Bite Squad, the Minneapolis-based restaurant delivery service that now operates in 30 markets around the country, hopes to swap out its current fleet of several hundred Toyota Priuses for Tesla Model 3s. It plans to test a handful of 3s on the road in its home base of Minneapolis this fall. Company-owned vehicles account for… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "Toyota"
2017 plug-in sales up 26%, Tesla and Chevy on top
Plug-in sales have failed…to reach the milestone of 200,000 units. Total US sales for 2017 were 199,826 (according to InsideEVs), a 26% increase compared to 2016’s 158,614. Worldwide sales were well over a million. December saw the biggest US monthly sales in history, and was the 27th consecutive month that sales were greater than the… Read more »
Predicting the properties of lightweight carbon fiber composites
Carbon fiber-reinforced plastics represent a promising lightweight replacement for heavy steel. However, for carbon fiber to be widely adopted, new, more economical composites need to be developed. Unfortunately, carbon fiber properties are difficult to model, as they depend on complex features such as fiber loading, length distribution and orientation. Now researchers at the DOE’s Pacific… Read more »
User survey shows buyers misunderstand the used EV market
While new EVs remain on the pricey side for lower-income buyers, there are great values available on the used market. Sadly, few realize this, and myths and misinformation abound. A recent study from the buyer intelligence firm Autolist compared buyer perceptions of used EVs to market data, and found a major disconnect. Fact vs Fiction:… Read more »
Ford plans to launch 15 new electrified models in China
Global automakers are pushing their EV programs into high gear, announcing massive investments and lots of new electric models to be produced in the near future…in China. The Asian giant has the most aggressive electrification strategy of any major country -zero-emission vehicles must make up 10% of new car sales in 2019, and 12% in… Read more »
Making a motor: Many automakers rely heavily on third party motor-winding experts like Odawara Engineering
Electric motors are everywhere: in household appliances, in hand tools, in buildings, in consumer electronics, and increasingly in automobiles. Motors are used in windshield wipers, power windows, throttle controllers, and, more and more, in the drivetrains of electrified vehicles. Electric motors abound, and Odawara Engineering knows how to make them. Charged spoke with Odawara’s Chris… Read more »
Tesla Model 3: Will this machine kill the Oil Age?
It’s hard to overestimate the importance of the Tesla Model 3 (although the media has been doing its best). There’s no question that it’s a momentous motorcar on (at least) three levels. First, Model 3’s success is widely assumed to be an existential issue for the company – if it fails to deliver on its… Read more »
VGI: California’s cooperative effort to capitalize on EV-grid potential
Last September, Carla J. Peterman, a commissioner with the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC), outlined new requirements for California’s investor-owned utilities that would measurably advance commitments to transportation electrification (TE). One technical requirement singled out by Peterman was addressed in a document called “Enabling Vehicle-Grid Integration Through a Communications Standard,” which focused on the question… Read more »
Hyundai announces plans for 8 EVs and 3 fuel cell vehicles
Hyundai has announced that it will place EVs at the center of its product strategy. Its plans include 8 battery EVs and 3 fuel cell vehicles. The company is developing its first dedicated EV platform, which will allow it to produce multiple models with longer ranges. The South Korean automaker is planning to launch an… Read more »
Mazda exec reiterates lack of interest in EVs
Mazda is one of the few major automakers that currently makes no plug-in vehicles, although it has indicated that it would offer an EV in 2019 to meet ZEV regulations. A Mazda exec defended the company’s status-quo strategy at a recent Michigan trade group convention, saying that the “impending death of the internal combustion engine… Read more »