Aug 17, 2017 - 08:04 am

StreetScooter, EU Quota, BJEV, Chery, Nikola, FF

The post van is here: Deutsche Post DHL and Ford have officially launched the StreetScooter Work XL. Its base is the Ford Transit equipped with a custom-made electric drive and chassis so that the post also likes to call it their own personal ‘e-van’. Being essentially bigger than even the latest StreetScooter Work L, it features a modular battery system delivering 30 kWh to 90 kWh for a range of between 80 km and 200 km. A pre-series of 150 pieces is to see the light of the day before the year’s end, followed by another 2,500 units in 2018. While the e-vans will first be utilised by DHL, the firm said it may sell to third parties and also showed approval of partner Ford, with who it may cooperate further in the future. On top, a second StreetScooter facility is planned with the location to be specified next month.
dpdhl.com (Work XL), electriccarsreport.com (spec), reuters.com (further cooperation, new facility)

EU sales quota for PEV likely: Despite denial from Brussels, diplomats and sources close to the issue say an EV sales quota is “increasingly likely” and may come as soon as 2025 or 2030. The German Ministry for the Environment even went on public record saying it expects such a proposal by the EU Commission by autumn. Clearly, the climate among EU officials has heated up and calls for enforceable targets as well as constructive cooperation from carmakers are becoming ever louder. A minimum fleet quota would likely include plug-in hybrids not just EVs though and the EU said it is committed to technological neutrality in general.
climatechangenews.com, reuters.com (German Ministry of Environment)

1.7bn for EV development: BAIC’s subsidiary Beijing Electric Vehicle (BJEV) that specialises in EVs only has gathered 1.67 billion dollars in its latest round of financing. The money will be used to come up with the new models while expanding production capacities. Reportedly, Daimler holds a minority stake of BJEV since this June.
autonews.gasgoo.com

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www.evs30.org

Nikola goes off-road: As its fuel cell truck is open for reservation already, Nikola Motors is looking to catch new customers with a quad dubbed UTV, for utility “task” or “terrain” vehicle, or Nikola Zero officially. It sits four under the roll cage and boasts four motors, one in each wheel. The battery comes in three versions, 75, 100, and 125 kWh. Prices shall start at 35,000 dollars with reservations taken from January 2018 through a new Nikola unit called Nikola Powersports.
trucks.com, cloudfront.net (spec, pdf)

Chery seeks to charm the European market with the introduction of a plug-in family and some simply hybrid cousins. The first model to hit our shores will be a compact SUV due to debut at the IAA. Furthermore, the Chinese firm wants to set up distribution as well as an R&D centre in Europe.
automotiveworld.com

FF to quit FE? Rumour has it that Faraday Future will leave the electric racing series due to its on-going financial difficulties, The Verge reports. A final decision has yet to be made but could mean a premature end for a manufacturer that only entered the Formula E last year as Dragon Racing’s technical partner.
theverge.com

Jun 7, 2017 - 07:51 am

Renault, China, FF, India, Greentech, Buick.

Renault home batteries: The French team up with British Powervault to introduce their own Powerwall. Unlike Mercedes or Tesla though, Renault wants to give its own EV batteries a second life and stationery home rather than building entirely new energy storage units. A pilot project is about to start in the UK, where 50 such batteries will go to houses and schools with a PV set up. The initiative makes twofold sense for the French group as it owns most of the powerpacks running the Zoe & Co. anyway.
electrek.co, autocar.co.uk, renault.com

NEVs in excess? China is to halt handing out permits for EV production, insiders reveal, after the government admits fears it would lead to an overpopulated market. So far 15 such licenses have been granted through the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) since March 2016 with VW’s being the last. The policy is under review and if a ban comes to pass, newcomers like LeEco would be excluded for the time being.
bloomberg.com

Talking about LeEco: Problems prevail for the business and so Faraday Future is looking for new backers. The EV start-up plans to raise no less than 1bn dollars and says it has already met with investors as well as advisors. LeEco boss Jia Yueting has over 300m dollars of his own money invested in FF but will not put anymore.
bloomberg.com

National e-bus making: India’s Tata Motors, Mahindra and Ashok Leyland plan to build electric buses together. They thus move away from the initial idea to cooperate in electric car development as the bus market is believed to be the more profitable playing field, especially as the Indian government shifts its support to public rather than individual transport.
moneycontrol.com

Croatian EV in the making? Rimac may soon face a local competitor albeit one backed by Chinese money. Billionaire Karl Soong, CEO of Poly International Group, had wanted to take over Rimac some time ago but was rejected. He now plans to set up his own electric car production in Croatia under the Greentech Group label. Metkovic is his chosen site with its nearby port and the first phase of investment will be worth 10m euros given the local councils agree.
total-croatia-news.com

Mild-hybrid standard: Buick brings its 2018 LaCrosse with eAssist, a mild-hybrid as standard version. Prices in the States start from 30,490 dollars.
autoblog.com, automotiveworld.com

Mar 30, 2017 - 08:01 am

Mercedes, Skoda, Seat, Nissan, Electra Meccanica, FF.

