Search Results Found For: "Toyota"

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 »

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 »

Workhorse CEO on the company’s new plug-in hybrid pickup truck and its expansive plans for the future

We all acknowledge the absurdity of ignoring an elephant, when one is present in the very room in which important matters are being discussed, but what about a hulking, jacked-up, V8-powered monster truck? Tesla permanently changed the conversation about EVs when it electrified a sporty two-seater, a luxury sedan and a crossover SUV, but few… Read more »

New study: EVs are cleaner than ICEs everywhere in the US, and advantage is growing fast

It’s a fair question: What are the total global warming emissions of EVs, including power generation and manufacturing? Numerous studies have found that, thanks to their far superior efficiency, EVs in general produce less emissions than legacy vehicles, even if powered by coal-generated electricity. However, the mix of power sources varies widely among different parts… Read more »

Plug-in sales shatter records in May, Prius Prime takes the lead

As more and more automakers are accelerating their plans for an electric future, sales of existing EV models are also gathering momentum. Monthly US plug-in vehicle sales have now beaten previous-year figures for 20 consecutive months. The trend continued in May, as an estimated 16,568 plug-ins were sold, a gain of 44% over last May…. Read more »

Hyundai launches Ioniq with three distinct powertrain choices: EV, PHEV and hybrid

In the short history of the modern EV industry, it’s been common for automakers to launch plug-in cars under a new brand or model – particularly those companies who are serious about selling EVs at scale. Or, at least the ones that want to appear serious about selling a lot of EVs. Even though Hyundai… Read more »