Author: Moira Shortle

Volkswagen has finally unveiled the much-awaited ID.2all, a concept car that offers a glimpse of the automaker’s affordable electric vehicle (EV) of the future. The ID.2all is set to hit the European market in 2025 with a starting price under $26,400 (€25,000), a cost that will open up a massive market segment for the German automaker. Looking at the photos, the ID.2all appears less like a futuristic concept car and more like a pre-production study. It is the latest addition to Volkswagen’s ID line of EVs, following the less successful ID. Life, which was recently abandoned by the company’s executives.…

Aptera Motors recently announced an extension to its Accelerator investment program, which offers a unique opportunity for investors to secure one of the first 2,000 units of Aptera’s Launch Edition solar EVs, while supporting the company’s vision for a sustainable future. The Accelerator program was launched in late January, just one week after the startup unveiled the Launch Edition version of its solar EV. The program has already raised over $8 million from reservation holders seeking to secure their spot in line for one of the first 2,000 units. However, with only 561 spots secured so far, there are still…

Italian automotive manufacturer, Alfa Romeo, has announced plans to venture into a new market segment in the upcoming years, as per the company’s CEO, Jean-Philippe Imparato. The automaker is scheduled to launch a “constructed-up model in 2028,” with industry insiders speculating it to be an SUV that will compete with the likes of BMW iX and Mercedes EQE SUV. Furthermore, this move marks Alfa Romeo’s foray into the mainstream market. The automaker will also introduce a large executive sedan in the latter half of the decade, which Imparato stated, “After 2026, we will go up [in size]. I’m bringing to…

Lion Electric, a manufacturer of commercial electric vehicles, announced in its fourth-quarter earnings report on Friday that its vehicles have officially crossed the milestone of 10 million miles driven. The Quebec-based company, which produces electric buses, trucks, and school buses, saw its revenue double in a record quarter, with nearly 1,000 total EVs on the road. Lion Electric has been a pioneer in the commercial electric vehicle industry for over 12 years, long before it became a trend. Its 950 vehicles have now driven over 10 million miles, a testament to the company’s determination. The company has secured deals with…

Ford has announced a recall in relation to the production halt of the F-150 Lightning due to battery issues that were discovered during production. The recall will only affect a small number of vehicles, specifically 18, which were inadvertently overlooked during the stop-shipment order. Initially, the issue was discovered during routine post-production inspections, wherein one of the vehicles displayed a battery issue. Ford then put a stop-shipment order on all vehicles that were being shipped to both customers and dealerships, subsequently halting the production process. Despite this, the company did not initiate a stop-sale, allowing trucks already at dealerships to…

BMW, the German automaker, is set to invest up to GBP600m in its British Mini plant located in Cowley near Oxford to prepare for the production of electric models, according to a report by the BBC. The investment is aimed at transforming the plant to meet the growing demand for eco-friendly vehicles in the UK and around the world. The British government has pledged its support to BMW by offering GBP75m to assist the automaker in its efforts to shift towards electric vehicle production. The Cowley plant already started producing the first generation of electric Mini in 2019. See also:…

Workhorse, a prominent commercial EV developer, has returned to the public eye after a few years of silence with the introduction of a new electric step van named the W56. The 1,000+ cubic foot cargo box was officially unveiled during NTEA’s Work Truck Week in Indianapolis, Indiana. Although it has been a while since the name Workhorse Group Inc. ($WKHS) was in the spotlight, the company is recognized as one of the early players in the EV technology sector. The company has been involved in chassis manufacturing since the late 1990s, and in 2013, AMP EVs took over the Workhorse…

Tesla has recently rolled out its Full Self-Driving (FSD) Beta v11 software update, but the release of this highly anticipated update is moving at a sluggish pace. The FSD Beta v11 is a thrilling but daunting development as it aims to integrate Tesla’s FSD and Autopilot highway stacks. With the FSD Beta, Tesla’s vehicles can drive independently to a specified destination entered in the car’s navigation system. Nevertheless, the driver must stay vigilant and ready to take control at any time as the responsibility still lies with the driver, not Tesla’s system. Despite its name, the FSD Beta remains a…

Hertz, the car rental giant, is making a investment in electric vehicles (EVs) in North America, with the launch of its Hertz Electrifies initiative in Denver. The public-private partnership between Hertz, the city of Denver, and Mayor Michael Hancock aims to expand the availability of EVs, charging infrastructure, and EV education and training opportunities in the Denver community. Denver is the first city to benefit from Hertz Electrifies, which will bring up to 5,200 rental EVs to the area. The vehicles, which will include models from Tesla, Polestar, and GM, will be available for leisure and business travelers, as well…

Volvo Trucks has taken another significant step towards its sustainability targets, delivering 20 of its fully electric heavy trucks to the logistics company DFDS in Gothenburg, Sweden. This marks a major milestone in DFDS’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050 and Volvo Trucks’ goal of a 100% fossil-free supply chain by 2040. DFDS has placed one of the largest orders ever for Volvo’s battery electric trucks – a total of 125 Volvo FM Electric models. The first 20 trucks are now being deployed in commercial traffic, with 14 of them being used to transport goods to and from Volvo’s heavy…

