BMW has taken a bold approach to electrification. It began test-marketing EVs in 2012 with the Active E and Mini E, and escalated to full-scale production in 2013 with the i3 EV and i8 plug-in super-sports car, which together passed the milestone of 50,000 worldwide sales in January. BMW deserves a lot of credit for… Read more »
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Electric torque vectoring: Q&A with GKN’s Advanced Engineering Director (Full Interview)
Torque vectoring technology is generally defined as a vehicle’s ability to vary the power to each wheel. Quickly controlling the torque applied to the wheels independently of one another allows the driving characteristics of a vehicle to be improved in significant ways – more stability, more responsiveness and more agility. A conventional differential distributes the… Read more »
More details about the Tesla Model 3
Last week’s historic unveiling of Tesla’s Model 3 left auto lovers with a host of questions. Since then, some answers have been trickling out, mostly from the thumbs of Elon Musk, who’s been tweeting like a tree full of birds over the past few days. Musk hopes to log 500,000 reservations before the “Part 2… Read more »
Researchers use superionic conductors as electrolytes for solid-state batteries
Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, in collaboration with Toyota and two other research institutions, have designed and tested solid-state batteries using a novel type of solid electrolyte. In “High-power all-solid-state batteries using sulfide superionic conductors,” published in Nature Energy, Yuki Kato and team members explain the advantages of superionic materials as solid electrolytes…. Read more »
EV Fleet CEO on building a highway-capable light-duty all-electric truck
There are a lot of great opportunities for companies building EVs for niche markets, but getting an independent automotive startup off the ground is anything but easy. EVs can be very practical from a financial point of view. So it’s a bit of a shame that for the world’s most practical vehicle buyer – the… Read more »
Chevy designed the Bolt with performance in mind (not just range and price)
In the eyes of the EV media at least, the Chevrolet Bolt EV, scheduled to go on sale later this year, is a historic vehicle. It’s the first to deliver the range and price point that pundits have been saying represent a “tipping point” for EV sales. However, GM designed the Bolt with more than… Read more »
Honda and GM to collaborate on PHEVs
The Yomiuri Shimbun reports that Honda and General Motors, which are jointly developing fuel cell vehicles, aim to expand their cooperation to include plug-in hybrids. The two automakers may consider jointly manufacturing PHEVs and FCVs, and also plan to work together to develop autonomous driving technology. According to the YS, Honda aims to benefit from… Read more »
Hyundai releases some details of upcoming Ioniq hybrid
Hyundai has a phased plan for the electrified future. Its Sonata PHEV is now on the road (and on the cover of the current issue of Charged). The Korean automaker is now turning up the voltage another notch with the Ioniq, a five-door hatchback that will be offered in hybrid, PHEV and EV models. Hyundai… Read more »
EV marketing efforts continue to miss the mark, determining the reasons why is complicated
Most of us in the EV industry are probably tired of the mainstream media’s constant stream of “EVs aren’t selling” articles, which began around the time the Volt made its debut, and will probably continue until the day the last ICE vehicle rolls off the line. Well, for the near future, it’s only going to… Read more »
Tesla leads the pack as overall 2015 plug-in sales fall short
2015 was a year of retrenching and preparation for the future in the EV industry. US sales for the year were around 116,000, falling short of 2014’s figure of 123,000. The Tesla Model S grabbed and held the lead position, handily outselling all other plug-ins in the US with 25,700 deliveries. However, the big news… Read more »