Author: James Bryant

VinFast announced its participation in the Consumer Electronics Show, CES 2023 from January 5 – 8, 2023 with a showcase of its electric vehicle ecosystem including four electric SUV models, four electric bikes, VF 8 test drives, and an immersive experience in their booth. Returning to the CES 2023 1 year after announcing its all-electric vehicle strategy, VinFast will display four electric SUV models, the VF 6, VF 7, VF 8 and VF 9, which represent the most popular segments from small crossovers to large 5- and 7-passenger SUVs. Among the four models, the VF 8 was recently launched, and the…

Land Rover is working on a Defender with an electric powertrain, according to a recent report by UK outlet Auto Express. The electric Defender is slated for release in 2025 and comes with a range of around 300 miles and is expected to launch alongside a facelifted version of the existing ICE model. In its report Auto Express says not only the standard 110 Defender will use the electric powertrain, but also the 90 2-door and long wheelbase 130. The electric Defender will be built on Land Rover’s new MLA platform, which can combine an ICE and a fully electric…

Italian manufacturer, Fantic Motor, recently introduced its first electric scooter for the European market. Called the Fantic Electric, the scooter is based on the Issimo pedal electric bicycle but features a more muscular bodywork. Fantic also showed off the electric motorbike in November at the EICMA 2022 event. According to the Italian manufacturer, the electric scooter is equipped with a 4 hp electric motor housed in an aluminum alloy trellis chassis and can reach a top speed of up to 65 km/h. This electric motor gets power from a 12 kg battery pack that is capable of producing 2.2 kWh…

Technology company from China, Baidu, is expanding the operational area and service time of self-driving taxis in Wuhan, China. Apollo Go, a Baidu subsidiary, will launch the first robotaxi that will operate at night. From research conducted by the company, night is an obstacle for robotaxi because the low light conditions make it difficult for the vehicle to detect the presence of objects or people around it. Operating at night, the Baidu robotaxi will serve residents in Wuhan between 07.00 and 23.00. Previously, these unmanned vehicles could only operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the city. The new…

Tesla announced that its Supercharger network in Mainland China has reached a milestone with 10,000 Superchargers. Tesla’s 10,000th supercharger built at the Supercharging jubilee was installed at the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Tower Supercharging Station. Shanghai also has more than 100 stations and more than 1,000 kiosks. The cumulative number of Tesla Super Charging stations in Mainland China currently stands at over 1,500, compared to 1,000 units in October 2021. The first Tesla supercharger in China was installed in 2014, two years after the first installation in the US. Two years later, in 2016 the company reached a milestone with the…

Nikola received a California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) Zero Emission Powertrain (“ZEP”) Executive Order that is a requirement for Nikola’s Tre hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (“FCEV”) to be eligible for CARB’s Hybrid and Zero Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project (“HVIP”) program. Following receipt of this Executive Order, Nikola has submitted an application for eligibility of the Nikola Tre FCEV as an authorized vehicle under the HVIP program for a base incentive amount valued at $240,000 per FCEV truck. CARB’s ZEP Executive Order is a certificate of compliance with CARB regulations for zero-emission powertrains determined to meet specific…

The presence of the latest safety features has become a mandatory feature in every vehicle. Not only car manufacturers are competing to present this aspect, but motorcycle manufacturers also do not want to be outdone by this innovation. Yamaha is one of the manufacturers that is now introducing a driver assistance system for consumer safety. Reporting from Rideapart, the Japanese brand presents the Advanced Motorcycle Stability Assist System (AMSAS) feature which functions to reduce tip over at low speeds. The presence of this technology is intended to reduce the number of deaths caused by motorcyclists. Therefore, in order to reduce…

The McMurtry Spéirling electric hypercar set an impressive acceleration record, going from 0-60 miles/h (0-100 km/h) in 1.4 seconds at Silverstone. The British single-seat mini batmobile accelerates the Rimac Nevera electric hypercar from 0-100 km/h in 1.9 seconds. The Rimac Nevera can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 1.9 seconds and is the only electric hypercar ever to cover the quarter mile or 400 meters in nine seconds. Speirling McMurtry also beat that record, covering the 400 meters in 7.97 seconds. Speirling’s hypercar still uses the same pre-production engine that McMurtry brought to Goodwood. So the company cannot yet claim to…

Logistics company Girteka has partnered with Scania to procure electric trucks for up to 600 vehicles, a partnership that will continue over the next four years, with an additional focus on human sustainability, including further enhancements in the driver experience. At the same time, Girteka will collaborate on building charging infrastructure and optimizing charging solutions. The aim is to help reduce Girteka customers’ climate emissions at a competitive cost. “We are delighted to be working with Girteka, who share our goal of making the transportation system more sustainable,” said Executive Vice President, Head of Sales and Marketing Scania, Stefano Fedel.…

Volkswagen has confirmed that it will introduce a new electric car next year at CES 2023. The plan is for this new electric car to make its debut on January 3, 2023. VW has not revealed which model will be introduced. Even this German car manufacturer did not release a teaser image or video. Launching the Autoblog page today, Wednesday, December 28 2022, VW has stated that it will make an ID electric car. Aero and ID.8. The Aero will be an electric sedan, while the ID.8 will be a large electric SUV. Volkswagen released concept images of the ID.Aero…

Tesla continues to be under the close attention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) as several outlets report that the government has opened two new investigations into accidents involving Tesla vehicles. The investigation appears to be focused on driver assistance systems and semi-autonomous driving technology as one of them is suspected of causing an accident last Thanksgiving in San Francisco. As recently reported, the 2021 Tesla Model S was traveling over the San Francisco, Oakland Bay Bridge at 55 mph (89 km/h) when it suddenly slowed to 20 mph (32 km/h) during a lane change. This caused eight…

Lexus is currently testing a manual transmission to an electric car. This is to dispel the notion that electric cars are too boring to drive. Unlike conventional cars, electric cars are currently generally equipped with automatic transmissions. On the other hand, conventional cars always come in two options, manual and automatic. Even an electric car made by Porsche, namely the Porsche Taycan, is only equipped with an automatic transmission. It’s no wonder that many people, especially enthusiastic drivers, find electric cars boring and not fun to drive. That is what Lexus is trying to avoid in testing the manual transmission…