Author: Christopher Harrison

Audi has recently been showcasing its vision for the design and technology of future electric vehicles through its “sphere family” of concepts. The latest addition to this family is the Activesphere, which features a raised four-door coupe design with generous ground clearance, off-road tires, and the ability to transform into a pickup. The Activesphere also comes equipped with mixed reality glasses for the driver and all passengers, allowing them to use Audi’s futuristic “dimensions” system. The Activesphere has a raised four-door coupe stance, which is similar to the EV equivalent of a future A5 Sportback with the Allroad treatment. The…

Canoo has signed an exclusive agreement with GCC Olayan for the sale, service, and distribution of its all-electric fleet solutions in Saudi Arabia. The two companies will also work together to develop a digital vehicle ecosystem for service maintenance, repair, local assembly, and eventually manufacturing. The move is in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, which aims to increase the adoption of electric vehicles and sustainable mobility solutions. Canoo’s vehicles are built on the company’s proprietary multi-purpose platform (MPP) architecture, which integrates high-tech components such as motors, battery modules, and other critical driving components. https://twitter.com/canoo/status/1618279471747944449 The vehicles feature true steer-by-wire…

According to CEO Elon Musk, limited production of the Tesla Cybertruck will begin this summer. This was announced during the company’s Q4 2022 Earnings Call on Wednesday evening. During the call, Musk and Tesla’s management team were asked about the production schedule for the all-electric Cybertruck, and Musk confirmed that it is on track to begin later this year. Musk responded: “We do expect production to start sometime this summer, but I always kind of downplay the start of production because the start of production is always very slow.” Production of the Cybertruck is set to begin later this year.…

Despite the recent delivery of the Tesla Semi, the electric vehicle manufacturer has yet to fully reveal the final specifications of the Class 8 all-electric truck. However, a photo posted by Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo has provided the EV community with a first glimpse of the Semi’s impressive battery pack. Tesla has announced a $3.6 billion investment in Northern Nevada, which will be used to expand the Gigafactory Nevada, including the addition of a high-volume Tesla Semi factory and a 100 GWh 4680 cell production line. The expansion is also expected to bring in 3,000 more team members to the…

At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, the Global Battery Alliance (GBA) unveiled its new Battery Passport. The GBA presented the results of proof of concept battery passport prototypes, utilizing data provided by Audi and Tesla. The concept of a Battery Passport has been in development since 2017, but the recent prototype demonstrates its practicality. Similar to a physical passport, a Battery Passport serves as an official document that tracks and verifies the history of a battery. However, the GBA does not propose the physical distribution of passports for each EV battery. Instead, each battery will have…

Tesla released its financial results and shareholder letter for the fourth quarter and full-year 2022 after market close on Tuesday. Wall Street consensus for this quarter was $24.6 billion in revenue and earnings of $1.13 per share. These would have been new records for Tesla due to new record deliveries of over 405,000 electric vehicles during the quarter. However, it was a challenging quarter to estimate due to Tesla offering significant discounts on many vehicles delivered in December and the ramp-up of Tesla’s energy business, which is also harder to estimate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pxfo4rT3f8 The company reported $24.3 billion in revenue for…

Webasto, a leading provider of thermal management solutions, has announced the expansion of its product line with the introduction of the Electrical Battery Thermal Management (eBTM) system. This compact and scalable system is designed to ensure that the traction batteries of electric trucks, vans, buses, and construction machinery remain within the ideal temperature range at all times. According to Webasto, the eBTM system allows for continuous monitoring of the operating temperature and balances the heating and cooling circuits to maintain the ideal temperature range for the batteries. The solution is designed for both 400 and 800-volt applications and provides up…

French autonomous vehicle developer, EasyMile, has taken a significant step forward in providing driverless transport for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics. The Toulouse-based company, in partnership with public transport operator Keolis, successfully completed trials of two unmanned shuttles that only require remote supervision at the Centre National de Tir (CNTS) in Châteauroux, France. Keolis’ site at Châteauroux, known as SEMA, is the only location in the world dedicated to autonomous development, allowing vehicles to be operated and assessed without regulatory constraints. Over the past 18 months, Keolis has tested and operated two third-generation EasyMile EZ10 autonomous shuttles at the site.…

First Bus has introduced an autonomous bus service at the Milton Park business, science, and technology park near Didcot and Abingdon, Oxfordshire. The service, which began on January 23, 2023, aims to enhance transportation within the park, which is home to 250 companies and 9,000 employees, as well as in the surrounding Didcot area. The new 16-seat single-decker bus, equipped with a safety driver on board at all times, offers a personalized service and information to passengers. The electric Mellor Orion E bus, converted to autonomous operation by Fusion Processing Ltd, is fitted with Fusion Processing’s sensor and control technology,…

Chinese lithium and battery producer, Ganfeng Lithium, is investing 15 billion yuan, or 2.2 billion euros, in the construction of two new battery factories. This move is aimed at increasing the company’s production capacities by 34 GWh to around 100 GWh per year. According to Chinese media sources, Ganfeng is the largest lithium processor in the world by market capitalization and has been investing increasingly in the in-house production of batteries. The larger of the two newly planned factories, with an annual capacity of 24 GWh, is to be built in the city of Chongqing and will manufacture LFP and…

