Author: Casper Benedict

Rental car company Hertz has announced a new public-private partnership called Hertz Electrifies, which aims to bring thousands of electric cars and data-based infrastructure to American cities. The initiative will begin in Denver, Colorado, where Hertz will provide no less than 5,200 rental electric vehicles (EVs) to customers and rideshare drivers. In partnership with BP Pulse, the company also plans to increase charging capacity at the Denver International Airport and Hertz locations by installing a mix of Level 2 and fast chargers. Additionally, Hertz has pledged to develop a workforce training curriculum focused on servicing and maintaining EVs with local…

As the world’s leading manufacturer of plug-in electric vehicles, BYD has seen rapid growth in recent years. However, one question remains: when will the Chinese company finally enter the United States market for consumer electric cars? Currently, BYD offers only commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks in the US, which are assembled in California. Despite this, the company has been exploring the possibility of entering the consumer electric car market for over a decade, since the debut of its first BYD E6 model. Despite several pilot presentations, BYD has yet to make a formal launch of its consumer electric…

General Motors (GM) announced today that it will invest $918 million across four production facilities in the United States to support the construction of drivetrain components. The funds will be divided among the production of electric vehicles (EVs) and the automaker’s next-gen small block V8 engine. “Today we are announcing significant investments to strengthen our industry-leading lineup of full-size pickups and SUVs by preparing four U.S. facilities to build GM’s sixth generation Small Block V-8 engine,” said Gerald Johnson, GM Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing and Sustainability. “These investments, coupled with the hard work and dedication of our team…

The development of a new generation of a classic vehicle like the Chevrolet Corvette is always a delicate balance of tradition and innovation. For its most recent model year, General Motors (GM) decided to introduce a hybrid drivetrain for the Chevrolet Corvette E-Ray, rather than a fully electric one, due to a number of factors, including performance concerns, cost, and design considerations. According to interviews conducted by CNBC, GM executives and engineers explained the reasoning behind the choice of a hybrid drivetrain. The main hurdle was the performance of an all-electric Corvette, which some argued would not have been as…

Volkswagen will reportedly appoint a new design chief, as the brand’s CEO is said to be dissatisfied with the current chief designer’s work. Andreas Mindt, who currently holds the position at Bentley, will replace the current designer, according to insiders. According to Automobilwoche, a change in Volkswagen’s design chief will occur on February 1st. The report cites sources within VW’s corporate circles. The current chief designer, Jozef Kaban, allegedly failed to make an impact on VW brand CEO Thomas Schäfer and the board with his work on the ID.2 city car, which was previewed with the ID. LIFE concept. It…

SEA Electric and Mevco, companies that provide commercial electric vehicles and specialize in light-duty electric utility vehicles for the mining industry, respectively, have teamed up to convert 8,500 Toyota off-road vehicles to electric drives for mining operations in Australia. The project is valued at approximately $1 billion AUS or 648 million euros. SEA Electric and Mevco intend to install SEA Electric’s SEA-Drive electric drive system in 8,500 units of Toyota’s Hilux and Land Cruiser models over five years for use in the Australian mining industry. The Hilux is a pickup truck and the Land Cruiser is a large off-road vehicle.…

Winnebago presented the eRV2, a prototype of an all-electric motorhome, at the RV SuperShow in Florida. The eRV2 is an advancement of the company’s eRV concept from the previous year and is built on a Ford E-Transit electric chassis with an estimated range of 108 miles. The American motorhome manufacturer has outfitted its concept vehicle with a 48-volt, 15-kWh battery pack located beneath the floor. This battery can power all the interior features for up to seven days without needing to be recharged from an outlet. The prototype RV utilizes 900-Watt solar panels that charge the batteries located under the…

Some Rivian vehicle owners have reported high battery drain while their vehicles are idle, leading to discussions on forums and Reddit. According to one R1T owner from Phoenix, Arizona, who goes by the name “shrink” on the RivianForums, he left his truck plugged in and parked for an entire week and it drew 32 kWh, equivalent to around 4.6 kWh per day or 8 miles per day. The vehicle had a 70% charging limit set, was connected to a 240-volt 48-amp home charger, had Gear Guard turned off, but remained connected to the WiFi network. The owner contacted Rivian to…

Last week, a bulletin sent to Chevrolet dealerships revealed that the Chevrolet Bolt EV and Bolt EUV are no longer eligible for promotional financing. Last year, the Bolt EV and Bolt EUV made headlines when their prices were significantly reduced, with the regular model’s price being cut by up to $5,900 and the EUV’s price being cut by as much as $6,300. Additionally, buyers had the opportunity to take advantage of 0 percent APR and 72-month financing deals from 1.9 percent APR. According to Cars Direct, as of last month, the best financing rate available from GM Financial for the…

Ford plans to launch electric vehicles based on its own platform in Europe by the mid-decade, according to Martin Sander, Ford’s electric car development manager in Europe. The majority of development will take place outside of Europe. Ford will initially use Volkswagen’s MEB platform in Europe as part of a 2020 agreement, with two MEB-based Ford models planned for 2023 and 2024, each with a production volume of 600,000 units. While a final decision on the future of the partnership with Volkswagen has not been made, Ford is preparing to switch to its own platform for future electric vehicles in…

