Author: Christopher Harrison

BMW has announced the latest generation of the Mini Countryman, which will be available with a purely electric drive and all-wheel drive for the first time in a Mini brand car. The Countryman shares its platform and drive technology with the BMW X1 and iX1, with the iX1 debuting initially as an all-wheel drive vehicle. The Countryman SE ALL4 is expected to generate up to 230 kW with a temporary boost, matching the output of the iX1. The weaker version, called the Countryman E, will only feature a single electric motor producing 140 kW, although it is not clear whether…

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL), the world’s largest battery maker for electric vehicles, has confirmed that its battery plant in Hungary is “proceeding as planned”. This statement follows rumors that the construction of the Hungarian plant had been halted due to environmental issues. The plant is a key project for both China and Hungary, as the Central European country strives to attract Chinese manufacturers to create a global hub for EV batteries. CATL’s planned gigafactory in Debrecen, Hungary, will cover an area of 221 hectares, equivalent to around 280 soccer fields, and will supply both cells and modules to…

Rivian, the American EV manufacturer, recently announced the addition of a high-performance dual motor option to its R1T electric pickup truck. This follows the removal of the quad motor Max pack R1T from its configurator in December 2022. Reservation holders were initially told that they would need to reconfigure their electric pickups, and Rivian has now provided updated delivery times for them. In December, Rivian announced that it was removing the option to select a quad motor powertrain and the 400-mile range Max battery pack. Instead, current reservation holders were informed that they would need to settle for the Large…

Walmart is taking a major step towards embracing electric vehicles (EVs) by announcing plans to develop its own network of fast-charging stations at thousands of its Walmart and Sam’s Club stores across the US by 2030. This move will help Walmart address the reliability, cost, and maintenance concerns that typically arise when partnering with network operators. By owning its chargers, Walmart will not only be able to address range and charging anxiety but also provide shoppers with an added convenience that will increase their confidence in adopting EVs. According to Vishal Kapadia, Walmart’s recently appointed senior vice president of Energy…

Polestar has finally launched its Polestar 3 electric SUV in North America, after its debut in Europe and China. The company also announced its expansion plans for the US market. The Polestar 3 will be manufactured in South Carolina and should qualify for at least a partial EV tax credit. However, the battery’s origin is yet to be confirmed, which will be vital for the latest EV tax credit rules. If Polestar assembles the battery in the US and sources the components from the US, the car will be eligible for the full $7,500 subsidy. The Polestar 3 is the…

After much anticipation, Ford Australia has confirmed that the 2024 Mustang Mach-E will hit showrooms between October and December of this year, with pre-orders starting soon. While the electric crossover has been available in the United States for over two years, the car manufacturer has taken its time in selling it Down Under. The Mustang Mach-E will be available in three models, with the base Select model fitted with a 71 kWh battery pack that drives an electric motor at the rear wheels with 198 kW (265 hp) and 430 Nm (317 lb-ft) of torque. It has a range of…

Maserati, the Italian luxury car manufacturer, has announced that it will be replacing two of its current models, the Quattroporte and the Ghibli, with an all-electric Quattroporte in 2024. The new sedan will be Maserati’s third electric car after the GranTurismo Folgore and Grecale Folgore, but it will be the first to be offered solely with an electric powertrain. Maserati is taking a bold step in becoming the first Italian supercar manufacturer to offer only an electric version of its signature vehicle. The company has set an ambitious target to sell only electric cars by 2030, and the all-electric Quattroporte…

Ryder, one of the world’s largest transportation and logistics companies, has recently made a significant move towards sustainability by ordering 4,000 electric vans from General Motors’ BrightDrop brand. The first 200 vans will be delivered this year, with the rest arriving through 2025. Ryder’s decision to add BrightDrop’s Zevo 600 and Zevo 400 electric delivery vans to its fleet is a promising step towards reducing its carbon footprint. These vans can carry up to 2,000-3,400 pounds of cargo and have a range of up to 250 miles on a single charge. The Zevo 600 has a cargo capacity of over…

NIO’s CEO William Li has stated that unlike in the US where Tesla dominates the market, the EV giant has little influence over electric vehicle prices in China. This comes after Tesla reduced prices on some of its most popular models, sending shockwaves throughout the industry as other EV makers cut prices to remain competitive. The price cuts created a negative spillover effect, and a lot of China EV brands’ order backlog suffered significant order cancellations. Over 40% of EV and ICE brands, including BYD, offered discounts or subsidies following the Tesla price cuts, indicating softening demand. Shanghai-based EV maker…

China’s largest new energy vehicle (NEV) company, BYD, has reported impressive sales figures for March 2023, with 207,080 NEVs sold during the month. This marks a 97.45% increase from the same period last year and a 6.93% increase from February 2023. The company discontinued the production and sales of vehicles powered by internal combustion engines in March 2022, and has since focused on producing plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs). BYD’s NEVs include passenger cars and commercial vehicles, with sales of 206,089 passenger NEVs in March alone. This is up 97.52% from the same period last year…

