The Israeli start-up Ree Automotive has entered into development cooperation with automotive supplier American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM). Together, the partners want to design a new electric drive system for Ree’s modular EV platform.

EVR Motors presents an electric motor based on a new patented architecture. It is supposed to be less than half the size of conventional radial flux motors with similar performance and tens of percent lighter. The Israeli company is aiming for series production this year.

Mahle has announced the development of a new type of magnet-free electric motor that does not require rare earth materials and is suitable for use in all vehicle classes. In addition, the motor is said to be particularly efficient in most driving conditions.

Together with two institutions at RWTH Aachen University and other industrial partners, Ford wants to develop flexible and sustainable production of electric motor components along a single production line. In addition, production is to become cheaper.

Ballard Power Systems and Canadian automotive supplier Linamar Corporation have agreed to a strategic alliance to develop and sell fuel cell powertrains and components for light-duty vehicles. Their chosen markets will be in North America and Europe.

Together with Porsche and Bosch, a Fraunhofer team is developing new inverters for electric cars that will convert energy between the battery and motor more efficiently than before. The ‘SiCeffizent’ project’s focus is on cooling silicon carbide semiconductors.

Infineon Technologies is launching a new power module with CoolSiC MOSFET technology for automotive applications. The use of silicon carbide instead of silicon ensures higher efficiency in converters in electric vehicles.

The Japanese development service provider Horiba is expanding its range to include testing solutions for electrified vehicles. The eMobility service spectrum is to be available for the entire range of vehicle types; from passenger cars and heavy commercial vehicles to machines and equipment.

General Motors has announced that it will invest one billion US dollars in the expansion of its plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico. Initially, battery packs and electric motors will be assembled there, followed by electric cars starting in 2023.

Tesla is planning to expand its Gigafactory Shanghai with recycling facilities for electric car components, according to a media report. This will involve not only batteries, but also electric motors and other important components.

In preparation for the split-up of Daimler AG, the truck division has announced a new organisational structure. Effective 1 July, all major technology and powertrain activities will be bundled into a new business unit, the Truck Technology Group (TT).

According to a new study by Ferdinand Dudenhöffer’s CAR Research Institute in Duisburg, the tightening of the EU’s CO2 requirements and the shift to electromobility will not be a job killer.

Automotive supplier Mahle has opened an electronics and mechatronics development centre in Changshu, China. Among other things, work is being done on electric powertrains, charging solutions and thermal management applications for alternative drives.

At Auto Shanghai, Schaeffler signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Refire, a Chinese supplier of fuel cell technology. The duo aims to push the development of FC components such as bipolar plates or thermal management systems.

Japan’s Nidec Corporation just opened new offices in Serbia and is setting up two new factories in the city of Novi Sad. These are just part of a wider network that is to bring Nidec to the forefront of the global electric car market. This is their latest strategy briefing.

Electric aircraft propulsion specialist ZeroAvia announces having raised $24.3 million (€20.5Mn) in a new round of funding for hydrogen plane development. The fresh capital comes from new investor British Airways as well as several existing financiers, including Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Shell.

The Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn, who is known for working for Apple, has joined forces with Japanese electric motor manufacturer Nidec via its automotive offshoot Foxconn. The duo aims to develop electric drives for Foxconn’s MIH electric car platform, which will be unveiled in autumn.

Following Audi’s lead, the Volkswagen brand VW no longer intends to develop new combustion engines. Further developments of the existing units would suffice, according to CEO Ralf Brandstätter, before VW is to become mostly electric.

REE Automotive has revealed five new and improved ‘REEcorner’ architecture designs and the technology behind its EV platforms designed to support the broadest range of commercial electric vehicles.

Audi has stopped the development of new combustion engines. In an interview, Audi CEO Markus Duesmann justified the decision with the EU plans for a stricter Euro 7 emissions standard.

Automotive supplier ZF is going into series production with 800-volt technology for electric vehicles and is preparing corresponding series start-ups in China and Europe. The ZF components are to be launched on the market this year “in several vehicles in upscale segments”.

Torqeedo and Poseidon announce a commercial-grade electric drive system for ferries with typically up to 200 passengers. Both specialist companies will combine existing components to form the novel zero-emission propulsion powered by BMW batteries.

The ‘Swedish Electric Transport Laboratory’ or SEEL for short, designed to make the country a hotbed for e-mobility, will grow larger than planned. The partners, which include Volvo and Scania as well as Chalmers University of Technology and RISE, now designated three sites.

A dispute over the electric campus at Mercedes seems to have been settled and Daimler has now announced that it will build the ‘Mercedes-Benz Drive Systems Campus’ in Stuttgart-Untertürkheim. The main plant is to be focussed on electric vehicles, which included the production of lithium-ion cells.

Automotive supplier Magna has unveiled two new drive systems – one for plug-in hybrids and pure electric cars. In developing them, the company says it has placed emphasis on efficiency and aims to increase ranges – or in the case of the PHEV, reduce emissions.

Mercedes-AMG is building a modern test centre for the development of electrified high-performance drives and electrical components at its headquarters in Affalterbach. The official groundbreaking ceremony for the new ‘Technikum’ took place on Thursday.

The Fraunhofer Institute is working with 13 European partners to develop the world’s first ammonia-based fuel cell for ships in the ShipFC project. Ammonia is mainly known for its use as a fertiliser, but is also suitable as a high-quality energy source, the institute says.

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.

Northern Irish bus manufacturer Wrightbus has selected Voith as its exclusive partner to supply the electric drive system for the second generation of its battery-electric and fuel cell buses for Europe.

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.