Chinese carmaker Great Wall has launched a premium electric compact car called Funky Cat in Europe from its all-electric brand Ora. The Funky Cat’s more modern Beetle look puts it in competition with retro models like the Mini or the Fiat 500. Can an electric car from China win European hearts? We took the Funky […] More…
Author: electrive.com
Bonnet charging app rakes in over £3 mn in funding
Bonnet, a London-based EV charging app with a European scope, has launched a public crowdfunding campaign after drivers already using the app had pledged to take a stake in the company. Bonnet also reveals that it got £3 million in equity from powerful investors. Bonnet’s list of institutional investors is an eclectic mix with GV […] More…
Fastned marks 250 fast-charging hubs with a new UK site
Fastned has inaugurated a charging station in East Anglia, UK, and counts it as the 250th site in Europe. It is also its 14th UK location, comprising six 300 kW charging bays. Fastned plans to open a further two sites later this summer. The new UK location is based on the A12 motorway at Martlesham […] More…
EDP Comercial relying on GreenFlux platform in Portugal
EDP Comercial, part of the energy firm EDP Group, has made a deal with GreenFlux to use their digital platform for intelligent charging. EDP’s main markets are Portugal, Spain, and Brazil, and the company says it offers e-mobility services to more than 50,000 EV drivers. The agreement regards GreenFlux’s cloud-based platform, which EDP will use […] More…
Evergrande subsidiary NEVS lays off almost all employees
The lights threaten to go out at National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS), the Swedish electric car subsidiary of the Chinese real estate group Evergrande. NEVS is laying off 320 of its 340 employees. The company is taking steps to cut costs, pay supplier debts and avert insolvency. In a statement, the NEVS calls the measure […] More…
Rivian wants to end its exclusive deal with Amazon
Rivian wants to offer its electric delivery vans to others in the future and is therefore negotiating with Amazon to lift the exclusivity clause that is part of the companies’ deal. This comes as Amazon’s orders are allegedly below expectations. The exclusivity clause dates back to 2019, when Amazon agreed with Rivian to purchase 100,000 […] More…
Volta Trucks receives European Type Approval for 16 tonner
Volta Trucks has received European Type Approval (ECWVTA) for its 16-tonne Volta Zero electric truck, reaching another important milestone on the road to the start of production. With the award of the ECWVTA, Volta Trucks now has permission to go into series production and start sales with its all-electric Volta Zero. The certification comes just […] More…
VinFast’s US factory delayed until 2025
Vietnamese electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast will be opening its first US plant later than it had hoped. About a year ago, the carmaker publicised plans for the facility in Chatham County, North Carolina, saying that operations would begin by July 2024. But the opening date has now been pushed back to 2025. The Chatham County […] More…
GM goes to ChatGPT for vehicle diagnostics
General Motors is developing a new voice assistant based on ChatGPT, whose capabilities are intended to go beyond understanding simple instructions. One potential area of application, for example, is when a warning light comes on, the driver could ask the car whether they can continue with the fault or should stop immediately. Or if a […] More…
Mercedes & CATL subsidiary Brunp announce battery recycling cooperation
Mercedes-Benz has agreed to cooperate with CATL subsidiary Brunp in China to recycle electric car batteries. Brunp says it already works with Volvo, BMW, FAW-Volkswagen and GAC-Toyota, among others, in the area of battery recycling. According to the now-signed memorandum of understanding, Brunp will, in the future, recycle used electric car batteries from Mercedes-Benz, realize […] More…
Porsche confirms electric Cayenne and new electric flagship
Porsche officially confirmed plans for an all-electric Cayenne. An electric crossover positioned above the Cayenne as a new flagship is also to come – as well as further developed plug-in hybrids for the remaining combustion models. According to the manufacturer, this fourth generation of the Cayenne underscores its ambition to deliver more than 80 per […] More…
Neta starts building EV factory in Thailand
Hozon Auto’s Chinese electric car brand Neta has started building its first production facility outside China. The site in the Thai capital of Bangkok is scheduled to go into operation at the end of January 2024. The new plant will become Neta’s key location for manufacturing and exporting right-hand drive electric cars to ASEAN countries. […] More…
Volkswagen to build battery factory in Canada
Volkswagen is building its first battery cell factory outside of Europe. It has found a location in Ontario, Canada, where production should start in 2027. That VW is looking to manufacture cells in North America is no surprise. The carmaker’s battery subsidy PowerCo has been location scouting in Canada since late 2022. And the battery […] More…
Xpeng presents updated P7 called P7i
The Chinese electric car manufacturer Xpeng is putting the spotlight on the facelift of its P7 sedan, which is also available in Europe. The new edition is called Xpeng P7i and can be ordered in China as of now. Deliveries are also scheduled to begin this month. Xpeng unveiled the previous P7 model in the […] More…
Indra receives over £20 million in funding
British company Indra announced that it completed its oversubscribed Series B funding round. According to the company, investors paid more than £20 million for Indra to continue its work on bidirectional charging technology. Gulf Oil International led the investment. “This additional investment shows the depth of confidence in our ground-breaking technology as we continue to […] More…
BYD receives major order from Octopus in the UK
Octopus Electric Vehicles wants to procure 5,000 electric cars from BYD for British customers over the next three years. The two companies have agreed on this as part of a memorandum of understanding. Octopus Electric Vehicles, the eMobility provider of the energy supplier Octopus Energy, wants to make the BYD electric cars available to employees […] More…
US Hybrid starts production of electric street sweepers
Ideanomics has announced that production has started for 18 hybrid-electric street sweepers featuring its subsidiary US Hybrid’s electric and hybrid electric propulsion kits. In the next steps, the California-based Global Environmental Products (GEP) will manufacture and deliver the sweepers to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) in the coming weeks. At the same time, GEP […] More…
Cummins launches zero-emissions solutions brand named Accelera
US engine builder Cummins has launched Accelera, a new brand for its electrification solutions business. Cummins also announces several projects, including the introduction of 1,000 new electric school buses in cooperation with Blue Bird. Accelera is the newest brand of Cummins’ New Power business unit. According to a press release, it will address “key industries” […] More…
LG & Panasonic rumoured to supply Tesla’s 4680 battery cells
According to an agency report, Panasonic and LG Energy Solution are to supply the 4680 cells for the Tesla Cybertruck. Apparently, this was not originally planned. Tesla is said to have not yet reached the targeted energy density with its own 4680 cells of the first generation. Reuters reported this with reference to insiders. Tesla […] More…
Canada Post goes all electric in Nanaimo
Canada Post has taken delivery of 14 electric delivery vans at its Nanaimo depot, making it the CEP provider’s first location with an entirely electric fleet. The depot acts as a test location, as Canada Post is looking to electrify its last mile. Sally Dam, Director of Urban Delivery Strategy, told CBC Vancouver that Nanaimo […] More…