The transition to electric vehicles is happening not only in the passenger car market but also in the funeral industry. This is due to the fact that hearses usually travel short distances and an electric vehicle’s smoothness, near-silence, and lack of emissions make them suitable for solemn occasions. Coleman Milne, a British hearse manufacturer, has introduced its new electric hearse, the Etive, which is based on the Ford Mustang Mach-E. The company also offers an electric coffin carrier based on the Tesla Model S. However, the Mustang version is more visually striking. Whether this is an appropriate trait for a…

According to Vincent Cobée, the CEO of Citroen, the rise of electric vehicles could lead to the decline of SUVs. In a recent interview with Auto Express, Cobée cited aerodynamics as a major factor, stating that SUVs are less efficient than sedans. He also stated that installing larger battery packs in electric SUVs to counter this is not a sustainable solution due to the added weight. “On a battery EV, if your aerodynamics are wrong, the penalty in terms of range is massive,” he told the publication. “You can lose 50 kilometers between good and bad aero, and between an SUV and…

Porsche announced a 4% increase in global car sales for Q4 2022, totaling 88,372 units sold. For the full year, sales were up 2.6% at 309,884 units sold. However, the company reported that it was unable to improve its all-electric car sales due to production constraints, despite a high number of orders for the Porsche Taycan model. “The decline was due to supply chain bottlenecks and limited component availability. Both issues affected the electric sports car in particular.” Porsche reported that global sales of the Taycan, Taycan Cross Turismo, and Taycan GTS totaled 9,728 units in Q4, a 23% decrease…

The AWD Model Y Standard Range has returned to Tesla’s lineup with a starting price of $64,000, with a limited stock of only 40 units available in the US. Despite CEO Elon Musk’s previous claim that the Model Y would be the world’s best-selling car, it has had strong sales and is currently a top performer in the electric car market. The “new” Tesla Model Y Standard Range, first noticed by Twitter user The Kilowatts, is equipped with 4680 battery cells and has a range of 269 miles. It is currently priced at $63,990, which is $2,000 less than the…

The Lexus RZ Sport Concept, a modified version of the road-going RZ, is on display at the Tokyo Auto Salon in a white color called Hakugin with blue accents. Developed under the guidance of racing driver Masahiro Sasaki, the concept features unique body panels such as a matte black grille with carbon fiber panels, a carbon fiber hood with large air vents, flared wheel arches and aerodynamic louvers to enhance its performance and aggressive appearance. The Lexus RZ Sport Concept has further modifications such as 21-inch Volk Racing wheels with 295/35 tires, a lowered ride height of 35 millimeters, matte…

The Rouen municipality in northern France is converting 49 diesel intercity buses to electric drive to operate as school buses. The project was awarded to a French consortium consisting of Greenmot, Forsee Power, SPL Normandie and Comeca. Greenmot will supply the retrofit kit, which will use batteries from Forsee Power’s Zen Slim product line and will be installed at a factory in Villefranche-sur-Saône. SPL Normandie will integrate the conversion kits into the buses, and Comeca will supply the charging infrastructure for the converted buses. This is the first French association of municipalities to launch a tender for the conversion of…

Ford of Europe has recently finished constructing a new speed oval at the Lommel Proving Grounds in Belgium. The previous oval, known as Runway 5, had been in operation since 1965 and was retired after 57 years of use in testing and refining vehicles. Initially, the oval had three lanes set at various angles, with an additional lane added in the 1990s that was covered in asphalt and featured a curved profile. However, with advancements in technology and testing, it was time for Runway 5 to receive an upgrade. In 2022, construction on the new Runway 5 began in earnest.…

Tesla made headlines yesterday by unexpectedly cutting prices on their vehicles in North America, Europe, and Canada, with some reductions exceeding 20%. Although no official statement was initially released, a Tesla spokesperson later clarified that the price cuts were made possible by a recent decrease in cost inflation and supply chain shortages, which had previously led to successive price increases over the past year. “At the end of a turbulent year with interruptions to the supply chain, we have achieved a partial normalisation of cost inflation, which gives us the confidence to pass this relief onto our customers.” (via Reuters) Despite…

Rolec EV, a British charging equipment manufacturer, has partnered with technology company Sinexcel to launch a new line of DC charging stations with power outputs ranging from 60kW to 480kW. Rolec expects these stations to be highly competitive in terms of price. The first model in this range, the UltraCharge 160, will be available for delivery starting in February. The range utilizes modular 20kW units that can be upgraded to reach a maximum power output of 160kW, and Rolec reports that it currently has UK stock of 60/80/120/160kW models. This approach, according to Rolec, makes for a “perfect future-proof and…

Dacia, the Renault-owned brand, has revealed a major update to the Spring, their small electric car that was launched in 2021 as the cheapest EV in Europe. At the 2023 Brussels Motor Show, the brand showcased the Spring Extreme, a variant that boasts a new electric motor and a sportier, SUV-inspired design. The highlight of the Spring Extreme is its Electric 65 motor that provides 48 kilowatts (64 horsepower), a significant boost from the standard Spring’s 33-kW (44-hp) motor. Spring Extreme comes with a new Electric 65 motor that delivers 48 kilowatts (64 horsepower) and is paired with a unique…