• News aggregator on electric cars and electric vehicles (cars, motorcycles, boats, planes).

Energy, power, cells, modules, cooling: Watch Lucid’s CEO give the best EV battery primer yet

Lucid Air battery cellsIf you’re looking to learn more about EV batteries, Lucid Motors CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson may have just delivered the best primer yet. Over roughly 36 minutes, this first video in a series covers just about every aspect of the Lucid Air battery pack and how it helps enable the luxury sedan’s 520-mile maximum range. Rawlinson starts with the… More…

Ford and PG&E study how F-150 Lightning might support the grid, not just the home

2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Intelligent Backup PowerWhile bidirectional charging remains at the hypothetical or developmental stages for some automakers, it’s almost here for Ford and its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck. A new partnership between Ford and California utility PG&E is aiming to take that functionality to the next stage: the electrical grid. Ford plans the first… More…

Rivian plans LFP cells, heat pump, 800V upgrade; 2022 production plan halved to 25,000

Rivian battery pack [from video]Rivian revealed updates on R1T, R1S, and EDV production, preorders, and what amounted to its most significant product update in months, as part of a letter to shareholders and Q&A held Thursday. The company is ramping up production, gradually and with plenty of supply-chain-related fits and starts. As of March 8, Rivian reports that it has… More…

Ethanol producers, states join opposition to stricter Biden emissions and mpg standards

E85 Corvette RacerA coalition of ethanol producers have joined a group of 16 states challenging tougher vehicle emissions standards for model years 2023 through 2026, Automotive News reported last week. Under the Biden administration, the EPA has proposed rules that will support a fleet mix of about 40% EVs by 2030 and arrive at a slightly tighter level by… More…

Analysts: Raw material price surge will put EV battery affordability gains on hold until 2024

Battery production at Mercedes-Benz's plant in Hedelfingen, GermanyA surge in raw material prices could cause EV battery prices to rise, according to a recent Reuters report. Battery prices have declined consistently over the past few years, but rising prices of nickel, lithium, and other materials—exasperated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—could halt or even reverse that trend, according to the… More…

VW ID.Buzz electric Microbus revealed: US version won’t be shown until 2023, sold until 2024

2024 Volkswagen ID.BuzzFive years after generating much buzz with a Microbus-inspired electric van, Volkswagen has at last revealed the production model, suitably called ID.Buzz. Although for the U.S. there’s a big asterisk: America won’t see the ID at dealerships until 2024. Simply put, Americans shouldn’t dwell too much on the specs for the European… More…

More EVs likely means less pollution from utilities, not more: Here’s why

Netze BW smart charging trial  -  screencap from ReutersThere are some ill-informed opinion pieces suggesting that the more EVs that are put to use, the more we’ll need to tap into dirtier power sources in order to meet demand. But as a recent RMI report suggests, that’s not true—because relatively simple tech like smart charging and time-of-use rates will help smooth loads and help utilities… More…

Research suggests solid-state EV battery cells aren’t always safer than conventional lithium-ion

Solid Power solid-state battery cellsOne of the touted benefits of solid-state batteries is increased safety owing to a more stable solid electrolyte, but new research casts doubt on that claim. Solid-state batteries get their name from their solid electrolyte, which proponents claim is less prone to damage and overheating than the liquid electrolyte used in conventional lithium-ion… More…

GM wants future EVs to be home power banks—and it starts with a California pilot program

Chevy Silverado EV  -  Sopranos Super Bowl ad, 2022Electric vehicles have the potential to be more than just transportation—by using their battery packs for supplemental home energy and grid stabilization. That’s what a collaboration between GM and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), announced Tuesday morning, aims to explore—with the eventual hope of making every GM vehicle… More…

VW electric Microbus revival due for March 9 reveal, 2023 deliveries

2024 VW ID.BuzzVolkswagen plans to reveal its ID.Buzz electric Microbus in production form on March 9. But with each reminder of the pending reveal, it’s trickling out a little more information about the long-anticipated electric van. The ID.Buzz is expected to follow closely on the prototype version teased in November—for Europe. The U.S. version, not due… More…

Could spinning off EV business allow Ford to go electric quicker?

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E GTFord is looking at ways to separate its EV business from its other operations in order to win more positive attention from investors, according to a Bloomberg report published Friday. CEO Jim Farley wants to “wall off” the EV business from its internal-combustion engine business, and has considered spinning off one or the other, according to the… More…

Tesla reached a cumulative million of its new-format cells in January

Tesla Model YTesla produced its millionth large-format 4680 battery cell in January, according to a tweet from the company’s official account posted Friday. The 4680 cells, so far made at a facility in California, are key to Tesla’s plans to continue boosting range and performance while lowering cost. The name references their dimensions—46 millimeters… More…

Aptera is tuning its 1,000-mile EV—and it can outrun some sports cars

Aptera beta prototype testingAptera recently provided an update on development of its electric 3-wheeler, releasing a pair of videos showing a test mule being put through its paces at California’s Chuckwalla Valley Raceway. The stripped-down vehicle shown here is a “beta” prototype, representing the second of four phases of development, Aptera noted. It follows the initial… More…

Tesla tumbles as a brand, Ford Mustang Mach-E named EV pick in annual CR rankings

2021 Ford Mustang Mach-ETesla tumbled down Consumer Reports’ latest automotive brand rankings, while the Ford Mustang Mach-E replaced the Model 3 as CR’s top-rated EV. Tesla fell seven spots to 23rd overall in the 2022 CR automotive brand rankings released Thursday. CR said that was mainly due to the new steering yoke in the Model S and Model X, which lowered their… More…