EV startup Faraday Future’s carmaking prowess has yet to be tested, but it has already revealed some impressive marketing talent. After milking several months of mystery, the company unveiled its FFZERO1 supercar concept at the recent CES in Las Vegas. The event was one of the hottest tickets at a show that has reinvented itself… Read more »
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Q&A with Tesla’s lead motor engineer (Full Interview)
The principal motor engineer at Tesla describes why modeling and optimization is so vital to its design process. Creating a start-of-the-art electric vehicle requires a deep understanding of all the components. More importantly, it requires a continual process of analysis and optimization of the components to push the limits of driving range, efficiency, performance and… 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 »
Can Tanktwo redefine the battery pack with big data?
A Finnish-American start-up with ambitious goals wants to change how we think about batteries. The concept of an EV that supports the quick removal and replacement of a discharged battery pack was all the rage about 5 years ago. Since then, however, various systems have been attempted and subsequently abandoned by companies like BetterPlace, Renault,… Read more »
BMW reportedly working on new i5 and i6 EVs
Industry observers already expect a new electric BMW, probably a small crossover EV called the i5, to appear sometime around late 2017. Now Automobile magazine has suggested that the 2018 model i5 will be followed by the i6, an electric sedan about the size of BMW’s best-selling 3 Series. Automobile says the i6 will be… Read more »
Ford reveals ambitious electrification plans
For the past several months, we EV newshounds have suspected that Ford had plans for a new generation of plug-ins up its sleeve. Now the #2 US automaker is beginning to reveal its answer to electric rivals GM, Nissan, VW et al. Ford announced plans to invest a record $4.5 billion in electric tech over… Read more »
Fraunhofer’s modular battery makes it easy to isolate defective cells
Researchers at Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute have developed a modular battery system that could offer lower cost and improved range by making it easier to replace defective cells. In theory, all the individual cells of a battery can store the same amount of energy. In practice however, their capacities vary, and because the cells are connected… Read more »
New Union of Concerned Scientists report: EV life-cycle emissions are half that of an average gas car
Diehard fossil-fuel fans are fond of speculating that EVs may be no cleaner than legacy ICE vehicles, once the emissions resulting from power generation and manufacturing are taken into account. In fact, study after study, including reports from the Union of Concerned Scientists (2012), the University of Minnesota, and Carnegie Mellon University, has shown that,… Read more »
Bombardier battery-powered tram makes record test run
Bombardier Transportation has successfully completed a 26-mile catenary-free test run in the German city of Mannheim using a tram, powered by Bombardier’s PRIMOVE battery and MITRAC (Modular Integrated TRACtion) system. The PRIMOVE system features batteries provided by the German firm AKASOL, and use nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) Li-ion cells. A thermal conditioning unit maintains the… Read more »
Is Nissan teasing details of 2nd generation LEAF?
Nissan recently invited a small group of journalists to its Advanced Technology Center in Atsugi, near Tokyo, ostensibly to show them the IDS concept vehicle now on display at the Tokyo Motor Show. However, Bertel Schmitt, an old Japan hand, soon surmised that the reporters were looking at “the future Nissan LEAF in drag,” and… Read more »