Drayage trucks, which move freight around inside and between port facilities, are a major source of air pollution, and an excellent candidate for electrification. The twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have been testing various electrified options for several years. Now the state of California has awarded $23.6 million to the South Coast… Read more »
Search Results Found For: "Volvo "
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 »
European electric bus manufacturers agree on open charging interface
As more European cities begin trials of battery-electric buses, a group of bus manufacturers and charging infrastructure providers has agreed to develop voluntary charging standards in advance of official regulations. The objective is to ensure reliability and compatibility across bus brands and charging systems. The European body CEN-CENELEC and the international standards organization ISO/IEC are… Read more »
2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron delivers performance and practicality
The selection of plug-in vehicles available to US buyers continues to grow steadily – it now stands at 27 models, with several more expected this year. The latest entrant to the market is the 2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron, the German luxury brand’s first plug-in model available in the US. Every time a new plug-in… Read more »
GKN’s new torque-vectoring axle combines an electric motor and dual-clutch system
Engineering firm GKN Automotive recently demonstrated a new torque-vectoring electric drive system to customers at its Wintertest proving ground in Arjeplog, Sweden. Torque-vectoring technology provides the ability to vary the torque to each wheel, generating a yaw moment in the car. By controlling the power to each wheel separately, a vehicle can respond to inputs with more stability, more… 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 »
Bob Lutz thinks Tesla’s in trouble
Since Tesla’s 2003 founding, there’s been a steady stream of articles explaining why it would soon go belly-up. The latest comes from a seemingly unlikely source: Bob Lutz, the “father of the Chevrolet Volt.” Back in the day, Lutz and Musk seemed like fellow travelers – the former GM exec said he would always be… Read more »
BMW CEO: New EV planned, but diesel still rules in Europe
Instant replay department: An auto exec makes a passing comment about future electrification plans; the pro-EV press hears what it wants to hear, and reports that the company is making a major new push to get charged. A couple of weeks ago, VW announced that it would continue several EV development programs – most of… Read more »
ABB introduces automated fast charging system for city buses
Battery-electric buses are operating on a trial basis in dozens of cities around the world, but some planners are still concerned about the constraints common to all pure EVs: short driving ranges and long charging times. Electronics giant ABB has introduced an automated fast charging system that aims to relegate these problems to the past…. Read more »
August plug-in sales slow as LEAF, Volt and Model S jockey for the lead
There’s little good news for EV-lovers this month. August US plug-in sales of 8,972 were essentially unchanged from July, and were even further behind August 2014’s figure of 12,172. There were no major position changes – most of the leading models posted minor declines or increases. The bright spots at the moment are outside the… Read more »