The legacy automakers are slowly and methodically developing new EVs, with various levels of enthusiasm, but the most ambitious plans for new vehicles are coming from a handful of EV startups. Most of these pioneers of the new auto industry share a formula: deep-pocketed investors (many from China), former Tesla employees on staff, and plans… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "Formula E"
Punch Powertrain acquires power electronics specialist Apojee
Belgium-based Punch Powertrain is acquiring France-based power electronics expert Apojee, which supplies inverters for Formula E, as well as components for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers in the German and French automotive industries. The Apojee acquisition adds a fourth European development center for Punch Powertrain, in addition to its existing facilities in Belgium, the Netherlands… Read more »
Williams Advanced Engineering and Airbus collaborate on high-altitude electric drone
Aircraft manufacturer Airbus and Williams Advanced Engineering have signed a memorandum of understanding to integrate ultra-lightweight materials, battery technologies and electrical cell chemistries into Airbus’s Zephyr High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) program. Zephyr is a solar-powered unmanned aerial system, or drone, that will fly at more than 65,000 feet – above commercial air traffic – for… Read more »
Switzerland’s first auto race in 60 years – and it’s electric
For over half a century, Switzerland has been a land with no auto racing. In 1955, the Swiss government banned racing after 80 people were killed at a disastrous crash at Le Mans in France. EVs to the rescue! The law was changed in 2015 to allow racing, but only if it is fully electric…. Read more »
Electric GT Championship brings a modified Model S to the racetrack
Fans of electric racing have long wished for a chance to see what Tesla’s Model S can do on the track. In a few short months, they will get that chance, when the Electric GT (EGT) Championship kicks off with a double-header at Circuit Paul Ricard in France on November 25-26. The inaugural season is… Read more »
LeEco pulls out, but Aston Martin will still produce electric RapidE
In February 2016, Aston Martin announced that it would work with Chinese tech company LeEco on the RapidE, an electric version of the Rapide four-door sports sedan. LeEco, facing a cash crunch, has pulled out of the project, but Aston Martin Chief Executive Andy Palmer told Reuters that his company will still produce the EV…. Read more »
Schaeffler acquires motor manufacturer Compact Dynamics
Automotive supplier Schaeffler has acquired 51% of the shares of electric motor manufacturer Compact Dynamics from SEMIKRON International. Schaeffler and SEMIKRON have also agreed to cooperate on the development of power electronics systems and the integration of power electronics components. Compact Dynamics, based in Starnberg, Germany, specializes in lightweight electric drive concepts in small volume… Read more »
NextEV testing electric supercar in Germany, autonomous vehicles in California
Startup automaker NextEV has Chinese financial backing, Tesla alumni on staff, a few years of experience on the Formula E racing circuit, and a 1 MW electric supercar in development. Electrek recently got a glimpse of the next EV going through its paces on the famous Nürburgring racetrack in Germany. The million-dollar supercar is expected… Read more »
Rimac Automobili invents the Croatian auto industry
Detroit is gradually losing its position as the epicenter of the auto industry. Nowadays, news of cutting-edge developments is more likely to come from Silicon Valley, Europe or China. The Eastern European nation of Croatia is pretty far from the centers of automotive power, but it’s here that a highly innovative firm called Rimac Automobili… Read more »
Beyond Tesla: NextEV aims to produce Automobile 3.0
Chinese-backed startup NextEV has produced a Formula E race car, and plans to reveal an electric supercar later this year. “When we launch the car it will not be a concept,” Co-president Martin Leach told the International Business Times. “It will be engineered and validated and you will see it driving at some point shortly… Read more »