European electronics giant ABB has increased its majority stake in Chinese charging provider Chargedot from 67 percent to 80 percent. ABB is now one of two shareholders in Chargedot, alongside a subsidiary of China’s largest vehicle manufacturer, SAIC, which retains a 20 percent stake. Both companies have benefited from their partnership. Chargedot has implemented ABB’s… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "Toyota"
Panasonic to start producing 4680 battery cells for Tesla in 2023
Tesla’s new 4680 cell features a new chemistry that promises to boost efficiency and reduce costs. Now Panasonic says it is investing heavily in the development of the new cell, and plans to start mass production as early as 2023. The new cell is about twice the size of Tesla’s current 2170 cell, but has… Read more »
Tesla’s Fremont factory named the most productive auto plant in North America
Tesla has racked up an impressive collection of superlatives: largest global automaker by market cap; best-selling vehicle in several countries (Switzerland is the latest); and most compelling brand since the Grateful Dead. Now the company has added another feather to its corporate cap: Tesla’s Fremont factory has been named the most productive auto plant in… Read more »
Former EPA exec Margo Oge explains the new federal emissions rules
The Biden administration has announced three major pro-EV initiatives in recent months—a revamping of the federal tax credits, an infrastructure funding package, and new EPA emissions standards. However, government programs are always complex, and they tend to undergo major revisions between the proposal and policy stages. To help us sort out how the new policies… Read more »
GM confirms California’s authority to set emissions standards, officially ending boycott
GM has agreed to recognize California’s authority to set vehicle emissions standards under the Clean Air Act. Well, isn’t that magnanimous of the company, to allow the state government to pass its own laws? For those of you who’ve just joined us: In 2017, major automakers asked the incoming US president to water down federal… Read more »
2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5: Strong new electric SUV competitor
Hyundai’s new compact EV crossover is good enough to sell every unit the company imports—the question may be how high that number will be. The 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 is the Korean brand’s first dedicated electric vehicle, positioned at the heart of the fastest-growing part of the market: compact crossover utilities. The premium electric SUV… Read more »
2022 Rivian R1T: A real pickup truck makes an impressive debut
Could Rivian emerge as “the next Tesla?” On the strength of its debut truck, that’s not an unreasonable question. If you want to attract attention, keeping a company in stealth mode for several years is a good way to do it. The startup carmaker Rivian was founded a decade ago by RJ Scaringe, but it… Read more »
Carbon Counter charts emissions and price of all US auto models
How green is an EV? A PHEV? A hybrid? Most Charged readers understand that the answer depends on many factors, including the efficiency of a particular model, the region in which it operates, and the type of driving it’s used for. The clever folks at MIT have devised the ingenious Carbon Counter, an online tool… Read more »
Book review—Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk, and the Bet of the Century
Considering the massive media coverage of Tesla over the last decade, it may seem surprising that there aren’t more books about the company. When I first released my history of Tesla in 2014, I expected to have a short window of exclusivity before a “real” book—one with a hard cover and celebrity blurbs on the… Read more »
Tesla lobbies to increase penalties for automakers who don’t meet fuel economy standards
In the arcane world of federal fuel economy standards, automakers that fail to comply with the US Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) requirements can buy emissions credits from an automaker that has excess credits to sell. This has turned into a lucrative side business for Tesla, the only company that has sold substantial amounts of… Read more »