Author: James Bryant

Compleo Charging Solutions, the insolvent German company that specialises in manufacturing charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, has found a new buyer. The Kostal Group, a family-owned electronic and mechatronic products manufacturer with operations in over 20 countries, has agreed to take over all stationary charging technology activities under the Compleo brand name. However, the acquisition contract, which is still subject to reservations, requires the approval of Compleo’s administrator and the creditors’ committee before it can be finalised. In addition, the companies must wait for the court’s confirmation of an insolvency plan for Compleo and regulatory clearances. Nonetheless, both parties expect…

Redwood Materials, the recycling company founded by former Tesla executive JB Straubel, is expanding its reach in the sustainable energy industry by partnering with Rad Power Bikes, one of the largest electric bike companies in North America. This deal will allow Rad Power Bikes customers to bring in their depleted e-bike batteries to any of the ten Rad Power Bikes retail locations, and Redwood will handle the recycling process. While Redwood has already established itself as a major player in recycling batteries from larger industries like automotive and tech, this new partnership will enable Redwood to penetrate the often-overlooked market…

Mercedes-Benz EQE and EQS customers in North America now have the option to enhance their vehicle’s performance with the new Acceleration Increase On-Demand upgrade for select Sedan and SUV models. This upgrade can be obtained as an Over-the-Air update, allowing customers to increase their vehicle’s output by up to 80 hp and improve acceleration from 0 to 60 mph by as much as a full second. It is available to customers in the Mercedes me connect Store, providing the choice of a one-time purchase for the lifetime of the vehicle or flexible monthly and yearly options. See also: Mercedes-Benz EQE…

Tom’s Truck Center, a company based in Southern California, has expanded its selection of electric commercial trucks by including the Class 8 Nikola Tre battery-electric vehicle (BEV). Customers can now purchase Nikola’s zero-emissions trucks at Tom’s Truck Center’s two dealerships, located along Interstate 5 in Santa Ana, Calif., and Santa Fe Springs, Calif. Furthermore, the Nikola Tre hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) is expected to be available for purchase by the end of this year. The Nikola Tre BEV has an estimated range of up to 330 miles on a single charge, while the Nikola Tre FCEV is projected…

Tesla has made the decision to temporarily suspend orders for the Model S and X vehicles in Australia, marking a significant development more than two years after their initial release in the United States. Without providing any explicit explanation, the car manufacturer has discreetly removed the option to reserve these models for a price of $400 AUD ($264), leaving behind a new alternative to “Get Updates.” This change applies similarly to New Zealand, the neighboring country of Australia. The most recent availability of the Model S and X in Australia was observed in 2020. Since the introduction of the revamped…

In a recent development, Ford CEO Jim Farley has issued a warning to Tesla, expressing concerns about the potential commoditization of Tesla’s electric cars. Farley believes that Tesla’s focus on cutting costs and prices might lead to a loss of “product freshness,” which could ultimately erode the premium pricing that the company currently enjoys. Farley’s apprehensions come on the heels of his accurate prediction last summer, when he foretold an impending price war in the electric vehicle (EV) market. Tesla initiated this price battle in early January, prompting Ford to respond with price cuts to its Mustang Mach-E electric SUV.…

Harley-Davidson’s LiveWire brand has opened pre-orders for its second all-electric motorcycle, the S2 Del Mar, in the US and Europe. While US customers can pre-order the electric motorcycle now, customers in Europe can start reserving it from 27 April. However, only 100 units are available for European customers, so they need to act fast. The S2 Del Mar will be available in four European markets – France, Germany, Netherlands, and the UK – but it is unclear if there is a particular allocation for each market or if it is first-come-first-serve. European customers must pay a $100 reservation fee, and…

Polestar, the Swedish electric car manufacturer, has announced its plans to establish a new research and development facility at a factory in Trollhattan, Sweden. The facility, which will be based at a 15,000 square-feet building, was formerly operated by Saab and most recently by National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS). Polestar intends to conduct powertrain development for its upcoming models, the Polestar 5 and 6, at the site, as well as testing powertrains, electric motors, and batteries. While the move has sparked speculation about the possibility of a new production line, Polestar has confirmed that it will not be manufacturing vehicles…

Nikola, the electric vehicle manufacturer, has been forced to recall every single Tre BEV truck sold in the United States due to a problem with the park valve module (PVM). The recall comes after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) discovered that the Bendix Intellipark Tractor Park Valve Module, which is used in the Tre BEV trucks, could become stuck in the unparked position, and may not transition from unparked to parked when the park switch is activated. According to the recall notice issued by Nikola, if the driver fails to fan down the brakes after noticing the Intellipark…

Porsche, the German automaker, has reported an impressive 18% year-over-year increase in global car sales during the first quarter of 2023, reaching a total of 80,767 units. The company has attributed this growth to its strong performance across all sales regions. However, the figures for all-electric vehicles, particularly the Porsche Taycan, remained flat. Despite Porsche’s Taycan being an impressive all-electric sports car, the model saw a 3.4% decrease in sales during Q1 2023 compared to the previous year, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year decline. The Taycan models (including the Taycan Cross Turismo and Taycan GTS) achieved a total…

