After Formula E founder Alejandro Agag announced a new racing series with electrically powered racing boats last year, the creators of the E1 series have now presented the concept of an electric hydrofoil boat called “RaceBird”. The first races are to be held in early 2023.
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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.
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As the second team in the racing series, HWA Racelab has announced that it is aiming to start in the Extreme E, the race series for all-electric SUVs starting in 2021. ABT Sportsline will also be competing in the electric SUV race.
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The prototype of the electric off-road vehicle for the planned new Extreme E racing series in the world’s most adverse climates has now been unveiled. Initially known as the E-SUV, the standardised racing car seems to have become a kind of electric off-road buggy.
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The idea was to open up the competition to manufacturers component by component but for batteries this won’t happen before 2025 at least. Formula E’s Alejandro Agag revealed that the electric racing series will stick to a standard battery for another 7 years, that is until season 11.
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“It’s really up to us when we want to go to break even or not. We could be in break-even now, we could be in break-even next season but we may decide to invest more in marketing and promotion.”
In other words, FE CEO Alejandro Agag is in for the long run when it comes to the electric racing series that is still in the red but had at least halved his losses last year (also see news above).
forbes.com
This is Mini UK’s head of product, Nicolas Griebner who praises the Countryman PHEV, which he believes to be particularly attractive for fleet operators.
fleetnews.co.uk
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Olaf Kastner, who heads BMW China, puts into words what major parts of the car industry think: even if China introduces the 8% EV quota only in 2019, it still represents a huge challenge. BMW for example would have to massively increase its EV production in order to comply.
europe.autonews.com
Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag is convinced that efforts to combat climate change should be redoubled following president Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris climate accord.
edition.cnn.com
Elon Musk recalls the very early days of Tesla and the (dead) state of the industry back then. It was when GM killed its electric car and thoroughly so.
twitter.com
This is how Bloomberg cites a not specifically named presenter of an internal BMW event next to Munich, where employees were confronted with some kind of “horror movie” showing achievements of competitors, among them Tesla mastermind Musk.
bloomberg.com
Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag predicts in an interview that car races with combustion engines will play more and more the role of a rather oldschool sport in future – comparable with horse races.
asia.nikkei.com
Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) at the University of Duisburg-Essen, focuses on the positives aspects of the cheat. If only diesel were truly that yesterday already…
phys.org
Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E, explains his new business model. With demand that high, cities or promoters have to cover the cost of hosting the electric racing series.
reuters.com
Trip Chowdhry, analyst at Global Equities Research, is a regular guest at the Tesla facility in Fremont. Apparently, the production site is to double in size and is currently capable to churn out about half a million EVs.
barrons.com
Alejandro Agag, chief executive at Formula E, hopes Volkswagen’s push into the electric vehicle industry also pushes them to be more involved in the electric racing series, as it would help grow the competition into a more stable institution.
reuters.com
London mayor Sadiq Khan addressed unexpected results caused by the Brexit including the loss of EU clean air standards. Khan called for a new and powerful Clean Air Act to, among other things, speed up the move to electric vehicles.
bt.com
Leading by example: The Netherlands have the second largest EV fleet per capita after Norway and more than 6,000 charge points. What has the small country done right when it comes to charging infrastructure? And what can other [European] countries learn from its example? Watch our exclusive interview with Wibo Elzinga, Business Development Manager at ICU Charging Equipment, to find out.
Watch the video on electrive.com >> or on youtube.com >>
Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag believes Formula E will soon evolve into a competition of the global players in the automotive industry. He says two major carmakers will join next season, including either Audi or Volkswagen.
current-e.com
While Bernhard Neumann, Audi’s Head of Experiential Marketing, is convinced that the petrol era is coming to an end, he doesn’t want to jump on the all-electric bandwagon just yet. He believes there are alternatives such as the fuel cell and feels confident that brands like Audi “are adapting very fast” to face contenders like Tesla.
dezeen.com
As far as analyst Dan Ives of FBR Capital Markets is concerned, Apple should consider acquiring Box, Adobe, GoPro – and Tesla. He says the time is right for a large acquisition in order for Apple to move beyond consumer electronics.
yahoo.com
During a conference call, Tesla CEO Elon Musk promised stockholders that problems with early drive units have been fixed, by using i.e. “automatic grease injection into the spline of the large drive unit.”
chargedevs.com
According to Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, the Japanese carmaker has no intention of building a Tesla-fighter and wants to keep its EVs mainstream, with the possibility of moving into the crossover SUV segment.
transportevolved.com
Formula E chief Alejandro Agag says that someone else might step in for team Trulli, which did not participate in the first two races of the season, as the team’s cars did not pass scrutineering.
motorsport.com
Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has fully set his mind to electric mode as he is unfazed by volatile oil prices and calls for laying the foundations for electrification instead.
hybridcars.com
The sky is the limit for Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag, who has a very clear vision of the purpose of the electric racing series – promote electric mobility, visibly and powerfully.
euronews.com
Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E, is calling for strict regulations but also emphasises that the government should have “a limited role,” at least when it comes to incentives for businesses. He describes his racing series as a “100% commercial entity.”