Tesla, the electric vehicle giant, has recently hired a battery manufacturing expert, Matt Tyler, to help the company overcome the challenges it has been facing with its dry electrode project. According to Electrek, Tyler has over a decade of experience working on battery cells, and most recently, he held the role of Vice President of Advanced Manufacturing at 24M, a battery manufacturer that specializes in “semisolid electrodes” for lithium-ion batteries. Tyler’s expertise in developing “semisolid electrodes” is particularly relevant to Tesla’s dry electrode project, which the company acquired through its acquisition of Maxwell. The dry electrode technology is a key…

The United States government is set to implement new rules aimed at promoting domestic manufacturing and sourcing of critical minerals used in the production of electric vehicle (EV) batteries. Effective April 18th, EVs sold in the country must have 50% of the value of their batteries assembled in North America and 40% of the minerals contained therein sourced from a friendly country in order to qualify for a $7,500 tax credit. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) provides tax breaks on clean vehicles, with the federal government offering up to $7,500 in tax credits to consumers purchasing a new EV with…

Luxury automaker Genesis continues to ramp up the availability of its electric vehicles (EVs) in the US market, announcing the addition of seven more states where its three-model EV lineup will be sold. The move brings the total number of states where the Korean luxury brand sells its EVs to 22, up from just 15 two weeks ago. The GV60 SUV, Electrified GV70 SUV, and Electrified G80 executive sedan will now be available at select retailers in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. This marks an important milestone for the company as it continues to pursue…

Rivian, the electric vehicle startup, has removed three highly anticipated accessories from its online gear shop: the Camp Kitchen, Tunnel Shuttle, and R1T Tent. The Camp Kitchen, in particular, generated a lot of buzz due to its custom-engineered design that would fit into Rivian’s signature “gear tunnel” in the R1T truck model. The gear tunnel is a unique feature of the R1T that offers a large, long space for equipment that drivers might not want to keep inside the truck but want to keep in a more secure place than the bed. The Camp Kitchen was designed to fit into…

After several years of delays, Faraday Future has finally announced that it has begun production of its highly-anticipated FF91 electric vehicle. The production is taking place at its “FF ieFactory California” facility in Hanford, California. This marks a major milestone for the company that was once on the brink of bankruptcy due to its founder’s financial troubles. The FF91 was first unveiled in 2017, and at the time, it was supposed to go into production in 2018. However, the company faced financial problems due to the founder’s financial issues, and it was not until now that it has finally started…

Kia is set to release a high-performance version of their EV9 SUV in 2025, aiming to redefine what performance means in an electric SUV. The EV9 was revealed with a dual-motor version that could only do the 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) sprint in a fairly average 6.0 seconds, disappointing some potential buyers. However, Kia has confirmed that engineers are working on a hotter GT version that will debut in the next two years. Kia Motors President and CEO Ho Sung Song confirmed that the company had recognized the demand for high-performance electric vehicles and is developing a high-performance version of…

South Korean company SK On, in partnership with EcoPro and GEM, is set to construct a new production plant for precursors for electric car batteries. The plant will be located in Saemangeum, South Korea, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2024, with an annual capacity of 50,000 tons of precursors. The companies are investing a total of 1.21 trillion South Korean won (about $931 million) in the plant’s construction, which is set to begin this year. While the plant’s initial capacity has not been disclosed, the companies plan to increase its production capacity sequentially. See also:…

Ideanomics has consolidated its charging solutions and services under a new brand called WAVE Charging. This consolidation aims to streamline manufacturing and distribution, resulting in better returns and an even stronger offering for customers. The new brand, WAVE Charging, will offer a comprehensive range of technologies and services, including inductive charging, DC fast chargers, mobile charging solutions, end-to-end infrastructure solutions, and charge management software. With this consolidated offering, customers can access a single touchpoint for their charging needs, making the transition to electric fleets more seamless than ever before. According to Robin Mackie, Chief Operations Officer at Ideanomics, “Consolidating our…

Luxury electric vehicle maker, Lucid Group Inc (LCID.O), is reportedly planning to lay off approximately 18% of its workforce, according to sources familiar with the matter and an internal memo cited by Insider on Tuesday. With around 7,200 employees at the end of last year, the company is expected to communicate the details of the layoffs within the next three days. Lucid, which produces the Air luxury sedan, has recently reported a major drop in orders during the fourth quarter, and forecasted 2023 production to fall well short of analysts’ expectations. This is likely due to a combination of high…

Oxbotica, the British-based autonomous vehicle (AV) software developer, has announced a new strategic collaboration with Google Cloud, marking a significant milestone in the development and deployment of autonomous driving solutions globally. The partnership will combine Google Cloud’s expertise in cloud infrastructure with Oxbotica’s AV software, with the aim of creating scalable, safe, and reliable autonomous driving solutions for any business with transportation in its value chain. The businesses that stand to benefit from this partnership include those in last-mile logistics, light industry, and public transport, among others. Oxbotica plans to use Google Cloud products such as compute, storage, networking, and…