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 »
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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 »
GKN Driveline’s eAxle enables plug-in powertrains for mass-market vehicles
GKN Driveline has developed an eAxle module designed to enable C-segment vehicles to offer buyers a plug-in hybrid option with both improved performance and reduced emissions. The new eAxle is an evolution of the system GKN designed for the Porsche 918 Spyder. The single-speed design minimizes weight to just 20.9 kg (46 lbs) while optimizing… 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 Model X: The all-electric crossover hits the road
Tesla was founded on a single profound insight: If you want to sell EVs, you have to sell them the way all other cars are sold – not on practicality, but on style and glamor. A related idea is summed up in Elon Musk’s oft-stated promise to build “not just the best electric cars, but… Read more »
Volkswagen Group to boost investments in EV tech by €100M
As the Volkswagen Group works to control the damage from its emissions cheating scam, it plans to cut planned investments in property, plant and equipment for next year by about €1 billion. One area, however, will see an increase. VW plans to boost spending on electrification technologies by €100 million, continuing its development of electric… Read more »
German carmakers to collaborate on development of DC fast charging up to 350 kW
If, as the media are firmly convinced, the German automakers’ EV strategies revolve around competing with Tesla, they will have to come up with an answer to the ascendant Supercharger network. The Europeans recently took a step in this direction with the formation of the Charging Interface Initiative (CharIN). Audi, BMW, Daimler, Opel, Porsche and… 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 »
Slow sales for Tesla in Germany. Are more EV incentives on the way? (UPDATED)
Last month’s Frankfurt auto show was positively crackling with EV news, as Audi, BMW and Porsche presented concept EVs, Mitsubishi showed its 2016 Outlander PHEV, and several suppliers touted tech advances. However, the comparatively low-key presence of electric trendsetter Tesla – which was showing red, white and blue Model S but no Model X –… Read more »
Jaguar Land Rover developing three electrification concepts
As Audi, Porsche and other luxury brands show their concepts for the electric future in Frankfurt, Jaguar Land Rover has released details of three R&D projects that explore three different levels of electrification. The Concept_e MHEV is a mild-hybrid system featuring an electric motor/generator that regenerates braking energy, stores it in a battery and uses… Read more »