Agrees Andy Eastlake, Managing Director of the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (Low CVP). His organisation aims to help with this exact promotion, working together with central and local governments, manufacturers, organisations etc. to foster EV uptake in the UK.
Darran Messem, Chairman of the Low CVP says that while it is clear that the UK government is “bound to decarbonise transport until 2050,” the question of “how” remains.
Christophe Arnaud, Managing Director of BluePointLondon, was one of the few panelists who actually offered action, as Bolloré’s electric carsharing scheme was just introduced in London. Given that infrastructure problems will be solved, Arnaud said that he expects the service to go public later this year or at the beginning of 2016.
Edmund King, President of the Automobile Association (AA), also hopes to tackle second car ownership, since they are rarely used for long rides and could thus be replaced easily.
Source for all the above quotes: Nora Manthey for electrive.com on site.
J.B. Straubel, Tesla’s chief technology officer, is confident that battery costs will plummet saying that the Model 3 will need cheap energy storage to sell for 35,000 dollars and offer 200-mile-plus range.
hybridcars.com
Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag announced that the next ePrix season will kick off one month later than the 2014/15 season. The first race will take place on October 17th in Beijing.
autosport.com
Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag finds himself in the position of actually having almost too much choice for where to showcase electric racing next. He has been namedropping Mexico, Hong Kong, and Paris, but that could also be a move to simply raise the stakes a little higher even.
autosport.com
Mitsubishi Motors North America Executive Vice President Don Swearingen on the company’s current strategy which will see it build more bigger PHEVs similar to the Outlander and other Crossovers.
hybridcars.com
“Daimler doesn’t have anything smaller than the Smart. If we can make it work, the i-Road could have an advantage.”
Instead of going bigger, Toshiya Hayata, group manager of Toyota’s Smart Community department, sees a chance in smaller vehicles like the company’s tilting electric three wheeler. Tokyo residents can now trial the i-Road.
autonews.com
Says Jamaal McCoy von Findlay of Chevrolet in Las Vegas. But if all goes to plan, this is to change with the arrival of the 2016 Volt. This time, GM promises dealers “significant marketing support” as it aims to enter the EV mainstream.
wsj.com
Formula E mastermind Alejandro Agag believes the electrification of the automotive industry to be unstoppable, no matter if and what “they” try.
insideevs.com
Rinspeed founder Frank M. Rinderknecht sees his company’s future in public transport as well as in increasingly autonomous vehicles. However, the focus of his innovations has always been the “human,” he says.
cheatsheet.com
Sir Richard Branson, owner of Formula E Virgin Racing team, has high hopes for the future. We wonder what fuel his airline might use, ten years from now…
electriccarsreport.com
Volvo CEO Håkan Samuelsson does not believes in pure electric cars but apparently aims at something like a very evolved plug-in hybrid which some then might call a range-extended EV. Question is, where do you draw the line?
autoblog.com
Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag on upcoming changes in the electric racing series, which will see increased competition from manufacturer in the next season. The Spark-Renault chassis however, is to remain the same.
beyondtheflag.com
Former GM CEO Dan Akerson here tries to discourage Apple from becoming a carmaker, which in his words is a “low-margin” industry, especially if you compare it with the margin on a mass-produced iPhone.
autonews.com
Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn is not particularly impressed by Chevy’s 200-mile Bolt as Nissan is working on an EV with a similar range, he said. Looks like the Leaf will get a battery upgrade soon.
freep.com
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne is reaching out to fellow carmakers to share costs of research and development of new vehicles and technologies.
reuters.com
Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag is excited about future prospects of the electric racing series. Next year, the races will be open to manufacturers to take part with their own vehicles and technologies.
espnf1.com
Formula E head Alejandro Agag on the improved competition in the next season of the electric racing series in which different manufacturers will be allowed to take part.
autosport.com
Tony Earley, chairman, CEO and president of PG&E Corp, points out that his customers are driving real green. PG&E itself is increasingly electrifying its own fleet.
utilityproducts.com
Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E, was excited about the kick-off of the electric racing series. After the race, he has no reason to doubt that Formula E will be a success, adding that the main problem they encountered, was not having enough tickets to sell.
motorsport.com
Julie Hamp, Toyota’s chief U.S. spokeswoman, is distancing herself and Toyota from earlier comments made by Tesla CEO Elon Musk. The latter hinted that both companies could soon work together again.
blogs.wsj.com via just-auto.com
Mike Duhaime, Chrysler’s global director for electric powertrain propulsion systems, confirmed that the company has a number of alternative drivetrains in the pipelines. The to be hybridised minivan “Town&Country” is scheduled for 2016.