British autonomous vehicle software company, Oxbotica, has raised $140 million in a Series C funding round to expand its deployment of its operating system, Universal Autonomy, in various commercial and industrial sectors around the world. The funding will aid in the company’s global expansion into North America, EMEA and APAC and accelerate the implementation of its operating system in sectors with high scalability potential, such as agriculture, airports, energy, delivery, mining, and shared passenger transportation. The round included new investors, such as Aioi Nissay Dowa Insurance and ENEOS Innovation Partners, as well as re-investments from current shareholders, including bp ventures,…

Volvo Cars CEO, Jim Rowan, has announced that the automaker’s upcoming EX30 electric vehicle (EV) will debut on June 15 and go into production by the end of 2023. The EX30 is the smallest model in Volvo’s future EV range and is aimed at a younger demographic, thanks to its more affordable price point. Rowan described the EX30 as “really important” and confirmed that it will be offered at a “really nice price point” while also being “very safe” and having a “decent range.” The EX30 is expected to be positioned below the slightly larger XC40 and will be sold…

Solar electric vehicle startup Lightyear has announced that it is suspending production of its high-end Lightyear 0 model and shifting its focus to bringing the more affordable Lightyear 2 to market by 2025. The company had previously revealed that production of the Lightyear 0 had begun and that vehicles were being assembled at a rate of one per week, but now says that a “strategic restructuring” has led to the suspension of production. CEO and Co-Founder of Lightyear, Lex Hoefsloot, explained that “unfortunately we had to make this decision. The whole process of developing Lightyear 0 has provided our company…

Knight-Swift Transportation has become the first major American fleet to take delivery of a Kenworth T680E, a Class 8 battery-electric vehicle. The vehicle will operate at the Knight Port Services terminal in Southern California. The fleet collaborated with Inland Kenworth – Phoenix to procure and purchase a supporting Paccar 120 kW electric vehicle charging station for the T680E. Designed for pickup and delivery, regional haul, and drayage applications, the T680E is available as a day cab tractor or straight truck. It boasts a 82,000-pound gross vehicle weight rating and an estimated operating range of 150 miles, depending on the specific…

Tesla is taking steps to improve its build quality by implementing an automated quality control system at its Fremont factory. The company has been criticized in the past for issues with vehicle build quality, and has taken steps to improve, including posting job listings for Quality Inspection Engineers to lead the installation and operations of automation camera inspection systems on existing manufacturing lines. Recent permit filings submitted by Tesla reveal that the company is ready to install two new robots to inspect fascia quality, specifically for the interior of the vehicles. The filing, submitted under the name “Automatic Inspection System,”…

Ford has taken a significant step towards achieving carbon neutrality across its European facilities by 2035 with the announcement of a new solar power plant in Valencia, Spain. The Ford Almussafes vehicle manufacturing facility has installed 2.8 megawatts of photovoltaic electricity power and plans to expand that capacity by 2.2 megawatts in the coming months. This new plant, which began operating in late 2022, makes use of solar energy to generate electricity, with a goal of reaching 10 MW of peak power by 2024. As part of Ford’s commitment to selling only zero-emissions electric vehicles in Europe by 2035, the…

According to a report by local media outlet 36kr, NIO has replaced its head of vehicle engineering in an effort to stay competitive in the rapidly evolving electric vehicle (EV) market. NIO’s Executive Vice President and Product Committee Chairman, Zhou Xin, will now take on full responsibility for the company’s vehicle engineering operations. Danilo Teobaldi, the previous Vice President of Vehicle Engineering, will now serve as NIO’s Chief European Vehicle Engineer. Teobaldi joined NIO in 2015, coming from Qoros, and has been responsible for the development and optimization of metrics such as vehicle dynamic performance and safety performance for the…

Proterra Inc, an electric-bus maker, announced on Thursday that it will be cutting more jobs and consolidating electric bus and battery production in South Carolina in an effort to reduce costs. The company’s exit from its City of Industry facility in California, along with the additional job cuts, will affect around 300 roles this year. In a statement, the company explained that the consolidation of manufacturing sites will also enable it to better manage supply chain disruptions and decrease facilities costs. This move comes as electric vehicle manufacturers, including Stellantis NV and Nikola Corp, are tightening their spending in the…

Ireland’s Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, has unveiled the Electric Vehicles Charging Infrastructure Strategy 2022-2025, which will invest €100 million in the construction of public charging infrastructure over the next three years. The strategy outlines a path and specific steps for creating a nationwide network of EV chargers, with the goal of providing high-powered chargers every 60 km on Ireland’s motorway network, as well as home and apartment charging, residential neighborhood charging, destination charging, and en-route charging. Ryan emphasized that the decisions will be made in collaboration with local authorities and that the strategy will aim to improve local conditions…

California-based e-bike manufacturer, Aventon, has made a name for itself in recent months with its selection of practical and stylish electric bicycles. The company, like many e-bike manufacturers, outsources production to China, resulting in a fleet of affordable and technologically advanced e-bikes. Recently, Aventon has launched its latest model, the Aventure.2 fat-tire e-bike. This second-generation machine has been updated with a torque sensor-equipped pedal assist, providing a more natural pedal feel. Additionally, the Aventure.2 is available in two variants – step-through and step-over – catering to riders of all backgrounds. The step-over version is available in a camouflage green or…