VIA Motors was founded in 2010, and got a lot of media attention thanks to Chairman Bob Lutz, the “Father of the Chevy Volt.” The original business plan was converting GM pickups and vans to PHEVs. Now the company plans to produce fully electric commercial vehicles for fleets. Ideanomics (NASDAQ: IDEX) has agreed to acquire… Read more »
Author: Charles Morris
Louisiana to use VW settlement money to install 82 charging stations
Louisiana may be more famous for étouffée than electric vehicles, but money from Volkswagen’s dirty diesel settlement will finance several measures to clean up the air in the Pelican (or Petroleum) State. Louisiana received $19.8 million from the 2016 settlement. Around $12 million went to replace 351 diesel school buses (some with propane or CNG… Read more »
MotorTrend finds Lucid Air Dream Edition has a range of up to 517 miles in rave review
Lucid is quoting a range of more than 500 miles for its upcoming Air Dream Edition. If that holds up in the real world, it would seem to be a new record for a production EV (and may stand until Aptera gets into the game), and as much range as many an ICE vehicle (to… Read more »
Lightning eMotors partners with Collins Bus to manufacture electric Type A school buses
Commercial vehicle and powertrain specialist Lightning eMotors (NYSE: ZEV) has partnered with school bus manufacturer Collins Bus, a subsidiary of REV Group, to manufacture electric Type A school buses. Type A buses are the smallest type of school buses manufactured in North America, and are based on a cutaway van chassis. Each of the all-electric… Read more »
Ricardo appoints Adrian Schaffer as new President of Automotive and Industrial for North America
Engineering services provider Ricardo has appointed Adrian Schaffer as its new President of Automotive and Industrial for North America. Schaffer’s long career as a transport industry executive spans numerous fields, including manufacturing, electrification, telematics and connectivity, across North America and the globe. As Director of Marketing at Motorola, he worked with GM on the then-new… Read more »
UK charging platform Bonnet raises $1.3 million in new funding
UK startup Bonnet has raised £920,000 ($1.3 million) in new funding, including £850,000 in an equity financing round led by Ascension Ventures and a £70,000 grant from Innovate UK and OZEV (government-funded entities that promote the British EV industry). Bonnet is a charging platform designed to simplify paying for public charging. There are currently over… Read more »
Autonomous electric cargo ship with 7 MWh battery capacity sets sail in Norway
Norwegian chemical firm Yara International has developed an autonomous electric cargo ship, which is scheduled to make its maiden voyage with no crew members aboard later this year. Yara, a major shipper of bulk cargoes, created a subsidiary, Yara Marine Technologies, to address toxic emissions from marine diesel engines. In 2017, it began working on… Read more »
Siemens to expand its EVSE manufacturing operations in the US
Electronics giant Siemens plans to expand its US EVSE manufacturing operations. Siemens expects to manufacture over one million EV chargers for the US market over the next four years. The company will bolster its existing infrastructure offerings with the VersiCharge Level 2 AC series of commercial and residential EV chargers. Siemens is currently evaluating sites… Read more »
Orange EV to deliver 25 electric yard trucks to yard management firm Lazer Spot
Heavy-duty EV builder Orange EV has announced an agreement with Georgia-based Lazer Spot to manufacture and deliver more than 25 electric yard trucks in 2021 and 2022. Lazer Spot, which calls itself the largest yard management firm in the US, has had Orange EV trucks in service for several years with great success. Yard trucks,… Read more »
Battery swapping specialist Ample raises $160 million in Series C funding
Battery swapping is an old idea with a troubled history. Better Place, an Israeli startup that was a promising early promoter of EVs, made battery swapping a centerpiece of its strategy—it went bust in 2013. Tesla demonstrated a swapping system for Model S in 2013, but dropped the technology in 2015. Chinese EV startup NIO… Read more »
