Download new trend paper on commercial vehicle electrification


Electrification of the powertrain and accessory applications for trucks, buses, construction, agricultural & recreational vehicles is taking the commercial transportation industry by storm. It requires reliability in harsh environment connectivity, optimized design of scalable sub-systems and application support for integrated component solutions. Download a free industry trend paper from TE Connectivity to learn more about… 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 »

Electric aircraft maker Bye Aerospace closes $10 million in funding


Denver-based Bye Aerospace, developer of the all-electric eFlyer family of FAA Part 23-certified aircraft, has raised $10 million from venture capital investors since the beginning of the year, in two separate rounds. Founder and CEO George E. Bye said the company is using the new funding to begin work on Serial #001, the first production-conforming… Read more »

Lightning Systems debuts new electric powertrain for Ford F-550 Chassis Cab


Colorado-based Lightning Systems has launched a new all-electric powertrain for the popular Ford F-550 Chassis Cab, which can be used for shuttle buses, delivery trucks and many other specialty vehicles. The new Lightning Electric Ford F-550 will be available in gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWR) of 17,500 to 19,500 pounds. The company is now accepting… Read more »

Documentary offers some new footage from Tesla’s Gigafactory (but you might want to mute the sound)

Tesla Batteries 18650 Li-ion Cells
A new documentary segment from Discovery’s Science Channel offers a rare, brief look inside Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 in Nevada. The 10-minute segment, part of an episode of the Super Factories series, features a bit of new footage from inside the Gigafactory, where few mortals have been permitted to tread. Highlights include some cool shots of… Read more »

Plug-in market share powers past 8% in the UK, Germany and France


What a difference a few years (and some judicious government policy) makes. Back in 2014, the US was the center of the EV scene, and sales in Europe had yet to crack the one-percent mark. Now the Continent has left us behind. In June, the market share of plug-in vehicles exceeded 8% in all of… Read more »

Tesla says its new Terafactory will be producing Model Y by the end of this year

Tesla gigafactory NV
Tesla may have decided on the site of its anticipated Cybertruck plant, and it intends to waste no time. Electrek, citing “a reliable source familiar with the matter,” reports that the next Tesla Gigafactory (excuse me, make that “Terafactory”) will be built in the vicinity of Austin, Texas. (The AP is reporting that the list… Read more »