Mercedes accelerates electric car roll-out: The premium segment is under pressure since diesel’s dirty secret has been aired, emission rules become ever tighter, and Tesla writes record after record and so Daimler reacts. 10 EVs by 2022 is the latest target – that is 3 years earlier than initially planned in Paris. On Wednesday’s annual conference in Berlin, CEO Dieter Zetsche also announced, he would invest 10bn euros in order to expand the electric lineup under the EQ label that shall cover every segment from compact to luxury. Fuel cells were not mentioned though.
bloomberg.com, autonews.com

Skoda envisions e-mobility: There will be five all-electric models based on the MEB platform by 2025, said VW’s Czech subsidiary and also revealed further details on its first concept EV on the occasion. The Skoda Vision E is to go on display in Shanghai on April, 19 but preliminary spec reveal a range of 500 km and level 3 autonomous driving capability of the electric crossover coupe. Market entry is set for 2020 but a plug-in hybrid Superbe will hit the shelves a year earlier already.
autoexpress.co.uk, carscoops.com

Seat is intensifying its electric endeavour as well as the Volkswagen brand plans for three EVs by 2020, Autocar learnt. Starting with the e-Mii with VW e-Up technology in 2019, next in line may be a compact electric car like the Leon with the VW e-Golf system. Lastly, an electric SUV resembling Volkswagen’s T-Roc is most likely.
autocar.co.uk

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New Leaf spy shots: Nissan’s next-gen Leaf has been caught on camera in camouflage but its silhouette points to the IDS concept. The 2018 Leaf will be revealed this September and Nissan plans to launch it before the year’s end.
motorauthority.com, greencarreports.com

Electra Meccanica roadster: Canadian Electra Meccanica vamped up its electric trike and displays the high performing Solo-R at the Vancouver Auto Show, where it also announced an electric roadster. The Tofino is destined for delivery from early 2019 for 50,000 Canadian dollars (about 35,000 euros).
electrek.co, marketwired.com

Faraday’s future remains in limbo at least in Californian Vallejo, where the company now cancelled its plan to build a second facility. Yet, Nevada shall stand – once construction continues.
techcrunch.com

Feb 28, 2017 - 10:15 am

Peugeot, Seat, China, Mini, Bentley, Tesla, FF.

Peugeot plug-in concept: The French will bring the Instinct Concept to Geneva, a study that embodies Peugeot’s vision of autonomous and connected driving. The future is at least partially electric – the concept is equipped with a 300 hp plug-in hybrid system.
autocar.co.uk, autonews.com

Seat’s first electric car has been revealed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as planned. It is indeed the Mii that utilises VW e-Up technology. While the first models will serve as shared electric cars for employees in Spain, rumour has it the Mii EV may hit the market by 2019.
autocar.co.uk, youtube.com

High-level lobbying: Initially, China wanted to force automakers to shift 8 percent of their production to electric and hybrid vehicles in 2018. This may now be moved to 2019 and the percentage possibly lowered. Germany had followed complaints by makers like Volkswagen, whose electrification remains slow but was echoed by Chinese manufacturers. Details of the new rules are currently being worked out in China.
global.handelsblatt.com

Mini to leave Britain? As a “hard Brexit” becomes more likely, BMW ponders to move production of the electric Mini from Oxford to Leipzig or Regensburg, Handelsblatt has learnt. The Germans may also tap Dutch Nedcar, which already builds two Mini models for BMW.
handelsblatt.com

E-SUV by Bentley: The British luxury brand sees a market for a smaller SUV just below the Bentayga and considers making it all-electric, according to head of technology Rolf Frech. But such a Bentley EV would kick off no sooner than by 2020 and only after planned PHEV variants.
autonews.com

Tesla and FF appoint new CFOs: Tesla’s CFO Jason Wheeler will abandon his post in April to be replaced by former CFO Deepak Ahuja. Wheeler is off to work on public policies, a bold move in the current political climate. Over at Faraday Future, Stefan Krause, former executive at BMW and Deutsche Bank, is to take care of finances at the new EV maker and will have a lot to sort out.
manager-magazin.de (FF, in German), electrek.co (Tesla)

Feb 22, 2017 - 11:29 am

Detroit Electric, Future Mobility, Sinclair, Mellor Coachcraft, FF.

Detroit Electric to produce in China: Emperor Electric Car is a new Joint Venture between the Chinese CSE, ES&TP and Detroit Electric that will have its HQ in Hongkong. Together, they want to produce EVs and their components in China. Construction of a first facility in Yixing will start in 2017 and the JV hopes to make 100,000 electric cars a year comes 2020. This excludes Detroit Electric’s SP:01 roadster though. Instead EEC plans to build an electric SUV.
forbes.com

An electric SUV made in China is also the plan of Future Mobility Corp (FMC). The start-up funded by Foxconn and Tencent and led by former BMWi manager Carsten Breitfeld wants to launch its first EV by 2019 and aims at prices from 40,000 dollars. A sedan and mini van shall follow later. However, first the Najing facility with planned production capacity of 150,000 EV needs to be completed and receive its manufacturing license. If not, executives said they would look to outsource production.
greencarcongress.com, bloomberg.com

The Sinclair C5 is as quirky an invention as it is British. Now, a remake of the 1980 electric trike is due. The Iris eTrike is pedal-assist, comes covered and does look more modern than its predecessor. Grant Sinclair, Clive Sinclair’s nephew, is behind it and will offer the e-trike from 3,000 GBP.
futureentech.com, bikeradar.com, bbc.com (video)

World’s first low floor e-bus? Mellor Coachcraft will bring an electric low floor bus to the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham this April. The Orion E sits 16 passengers and shall have a range of 160 km. Deliveries are planned for July.
transportengineer.org.uk

FF clings to life in USA: Just as Faraday Future seemed to have given up its ambitions to make it in the States (we reported), officials in Nevada refute. The EV start-up has poured 160m dollars into its desert facility and wants to break ground this spring. But the factory will be much smaller, at least during what FF calls the first phase. If completed, 12,000 electric cars may roll off the lines from next year.
recordcourier.com, electrek.co

Modular reviews: Hyundai’s Ionic comes in all shades of green that is as hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and fully electric. As it arrived in the States, test reports reach us, comparing apples with apples for once.
jalopnik.com (HEV vs EV), autoblog.com (HEV vs PHEV)