Fiat Chrysler wants to set up a joint venture with Foxconn, known primarily as an iPhone contract manufacturer, for the production of electric cars for the Chinese market. Both groups confirmed the plan while details are still being negotiated.
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Competition is running hot in China to make it in the new energy vehicle market. The latest round of financing for EV start-up Xpeng resulted in 2.2 billion yuan (350m euros) in funding. Alibaba and Foxconn spent the most.
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Hyundai dedicates to EVs: The South Korean carmaker is working on a platform for electric vehicles only, Reuters reports quoting Lee Ki-sang, who leads Hyundai-Kia’s eco car operations. Lee named Tesla’s success and stricter regulations as reason for Hyundai to build the new architecture that will allow for batteries situated in car floors. While the dedicated EVs will take some time, both Hyundai as well as Kia plan to launch compact electric SUVs next year, namely the Kia Niro and an unknown Hyundai model.
reuters.com
Foxconn funds CATL with 1.4bn USD: Market leading ambitions of Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) have just received new fuel from iPhone maker Foxconn, that invested 1.4bn dollars in the firm, which overtook LG Chem in battery production last year. CATL already delivers powerpacks for the BMW X1 xDrive25Le and has opened new offices in both Berlin and Munich. Internationally, it counts PSA and NEVS to its customers and also holds shares of Finnish Valmet Automotive. Reportedly, CATL seeks to expand annual production capacity to 50GWh by 2020 and Foxconn considers its latest investment “long-term.”
taiwannews.com.tw (Foxconn), automobilwoche.de (Germany, in German)
Indian high-end EVs for export: Mahindra and its South Korean business side SsangYong plan to build “High End” electric cars on a new shared platform. The EV are destined for sale in China and the States starting from 2019 and the companies earmarked a billion dollars for their joint development.
yonhapnews.co.kr
Italian Volt(s): Milanese motorcycle maker Italian Volt has come out with a customisable electric bike thanks to 3D-printed parts. The Lacama’s 70kW propel it from zero to 100 kph in 4.2 seconds but more importantly, the e-motorcycle can be charged to 80% in just 40 minutes for 180 km in eco mode. Pre-orders will open in autumn but prices may be as high as 35,000 euros.
3ders.org, flatoutmag.co.uk
Autosteer at 130 kph: Tesla is rolling out software update 8.1 around the world for Model S and X with Autopilot 2.0 hardware. Respectively, the update focuses on autonomous driving functionality like raising the speed limit for Autosteer to 130 kph (80mph) up from 80 kph (55mph).
electrek.co, teslarati.com (with video)
Fisker outsources service: The Hybrid Shop is specialised in hybrid and electric vehicles and is now Fisker’s chosen customer service partner. The partnership will expand a network of 36 existing service centres in North America to more than 300 in the States and the rest of the world by 2019.
businessinsider.de
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First details on Volvo EV: A 400 km range is a must, said Volvo about the first all-electric model due in 2019. If the EV will be dedicatedly electric or rather build upon an existing model is a question for the coming months. The price will be between 35,000 to 40,000 dollars.
autonews.com
PSA pushes for 80% electrification by 2023: No less than 27 of all 34 planned new models by Peugeot, Citroën and DS shall have a hybrid or electric variant by 2023, PSA CEO Carlos Tavares announced. That would be 80 percent of the French groups line-up and a considerate expansion of electrification. Previously, PSA had just seven PHEV and four EV lined up until 2021.
ccfa.fr (in French) via insideevs.com
VW begins battery research: Volkswagen has decided to start R&D for battery cells at its Salzgitter facility and has recruited the first employees already. The move is part of the so-called Zukunftspakt (pact for future), designed to make the carmaker future-safe with a focus on e-mobility. It is likely to include battery mass production in Germany as well, at least that is what VW’s mighty workers’ council pushes for. A pilot production is in the making.
