A battery scandal may be brewing at Volkswagen: The top manager and former VW development board member Ulrich Eichhorn is alleged to have passed on solid-state cell expertise to a startup in which he himself is indirectly involved. Read more…

The charging infrastructure provider Qwello has announced the conclusion of debt financing. The debt capital of up to 65 million euros will be used to refinance part of the purchase price for Park & Charge (PnC), which can be invested in Qwello’s European expansion and the further growth of PnC. Read more…

As the VW Group will apparently miss its savings targets by several billion euros, the top management is planning further cuts. For the first time, possible plant closures and redundancies are being mooted – also because electric cars bring in relatively little profit. Read more…

Mini is recalling all units of the battery-electric Cooper SE worldwide due to a potential fire hazard. The insulation of the high-voltage battery in the vehicles may be faulty. A software update is to help, among other measures. Read more…

The new BMW plant in Debrecen is nearing completion. The first phase at the new production site in Hungary is now the paint shop. Pre-series production of BMW’s ‘Neue Klasse’ electric cars is due to start in Debrecen at the end of this year. Read more…

In India, Finnish EV charging technology company Kempower has just delivered fast charging solutions to a public charging hub in the megacity of Hyderabad. The charging hub is operated by Glida and covers 3,700 square metres in Shamshabad near Hyderabad airport. Read more…

Chinese battery giant CATL has announced plans to grow its battery swapping network in China over the next three years. By 2027, CATL aims to have built 3,000 battery swapping stations, and is gearing up to grow to 10,000 stations. Read more…

Audi has appointed Marco Schubert, previously Head of Porsche Europe, as the brand’s new Head of Sales. Schubert succeeded Hildegard Wortmann, who left the Audi Board of Management after more than five years, on 1 September. Read more…

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a thin, flexible solid electrolyte. This should be able to double the energy density of next-generation batteries. Read more…

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has just announced nearly $62 million for 20 projects across 15 states to accelerate the research, development, demonstration, and deployment of next-generation clean hydrogen technologies. Read more…

Car manufacturer Mahindra and the Indian Volkswagen subsidiary Skoda Auto Volkswagen India are said to be planning a joint venture focussing on electric SUVs. The jointly produced vehicles are probably not only intended for India, but also for international markets. Read more…

The construction of Northvolt’s Canadian battery cell factory could take up to 18 months longer than originally planned, according to the Quebec provincial government. This could be due to the ongoing review of expansion plans. Read more…

The US special tariffs on electric cars from China did not come into force in the course of August as announced. However, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative, a decision will be announced “in the coming days.” Read more…

An armoured electric vehicle is now available for anyone with a sufficient security budget thanks to Armor Group and the Lucid Air Sapphire for bulletproof chauffeuring. The U.S. armoured vehicle specialists have just unveiled an armoured version of the 920 kW electric limousine. Read more…

In the ‘DRivE’ research project, two university institutions and five players from industry are working on reliable route planning for alternatively powered trucks in the transport sector. After a two-month pilot phase, the participants are now presenting an interim summary. Read more…

The VoloCity electric air cab from the German electric aviation start-up Volocopter has cleared an important hurdle on the way to certification: The German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) has successfully carried out static vibration tests on the model. Read more…

Geely’s electric car brand Zeekr presents its latest model, the 7X, which is also destined for export. The 4.82 metre-long electric SUV is to be delivered in China from September and globally within a year. Read more…

Concluding 5 years of dedicated service, Blink Charging announced that its President & CEO, Brendan Jones, will retire on January 31, 2025. Michael Battaglia will take over the post from the beginning of February 2025. Read more…

Nissan USA has approved an enhanced Fermata Energy bidirectional charger for use with the Nissan Leaf. Read more…

UL Solutions opened the doors of its new North America Advanced Battery Laboratory in Auburn Hills, Michigan, one of the most extensive electric and hybrid vehicle and industrial battery testing laboratories in the USA. Read more…