Redwood Materials, the Nevada-based battery recycling company co-founded by Tesla’s former CTO, JB Straubel, has shared a one-year update on its mission to recycle essential materials from end-of-life (EOL) battery packs, with a focus on producing new high-quality battery cell materials. The report highlighted the company’s impressive recovery rate of ~95% of metals from EOL battery packs that could be used to produce anode and cathodes for cell production. Over the past 12 months, Redwood Materials collaborated with major car manufacturers including Toyota, Ford Motor Company, Volvo Cars, and Volkswagen Group of America to collect approximately 1,268 battery packs from…

Smartville recently awarded $5.9 million from the U.S. Department of Energy as part of a $75-million funding package through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This grant will support Smartville’s mission to breathe new life into retired electric vehicle (EV) batteries by advancing technologies and processes supporting EV battery recycling and reuse efforts across the country. Smartville’s large-scale, second-life energy storage system uses repurposed EV batteries, which is a cost-effective and sustainable solution for energy storage. The company’s CEO, Antoni Tong, stated that the system can sustainably power our communities, lessening our dependence on external energy sources. See also: Mercedes-Benz Energy…

Nissan is gearing up to comply with US local sourcing rules for EV tax credits by 2026, after consolidating its platforms and drivetrains for more competitive electric vehicles (EVs). The Japanese automaker has announced plans to introduce six EV nameplates in the US market, with four of them to be produced locally at its plant in Canton, Mississippi, starting from 2026. These models will qualify for the full $7,500 incentive offered under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The remaining two models, the Ariya crossover, and the successor to the Leaf hatchback, will not qualify for the full incentive. Nissan’s COO,…

Tesla is introducing a new retail plan, called Tesla Electric, to select Powerwall customers in Texas. This new plan was announced during Investor Day 2023, where Drew Baglino presented data from Tesla Electric in South Australia. Tesla Electric uses the company’s energy technology to decrease the cost of electricity for customers in Australia. Customers using default utility services paid around $142 per month for power, while customers using Tesla Solar and Powerwall paid only $69 per month without interacting with the grid. Tesla Solar and Powerwall systems that interacted with the grid and enrolled in Tesla Electric were even cheaper…

Charging specialist, Allego, has announced a new contract with Swedish real estate company, Trophi. As part of the partnership, Allego will construct publicly accessible fast-charging infrastructure at seven locations, including supermarkets and urban grocery stores. The charging infrastructure will comprise four to eight High Power Charging (HPC) connections depending on the size of the site, with some locations also featuring an additional four to eight AC charging points. Allego’s latest priority for new sites is the Alpitronic Hypercharger HYC300, which means that two to four of these charging points will likely be present at each site, each with two charging…

Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving technology company, has confirmed that it has laid off 8% of its workforce, or 209 employees, mostly engineering roles, in a bid to cut costs and restructure the organization. This is the second round of layoffs this year, following cuts made in January, and comes amidst broader cuts at Alphabet and Google. Despite the layoffs, Waymo remains committed to developing and deploying its self-driving technology and is focused on commercializing it. See also: Waymo to Test Autonomous Jaguar I-Paces without Human Safety Operator in LA Waymo is facing a long road ahead as it continues to develop…

BP Pulse, a global provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, has announced a partnership with Apcoa, a leading European parking management company, to build 100 fast-charging hubs across Europe. The charging hubs will be located in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland and the UK. All 100 charging hubs will be installed in Apcoa car parks over the next three years. The first two charging hubs are expected to be operational as early as the third quarter of this year in Berlin and Bremen. While the company has not specified which charging stations will be used, it has…

Tesla announced a major milestone on Investor Day at Giga Texas, revealing it had produced its four millionth vehicle since beginning production in 2008. The announcement was made by Tesla China executive Tom Zhu, who revealed that the milestone car was a Model Y produced at Giga Texas. This news comes as no surprise as Tesla’s rate of production is accelerating due to the introduction of two new factories in the past year. It took Tesla 12 years to build its first one million cars, but the launch of the Model 3 in 2018 shortened the time it took to…

Volkswagen has announced the launch of a facelifted version of its ID.3 EV, which was the first model in its ID family of electric vehicles. The upgraded 2024 ID.3 has received a comprehensive upgrade, including new software with updated convenience and assist systems. While the exterior and interior may not look too different from the previous model, Volkswagen has implemented several changes to give the car a more striking look. The most visible change is the more aggressive front bumper with enlarged air cooling openings. There are also new light signatures for the LED headlights and taillight clusters, with illuminated…

Waymo, the Alphabet-owned self-driving technology company, is set to begin testing its autonomous Jaguar I-Paces without a human safety operator in Los Angeles in the coming weeks. Initially, only Waymo employees will be able to hail rides in the driverless robotaxis, which will be available outside of traditional rush hour times. Waymo has been mapping several LA neighborhoods, including Downtown, Miracle Mile, Koreatown, and Westwood, since 2019, but it will start its rider-only testing in Santa Monica before gradually ramping up. The move is part of the company’s plan to commercialize robotaxi services in its second California city. In October…