Mercedes-Benz has announced various new appointments in top management, affecting Level 1 below the Group Board of Management. Among others, Christoph Starzynski, currently Head of Development Electric Drive, will assume responsibility for the overall vehicle development of all Mercedes-Benz passenger car series as of 1 July 2023. The series of new appointments was triggered by […] More…

The battery start-up Britishvolt has to file for insolvency and has laid off most of its employees with immediate effect. According to British media, negotiations with several potential investors to save the company have failed. Britishvolt applied for the appointment of an insolvency administrator on Tuesday, write the Guardian and the BBC. The auditing firm […] More…

Volvo Cars has announced plans to launch its own offshoot of the 009 electric van from the Zeekr brand, which is also part of the Geely Group, in China at the end of 2023. In a graphic from a presentation published there, the Swedish companys’ current and upcoming electric models are shown. This means the […] More…

Hertz and the ride-hailing company Uber are expanding their US partnership to Europe. Accordingly, Hertz wants to provide up to 25,000 electric cars for Uber drivers in European capitals by 2025. London, Paris and Amsterdam were explicitly mentioned so far. The European expansion of the partnership will first become visible in London: There, the fleet […] More…

StoreDot’s fast-charging silicon-dominated battery cells are already being tested under real-life conditions by 15 car brands from Europe, Asia and the USA. According to the Israeli battery developer, initial test results confirm the fast-charging capability of the cells. StoreDot does not name individual names in the press release. Instead, the Israeli company published a world […] More…

The government of the UK and Ofgem published the ‘Electric Vehicle Smart Charging Action Plan’ today, setting out steps to seize on the significant potential of smart EV charging and make it the preferred method of long-duration charging by 2025. The new plan includes allowing drivers to power their homes using the electricity stored in […] More…

The Indian energy supplier Tata Power has announced the development of a nationwide charging network in India. Around 25,000 charging points are to be installed over the next five years. The charging infrastructure will be monitored from Mumbai. Tata Power does not provide any explicit information on the targeted charging capacities of the planned network. […] More…

Increasingly higher currents during fast charging pose new challenges for both the power electronics and the contact system. As part of the joint project ‘HV-MELA-BAT’ funded by the German government, Fraunhofer researchers now want to find a remedy. The background to the project is not only the further development of existing fast-charging infrastructure based on […] More…

In the UK, Gridserve has opened its first Electric Super Hub of 2023 at Solstice Park in Wiltshire, providing eight 350kW chargers to boost charging capacity for passing electric vehicles on the A303 near Stonehenge. The A303 is a key route from London to holiday hotspots in Devon and Cornwall. Gridserve says the new Electric […] More…

After acquiring battery maker Romeo Power last year, Nikola Motor is now relocating its battery production from Cypress, California, to Nikola’s own plant in Coolidge in the state of Arizona. The move is expected to be completed by mid-2023. By moving battery manufacturing to its own main plant, Nikola is bringing truck and fuel cell […] More…

The first stores in the UK will be opening in the first quarter of 2023, with vehicle sales to follow shortly after. The first confirmed dealer partners include Pendragon, Arnold Clark Automobiles, Lookers Motor Group and LSH Auto Holdings. The first BYD vehicle to be launched on the market in the UK will be the […] More…

Seres, a brand belonging to the Chinese group Sokon, has announced the launch of its all-electric SUV model Seres 5 in Europe at the Brussels Motor Show. The Seres 5 will be available from March through the brand’s European distribution network. Offered in China with hybrid powertrains as the Seres SF5, the mid-size SUV will […] More…

Coleman Miln takes passengers everywhere in life and beyond: the British vehicle conversion company Coleman Milne is unveiling a hearse and stretch limousine based on the all-electric Ford Mustang Mach-E. Both electric vehicles will be offered to the UK and European markets in left- and right-hand drive configurations and will be available for demonstration in […] More…

Automotive group Stellantis and lithium producer Vulcan Energy are exploring the use of geothermal energy to decarbonise the Stellantis car plant in Rüsselsheim, Germany, where the DS 4 and Opel Astra are built. Stellantis says geothermal energy could meet a significant portion of the industrial site’s annual energy needs starting in 2025. Vulcan Energy is […] More…

Suzuki presented the purely electric concept car eVX at the Auto Expo in India. The concept is to become a series model for the world market in 2025. It is a compact electric SUV that is supposed to have a considerable range despite its moderate battery size – but with a big catch. With a […] More…

Chinese electric car manufacturer Xpeng has announced plans to open four delivery and service centres in Europe. These are scheduled to open in the first half of 2023 after the company’s European plans were temporarily halted last year. The young company has also issued a hefty price cut in China. The Xpeng centres in Europe […] More…

Electric drives are not just for regular vehicles. At this year’s CES, a variety of alternative EV applications were explored as there were also electric rollerblades and a self-driving electric stroller on display. The rollerblades are powered by an electric drive system that is capable of going up to 25 km/h (15 mph), and can […] More…

Leasing provider Arval has reserved 10,000 units of the Lightyear 2 from Dutch solar car start-up Lightyear. The total number of pre-orders for the Lightyear 2 from B2B partners now exceeds 21,000 vehicles. The Lightyear 2 is the Dutch solar car start-up’s volume model that has been announced for some time. The company opened the […] More…

Budding cell manufacturer Italvolt has entered into a strategic collaboration with Israeli battery developer StoreDot. Under the terms of the agreement, Italvolt will be able to use StoreDot’s ultra-fast charging (XFC) technology and manufacturing intellectual property rights by licence. The XFC batteries are a silicon-dominant anode cell developed by StoreDot. Among other things, this is […] More…

Rock Tech Lithium has received approval for an early start from the responsible State Office for the Environment for the construction of its lithium converter in Guben, Brandenburg, and is planning the first major work on-site in the next few weeks. As with Tesla’s Giga Berlin, the LfU has “granted approval for early start in […] More…