hybridcars.com
Alejandro Agag, CEO of FIA Formula E, is hinting at great times ahead. The next evolutionary goal is to “run the entire race with one car and one battery,” he said.
forbes.com
Bill Ford, executive chairman of the company that bears his great-grandfathers name, here does not doubt the potential of electric cars but wants to start a “national discussion” on where the EVs take their energy from – preferably not coal.
green.autoblog.com
Alejandro Agag, head of Formula E, points out the difference between the original and the electric racing series. The latter is much smaller but also serves the bigger cause of reducing pollution in cities like Beijing, where the Formula E premieres this month to send out “a strong message,” Agag said.
euronews.com
Aguri Suzuki, former Formula One driver is now head of Team Amlin Aguri in the Formula E, which he thinks will be beneficial for F1 eventually.
the-japan-news.com
Ashvin Chotai, MD of Researcher Intelligence Automotive Asia, is among analysts who see the leaving of Andy Palmer and other top executives at Nissan as worrying.
scnow.com
“It’s really up to us when we want to go to break even or not. We could be in break-even now, we could be in break-even next season but we may decide to invest more in marketing and promotion.”
“But we think the greater efficiency and improved torque offered by the latest hybrids will spark increasing demand and this car offers a huge potential for savings for drivers who are prepared to reconsider how they use their cars.”
“To be honest, whether the law takes effect in 2018 or 2019, both are very, very soon in our industry.”
“Few people know that we started Tesla when GM forcibly recalled all electric cars from customers in 2003 & then crushed them in a junkyard.”
“With dieselgate, the world understood that diesel is last year’s model, that the environmental problems are too big and that a change of direction is needed.”
“1,000,000 Auto Units production capacity per year now looks like a real possibility.”
“Clearly the UK leaving the EU could weaken our ability to tackle air pollution, and it could mean the public could end up with less legal protection over their right to breathe clean air.”
“In our view, acquiring Tesla’s advanced battery technology would greatly accelerate Apple’s entrance into the next-generation auto arena, and we estimate valuable economies of scope could be realized while transitioning to mass-market volumes (e.g., consumer electronic batteries, automotive software, etc.).”
“I don’t think you’re going to see us soon in premium in electric cars. It may happen one day…this is not our priority. Our priority is the heart of the market.”
“Air quality is one of the primary driving forces for local governments to take on the promotion of low carbon vehicles.”
“There is only a finite number of ways of how to get there but not a crystal-clear one.”
“In Paris, we have almost 4,000 electric cars and more than 6,000 charge points. And we only launched 4 years ago. It helps to fight against carbon emissions, traffic, and noise. Today, we know that 31,000 cars have been removed from Paris. [Dwellers] are getting rid of all their second cars.”
“2.5 million cars today could be electric cars today without any disadvantage. (…) We need to address range anxiety and target second car owners.”
“I think we would be disappointed if battery costs were not in the $100 dollar range [per kilowatt-hour] by the end of this decade, somewhere in this ballpark.”
“Our focus is more plug-in hybrids moving forward.”
“Daimler doesn’t have anything smaller than the Smart. If we can make it work, the i-Road could have an advantage.”
“For me there is no doubt that we have to move to renewable energies, in mobility but as well as in general life. And the electric car is a first step in that direction. However, changes often require some pain. A pain, which is not here at this time with ridiculously low oil prices.”
“I hope 10 years from now the smell of exhausts from cars will be a thing of the past as much as the smell of cigarettes in restaurants.”
“I think in the future there will be an evolution, also maybe downsizing of the engines, and more batteries, more powerful batteries, and then you can call that an electric car with a range extender. It’s exactly the same technology. So, that’s the path we have chosen.”
“A lot of people who don’t ever operate in it don’t understand and have a tendency to underestimate.”
“I think automakers’ costs are well in excess of what I consider a mature industry to be able to afford.”
“This year at PG&E, well over half of our customers’ electricity is from sources that emit no greenhouse gases, including solar, wind, hydro and nuclear plants. That means the clean-air and carbon emissions benefits that EVs can offer are substantial.”
“Our RAV4 EV project with Tesla, to supply 2,400 powertrains over approximately three years, has been mutually beneficial. We currently have no new, or pending projects under discussion.”
“We launched the 500e and we’re going to do a minivan PHEV. And we have several mild hybrids we’re working on getting ready for production.”
“Technology takes time to develop; just look at the evolution from ‘brick’ phones to smartphones, and desktop computers to tablets. In the same way, we believe electric cars need time to evolve and we’re just at the beginning of the electric racing era – this is very exciting.”
“My fear is that we electrify the fleet and our impact is not what it could be.”
“Fans may feel something is missing at first but I believe Formula E will be a kind of experimental lab for F1 in the near future.”
“There’s a core management team at Nissan and Andy Palmer was a very crucial part of it. He had a lot of responsibilities and a lot of functions under his umbrella. To lose somebody like him is a big blow to Nissan.”