Has Toyota decided that plug-in vehicles have a future after all? Or is the company just taking advantage of Chinese policies that incentivize people to buy PHEVs, even if they never plan to plug them in? Whatever its motivation may be, Toyota has announced that it will launch plug-in hybrid versions of the Corolla and… Read more »
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A closer look at wire bonding
Wire bonding technology – widely utilized in the microelectronics and power electronics industries since the 1970s – is finding its way into interesting new applications in the growing EV industry – in particular, battery connections. We’re quite certain that a few EVs are using wire-bonding technology for production battery pack connections, but Charged was unable… Read more »
SK Innovation considers China EV battery factory
SK Innovation, South Korea’s largest oil refiner and chemical supplier, says it is having talks with several companies about jointly establishing an EV battery factory in China. “An investment announcement will likely be made in the near future,” said Chief Executive Chung Chul-khil, adding that the joint venture in China may be with a battery… Read more »
BMW’s X5 xDrive40e spearheads its plan to offer PHEVs in every market segment
BMW has taken a bold approach to electrification. It began test-marketing EVs in 2012 with the Active E and Mini E, and escalated to full-scale production in 2013 with the i3 EV and i8 plug-in super-sports car, which together passed the milestone of 50,000 worldwide sales in January. BMW deserves a lot of credit for… Read more »
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 »
Ford has no plans for a 200-mile EV
At a Ford conference about a year ago, Charged asked CEO Mark Fields (and every other exec we could buttonhole) if the company had any plans for an answer to the 200-mile Bolt that GM had just announced. His coy answer of “nothing we can talk about” led willing minds to believe that there was… Read more »
Electric torque vectoring: A motor for each wheel or a single-motor-clutch system?
In February, engineering firm GKN Automotive announced a new torque-vectoring option for electric drive called eTwinster. Torque vectoring technology is generally defined as a vehicle’s ability to vary the power to each wheel. To quickly control the torque applied to the wheels independent of one another – increasing stability, responsiveness and agility – GKN’s new… Read more »
Tesla’s Gigafactory features renewable energy, recycling, robots…and horses
As Tesla develops the mass-market Model 3, it is simultaneously working on the Nevada Gigafactory that will produce the boatloads of batteries required. When the futuristic factory is finished in 2020, it is expected to produce more lithium-ion batteries than all the world’s other battery factories combined. When completed the 13-million-square-foot facility will have the… Read more »
Delphi’s new 48 V mild hybrid system could see production in 18 months
Delphi Automotive (NYSE: DLPH) has unveiled a new 48-volt mild hybrid vehicle solution. The company says it is working with two global automakers on the system, and it could go into production within 18 months. Delphi’s mild hybrid technology, which it showcased in a Honda Civic diesel, uses electrification to minimize the demand on the… Read more »
Will Tesla’s Model 3 finally inspire major automakers to get charged?
Tesla’s mission has always been to get more people driving EVs, even if it’s not the one selling them. Elon Musk has said many times that he welcomes competition from the major automakers. Musk and his crusading carmakers have had some success in this regard. Former GM exec Bob Lutz has acknowledged that Tesla was… Read more »
