Global interest in plug-in vehicles continues to grow, but Big Auto continues to take only timid and halting steps toward electrification. This presents opportunities for bold new competitors to establish footholds in the auto market of the future. A new report from Guidehouse Insights identifies some of the “leading EV upstarts.” Guidehouse notes that momentum… Read more »
Author: Charles Morris
Sonoma Coast Incentive Project offers $7 million in rebates for public EV chargers
California has set a goal of putting 5 million EVs on the state’s roads by 2030, and supporting those vehicles with 250,000 chargers. The Sonoma Coast Incentive Project, one of a statewide web of organizations and initiatives designed to further these goals, will make some $6.75 million in incentives available over the next three years… Read more »
Former Tesla VP Chris Porritt joins Rimac Automobili as CTO
Croatian supercar builder Rimac Automobili has appointed Chris Porritt to the role of Chief Technology Officer. Mr. Porritt has spent over three decades in the automotive industry—previous positions include Chief Engineer at Aston Martin, VP of Engineering at Tesla, and lead at Apple’s Special Projects Group. He has overseen the development of several bespoke performance… Read more »
ABB breaks ground on new EV charger factory to meet global demand
Since entering the EV charging market a decade ago, ABB has sold over 14,000 DC fast chargers, in more than 80 countries. However, the Swiss-based electronics giant believes this is just the beginning. It has begun construction on a new production facility in San Giovanni Valdarno, Italy. The company plans to invest $30 million in… Read more »
New study: Ride-hailing EVs deliver triple the emissions benefits of personal EVs
Rideshare vehicles are widely believed to have larger carbon footprints than personal vehicles, as they rack up additional mileage on the way to and from passenger pickups. Thus, it stands to reason that, like trucks and other heavy-duty vehicles, electrifying them would deliver greater emissions reductions than electrifying personal passenger cars. According to a new… Read more »
Hyundai to deliver 50 fuel cells trucks to fleet customers in Switzerland
Even as automakers have been abandoning hydrogen fuel cells as a powertrain option for passenger cars, many believe that the technology will find its niche in the heavy-duty truck sector. Now Hyundai is moving beyond the pilot stage and beginning to deliver vehicles to customers. The company has shipped 10 units of the XCIENT Fuel… Read more »
Driivz to provide charging software platform to Eastern European gas station chain
More and more petroleum retailers are offering EV charging, and this trend is spreading to Eastern Europe. Israeli charging software specialist Driivz will supply the Budapest-based oil company MOL Group with a charging management platform and a self-service app for drivers. MOL currently operates charging stations in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, and… Read more »
Volvo Penta develops powertrain for Rosenbauer plug-in fire truck
Volvo Penta has developed an electric driveline for an electrified fire truck from vehicle manufacturer Rosenbauer International. The new truck, named RT (for “Revolutionary Technology”) is currently undergoing intensive testing, and will soon begin real-world customer testing with fire departments in Berlin, Amsterdam and Dubai. Firefighters responding to a call need a vehicle capable of… Read more »
Tesla reports fourth consecutive quarter of profit, is now eligible to join S&P 500
Tesla can’t seem to take a wrong turn these days—the company announced a second-quarter profit that sent the stock price soaring, and cleared the way for the California carmaker to be added to the S&P 500 stock index. Tesla has now been profitable for a full year on a GAAP basis, which is one of… Read more »
VW and Audi chiefs say ICEs will be alive for a very long time, massive investment will continue
Shares in Tesla and other publicly-traded EV-makers are soaring; infrastructure startups are raising record amounts of funding; presumptive President Joe Biden’s environmental plan envisions aggressive moves to electrify the USA’s transport system. Everybody seems to be eagerly anticipating the electromobility revolution. Everybody, that is, except the legacy automakers—their execs continue to make public pronouncements to… Read more »
