After two years of construction and a total investment of more than 20 million euros, TÜV SÜD opened the new Centre for Mobility and Powertrains near Stuttgart today. Besides combustion engines, they also offer emission testing for hybrid and electric vehicles there.

California’s e-mobility startup Canoo provides more technical details about its proprietary skateboard platform for electric vehicles and publishes a video clip. The architecture is designed to accommodate various EV types with Canoo now envisioning applications in logistics too.

Audi is continuing its electrification plans with the A3 Sportback 40 TFSI e. The compact model is now also available as plug-in hybrid on an MQB basis, as is the case with the sister models from VW, Seat and Škoda.

Mazda has now revealed the full UK range and pricing for the brand’s first EV with the MX-30 electric crossover. To kick-off, the order books are now open for the MX-30 First Edition model, which is limited to 500 units with deliveries starting in March 2021.

US carmaker Ford has just announced investments of 1.8 billion Canadian dollars in its plant in Oakville (Ontario) and Windsor’s two assembly plants. The investment will enable the Oakville plant to convert to electric car production by 2024.

Volkswagen will invest around 15 billion euros in electric mobility in China by 2024 with its three joint venture partners SAIC, FAW and JAC. This comes in addition to the €33Bn the Group had already announced in 2019 for the global development of the electric car sector.

Xpeng Motors has begun building another electric car plant in China. The Chinese manufacturer intends to expand its production capacities beyond the existing plant in Zhaoqing. The new production facility in Guangzhou is set to go into operation at the end of 2022.

Honda has just presented the E:concept at the Auto China trade show. The e-SUV study is a preview of a purely electric production model for the Chinese market. The Japanese automaker also presented the CR-V PHEV that will go on sale in China in January 2021.

Audi is planning a new joint venture with FAW in China with a new plant for the production of electric cars based on the PPE platform. The Word is that the negotiations are well advanced and should be completed by the end of the year.

Plug-in hybrids have been losing their allure as bridges to a new era of clean transport with many analysis finding real-world consumption and CO2 emissions far from type-approval values. Fraunhofer ISI and the ICCT just prove this to hold globally and across models.

Polestar announced that the Polestar Precept concept presented earlier this year would go into production. CEO Thomas Ingenlath said it would take “at least three years” before the company can begin producing the fully electric four-door Grand Tourer.

Ford has announced that the Mustang Mach-E GT will also be available in Europe from the end of 2021. Ford is not yet quoting prices for the top model of the electric SUV, but new performance data has been revealed. There will also be a special charging offer for customers in Europe.

Peugeot has introduced the 508 PSE, the first in their announced range of performance-focused plug-in hybrid models. The 265 kW PHEV is to be available as a sedan and estate car from autumn.

The Geely subsidiary Lynk & Co has delivered a preview of its first all-electric model with the Zero Concept. The new electric vehicle platform, which will enable ranges of up to 700 kilometers, is also to be offered to other OEMs. Apparently there is already an interested party from Germany.

As a compact SUV, Volkswagen’s fully electric ID.4 is catering to what is currently the world’s largest market segment. This is supposed to take the electric car out of its niche, whereas the ID.3 mostly targeted European markets. Prices for the ID.4 1st start at 49,950 euros, while cheaper basic models are to follow in […]

The UK-based manufacturer MG Motor announced the official sales launch for the MG5 EV and the MG HS Plug-in hybrid in the UK. The MG5 will retail for £24,495 after the plug-in car grant, while the MG HS will launch at £29,995 OTR.

Tesla presented the series version of the Model S with plaid drive at the company’s eagerly-awaited Battery Day. The sedan with three electric motors revealed some impressive performance data. Although the model can be pre-ordered from now on, it will still take some time until deliveries start.

The first customers in the UK have now received their ID.3 1st Editions. Retailers across the country officially started delivery alongside a Grand Handover event at Volkswagen Cambridge that received the first MEB electric cars.

Opel has just announced the prices for the Mokka-e a few months after the world premiere. Deliveries are scheduled to start in early 2021.

The Chinese electric car startup WM Motor has now generated 1.25 billion euros ($1.47Bn or RMB 10Bn). The most recent round of financing was led by SAIC Motor’s investment platform and the Shanghai Municipal Asset Monitoring and Management Commission.

According to a British media report, the all-electric Mercedes-Benz EQA will not be launched this year as expected. Several different reasons have led to a delay of around six months.

Punch Powertrain PSA e-transmissions, the joint venture between the French PSA Group and the Belgian transmission manufacturer Punch Powertrain, has now been established following official approvals. The company started operations on 17 September.

The Chinese automotive group SAIC has joined the Volkswagen Group’s CO2 pool in the EU with its brands MG Motor and SAIC Motors Europe. This is according to an official document of the European Commission.

Ford has now officially laid the foundation stone for a new facility next to its truck plant in Dearborn, Michigan, to produce the electric version of the F-150 pickup truck from mid-2022. A hybrid version of the pickup truck will also be produced there.

Following its Ultium modular battery system, General Motors has now introduced a family of five drive units and three motors under the name Ultium Drive, which will power the Group’s next-generation electric vehicles.

Shortly before the world premiere of ID.4, VW brand boss Ralf Brandstätter and Volkswagens eMobility board member Thomas Ulbrich took questions from journalists. The managers mentioned some interesting figures about the e-SUV, on expected sales in particular.

BMW has just revealed the launch specifications and prices for the BMW iX3 for the UK market, which is available to pre-order from today onwards. UK customer deliveries will commence in summer 2021.

Tesla has submitted an application to the state of Brandenburg for the clearing of a further 100 hectares of forest on its Giga Berlin site. Back in the USA, the electric car manufacturer’s construction plans for its latest Gigafactory in the state of Texas have now been made public.

Evergrande New Energy Vehicle, the NEV offshoot of the Chinese Evergrande Group, has raised around half a billion US dollars in fresh capital by selling treasury shares to a number of external investors. Among the investors are prominent names like Tencent and Didi Chuxing.

Jürgen Stackmann, a member of the Board of Management of the VW brand, has left the Volkswagen Group with immediate effect. As of 15 September, the new Board Member for Sales is now Klaus Zellmer, previously head of Porsche Cars North America.