The Chinese electric car manufacturer Xpeng has officially launched its G6 Ultra Smart Coupe SUV in China. It is expected to rival the Tesla Model Y in China – and possibly abroad. The electric SUV starts at 209,000 yuan, the equivalent of around €26,600. That means the base price for the coupé-like SUV with 800-volt […] More…

The Volkswagen Group also opens up to Tesla’s fast charging system in North America. Charging infrastructure subsidiary Electrify America announces that it will integrate the NACS connection into its fast charging stations in the USA and Canada. And that might not be all. Tesla’s North American Charging standard – or NACS – connectors will be […] More…

VW Group and Audi supervisory boards have reportedly decided to replace Audi CEO Markus Duesmann in their meeting on Thursday. Duesmann is set to step down on 1 September, making way for his successor, Gernot Döllner, who is said to be close to Oliver Blume. German magazine Der Spiegel broke the news this afternoon. Audi […] More…

The British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has banned two electric car campaigns by Toyota and Hyundai. The manufacturers had advertised their EV models with claims about fast-charging capability, but the ASA says the information given is misleading. Toyota advertised that bZ4X can be charged to 80 per cent in about 30 minutes with a 150-kW […] More…

The eActros 300 electric tractor unit from Daimler Truck is now on the road in the Netherlands for Simon Loos. The first five vehicles were handed over to the food logistics company in June. The electric tractor units for Simon Loos are part of a small series that will be successively delivered to the first […] More…

The South Korean chemical company LG Chem has started mass production of single-crystal cathode materials with high nickel content at its plant in Cheongju. The first batches will be shipped to customers worldwide from July onwards. LG has not yet revealed which customers will be supplied with the material, only that the material will initially […] More…

Luxembourg-based Livista Energy Europe has just revealed that the location of its recently announced lithium refinery in Germany will be built in Emden, Lower Saxony. The German refinery was announced a couple of weeks ago. Livista says the refinery location in Emden is a strategic decision since the seaport is the third largest North Sea […] More…

Lordstown Motors’ worst fear has come to pass as the electric pickup truck manufacturer filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday in a move to put itself up for sale. This follows months of fighting Taiwan’s Foxconn over failing to deliver a promised investment. The automaker, named after its Ohio hometown, filed for Chapter 11 protection in […] More…

Electreon reports the successful installation of its inductive charging system in a 50-tonne electric truck. The electric truck is a DAF XF converted to an electric drive system by Dutch commercial vehicle manufacturer GINAF, and now bears the designation GINAF GE2121. Following the installation of the charging technology, the electric 50-tonne truck was charged both […] More…

NASA provides an update on its electric aircraft X-57 Maxwell. Introduced in 2020, the US space agency expects to complete the project in September 2023. However, the project will conclude without taking off. Initially scheduled for the end of 2020, the maiden flight was repeatedly delayed due to various challenges, including mechanical issues and the […] More…

Factorial Energy, a US developer of solid-state battery cells backed by Mercedes-Benz, Stellantis and Hyundai-Kia, is partnering with South Korean battery recycling company Young Poong to invest in solid-state battery recycling research. Factorial will supply surplus lithium metal material from its battery manufacturing process to the South Korean company, according to a company statement. Young […] More…

Blink Charging today announced it has transitioned all former SemaConnect chargers and services to the new Blink Network. The transition also marks the final step in integrating SemaConnect into Blink Charging following its acquisition in June 2022. “The integration of our SemaConnect chargers into the Blink Network is a significant milestone, symbolising the culmination of […] More…

Ikea logistic partner DX announced a further £3 million investment in new electric vehicles for the Group’s delivery and logistics partnership with Ikea. The money will be enough to add 53 electric vans by Maxus to the fleet and is DX’s second round of EV funding for Ikea. DX made a deal with Ikea in […] More…

Freyr has started semi-automated production of its first unit battery cells at its customer qualification facility in Rana, Norway. The budding cell manufacturer is also providing updates on the financing of its two planned large battery cell factories. Freyr is on schedule to advance process automation, production and testing of its cells in the second […] More…

Geely’s electric car brand Zeekr starts pre-sales for two models in the first two European markets. The Zeekr 001 and Zeekr X are now available for pre-order in the Netherlands and Sweden. The first European prices are now also known. In April, Zeekr had initially announced that the first European models would be the Zeekr […] More…

BMW has begun construction of a new plant for the assembly of high-voltage batteries in Woodruff in the US state of South Carolina. In future, sixth-generation batteries will be assembled there, which will be used for electric cars at the nearby Spartanburg plant. BMW announced the assembly plant in October 2022, when the carmaker said […] More…

EVs sector is growing fast and there are many ongoing initiatives focus on various areas such as developing vehicles with efficient, lightweight batteries capable of exchanging energy with electrical grids; establishing a widespread charging infrastructure with easy access (smart cards) and fast charging times; and enhancing the safety of critical vehicle modules, particularly those vulnerable […] More…

Toyota has presented the second generation of its coupé-like SUV model C-HR. The car is now being offered for the first time as a plug-in hybrid in addition to three full hybrid versions. The new models get Toyota’s fifth-generation hybrid powertrain with more power, with key components extensively redesigned to reduce size and weight. The […] More…

Former Audi boss Rupert Stadler gets off with a suspended sentence and a fine after his involvement in the diesel scandal. The Munich Regional Court has now sentenced Stadler to 21 months of suspended imprisonment and a fine of 1.1 million euros. Rupert Stadler was the first former Volkswagen board member to admit in court […] More…

The Australian company Dovetail Electric Aviation is testing a fuel cell system from Hyundai for aviation in collaboration with Australian regional airline Rex Group. Dovetail wants to use the FC system from Hyundai subsidiary HTWO for initial tests in Australia in order to integrate it into its Iron Bird aircraft. Dovetail has already tested an […] More…