Chinese automaker, HiPhi, recently announced its plans for global expansion, unveiling the HiPhi Y as the latest addition to its advanced model line-up. The HiPhi Y will join the dual flagship models, the HiPhi X and Z, with plans for the first HiPhi customer cars on European roads to debut in 2023, with the Middle East following shortly thereafter. To kick off its global expansion, HiPhi has confirmed that Munich, Germany and Oslo, Norway will be the first European cities to host HiPhi Hubs or showrooms. These experience centers are inspired by the HiPhi Hubs already established in China, and…

Kate Park, formerly the Director of Product at Tesla Autopilot, recently announced her departure from the company and her new role as Director of Product at Scale AI. In a tweet, Park stated, “I had a blast building Tesla Autopilot’s data engine and I’m excited to generalize this product for multiple industries from computer vision to large language models.” Park, who spent nearly five years at Tesla, started as an Autopilot Computer Vision Intern in 2018 while still studying computer science at Stanford University. She then contributed to the team in various roles, including being one of the inventors of…

Kenya is set to become the first country in East Africa to establish an electric bus lane thanks to a $377 million funding package from a consortium of European agencies. The deal sees the EU provide $48.79 million in grants, while the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the French Development Agency (AFD) will jointly support the project with $255.64 million. The electric bus lane will run from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi’s Kenyatta National Hospital, to Haile Selassie Avenue into the Central Business District, continuing on Racecourse Road to Ring Road Ngara to Juja Road, before finally ending in Dandora. The…

Ohme, a UK-based smart charging company, has recently announced its partnership with Audi in the UK. The agreement sees Audi recommending Ohme chargers for all its electrified vehicle sales, with an Ohme Home Pro charger displayed in showrooms for customers to view. The partnership aims to introduce Audi drivers to the benefits of smart charging with reduced running costs and work with Audi’s retailers to help customers through the entire process with a bespoke dealer portal. David Watson, CEO at Ohme, expressed his excitement about the partnership, stating that it underlines Ohme’s position as one of the UK’s fastest-growing smart…

Enel X Way, a subsidiary of the global renewable energy company Enel Group, has announced its plan to install over 10,000 DC public charging stations and at least 2 million home, commercial, and public EV charge ports across North America by 2030. The company already caters to the home and commercial charging segments and plans to expand into the public charging market. The deployment of over 10,000 DC public charging stations will be in support of the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which has allocated $5 billion to the states to create an interconnected network of DC fast chargers…

Swedish commercial vehicle manufacturer, Scania, is continuing to make strides in the zero-emission vehicle space with the introduction of the first Scania P 25 all-electric auto transporter. This 42-ton electric vehicle hauler has the potential to play a crucial role in reducing emissions from the transportation industry. With over 120 years of experience in heavy-duty truck and bus manufacturing, Scania has become a leading global company in its field. The company made a significant breakthrough in 2020 with the launch of its first 100% battery electric truck designed for city use, which had a range of up to 250km (roughly…

Lucid Motors, the luxury electric vehicle manufacturer, recently released its production and delivery report for Q1 2023. According to the report, the company produced 2,314 vehicles and delivered 1,406 units by the end of March. This marks a decline in production and delivery from the previous quarter, where Lucid produced 3,493 Air sedans and delivered 1,932 units in Q4 2022. Despite the decrease in production, Lucid reported receiving more than 28,000 vehicle reservations in February 2023, representing a potential sales of more than $2.7 billion. This impressive figure excludes the 100,000 units under the agreement with the Saudi Arabian government.…

Swiss energy storage specialist Leclanché has developed a new concept that aims to revolutionize the circular economy of battery life. The 6 “R’s” of Leclanché’s circular economy concept stand for Reliability, Repowering, Reuse, Recycling and Recycled Content, and Record, which spans the entire life cycle of its lithium-ion batteries. The concept anticipates compliance with new EU regulations on batteries, which are expected to come into force in the second half of 2023. The new Battery Directive aims to promote the circular economy, including the entire battery life cycle – from production to reuse and recycling, with minimum targets of recovered…

CAKE, the Swedish manufacturer of premium lightweight electric motorcycles, has officially opened its flagship CAKE:site Seoul in South Korea, in partnership with local company Kolon. The opening of this six-story building, located in the heart of Gangnam and adjacent to the Sinsa and Apgujeong neighborhoods, marks CAKE’s first foray into Asia, as the company expands its mission to inspire a zero-emission society across the globe. Seoul, with its recognition as a leader in technological innovation and push towards an environmentally sustainable lifestyle, was a natural choice for CAKE’s expansion plans. The new flagship site features a retail showroom, full-service center,…

Tritium has announced a new partnership with KuroEV, an EV charger installer and management services provider. KuroEV has purchased Tritium fast chargers for deployment across Malaysia, where the need for increased EV charging infrastructure is becoming increasingly pressing. With only 600 charging stations currently available for the over 10,000 EVs registered in the country, the Malaysian government has recognised the need for more charging points. In partnership with the private sector, the government has pledged to build 10,000 EV charging stations by 2025 as part of its commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. “We are excited to partner with…