Author: Linda Ma

Mercedes-Benz hopes to have a factory producing exclusive electric vehicles (EVs) in the second half of the decade. But as long as they build an EV factory only, the German automaker wants to maintain a flexible production line according to market demand. The German automaker expects some of its in-plant production lines to switch entirely to electric sooner. “Building a new battery-electric vehicle factory takes time. We have taken another approach,” Mercedes Production Head Joerg Burzer said in an interview with Reuters. See also: Mercedes EQA 250 Price and Specifications [Infographic] “We’re definitely going to have some lines producing only…

Porsche has acquired a stake in Fazua, an innovative manufacturer of electric bicycle propulsion systems or eBike, and partnered with Ponooc Investment BV. This Porsche action signifies the seriousness of this German sports car manufacturer to produce two-wheeled electric vehicles. Ponooc is part of Pon Holdings BV a trading and service company with approximately 16,000 employees worldwide, which is also active in the bicycle industry and the automotive business, among others. Meanwhile, Fazua is known as a pioneer in the development of compact and lightweight drive technology. With this acquisition, Porsche is predicted to produce light electric bicycles. There are…

Toyota has reportedly filed eight new patents in the United States. The material is an electric vehicle of the future with a manual transmission. The news that was first revealed by Forum BZ shows several new technologies proposed by Toyota, including simulation of the clutch pedal, shifting gears, and methods of stopping the flow of torque like a car with a combustion engine. “This electric vehicle includes a gear lever and a clutch pedal for the realization of the vehicle’s manual gearshift. The shift lever is operated by the driver to select a virtual gearshift mode,” states one of the…

China-based electric vehicle maker Xpeng Motors is reported to be the first Chinese electric vehicle (EV) company to enter the Swedish market. This marks the company’s second European market after entering Norway, Gizmochina quoted on Sunday as saying. The smart car maker is currently setting up its first store in Sweden, and images of the store have leaked on Reddit. For location, the experience center is at Westfield Mall of Scandinavia. See also: Chinese Electric Vehicle Manufacturer Xpeng Expands Market in Europe The development is in line with the company’s plan to operate overseas. A few weeks ago, Xpeng Motors…

Nissan Motor will end development of new cars using internal combustion engines in all of its major markets except the US and focus its resources on electric vehicles. The decision makes Nissan the first major Japanese automaker to make such a breakthrough, according to a Nikkei study. Nissan is said to have stopped developing gasoline engines for sale in Europe. Then limited development will continue on US market gasoline engines, particularly those used in pickup trucks. See also: What we know so far about Alfa Romeo Tonale The move, reports News On Japan, comes as policymakers around the world are…

Stellantis launched the new Alfa Romeo Tonale SUV with the aim of expanding the premium market and adding electric vehicles. The new model, named after the Alpine track in northern Italy, will compete in a segment filled with some of Europe’s most popular premium cars such as the BMW iX1, Mercedes GLA (EQA) and Audi Q3. The world’s fourth-largest automaker plans to spend more than 30 billion euros (34.2 billion US dollars) through 2025 electrifying its lineup of vehicles and upgrading software content to catch up with competitors, including Tesla. See also: Italia Tests Inductive Charging Highway Project for Electric…

The 2023 Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric vehicles will get a bigger battery pack. Europe is the first market to get the new Ioniq 5 battery pack. According Carscoops,  the new 77.4 kWh battery pack is expected to provide a longer cruising range. However, Hyundai is said to still be marketing a 58 kWh battery pack. There is no detailed information about the total cruising range of the latest Ioniq 5 battery pack, but it is estimated that it is around 488 kilometers on a single charge. See also: Hyundai cooperating with IonQ to produce EV batteries using quantum computing In…

The French manufacturer, DS Automobiles has just announced its newest vehicle concept taken from Formula E technology. Almost all the best parts will be applied to the car, from the body, the engine to the supporting features in it. Citroen which is the parent company of DS Automobiles stated that the new vehicle will be named E-Tense Performance. The DS prototype uses a carbon monocoque structure paired with the DS Techeetah engine that competes in Formula E. The pair of electric motors produces a combined power of 600 kW divided by 250 kW at the front and 350 kW at…

German automotive manufacturer, Electric Brands launched the latest prototype of their tiny electric pickup truck called the XBus which will hit the market in 2022. Designed with a modular body with dimensions of 3,640 mm in length, 1,600 mm in width and 1,940 mm in height, this light commercial vehicle is classified as an L7e-B2 class four-wheel bicycle. Quoting carscoops, Thursday (10/2/2022), the best feature of the XBus is the 10 modular and interchangeable bodies that turn it into a passenger van, panel van, box van, pickup, pickup wagon, convertible, to camper van. See also: Volta Trucks ready to help…

Volkswagen will be able to produce 1 million electric vehicles per year in China by 2023, Volkswagen Passenger Car CEO Ralf Brandstaetter told Nikkei. Quoted from Reuters on Sunday, Brandstaetter said the electric vehicle production capability was boosted by a new factory in Anhui province. The factory, which is a joint venture with China’s Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co (JAC), which was first announced in 2019, will produce 300,000 electric cars per year, with production starting in 2023. See also: Volkswagen is reportedly restart sales of VW e-Up electric cars that had stopped production Together with production from two further joint…

Baidu’s electric vehicle (EV) business unit, Jidu Auto, has raised nearly $400 million from Baidu and Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in a new funding round. No external investors participated in the round. According Reuters (26/1), Jidu, an EV venture between Baidu and Geely, said in a statement that it would ship a mass-produced “robot” car by 2023. In April, Jidu CEO Xia Yiping said that the company would raise a total of 50 billion yuan ($7.90 billion) to develop and manufacture smart car “robots” over the next five years and that financing would come from Baidu and other investors. See…

Honda CEO, Toshiro Mibe criticized Toyota’s plans related to the development of hydrogen-fueled car technology. Citing Automotive News, Toshiro Mibe explained that the current hydrogen-fueled car will not have a greater impact than the electric car that is currently busy. “We have researched every possibility that is out there. Regarding the hydrogen engine, we saw some quite difficult technological challenges. So, about 10 years ago, we decided this should not be the main goal,” said Toshiro Mibe. See also: Honda have a deal with SES Holdings to develop Lithium-metal batteries for electric vehicles In addition, Toshiro Mibe said that the…