Search Results Found For: "Tesla"

The US and EU take different approaches to the threat of Chinese EV imports

Governments in North America and Europe are seriously concerned about China’s growing dominance of the EV industry. Chinese automaker BYD recently surpassed Tesla as the world’s leading seller of EVs, and it’s only one of several Chinese-owned brands that are already selling cars in the US and the EU. However, the world’s #2 and #3… Read more »

New studies indicate that battery-electric aircraft with 800 km range could be practical

Several companies are working on battery-electric aircraft, but electric aviation is a tougher nut to crack than electric cars, for physical reasons. It simply takes a lot more energy to keep an aircraft aloft than it does to propel a vehicle along a road, and every additional pound of battery weight takes a steep toll… Read more »

The heavy-duty electric truck market could break out in 2024

Electrifying heavy-duty trucks is essential if we’re to fight climate change and air pollution, but the pace of the transition has been painfully slow—many, many pilots, but few truly large-scale orders. For example, shipping giant Schneider acquired 92 Freightliner eCascadias in 2023—a good start, but only that, considering that the company currently operates over 10,000… Read more »

Voltera offers a taxonomy of fleet EV charging infrastructure providers

As vehicle fleets electrify, they need help with their charging infrastructure, and an ecosystem of companies is developing to meet the demand. The range of offerings is complex and ever-changing—some companies offer one piece of the charging equation (hardware, installation, operations), while others offer turnkey packages that might include not only EVSE, software and services,… Read more »

GM’s rosy year-end figures obscure the fact that legacy automakers are in deep trouble

Duplicitous doublespeak has become de rigueur dialect in the auto industry. “We remain committed to an all-electric future,” says GM as it announces a rollback of its electrification plans. “We strongly believe in EVs,” say auto dealers as they support efforts to slow the EV transition. “The greatest responsibility for us as a company is… Read more »

Kia EV9 and Volvo EX30: Are they 2024’s most important EVs?

One’s a three-row midsize SUV under $60,000; the other’s a compact hatchback that starts in the mid-30s. Now we’ve driven both. Choosing “best of” or “most important” new cars is always dicey, and doubly so with electric vehicles. New entries are announced virtually every month, and picking the 2025 models that will be most important… Read more »

Another reason to buy electric trucks: driver recruitment and retention, because drivers love them

The trucking industry has a serious driver shortage, and operators are exploring all kinds of ways to improve driver recruitment and retention. Meanwhile, trucking industry trade groups are fighting tooth and nail against electrification. They might be surprised to learn that deploying EVs could be a major hiring advantage, because drivers love them. In a… Read more »

New report: automakers have secured less than a fifth of battery metals required for 2030 EV production

When it comes to electrifying by the magic date of 2030, automakers talk a great game—but if you want to know which companies are serious about electrification, look into which ones are lining up supplies of critical battery minerals. According to a recent report from Transport & Environment (T&E), automakers in the European market have… Read more »

Range Energy’s smart trailers boost electric truck range

Towing has always been a sore point with EVs—towing a trailer inevitably eats into range, and towing a massive semi-trailer requires a tractor with a massive battery pack. But what if the trailer itself could share the burden? That’s the idea behind Range Energy, which is developing a trailer that’s equipped with a battery pack,… Read more »

Does frequent DC fast charging shorten an EV battery’s life?

Too-frequent DC fast charging can theoretically damage an EV’s battery, causing it to lose capacity, and thus driving range, faster than would otherwise be the case. However, there’s little hard data on the long-term effects of frequent fast charging. Now battery data specialist Recurrent has made a substantial contribution to the literature on the subject…. Read more »