Power and sensor technology company onsemi (formerly ON Semiconductor) has announced that NIO selected its VE-Trac Direct SiC power modules for its next-generation EVs. The SiC VE-Trac Direct is a 900 V power module with integrated single-side direct cooling that incorporates onsemi’s second-generation SiC MOSFET technology. onsemi says “An integrated pin fin baseplate enables direct… Read more »
Chinese EV-maker NIO has begun deliveries of its ES8 electric SUV in Norway, and has opened a service and delivery center in Oslo. The ES8 comes in six- and seven-seat configurations. It boasts a 0-100 km/h time of 4.9 seconds and a peak (CCS) charging rate of 120 kW. There are two battery pack options:… Read more »
NIO has launched a new battery type. New NIO EVs will now be available with a choice of the 100 kWh long-range ternary lithium battery pack or the new 75 kWh standard-range hybrid-cell battery. Models equipped with the new pack will be delivered to customers starting in November. The 75 kWh standard-range battery features a… Read more »
Battery leasing has often been proposed as a way to bring down the up-front cost of an EV, and to allay consumers’ fears about battery degradation. Chinese EV-maker NIO has embraced this concept, and launched Battery as a Service (BaaS) for customers in China. NIO BaaS users can purchase a car without owning the battery,… Read more »
The transport treehouse podcast is a good place to hear some of the world’s top EV experts talk about trends in the industry. Hosts Chelsea Sexton and Russell Frost are two of the most experienced EV journalists out there, and they have an ongoing stream of guests who have expertise in various aspects of the… Read more »
Global interest in plug-in vehicles continues to grow, but Big Auto continues to take only timid and halting steps toward electrification. This presents opportunities for bold new competitors to establish footholds in the auto market of the future. A new report from Guidehouse Insights identifies some of the “leading EV upstarts.” Guidehouse notes that momentum… Read more »
Remember battery swapping? Following Tesla’s abandonment of the concept, and the spectacular rise and fall of Better Place, most in the EV industry probably wrote it off as a failed transitional technology. However, over in China, NIO has been diligently improving its battery swapping technology. The company introduced its Power Swap system in December 2017,… Read more »
Chinese EV maker NIO plans to reduce its workforce by at least 1,200 by the end of September, CEO Li Bin revealed in an internal e-mail (as reported by Gasgoo). Bin said NIO will retain roughly 7,500 staff after the cut. The layoffs are part of the company’s recent efforts to control cost, improve operation… Read more »
China has announced substantial cuts to existing subsidies for EV purchases. The subsidy for pure EVs with ranges of 400 kilometers (250 miles) and above will be halved, to 25,000 yuan ($3,700) per vehicle, the Chinese Ministry of Finance said (via Bloomberg). The minimum range to qualify for any subsidy will also be raised from… Read more »
China is by far the world’s largest EV market – nearly 373,000 plug-in passenger cars were sold there in the first half of this year (according to EV Volumes). It’s widely believed that Chinese automakers hope to ride the electrification wave to the top of the global industry, but so far the only Chinese company… Read more »