automobilwoche.de (in German)
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Deloitte paves the way for eMobility: Deloitte Italy has approached Alphabet to consult them in analysing their existing fleet. The Electrification Potential Analysis unveiled the possibility to replace 33% of its combustion engine vehicles with EVs, resulting in a 9.1% reduction in CO2 emissions. www.alphabet.com/AlphaElectricDeloitte
Opel has confirmed the Ampera-E’s delivery schedule for Europe as was previously planned. The first Ampera-e will arrive in May in Norway. Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann took to Twitter to spread the news – Tesla style – but has so far failed to answer numerous comments asking for a more detailed plan with regards to Germany, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands …
twitter.com, insideevs.com
Foxconn to build e-motorcycle: Chinese Evoke Motorcycles has hooked up with iPhone supplier Foxconn to develop an affordable electric motorbike. Orders for the Urban S Smart are written now at a price of 9,400 dollars each. The 9 kWh battery is made by Samsung and supplies a 19 kW electric drive.
electrek.co, motofire.com, evokemotorcycles.com
Car bans in Spain: Both Barcelona and Madrid are looking to clean up their air. In the case of the Catalan capital, cars older than 20 years will be banned from entering its vicinity from 2019. Madrid may go a step further as it discusses an EV-only city centre by 2025.
Barcelona, Madrid
5,000 EVs for Hangzhou: Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile has invested 1.2bn Chinese yuan (more than 180m USD) to set up an electric car rental service company in Hangzhou, China. FIH plans to deploy up to 5,000 electric cars within the next three years.
digitimes.com
H2 coalition: Norwegian hydrogen specialist NEL has signed a letter of intent with Uno-X, a chain of fuel stations throughout Norway and Denmark, to establish a joint venture. The companies plan to rollout a minimum of 20 hydrogen refuelling stations covering all the major cities in Norway within 2020.
businesswire.com
BMW i3 expansion: The car-sharing programme DriveNow continues the electrification of its fleet as it introduces 20 BMW i3 in the Austrian capital Vienna. Car-sharers can already get their hands on the electric car in Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Cologne, London, and Copenhagen.
oekonews.at (in German)
Clever expansion: Danish EV infrastructure provider Clever will cross the border as it plans to launch four fast charging stations in Northern Germany by the end of this year. The stations will support all DC and AC connectors (CHAdeMO, CCS, Type2).
emobilitaetonline.de (in German), energy-supply.dk (in Danish)
Hybrid fleet: British sustainable energy company Vital Energi will shortly take delivery of six Mitsubishi Outlander Plug-in hybrids, taking its fleet to a total of 40 hybrids. The company already has 19 Mitsubishi PHEVs, eight Lexus hybrids, six Toyota hybrids and one VW Golf GTE.
fleetnews.co.uk
BASF’s electric fleet will grow by 100 cars this year. Ten Renault Zoe now joined 38 Kangoo and Zoe already used at the BASF site in Ludwigshafen. This development is in line with the company’s effort to become the leading supplier of functional materials and solutions for battery manufacturers.
mrn-news.de (in German)
Hon Hai car rental: The electric hiring service run by Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn) and BAIC, currently operational throughout Beijing with 1,000 electric cars (we reported) will expand its services in ten more Chinese cities. Guiyang is next and will start operations with 100 EVs in July.
wantchinatimes.com
Twizy in the sun: Tourists on Bora Bora can now rent one of twelve Renault Twizy. At a rate of about 33 euros/hour, this is certainly one of the most exclusive EV offers between Australia and America. But at least no one on this small island will mind the missing windows or worry about range.
insideevs.com, avis-borabora.com (offer)
Florida town offers free electric rides: Since early May, visitors and residents can catch a ride in one of the six electric shuttles from Downtowner in Boca Raton. CEO Stephen Murray says he wanted to help free up parking spaces in the beach town. City officials loved the idea, especially because they do not pay a cent. Drivers earn their money through tips only.
sun-sentinel.com
Cornwall College installed four rapid-chargers at its campuses in Camborne, St Austell, Newquay and Saltash. Working together with the Cornwall Council and SSE Enterprise Utilities, these are the first of 22 public chargers planned in the area to enable students and teachers to go electric.
businesscornwall.co.uk
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Ideas on the iCar: Industry insider Georg Kacher is turning the rumour mill as he wonders how an alleged cooperation between Apple and BMW might look like. His best guess is an evolutionary i3, boasting more range and power while being cheaper. To make that happen, Kacher hints at a move away from pricey carbon to a more flexible material mix while serial production could be done at Magna Steyr. By 2018, up to 200,000 units could be produced annually.
