The first Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive has rolled off the assembly line in Rastatt, Germany, and is scheduled to go on sale in the US this summer. With an MSRP expected to be in the low 40s, the electric Benz may prove a worthy competitor to the BMW i3, and could really shake up the… Read more »
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Daimler acquires two key German battery firms
Daimler has agreed to acquire Evonik’s shares of Li-Tec Battery GmbH and Deutsche ACCUmotive GmbH, making Daimler the sole owner of the two companies. In recent years, Daimler and Evonik have worked together to develop industrial series production of lithium-ion battery cells for EVs. The two companies produce the batteries used in the current model… Read more »
VW: e-Golf battery pack doesn’t need a liquid cooling system
Does an EV battery pack need a liquid cooling system? Automakers have different opinions. The Tesla Roadster and Model S have ‘em, the Nissan LEAF does not. Volkswagen initially designed its e-Golf with a liquid-cooled battery, but the production e-Golf, which is now on sale in Germany, and will arrive in selected US markets during… Read more »
Around the EV world in 1,000 blog posts
This is my 1,000th blog post for Charged and, since I don’t care for Champagne, I’ll celebrate the occasion by writing myself a little pat on the back and a fond recap. Since I began in October 2011, I’ve written a couple of these every day, and I’ve covered a huge variety of topics, including:… Read more »
Model S catches fire after collision
It was a horrible sight – a motionless Model S on a rain-slick Seattle road, its front half consumed in flames. No one was hurt, and the real flames were confined to a small section at the front of the vehicle. How far will the symbolic fire spread? It’s too early to say. If it… Read more »
Battery makers expect to cut prices in half by 2020
Executives at two leading battery makers said this week that the cost of lithium-ion batteries is steadily declining, and could well drop to half of today’s price by 2020. “We have an internal target to go down by at least a factor of two by 2020,” said LG Chem Power CEO Prabhakar Patil, at this… Read more »
BMW i3: The launch of many firsts
When you’re writing about the dawn of a new industry, “firsts” and “milestones” come along so often that they may start to lose their novelty. However, the BMW i3, which was officially “launched” in July, and is scheduled to go on sale next year, boasts an impressive number of innovations that has the EV press… Read more »
EV sales surge puts Panasonic battery division back in the black
Panasonic’s lithium-ion battery division is seeing a dramatic turnaround, mostly thanks to healthy sales of Tesla’s Model S, according to Lux Research. In the second quarter of 2013, the Li-ion division made about $40 million in profits, compared to a loss of $20 million in Q2 2012. Panasonic plans to invest $200 million over the… Read more »
Plug-in fleets: small challenges, huge savings
Four plug-in truck companies talk to fleet managers about electrification opportunities Plug-in vehicles are different. Aside from the obvious changes in technology, they present a different financial model for corporate number crunchers. This means some challenges for those pitching EVs and PHEVs to fleet operators. Fortunately for the EV industry and the fleets of the… Read more »
Nissan says Infiniti LE delayed, not dead
Andy Palmer, Nissan’s head of global planning, said this week that the Infiniti LE has been delayed to give the company more time to develop the vehicle’s battery and charging technology. EV watchers have been eagerly anticipating the LE since the concept was unveiled at the 2012 New York Auto Show. In June, however, Infiniti’s… Read more »