storage and shows that when it comes to fitting battery technology into electric vehicles, it’s not all for one and one for all. Many real-world technologists and engineers take inspiration from the worlds of science fiction, where recurring themes of systems theory take shape in the Grid of… Read more »
Tesla leads in sales of California ZEV credits
To no one’s surprise, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) has announced that Tesla has sold by far the largest number of zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) credits of any automaker for the last 12 months. The California ZEV Regulation requires vehicle manufacturers to produce low-emission vehicles, including a certain number of ZEVs (battery electric or fuel… Read more »