The automotive supplier Mahle has opened a new test bench for electric drives in Fellbach near Stuttgart, Germany. In the future, individual drive units and complete electric axle drives for electric cars and plug-in hybrids will be tested there. The first test for a customer has already been completed.

Daimler and its Chinese shareholder Geely are tightening the knots they share as they agree to cooperate in the development and production of hybrid drives. The two automotive groups intend to use synergies in their global research and development networks.

With everybody stuck at home, it pays to look to the wide-open waters. Or to the smaller blues of Lake Starnberg that is home base to Torqeedo. 15 years in the game, the small enterprise has become the market leader in e-mobility on water, and we wanted to discover what’s next.

ABB has secured a contract worth around 150 million US dollars to supply the complete power and drive package for cruise ships built by Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri. The electric drives will still be powered by diesel engines, but are said to reduce fuel consumption by 20%.

After VW announced that the electric model Aero will also be built in Emden from 2023 in the course of its latest investment planning round, CEO Ralf Brandstätter has now revealed further details: The model will be launched as the Aero B and the Aero B Shooting Brake two years later than originally planned.

Ford has announced a number of investments to build out several US plants to produce electric models and components. The Van Dyke transmission plant will also build electric motors in future and in Kansas City, Ford will invest 100 million dollars in manufacturing capabilities for the e-transit.

The US company Nuvera Fuel Cells is launching its new E-45 fuel cell system for medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. It can supply primary power or serve as a range extender. They will initially build the hydrogen system in the USA and China later on.

Government and industry have together filled a funding pot in Great Britain with 92 million pounds (around 102 million euros) to subsidise 49 concrete electrification projects in the country. The funding program is coordinated by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC).

BMW is changing its electric strategy and is now developing a dedicated electric car platform to utilise in the new plant in Hungary after 2025. The company also intends to start building a fully electric model in the city of Regensburg from 2022.

The Japanese supplier Nidec has announced that it will invest up to ten billion US dollars in the automotive electric motor business over the next five years. According to the CEO, the company intends to “dominate the market for electric vehicle engines”.

The company has opened a new laboratory for electric motors in Shanghai, thus expanding its global network of facilities where components for electric vehicles are developed and tested.

Opel boss Michael Lohscheller has revealed that the German carmaker is planning the first road tests with fuel cell cars in 2021. According to the report in a German newspaper, Opel intends to equip an unspecified number of small Zafira family vans with hydrogen fuel cells.

The Volkswagen subsidiary MAN Truck & Bus intends to give greater priority to hydrogen in its electrification strategy in future, in addition to the development and manufacture of battery-powered commercial vehicles. The Munich-based company will be testing hydrogen-powered vehicle prototypes as early as next year.

BorgWarner has completed the acquisition of Delphi Technologies. The US-American automotive supplier wants to use the acquired know-how in electronics and power electronics to become one of the leading companies for electric drive systems.

Flying from London to Paris really fast and with zero-emissions, that would be a catchy description of project ACCEL, that now took the next step towards launching “the world’s fastest electric aircraft”. Rolls-Royce has completed ground-testing of the technology.

Danfoss Editron is supplying Energy Absolute with the electric propulsion systems for Thailand’s first fleet of all-electric passenger ferries that will operate on the Chao Phraya River. Each of the 24 meter long ferries can carry 200 passengers.

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.

The strategic e-mobility and manufacturing partnership between General Motors and Nikola still awaits finalisation. The deal for electric trucks was supposed to be signed and sealed tomorrow, but according to GM, this is not yet the case.

To secure the supply of raw materials such as lithium or rare earth in Europe, the EU Commission launched the European Raw Materials Alliance today. ERMA already includes 150 companies as well as non-governmental organizations, associations and governments.

Danfoss Editron has received an order from the Norwegian shipyard Grovfjord Mekaniske Verksted (GMV) to supply hybrid propulsion systems for a fleet of unmanned exploration vessels. Four of the vessels are scheduled for delivery in 2021, with seven more to follow in the following 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.

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.

General Motors and Nikola have agreed on a strategic partnership, which sees GM taking an eleven per cent stake in the US startup. With this agreement, GM will become Nikola’s US manufacturing partner starting with the much anticipated zero-emission pickup Badger.

In Germany, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies has launched the development of a fuel cell system for trucks in the 40-ton weight class. The company is cooperating with commercial vehicle conversion company Quantron.

The German engineering services provider IAV has announced the construction of a new EMC test centre in Heimsheim near Stuttgart. The new building is IAV’s response to the automotive industry’s demand for measuring and testing capacities for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC).

Norwegian Electric Systems (NES) recently completed the delivery of five all-electric propulsion systems for ferries operated by the Norwegian transport company Fjord1.

Continental’s drive unit Vitesco Technologies has developed the drive control unit for Volkswagen’s MEB electrical construction kit. The German company based in Regensburg is the sole supplier of the component for the MEB platform.

VW’s luxury subsidiary Bentley has announced a three-year research project to improve the drive train of electric cars by means of a fully integrated e-axle without rare earth magnets.

For model year 2021, Yamaha and Mahle have both introduced new e-bike drives. Both companies are following the trend towards smaller and lighter drives that are easier to integrate into the frame.

The BMW plant in the Austrian town of Steyr produces all the housings for the electric drive for the BMW iX3. By 2025, the company want to increase annual production capacity to 460,000 units, given an indication of its hopes for next-gen vehicles.