sueddeutsche.de (in German)
China charges ahead: The government of the People’s Republic now published new rules on EV manufacturing thus allowing for licensing of non-automotive producers already this year. Accordingly, Foxconn affirmed its plan to build EVs below 15,000 dollars (we reported) and has further forged alliances with both the Chinese internet company Tencent and the Chinese car dealer Harmony Auto.
wantchinatimes.com (licensing); evertiq.com, cio.com (Foxconn)
Tesla to produce in China? The Californian EV maker is thinking about moving production to China, local media reports. Apparently, talks to form a joint venture with Lifan Group and Changan Automobile took place already last week.
wantchinatimes.com, dailykanban.com, cqnews.net
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StreetScooter spreads: German StreetScooter spin-off e.GO Mobile is planning to sell a two-seater based on the StreetScooter C16 for about 10,000 euros as well as a larger version for about 14,000 euros. Through licensing, the EVs could also reach markets in the U.S., Mexico and China, e.GO said.
welt.de (in German)
Honda is offering new lease options for both existing and new customers of the Fit EV. A two-year lease or extension of the same length is offered for lower monthly payments of 199 dollars (259 USD before). The move is possibly due to the fact that Honda has not sold any Fit EV this year.
greencarcongress.com, autoblog.com
Bosch intensifies two-wheeler business: The global supplier is to pool its motorcycle segments under a newly formed unit called ‘Two-Wheeler and Powersports’. Obviously, market leadership is the declared goal and Bosch will thus also strengthen its activities in electric drivetrain technologies for motorcycles.
autocarpro.in
Electric car sharing in China: BAIC Motor and Foxconn have started an electric car sharing service in Beijing. It starts with 1,000 units of the BAIC E150EV and is to be followed by Tesla´s Model S, the BYD e6 and Zinoro 1E at a later date. Maybe even a Foxconn EV will join the rental service in the future as the electronics company had revealed plans to enter the electric car market with an EV below the 15,000-dollar-mark (we reported).
chinadaily.com.cn
New Hubject features: The Berlin-based joint venture will present its newly developed NFC access solution for charging stations operating within the intercharge network together with direct payments via credit card at the E-world energy & water trade fair in Essen, Germany this week.
hubject.com (PDF)
Long-range commuting: Another project of Germany’s showcase regions has delivered results. The ‘LangstreckE’ (long range) project, undertaken by BMW, Chemnitz Technical University, and the city of Leipzig, saw 75 commuters using 15 BMW ActiveE over three months each. All users were able to cover most of their drives (91 percent) with the electric cars.
bmwblog.com
Go green, Glasgow: The Scottish city has now approved a ten-year transport strategy that also includes a “Low Emission Zone” feasibility study. Furthermore, Glasgow council plans to expand its current network of 64 EV charge points, adding another eight by March 2015 and expanding further in future.
airqualitynews.com
Campus charging: The State University of New York (SUNY) has installed six EV charging stations at the New Paltz campus. The charge points are to be used by students, visitors, and staff, who will pay one dollar per hour for the first four hours, and five dollars per hour thereafter.
midhudsonnews.com
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Electric mobility in 2015: It has been said that there are more events about electric mobility than there are electric cars on the road. And the same seems to be true for 2015. In our calendar section, we have listed the most important trade shows, conferences, workshops, driving events and seminars for you.
electrive.com/calendar (Please send additional information to contact@electrive.com)
Nevada to get Gigafactory: According to an undisclosed source, Tesla has picked Nevada as location for its 5-billion dollar battery plant. Being just a few hundred miles away from Tesla’s main assembly plant in Californian Fremont, Nevada seems like a reasonable choice even though California has been among the final-five together with Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Nevada is expected to grant Tesla tax incentives worth about 400 million dollars. Nevada Govenor Brian Sandoval is said to officially announce the deal at a press conference Thursday evening local time.
usatoday.com, abcnews.go.com
Foxconn to get real: Hon Hai aka Foxconn recently announced plans to build electric cars that would cost less than 15,000 dollars (we reported). Now the electronics company named Chinese province Shanxi as location for a yet to be erected facility. Foxconn will invest five billion yuan (about 800 million USD) this year and wants to grow the number of employees working in the province to 100,000.
