FridayFeb 16, 2024 10:30 am

Stellantis Announces Plan to Adopt Charging Plug from Tesla

Stellantis has announced that it will adopt the Tesla North American Charging Standard (SAE J3400 plug) for future electric vehicle models in North America. With brands such as Dodge, Ram, Jeep and Chrysler under its umbrella, the Amsterdam-based parent company becomes the latest major carmaker to adopt the charging standard. The automaker said its first electric vehicle with the SAE J3400 plug will hit the market in 2024. In the meantime, Stellantis said it will provide adapters to customers who already own Stellantis EVs, which are equipped with Combined Charging Standard (CCS) plugs. Adopting Tesla’s proprietary plug will grant Stellantis…

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WednesdayFeb 14, 2024 11:45 am

Ford Quietly Established Team to Create Low-Cost EVs

Ford Motor Company has quietly established a team to develop affordable battery electric cars for the company. Launched two years ago, the “skunkwork lab” comprises engineers from an energy-management startup Ford acquired in 2023 called Auto Motive Power (AMP) and is led by Alan Clarke, an ex-Tesla employee and current executive director of EV development at Ford. According to Ford CEO Jim Farley, the automaker formed the small “super-talented” team with little fanfare two years ago and tasked it with developing a low-cost, electric-vehicle platform. Farley says Ford tapped the best engineers on the globe for the low-cost EV project…

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MondayFeb 12, 2024 10:45 am

Beijing Promises to Support EV Makers in Conquering Overseas Markets

The Chinese government has promised to support the expansion of domestic carmakers into international markets amid a flurry of trade sanctions against electric vehicles from China. The country’s Ministry of Commerce recently posted a document outlining 18 guidelines for China’s central bank and several departments to boost new energy vehicle trade (NEV). China’s commerce ministry will partner with nine local departments and institutions to undertake activities such as easing Chinese export processes, boosting yuan settlements overseas and encouraging domestic carmakers to build auto R&D centers in foreign nations. The guidelines also push for Chinese carmakers to work with foreign researchers…

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FridayFeb 09, 2024 10:15 am

Chinese EV Market Outshines Others with 46% Sales Growth in 2023

The Chinese electric vehicle market has proven time and time again that Elon Musk’s concerns about the country monopolizing the global EV industry aren’t unfounded. China undoubtedly has the largest electric vehicle market on the globe and the most developed public-charging infrastructure. Furthermore, most of the world’s plug-in EV sales occur in China. Electric vehicle companies in China sold eight million new plug-in EVs in 2023 alone, outshining foreign automakers with an astonishing sales growth rate of 46%. Recent data shows that plug-in EVs accounted for 37% of all vehicle sales in China last year, highlighting the nation’s growing appetite…

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WednesdayFeb 07, 2024 10:30 am

Existing Guardrails Inadequate for Heavier EVs, Tests Suggest

Crash test data from the University of Nebraska has revealed that existing road guardrails are not sturdy enough to handle electric cars. Since battery electric vehicles (BEVs) typically weigh more than conventional gas and petrol-powered cars, they are much more likely to crash through steel guardrails on the highway. On average, an electric car weighs around 20% to 50% more than a similar fossil-fuel-powered vehicle. This additional weight is primarily due to electric-vehicle batteries, which can weigh as much as a small conventional vehicle. These batteries are usually placed along the bottom of an EV to lower its center of…

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TuesdayFeb 06, 2024 10:15 am

Could Battery Swapping Be Viable in the EV Industry?

Battery swapping is an interesting idea that has been around since the modern electric-vehicle industry’s inception. Although the concept is more popular in Asia than the western markets, Tesla CEO Elon Musk first demonstrated battery swapping a decade ago. The concept is simple. Rather than wait for up to an hour to recharge their electric cars, EV drivers could simply swap out their depleted batteries with a fully charged one and be on their way within minutes. This “recharging” technique is as fast as refilling a fossil fuel car and it could help automakers alleviate the range anxiety that keeps…

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MondayFeb 05, 2024 11:00 am

EV Makers in China Turn to New Tech to Beat Tesla

Chinese electric vehicle makers are stepping up their competition against industry giant Tesla by packing their cars with a range of new features. Tesla has been the top electric vehicle company in China and the global market for over a decade, but the Texas-based automaker has faced a lot of pressure from Chinese companies in recent years. With competition in the electric vehicle sector ramping up even further, EV makers in China are adopting new technologies to make their cars stand out from the pack and attract consumers from other companies. Li Yi, CEO and chair of laser display company…

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FridayFeb 02, 2024 12:53 pm

Musk Warns That Tesla Sales Growth Could Be Slower This Year

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has revealed that he expects lower sales growth numbers for the electric vehicle company this year than last year. Musk said that Tesla’s growth would be “notably lower” this year than in 2023 when the company’s EV deliveries surged by 38%. According to Musk, Chinese electric vehicle firms will “pretty much demolish” most competition on the international market unless nations put trade barriers in place to prevent them from pricing out Western automakers. EV companies from China have already flooded the European Union market with cheap and affordable electric vehicles, thanks to massive subsidies from Beijing.…

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ThursdayFeb 01, 2024 2:18 pm

Rapid EV Acceleration Could Be Triggering More Crashes, Insurer Suggests

A major insurer has suggested that rapid electric vehicle adoption could trigger an increase in vehicle accidents. According to Howden Group UK and Ireland boss Carl Shuker, unfamiliarity with electric vehicles’ powerful acceleration is contributing to more accidents. The insurance executive cited data showing that electric vehicle drivers are more likely to make insurance claims of larger amounts more frequently compared to the drivers of fossil-fuel vehicle. As a result, EV drivers tend to pay higher insurance premiums than drivers with conventional internal combustion (ICE) vehicle engines. Car manufacturers and industry experts say this discrepancy in insurance premiums is also…

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WednesdayJan 31, 2024 12:25 pm

Tesla Reveals Plans for Building New EVs in 2025

Electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla has revealed to its suppliers that it intends to start producing a new mass-market battery electric car dubbed Redwood in mid-2025. According to those familiar with the matter, Tesla’s new electric car will be a next-generation compact crossover. Last year was a mixed bag for Tesla, mainly due to China’s swiftly growing EV sector and market forces. Although the Texas-based EV maker reported record sales in 2023, the company was forced to contend with significant competition from cheaper Chinese electric cars and was ultimately surpassed by BYD as the top EV company in the last quarter…

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