The Formula E is on again, and with the season just starting remains entirely unpredictable. The FIA World Championship’s opening races on Friday and Saturday in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, happened at night, making for striking imagery.

After two years of construction, Continental’s powertrain division Vitesco Technologies has put its new plant in Debrecen, Hungary, into operation. Electronics and transmission sensors for drives for use in fully electric and electrified vehicles are manufactured there on an area of around 7,000 square metres.

The Chinese tech company Xiaomi has denied media reports that it is planning its own electric car. Instead, there are now rumours about corresponding plans by Huawei.

Tesla apparently wanted to shut down production for the Model 3 in Fremont for a fortnight due to an industry-wide chip shortage. But the production shutdown only lasted a few days. But there is also new information about the Model Y from Grünheide.

Volkswagen plans to introduce a third shift at its MEB plant in Zwickau from mid-April. This will enable around 1,400 vehicles to be built per day from the summer onwards. Currently production capacity stands around 800 electric cars. Volkswagen Saxony is also getting a new CEO.

Bosch Motorsport and the Formula E team Dragon Penske Autosport have agreed to a long-term technology and development partnership. As part of the partnership, Bosch is developing a vehicle management system with hardware and software components that is specially adapted to the requirements of the Formula E car.

Aachen-based electric car start-up e.GO Mobile, which now operates under the name Next.e.GO Mobile after being acquired by a Dutch investment group, has closed a Series B financing round of more than 30 million euros to enable the start of production at its plant in Aachen.

Volvo owner Geely and Volvo Cars have announced that they will forego their proposed merger and instead significantly deepen their existing cooperation as two separate companies. This includes, among other things, expanded joint use of modular architectures for electric cars.

Audi has a new Chief Development Officer: Oliver Hoffmann, previously Chief Operating Officer of the division, was appointed to the Board of Management by the Supervisory Board with effect from 1 March 2021.

Fisker has announced a large-scale electric vehicle project with the Apple contract manufacturer Hon Hai aka Foxconn. The model, which will apparently not be an ordinary electric car, will be Fisker’s second model after the Ocean electric SUV.

The Spanish start-up Lupa has announced its intention to build one of several planned production facilities in Uruguay. The factory is scheduled to go into operation in 2024. Among other things, the presented electric small car and an electric delivery van are to be built there.

Mitsubishi Motors North America announced pricing and availability of the 2021 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV crossover. Starting MSRP remains the same as the 2020 model, standing at $36,295 before available state and federal tax incentives.

Mercedes has presented the new generation of the C-Class. These are only mild hybrids, and a plug-in hybrid is to follow in a few months. This promises a high electric range on paper and an unusually high charging power for plug-in hybrids.

Audi is further expanding its range of plug-in hybrid models. The Q5 TFSI e quattro is getting a new battery, which should increase the electric range. In addition, the Q5 Sportback is also coming in two PHEV variants with immediate effect. The new battery will also be used in the PHEV versions of the A6 […]

As part of a strategy presentation, the Seat brand Cupra has now shown the production version of the electric model based on the Volkswagen Group platform MEB, which was first presented in 2019 as el-Born. The car is scheduled to go into production in Zwickau in the second half of 2021.

A few weeks after Citroën unveiled the ë-Berlingo panel van, the French company is now presenting the passenger car counterpart of the all-electric van. Simply named ë-Berlingo, the van will be available in two lengths from this autumn and can carry five to seven people.

The electric car start-up Lucid Motors announced its intention to go public via a merger, confirming rumours from January. To this end, Lucid is merging with the listed investment company Churchill Capital IV (CCIV).

Hyundai has just presented the Ioniq 5, the company’s first production model based on its E-GMP platform. While the electric SUV has impressive technical data, the angular design will probably polarise. Prices for the Project 45 models will start at £45,000 in the UK (including the Plug In Car Grant). Pricing for the rest of […]

Automotive supplier Schaeffler has announced plans to invest around 80 million euros in a new central laboratory in Herzogenaurach, Germany, which is scheduled for completion by 2023. Schaeffler intends to bundle “core competencies and key technologies” at the site.

VW has reportedly tightened its electrification targets. According to a media report, the share of electric vehicles in 2030 will be significantly higher than previously planned. To achieve this, development tasks will also be redistributed among the group’s brands – this likely also affects Audi’s Artemis project.

BMW wants to more than double the electrified vehicle output at its plant in German Dingolfing this year to over 40,000 vehicles, up from just about 20,000. The all-electric BMW iX will become the main driver behind the push.

The US-based Aptera Motors has closed a Series A funding round of four million dollars (around 3.3 million euros) and reports more than 7,000 reservations received for its three-wheeled solar electric car, which has been available for pre-order since December 2020.

The Chinese car manufacturer Geely reportedly wants to spin off product planning, marketing and sales of electric vehicles into an independent company. The subsidiary Lingling Technologies, which is yet to be founded, is to be primarily concerned with development, marketing and sales.

Daimler has famously set itself the goal of achieving a CO2-free fleet by 2039. Now, the company is considering an early end to the combustion engine. In an interview, Daimler CEO Ola Källenius already hinted that the interim targets for electric vehicles could be revised upwards.

Nissan has presented the third generation Qashqai compact SUV. The new edition of the bestseller is the first Nissan in Europe to come optionally with an e-Power hybrid drive. The petrol engine is used exclusively to generate electricity, while only the electric motor is responsible for driving the wheels.

Ford has sent a letter to its US dealers to inform them that they will be required to invest a sum of $35,000 to receive the brand’s “next-generation EV certification”. This is meant to cover chargers and service offers for EVs.

Honda has presented the new generation of its HR-V compact SUV, which will be launched in Europe at the end of this year. After the small car Jazz, the new HR-V will be the next model that Honda will only offer with hybrid drive in Europe.

Tesla has lowered the base prices for the entry-level versions of the Model 3 and Model Y in the USA – by 1,000 to 36,990 US dollars for the Model 3 Standard Range+ and by 2,000 to 39,900 dollars for the Model Y Standard Range. The performance models, on the other hand, became more expensive.

The British sports car manufacturer McLaren has presented its first production model with a plug-in hybrid drive. The super sportscar Artura combines a six-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor – a first for the manufacturer. The McLaren Artura is already available for order, starting at 226,000 euros.

Mercedes-Benz is sending two new variants of the EQC to dealers in May: a base model configured uniformly throughout Europe at list prices starting at 66,068 euros and a new sports version that will round off the model range upwards in the future at prices starting at 73,208 euros.