Author: Todd Gilbert

The electric car manufacturer Tesla took the automotive market by storm in California in 2022, as its Model Y and Model 3 emerged as the best-selling vehicles in the state. Tesla, which has always been popular in California, saw its vehicles outsell traditional brands such as Toyota, which is usually a top seller in the state. In 2022, the Model Y was the top-selling vehicle in California, with 87,257 units sold, while the Model 3 came in second place, with 78,934 units sold. Meanwhile, Toyota’s most popular models, the RAV4 and the Camry, took third and fourth place, respectively. See…

IMPROVED EPA – ESTIMATED RANGE NUMBERS Thanks to various incremental improvements over previous software updates, this update includes updated EPA-estimated range. The update also increases the depth of discharge, which increases the usable battery energy. Youwill now see higher available miles at the top of charge. KEY FOB SOFTWARE UPDATE The new key fob firmware improves connection reliability and latency for faster locking and unlocking. It also improves battery life performance compared to very early versions of the firmware. If your key fob has an update available, your vehicle will notify you on the center display. You can also go…

A consortium called Hub2Hub, led by Glasgow-based Hydrogen Vehicle Systems (HVS), has received £6.6 million in funding to develop an autonomous heavy-duty hydrogen-electric truck. The project has been selected by the Center for Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and is jointly funded by industry and government. HVS will manage the project alongside Fusion Processing and UK supermarket chain ASDA, with a total investment of £12 million expected. See also: HVS unveil its hydrogen commercial vehicle design The public subsidy covers half of the project costs. The consortium aims to start test drives in 2024 with the help of the CAVStar driving…

The TwinVECTOR initiative aims to bring together leading European expertise in the field of advanced batteries. Funded by the European Union with a grant of €1.3 million over the course of three years, the project has the goal of developing cutting-edge battery technology. One key aspect of the TwinVECTOR project is the expansion of the center of excellence at Tomas Bata University in Zlín, Czech Republic. This expansion will provide a space for multidisciplinary teams from across the country and around the world to work together, network, and collaborate on the continued development of energy storage technologies. The Bavarian Research…

Hexagon Purus has announced the opening of a new manufacturing facility for hydrogen Type 4 composite cylinders in Westminster, MD. The 60,000 square foot facility will have the capacity to produce up to 10,000 cylinders annually for heavy-duty vehicles, and will employ up to 150 workers. The new plant expands cylinder production capabilities and will serve as a technical center of excellence for engineering, research, and development. The transportation sector is responsible for around 20% of global carbon emissions, and hydrogen has a crucial role in reducing emissions from this sector and others. As hydrogen continues to gain global recognition…

Neta Auto, the electric vehicle subsidiary of Hozon Auto, has set a bold target of doubling its sales in 2023. According to China Securities Journal, the company is aiming to sell 300,000 units this year. Last year, Neta recorded sales of 152,073 units, a growth of 118% from the previous year. This included deliveries to international markets, with 3,456 units exported. If Neta meets its goal, the growth rate for 2023 would be 97%, surpassing its cumulative sales since its launch. As of the end of January, the company had delivered a total of 254,065 vehicles. See also: Neta Launches…

The city of Copenhagen and the enclave of Frederiksberg in Denmark have committed to fully electrifying all five remaining bus routes by 2025. The task of making this change now falls on the public transport operator, Movia. The contracts for these five bus routes are set to end between 2026 and 2029 and were previously expected to continue to be operated with diesel buses. Copenhagen and Frederiksberg have already made significant progress in their transition to electric buses. Currently, 13 bus routes in the city are already emissions-free, and by December 2023, that number is expected to rise to 22,…

Volvo Cars has announced the appointment of Jeremy Offer as its new Global Head of Design, starting from May 1, 2023. Offer, who has 35 years of design experience, is joining Volvo from Arrival, a British electric vehicle developer. He will be responsible for leading the design of Volvo’s future models, which are primarily electric. Robin Page, the current design chief, will continue to support Volvo as a senior advisor. Jeremy Offer will report directly to the CEO, Jim Rowan, and be a part of the company’s Group Management Team. Volvo is committed to selling only fully electric vehicles starting…

Rivian Automotive is exploring the development of an electric bike, according to the CEO RJ Scaringe. During a company-wide meeting, Scaringe disclosed the e-bike effort, which is being led by a small group of engineers. The CEO hinted at the possibility of an e-bike during a conference in October and the company has patents for electric bicycle components and designs. The move into the micromobility sector could potentially expand Rivian’s product lineup, despite recent cuts to headcount across the company. Scaringe informed staff that the cuts were made to refocus on ramping production of its electric vehicles and achieving profitability…

During the Q4 and FY 2022 earnings call, Elon Musk emphasized the strong demand for Tesla vehicles, particularly in January. As a result, the company has decided to slightly increase the prices for certain models. This assertion was further reinforced by the delivery estimate for the Model Y Long Range, which suggests that the demand for Tesla vehicles remains robust. A recent examination of the Tesla Model Y configurator revealed that the delivery estimate for the Long Range Dual Motor AWD variant has been shifted from February to March 2023 to March to May 2023. This change in delivery estimate…

Sonoma County in California is making a commitment to green transportation by purchasing ten battery-electric buses from Proterra. These buses will replace the ten compressed natural gas buses currently in use, and will arrive in the summer of 2024, joining the six other electric buses expected to arrive in June. This will increase the number of electric buses in the county’s 49-bus fleet to 19, making up nearly 40% of the fleet. The purchase aligns with California Air Resources Board regulations that mandate the use of zero-emission vehicles for public transit starting in 2029, with the goal of retiring all…

BYD, a leading Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) maker, saw a decline in its NEV sales in January. The company reported 151,341 units sold, which was up 62.44% from the same month a year prior, but still marked a 35.65% decrease from December’s sales. This dip in sales was attributed to the impact of the Chinese New Year holiday. As of March 2022, BYD no longer produces and sells vehicles powered by internal combustion engines and all its vehicles are now NEVs. This includes both passenger cars and commercial vehicles, of which 150,164 units and 1,177 units were sold in…