Everyone who watches the sketch comedy show Portlandia knows that the dream of the 90s is alive in Portland. Our dream of the 90s was vehicle electrification, and we hoped the GM EV-1 would kick-start the trend more than a decade before the Tesla Roadster actually did it. Well, the vehicle electrification dream is alive… Read more »
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February plug-in sales: Tesla and Chevy battle for the lead, Ford grabs third by a nose
US plug-in sales are on the rise again – February’s figure of 7,881 was the fourth consecutive monthly record, and an increase of 13% over last February’s 6,951. The Tesla Model S regained the lead that it briefly lost to the Volt in January – estimated sales were 1,550 units in the US (via InsideEVs). The… Read more »
Volvo reveals new plug-in V90 wagon
Despite the ascendance of the SUV, the station wagon (or “estate car,” to our British friends) is alive and well, at least in Europe. Now Volvo has unveiled a plug-in version of its V90 wagon. “We have a very strong position in the estate [station wagon] segment,” said Håkan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars. “In… Read more »
SK Innovation to supply Li-ion battery cells for Mercedes EVs
Korea-based SK Innovation has been selected as a Lithium-ion battery cell supplier for Mercedes-Benz EV projects. SK Innovation released no details of the arrangement, saying only that its battery cells “will be deployed in multiple electric vehicle models in diverse segments.” SK Innovation says it has recently doubled capacity at its plant in Seosan, Korea,… Read more »
Chevrolet Bolt EV to be sold in Europe as Opel Ampera-E
For reasons best known to themselves, automakers routinely sell the same or similar cars under different names (badges) in different markets. This was the case with the first-generation Chevrolet Volt – a cosmetically different version was sold in Continental Europe as the Opel Ampera, in the UK as the Vauxhall Ampera, and as the Holden… Read more »
Sensata Technologies introduces micro-fused strain gage for hybrid and EV brake systems
Sensata Technologies, a manufacturer of sensing, electrical protection and power management solutions, is now offering a line of smaller, lighter Micro-fused Strain Gage (MSG) pressure sensors for use in hybrid and EV brake systems. “To ensure traditional braking feel in hybrid and electric vehicles, brake systems require additional pressure sensors,” said Jeff Silveria, Sensata’s Performance… Read more »
Advancing BMS: Linear Technology launches its fourth-generation battery stack monitor
Engineers use battery management systems (BMS) to prevent problems that occur in Li-ion batteries when they are over-charged or over-discharged, including premature capacity loss and thermal events. A BMS ensures precise control and keeps the individual cells balanced, which is critical to extracting the most useful energy from a pack. Fortunately for EV systems designers,… Read more »
Gigavac launches new PCB-mounted contactors
It’s a common theme across the EV industry: Today many OEMs are designing their second- and third-generation EV platforms, and there is a strong push to increase packaging efficiency across the board, driving out every possible bit of cost. In the past few months, we’ve written about GM’s decision to attach the power electronics directly… Read more »
EV Fleet CEO on building a highway-capable light-duty all-electric truck
There are a lot of great opportunities for companies building EVs for niche markets, but getting an independent automotive startup off the ground is anything but easy. EVs can be very practical from a financial point of view. So it’s a bit of a shame that for the world’s most practical vehicle buyer – the… Read more »
Self-heating lithium-ion battery aims to conquer winter range anxiety
One of the drawbacks of lithium-ion batteries is that they tend to suffer power loss in cold weather. At temperatures below freezing, charging is slower, regenerative braking is restricted and vehicle range can be reduced. Now researchers from Penn State and spin-off company EC Power have developed a battery that avoids these problems by self-heating… Read more »