Author: Floyd Hawkins

Foxconn is divesting its land and manufacturing plant in Lordstown, Ohio, for about $375 million, signaling a major strategic pivot from electric vehicle manufacturing to artificial intelligence. The company said in a stock exchange filing on Monday that the sale would generate an estimated disposal gain of $170 million. Foxconn acquired the facility, formerly owned by General Motors, from Lordstown Motors in 2022. However, the partnership with Lordstown Motors later unraveled amid weakening demand for electric vehicles and a surplus of manufacturing capacity in North America. “The overall EV industry is too weak. The North American EV industry capacity is…

Portuguese bus manufacturer CaetanoBus has secured a €11.6 million contract from Porto’s public transport operator STCP to deliver 30 e.City Gold electric buses. The order, finalised through an international tender, represents the second consecutive procurement of CaetanoBus’ latest battery‑electric model by STCP, following an earlier purchase of 20 units in 2024. The 12‑metre e.City Gold buses can accommodate up to 88 passengers and are equipped with CATL’s BC5 lithium iron phosphate battery system, offering up to 465 kWh of installed capacity and fast‑charging capability. The vehicles use a six‑in‑one powertrain supplied by CRRC that integrates the motor and control components…

Volkswagen’s electric minivan, the ID. Buzz, is drawing attention not just for its retro-futuristic design, but also for the complexity of its routine maintenance. The placement of essential components such as the cabin air filter and brake fluid reservoir has sparked criticism for requiring multiple body panel removals – a process that typically involves far less effort in other vehicles. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntkPLpNMVhQ Unlike conventional setups where a cabin filter is easily accessible behind the glove box, the ID. Buzz requires owners to unbolt upper body panels flanking the hood, disconnect electrical wiring and washer fluid lines, and remove the hood itself…

Tesla said on Monday its board has approved a new compensation package for CEO Elon Musk worth about $29 billion in restricted stock, aimed at retaining him at the helm of the electric vehicle maker through at least 2030. The award of 96 million restricted shares was approved by the board on Sunday, according to a regulatory filing. Musk must pay $23.34 per share upon vesting, matching the exercise price from his 2018 package that was struck down earlier this year. A Delaware judge in January ordered Tesla to revoke Musk’s 2018 $56 billion pay plan, ruling he had influenced…

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced $21 million in funding to support pilot projects that expand access to shared zero-emission transportation, under the state’s Clean Mobility Program. The program will fund demonstration projects such as electric car-sharing, ride-hailing, e-bikes, e-scooters, shared EVs and on-demand electric public transport, rather than private passenger EVs. Eligible applicants include local governments, public transport operators, community-based organisations and large employers with more than 1,000 staff. Proposals must include plans covering community engagement, site and partner identification, technical feasibility and policy or regulatory assessments. Applicants must contribute at least 20% of total project costs from…

The Lotus Evija, the all-electric hypercar from British performance marque Lotus, has set a new benchmark for acceleration performance during Autocar’s definitive road test, becoming one of the fastest production cars ever evaluated by the magazine since the testing programme began in 1928. The Evija, which recently entered customer deliveries, recorded the fastest time for a 0–200 mph sprint in Autocar’s testing history, and outpaced all rivals in the standing quarter-mile and standing kilometre. The publication described the hypercar as a standout in acceleration metrics, with the vehicle’s performance well beyond what had been previously documented for road-legal models. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2sgjEYmQPo…

Turkish electric vehicle manufacturer Karsan has secured new contracts to supply a total of 42 e-ATA electric buses to the Romanian cities of Chitila and Focșani. Each city will receive 21 units of the 10-meter-long electric model, with deliveries expected to take place in 2026. The new orders will bring the number of Karsan electric buses operating in Chitila to 44 and in Focșani to 47. The addition of the e-ATA 10 models will contribute to ongoing efforts by local authorities to modernize and decarbonize public transport networks. The e-ATA 10 is a low-floor electric bus classified under the M3…

Aurora Innovation is accelerating its push into the southern U.S. freight corridor with its self-driving trucks, logging over 20,000 driverless miles between Dallas and Houston and opening a new terminal in Phoenix, according to a recent report by TechCrunch. The company’s goal is to establish a long-haul autonomous freight network across the Sunbelt region, including routes that stretch from Miami to California. Aurora launched its commercial self-driving truck service this spring and now operates three autonomous trucks on public roads, each monitored by an onboard human observer. These trucks are currently piloting a 15-hour route from Fort Worth, Texas, to…

Several electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers are introducing their own subsidies in the UK as the government’s £3,750 Electric Car Grant (ECG) awaits formal implementation and eligibility approval. While carmakers have been able to apply for the ECG since mid-July, the full list of eligible vehicles has yet to be confirmed. Qualification depends not only on price—limited to models under £37,000—but also on manufacturers’ environmental credentials, including production and assembly locations. The UK Department for Transport (DfT) is still in the process of assessing the submitted documentation. As a result, some companies are offering interim financial incentives. Volvo Car UK has…

European automakers are grappling with renewed pressure after a partial easing of U.S. tariffs under a deal struck between President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. While the agreement, reached on Sunday, reduced tariffs on European car imports to 15% from a prior punitive 25%, it still falls well short of the pre-trade war rate of 2.5%, adding billions in potential annual costs. Germany’s automotive association VDA said the new baseline tariff would impose significant financial strain on the country’s carmakers, who count the United States as their largest non-European market. “We welcome the agreement between…

Tesla has released footage of its Full Self Driving (FSD) Supervised system undergoing test drives through central London, as the U.S. electric vehicle maker continues preparations for launching the driver-assist software in Europe and China later this year. The videos, shared on Tesla’s official channels, show a Model 3 Highland equipped with standard self-driving hardware navigating through complex urban conditions including Big Ben, Parliament Square, and Whitehall. The route, according to Tesla, was “characterised by many roadworks, pedestrians, cyclists and motorists,” which the company says the vehicle “handled with ease.” https://twitter.com/teslaeurope/status/1948693477069304265 The highlight of the demonstration was the Model 3’s…

Tesla plans to expand its intelligent driver assistance system, known as Full Self-Driving (Supervised) in the United States, to China and Europe in 2025, subject to regulatory approval, according to Chinese media outlet Shanghai Observer. While Tesla has not disclosed detailed plans for the Chinese market, the company introduced advanced smart driving functions earlier this year through software updates. The features were delivered without referring explicitly to the FSD brand name. At the 2025 World AI Conference in Shanghai, Tesla displayed its electric vehicle lineup, driver assistance technology, humanoid robot, and V4 Supercharger. The company also recently performed strongly in…