Nikola Motors, BYD, Magna, Tesla, FDG Electric Vehicle, Seat.

Power of ideas: Another Tesla-inspired U.S. company opens the order books for its first electric vehicles. Nikola Motor will launch a 1,500 kW electric truck called Nikola One, and a 382 kW electric quad with the code name Nikola Zero. The truck’s 320 kWh battery is charged via a gas turbine, while the four-seater’s battery is said to last for 125 miles. First working prototypes are to be shown later this year.
prnewswire.com, nikolamotor.com

More electric trucks come from BYD that just presented a full range of heavy-duty electric vehicles with four new types. The T5, T7, T9, and the Step Van deliver ranges from 100 – 155 miles on one charge and feature V2G functionality, as well as regenerative braking. They will be produced in Lancaster, California, and can be used for i.e. hauling, freezing, and mail delivery.
cleantechnica.com

Made in Austria: Toyota and BMW will have Magna build their joint hybrid sports car from 2018, Austrian Kleine Zeitung reports. 60,000 units of the Z4 successor (aka Supra) will be produced in Graz. Toyota is Magna’s first Asian customer and the Japanese will reportedly deliver the 400 hp hybrid system.
kleinezeitung.at (in German)

Tesla progresses: According to Elon Musk, the design of Model 3’s will be finalised by the end of June. Meanwhile, suppliers have to have their parts ready for delivery by July 1st, 2017. Furthermore, the EV maker introduced a ‘Growth Team,’ tasked with developing strategies to, well, grow the firm.
teslarati.com (design), electrek.co (deadline), electrek.co (growth)

State-build EV: FDG Electric Vehicles has entered into a cooperation agreement with Chinese Guizhou province. In a joint venture, they are to construct a production facility designed to annually build up to 150,000 electric vehicles annually. The project costs about 170m dollars but no timeline has been published.
htisec.com

Seat unplugged: There will be no hybrid or electric models in the line-up of VW’s Spanish subsidiary anytime soon. Despite the technology being readily available within the corporation, Seat believes it to be too expensive for its youthful target group. The argument seems anachronistic.
autocar.co.uk