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 »
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Panasonic shifts focus to automotive tech
The coming restructuring of the auto industry will yield winners and losers. New opportunities will open up for battery-makers and copper producers, but the hottest sector of all may be “auto tech,” which includes not only powertrain electronics such as motor controllers, inverters and chargers, but also self-driving hardware and software, and customer-facing components such… Read more »
GKN Driveline expands European production facility to meet growing demand
GKN Driveline has announced a major expansion of its European eDrive production facility in Bruneck, Italy, as the company moves to serve increasing demand for electric and hybrid vehicle programs from OEM clients. The company will increase its current 11,000-square-meter floor space by more than 60%, to create an 18,000 sq m facility dedicated predominantly… Read more »
Teardown of Chevy Bolt points to massive disruption ahead
It’s not unheard-of for financial analysts to tear down a vehicle to get an accurate estimate of what it costs to produce. Back in 2015, a consulting firm took apart and reverse-engineered a BMW i3. More recently, a team from UBS disassembled a Chevy Bolt and published a cost analysis of the new EV. However,… 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 »
Tesla founders Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning talk EVs
Here’s a treat for any EV fan: a long and meaty talk with Tesla founders Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning, delivered at Stanford last October. While there are several substantial talks with Tarpenning available on YouTube (he also graciously granted me a lengthy interview for my book about Tesla), Martin Eberhard has seldom sat down… Read more »
Peppy young filly meets old workhorse: Prius Prime vs 2006 Prius
The Toyota Prius is one of those cars that you see everywhere – it isn’t exactly an “old classic,” like an aging Corvette or Cadillac, but rather an “old faithful,” like a Honda Civic or a Volvo. Their owners don’t take them to classic car shows, but many of these workhorses have been on the… Read more »
GKN Driveline reveals fully integrated eDrive system in Shanghai
GKN Driveline has presented a concept for a fully integrated eDrive system at the 2017 Auto Shanghai motor show. China is a major focal point for today’s auto industry, and supplier GKN is no exception – the company forecasts that its Chinese joint venture will produce over a million eDrive units per year by 2025…. Read more »
Pricing and a video review for the Lucid Air
EV startup Lucid Motors unveiled its Lucid Air electric luxury sedan in December, leaving EV-watchers hungry for more details (Bloomberg recently checked out a couple of preliminary prototypes). Now Lucid has given us a much fuller picture of what the Air will look like when it hits the roads in 2019. The company’s promises of… Read more »
