In the Swiss research project, “TEC-OFF”, partners from science and industry are collaborating to investigate intelligent and bidirectional charging using the example of parcel delivery company DPD’s electric transporters in Basel. The findings should help solve gaps in electricity supply at peak times, as well as stabilising the grid. Read more…

Volta Trucks is preparing for a comeback in selected European markets under its new owner, Luxor Capital. The electric truck manufacturer aims to make its first deliveries to customers in Germany by the end of the year – followed by order processing in France, the UK and Scandinavia. Read more…

The Climate Group reports that 231,000 vehicles in corporate fleets that have joined the EV100 initiative, switched to electric vehicles over the last 12 months, up 57 per cent from last year. Read more…

Leasing provider Arval has entered into charging infrastructure partnerships with Fastned and Last Mile Solutions. Fastned gives Arval customers access to over 300 HPC parks in seven European countries. Last Mile Solutions’ expertise in the field of charging management will complement Arval’s position in the fleet leasing industry. Read more…

Israeli battery developer StoreDot has completed over 2,000 consecutive charging cycles with its fast-charging XFC battery cells, which retained more than 80 per cent of their original capacity. The cells were charged from ten to 80 per cent SoC within ten minutes of each other. Read more…

Kenyan electric bus solutions startup BasiGo has secured US$3 million worth of equity funding to scale up production of electric buses for Kenya and Rwanda. Read more…

The Finnish charging hardware manufacturer Kempower is now accepting orders for its megawatt charging system. The company presented its MCS product at the Nordic EV Summit currently underway in Oslo. Read more…

At the Nordic EV Summit, Ekoenergetyka, a leading producer of high-power EV charging infrastructure in Europe, unveiled its latest innovation, a testament to the perfect collaboration between the world-class satellite Sat400 and the intelligent power unit Axon Side 360 DLBS. This solution is not only cost-effective and user-friendly but also an answer to the pressing challenges faced by Charge Point Operators (CPOs) today. What exactly are these challenges? Read more…

The Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU will present a new system for roll embossing at the Hanover Trade Fair in Germany at the end of April. The idea is to tackle a disadvantage of fuel cell systems: the expensive production of bipolar plates. Read more…

The Chinese solid-state battery start-up Talent New Energy has presented a prototype battery cell with an energy density that would enable cars a range of around 2000 kilometres. Whether the cell is suitable for mass production remains to be seen. Read more…

There is more news about Tesla’s plans for India. According to media reports, Tesla wants to send a team to India in April to look for locations for an electric car plant in the country. Until the potential plant is ready, Tesla will import cars to India – probably also from Grünheide near Berlin. Read more…

Chinese commercial vehicle manufacturer Yutong and its battery partner CATL have presented a battery pack that offers a service life of up to 15 years or 1.5 million kilometres. The battery is also said to maintain capacity within the first 1,000 cycles. Read more…

Chinese electric car manufacturer Xpeng has announced the launch of its third model in Europe. The coupé-like electric SUV Xpeng G6, which has been available in China since last year, can be ordered in Europe from May and will hit the road in Q3/2024. Read more…

Kia has started production of the EV5 for export in China. The new electric model based on the E-GMP platform was previously only available in China and is now also exported – as both a left-hand drive and right-hand drive model. Read more…

Yamaha Motor has completed the planned takeover of Torqeedo. Its previous owner, the German company Deutz, sold Torqeedo for “a figure in the high double-digit millions of euros.” Read more…

Mercedes-Benz has ended production of the Smart Fortwo after more than 25 years. The last model, an all-electric Fortwo Cabrio, rolled off the production line at the Hambach plant in France at the end of March. Read more…

After Easee electric car chargers, distributed by Simplee, were taken off the market by several European authorities, the Swiss market supervisory authority ESTI has now successfully checked the documentation and product safety of the Easee wallboxes Home and Charge, certifying that Easee wallboxes meet the requirements applicable in Switzerland. Read more…

In Spain, EMT Madrid has significantly expanded the charging infrastructure for its electric buses at the depot in the Carabanchel district. Read more…

On Wednesday, the first excavators moved into gear on the construction site of BMW’s new battery assembly plant in Straßkirchen, Germany. According to a German media report, the manufacturer had submitted an application to the local district office for an early start of construction, which was approved last week. Read more…

A global initiative to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles has received $100 million in funding from the IKEA Foundation to help developing countries move away from gasoline-powered vehicles and directly to electric vehicles. Read more…