The US electric car manufacturer Lucid Motors has begun the announced expansion of its plant in Casa Grande in the US state of Arizona. The company, which is now listed on the stock exchange, also presented its first quarterly financial statement. The expansion is expected to increase production capacity from the current level of up […] More…

Hyvia, the joint venture between Renault and Plug Power, is following up with two more H2 prototypes, which are to be launched as production vehicles from 2022. A month ago, Hyvia had already presented near-production prototypes of the Renault Master H2-Tech panel van and a hydrogen filling station. The two hydrogen-powered prototypes now unveiled are […] More…

The electric car brand Polestar aims to increase its annual sales to 290,000 vehicles by the end of 2025 with expansion in existing and new markets and the introduction of three new models. By the end of 2023, Polestar should already be present in 30 markets – currently there are 14. In the first half […] More…

Toyota is known to be very much in favour of hybrid and fuel cell drives and rather little in favour of battery electric vehicles. Now a report has detailed how Toyota (and other Japanese manufacturers) are imposing these views on children via brochures in schools. While Japan has announced plans to ban the sale of […] More…

Ricardo has received UK Government funding to optimise in-car thermal and energy management systems to improve electric vehicle range and battery performance. The initiators expect that the technology innovation will help accelerate consumer adoption of BEVs. Currently, battery-electric vehicle drivers tend to find that their range fluctuates alongside outdoor temperatures. This is not only due […] More…

At Volkswagen Saxony, the assembly lines are at a standstill this week. Due to a lack of semiconductors, about 5,000 vehicles will not be built in Zwickau and Dresden. This includes vehicles from the VW brand, but also Audi and Cupra. A spokesperson for VW Saxony confirmed the one-week production stop to Automobilwoche. In Saxony, […] More…

Scientists at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory say they have developed a scalable, low-cost method to improve the joining of materials in solid-state batteries. The process involves an electrochemical pulse to overcome a “key challenge” of producing solid-state batteries at scale. Battery experts know the issue as contact impedance, a term that describes the difficulty […] More…

The fledgling electric aircraft developer Airflow from California wants to commercialise its first model from 2025. The company, founded in 2019, calls its model eSTOL and wants to rely on hybrid and battery-electric as well as fuel cell systems for its propulsion. The acronym STOL stands for short takeoff and landing. The model being promoted […] More…

Croydon, London’s southernmost borough, plans to install 60 new electric vehicle charging points before the end of the year, with 20 more expected before February 2022. Many of which are already available, the charge points will appear at 32 different sites across the district. In partnership with Liberty Charge, these charge points come as part […] More…

The chemical companies Toray Industries from Japan and LG Chem from South Korea have agreed to set up a joint venture for battery separator films in Hungary. The separator films for electric car batteries will then be purchased by LG Group in Europe and the USA. The new company will be called LG Toray Hungary […] More…

EV charging stations supply in India will surge as the IndianOil Corporation (IOC) and two other public sector oil firms pledge to install 22,000 charging stations over the next five years. Taking the lead, IOC said it would equip 10,000 fuel outlets with EV chargers over the next three years. IndianOil Chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya […] More…

UK-based electric powertrain specialist Saietta has acquired e-Traction Europe from Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group. e-Traction is a Dutch supplier of electric powertrains for trucks and buses and power electronics. According to the Saietta Group, the acquisition is intended to drive its own growth strategy – thanks to e-Traction’s ” commercial and technical capabilities” and […] More…

The Renault Retail Group is switching all its courtesy cars to the Renault Zoe. The move affects 143 vehicles spread across the 15 official Renault and Dacia dealerships in England and Wales the Group comprises. The new EVs join 21 Zoe E-Tech that already exist on the 164-strong courtesy car fleet. A courtesy car is […] More…

Battery cell manufacturer CATL has acquired a stake in Neta Automobile, an electric car brand of Hozon Auto. CATL will supply Neta with battery cells in the future and develop electric car technologies together with Neta. Specifically, CATL has participated in Neta’s D2 financing round with an undisclosed sum. In addition to the investment, a […] More…

The Polish courier service InPost has procured 260 electric vans and expects these to join the fleet before the year’s end. InPost will then run a total fleet of 300 electric vehicles. The new vans on order primarily come from the Nissan retrofitter Voltia. The order from InPost includes 250 Nissan e-NV200 vans and another […] More…

The Envision AESC battery factory at Renault’s Douai site in northern France is to be smaller than originally announced. Instead of the capacity of 43 GWh by 2030, only 30 GWh or more are planned by 2029, according to an agency report. The background is apparently a change of location. Bloomberg refers to an official […] More…

The EU, the USA, China and other countries want to oblige carmakers to commit to a minimum durability of the batteries installed in their electric and hybrid cars. This was agreed in principle by the countries at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) World Forum for Harmonisation of Vehicle Regulations in Geneva. “Agreed […] More…

The British think tank Influencemap found that the German auto industry is double-dealing when it comes to climate protection. While publicly supporting the Paris Agreement, such manufacturers also actively lobby against climate protection regulations. While increasingly expressing general support for the Paris Agreement and long-term climate targets, new research by Influencemap suggests that BMW and […] More…

Northvolt has produced its first battery cell with 100 per cent recycled nickel, manganese and cobalt as part of its Revolt recycling programme. The company is now looking to scale up its recycling facilities in Sweden to establish a facility able to recycle 125,000 tons of batteries per year. When announcing the news of the […] More…

French manufacturer Gaussin has unveiled its first electric truck, the H2 Racing Truck. The fuel-cell-powered truck is to demonstrate the performance of Gaussin’s announced electric platform on long-distance missions such as the Dakar Rally in January. According to Gaussin, the H2 Racing Truck will be a technology carrier for further developing its road truck range […] More…