The Munich-based supplier Webasto is increasing the energy content of its traction batteries from 35 to 40 kWh as part of a product update. The external dimensions remain the same. Tied together in large packs, the batteries are designed to supply electric commercial vehicles with up to 720 kWh of electricity. Read more…

Tesla started rehiring some of the members of its Supercharger team that Elon Musk had laid off at the end of April. These include Max de Zegher, Director of Tesla’s charging business in North America. Read more…

The spinoff 8inks from Schlieren, Switzerland, has developed a multi-layer coating technology for lithium-ion battery production. Founderful and other investors are now giving 8inks three million euros to scale up the already patented technology. Read more…

While the EU is still investigating potential dumping of electric cars from China, the US government has now announced an increase in import duties on electric vehicles from China to 100 per cent. Batteries are also affected. To protect against “unfair trade practices”, as they say. Read more…

The Swedish electric logistics company Einride and the Arabian port operator DP World are entering into a partnership to electrify the movement of shipping containers at the port of Jebel Ali in Dubai. The aim is to save 14,600 tonnes of CO2 equivalents per year. Read more…

ESWE Verkehrsgesellschaft in Wiesbaden inaugurates its successfully remodelled bus depot. A total of 120 electric buses can now draw power for their day trips from the same number of charging stations. Daimler Buses Solutions GmbH acted as the technology partner for the project. Read more…

Berlin’s oldest passenger ship ‘Kaiser Friedrich’ used to consume a whopping 150 litres of diesel per operating hour. But this is now a thing of the past: Torqeedo, a specialist in electric boat engines, has converted the 138-year-old ship to an electric drive. Read more…

Opel/Vauxhall revealed the design of the new Frontera a few weeks ago, and now the new electric compact SUV from Rüsselsheim is finally celebrating its world premiere. While international pricing remains unclear, it was announced that the Frontera will also be available as a seven-seater. Read more…

Manufacturers producing in China sold around 850,000 electric cars and plug-in hybrids in April. Although this is slightly less than in March, a third more plug-in vehicles were sold than a year ago. The electric share of all vehicles sold in China climbed to around 36 per cent in April. Read more…

The new Kia EV6 is a facelifted version of the South Korean automaker’s Tesla Model Y rival. The electric crossover SUV is set to go on sale in the brand’s home market in June. Read more…

The breakthrough in the EU countries on the new CO2 standards for trucks and buses took place several weeks ago. Now the European Council has also formally agreed. The regulation has thus cleared the final hurdle. It stipulates that all new city buses must be emission-free from 2035 and almost all new lorries from 2040. Read more…

The Cross-E project, funded by the European Union, has been launched to set up high-power charging stations for electric vehicles along major routes and harbours across Europe. A total of 911 charging points are planned in eight countries. Read more…

After Tesla recently disbanded its team responsible for the Supercharger network, CEO Elon Musk has now announced that his company will invest more than 500 million US dollars in the expansion of its charging network this year. Staffing issues are expected, however. Read more…

Qwello, a provider of charging infrastructure from Munich, has acquired Park & Charge, a Dutch operator of charging stations. The combined company will manage more than 12,000 charging points in almost 300 municipalities in seven European countries. Read more…

Daimler Truck North America announced two significant investments at its headquarters complex on Swan Island, a new Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) training center adjacent to Electric Island and a new engineering facility at the DTNA campus. Read more…

China’s EV and battery manufacturer BYD has launched a joint venture for sodium-ion batteries with its partner Huaihai. The two sides started building the first factory for the corresponding batteries at the beginning of this year. Read more…

Nick Cassidy and Antonio Felix da Costa are the winners of the Formula E weekend in Berlin. Jaguar driver Cassidy won the first race of the E-Prix, Porsche driver da Costa the second. Jaguar extended its lead over Porsche in the team standings. Read more…

Mercedes-Benz is putting the brakes on investment with a change of course – and is no longer developing its electric platform “MB.EA-Large”, according to a media report. From 2028, the Stuttgart-based company actually wanted to electrify the new generation of its largest saloons and SUVs on the basis of this architecture. Read more…

Californian lithium-sulphur battery developer Lyten has started shipping A-samples of its 6.5 Ah pouch cells to Stellantis and other car manufacturers in the US and EU. Read more…

The Chinese electric car brand Avatr from the two partners Changan and CATL has unveiled its third model, the Avatr 07. The SUV crossover is positioned as a competitor to the Tesla Model Y and comes both as a fully electric vehicle and as a variant with an additional range extender. Read more…