focustaiwan.tw
Mitsubishi recall: In Japan, Mitsubishi recalls about 6,000 i-MiEV and Minicab-MiEV due to problems with the break booster. Last year 5,800 i-MiEV were already recalled due to the same issue.
japan.ahk.de (in German), monoist.atmarkit.co.jp (in Japanese)
Hybrid pricing: Infiniti has issued pricing for his 2015 Q70 Hybrid which will start from 55,900 dollars in the States. It sits thus in the middle of the Q70 line’s price range. Also in the middle but in a different class altogether is the hybrid version of the 2015 Toyota Camry which can be bought for 26,790 dollars.
hybridcars.com (Q70), autoblog.com (Camry)
Electric Hummer in the UK: Fully Charged is selling an electric version of the usually petrol-thirsty heavyweight. The electric hummer looks like GM’s original but only runs with a top speed of 35 mph and is a lot smaller. Optional features include dual golf bag holders and side doors.
dailymail.co.uk
Klein to replace Palmer: Nissan’s board has approved Philippe Klein as Andy Palmer’s successor as he leaves for Aston Martin (we reported). Klein comes from Renault where he held the position of executive VP. In Japan, Klein will take over product planning as well as the EV and battery division.
auto.economictimes.indiatimes.com
Foxconn and BEV set up electric car rental in China: Operations are set to begin in Beijing and Hangzhou next month already. Beijing Electric Vehicle (BEV) announced that within the coming year, some 5,000-10,000 rental vehicles will be available across the country.
digitimes.com
Michigan tests first hybrid-electric bus line: On top of being greener and quieter, the so called “Silver Line” also has an on-board technology to change traffic lights to green, allowing for faster connections. It also provides free Wi-Fi for customers.
wzzm13.com (video)
Why electrifying Amsterdam will work: By 2015, the number of public charging stations in the city will reach 2,000. And to make sure people use them, their locations were chosen based in demand. In others words, they are located where people live and work, to ensure easy and convenient access.
cnbc.com
Charging station from Russia: KRET has developed a charging station for the use with the EVs from Lada but says the system will be easy adaptable to charge EVs from other manufacturers according to IEC 61851-1. Currently the FORA charging station supplies AC, but a DC version is in the making.
greencarcongress.com, kret.com
Proterra buses for Seattle: The manufacturer sold two 12-meter electric buses to the city of Seattle, USA. The sale also includes a fast-charging system. The buses will be tested for one year, after which Proterra could sell as many as 200 additional buses and charging systems to the city.
electriccarsreport.com, greenpowertrain.automotive-business-review.com
Cheap EV made in Taiwan: Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn, is one of the world’s largest contract electronics makers. The company now announced that is working on building an electric car for less than 15,000 dollars. Details on how and when it will be complete have not been released.
wantchinatimes.com
Mitsubishi ramps up production at their Japanese facility in Okazaki. This means that annual production of the Outlander PHEV will be increased from 30,000 to 50,000 units. Fair enough, as the car is quickly becoming a bestseller in Europe (see our number of the day below).
insideevs.com, transportevolved.com
Detroit Electric to get real: The American carmaker decided to build the SP:01 in England and not in the States. The electric roadster will be sold in Asia and Europe by the end of 2014, before coming “home.” With a top speed of 155 mph, the SP:01 strives to become the world’s fastest series electric car.
electriccarsreport.com, puregreencars.com
Is China opening up? The governmental ‘China Automotive Technology and Research Center’ has issued a draft on policy changes regarding the automotive industry. Its proposal is asking the government to open up the EV industry to companies other than carmakers such as Fisker buyer or component manufacturer Wanxiang.
businessweek.com, inautonews.com
Green brand of the year: Interbrand has published its list of the 50 ‘Top Global Green Brands’ of 2014. Ford takes the spotlight away from Toyota, which comes in second, followed by Honda and Nissan. The list includes more corporations other than carmakers.
green.autoblog.com, interbrand.com (full list)
Team Venturi: German race driver Nick Heidfeld and Stéphane Sarrazin from France will join the Venturi Formula E racing team. The inaugural season of the new FIA Formula E Championship will start at September 13th, 2014 with its first race in Beijing.
fiaformulae.com
