The USA and Japan have signed a trade agreement on minerals for electric vehicle batteries. This will allow Japanese car manufacturers broader access to the US market and subsidies under the Inflation Reduction Act.
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Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWCV) plans to increase production of the ID. Buzz. That should cut delivery times and make the electric model available in more countries. Additionally, VWN wants to expand its range of light electric commercial vehicles.
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Nissan cannot churn out its new electric car as quickly as planned. According to media reports, the output is at least one-third below plan due to chips, components and paint issues. But the carmaker is working on ramping up production capacity.
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BYD is planning a major push into battery-electric commercial vehicles, according to a media report. The Chinese manufacturer will launch a series of new BEV commercial vehicle models in markets such as China, Europe and Japan over the next three years.
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Evonik is investing a mid-double-digit million euro sum in the expansion of production facilities for fumed aluminium oxide at its Yokkaichi site in Japan. The material will be used in extremely thin coatings for separator foils in batteries.
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Nissan is further accelerating its electrification strategy. The Japanese automaker will launch 27 new electrified models by fiscal 2030, including 19 purely electric ones. That is four more pure electric vehicles than announced with the last strategic plan in November 2021.
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Suzuki has presented its growth strategy until 2030. This envisages total investments of 4.5 trillion yen (approx. 31 billion euros), almost half of which will go into the development and production of electrified vehicles.
Read moreThe Nissan Leaf was once among the e-mobility pioneers but fell behind in recent times. The long-announced Ariya was supposed to help Nissan catch up again and target the growing majority of EV adopters. Yet, the new platform and concept do not deliver throughout, as our driving test shows.
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Sony and Honda’s new electric car brand Afeela is already planning more models and a market entry in Europe, according to a British media report. The joint venture Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) has just presented the new brand at the CES, including a first sedan study.
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The Japanese government is planning to relax the safety regulations for fast charging stations with more than 200 kW power in order to make their installation less cost-intensive. In the process, HPCs are to be put on an equal footing with DC charging stations with 50 to 200 kW.
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Japan’s MK Group has added 35 BMW electric cars in its taxi divisions in Tokyo and Kyoto. In the Japanese capital, the company is now using 20 BMW i7s, while in Kyoto a further ten BMW i7s and five BMW iXs have entered service.
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Lucid Motors has signed a supply agreement for battery cells with Panasonic Energy. The Panasonic batteries will be installed in both the Lucid Air and the upcoming Gravity SUV. Until now, the cells came from LG.
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Italian electric motorbike brand Energica has launched sales of its high-performance motorbikes in Japan and Australia. The first electric motorcycles are scheduled to arrive in both countries in the first quarter of 2023. With this, Energica aims to strengthen its market position in the ASEAN region.
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Mercedes-Benz has opened its first dealership worldwide exclusively for electric cars – in Japan. It was built in Yokohama and offers 1,221 square metres of space for the presentation of up to seven electric cars as well as an area for vehicle handovers and three CHAdeMO chargers.
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Toyota, in collaboration with Japanese utility Jera, has commissioned a large-volume energy storage system based on end-of-life batteries from electrified vehicles. The storage system uses retired batteries from hybrid, plug-in hybrid, battery-only and fuel cell cars.
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Toyota has announced an all-electric sedan called the bZ3, developed in collaboration between Toyota, BYD and FAW Toyota, which is to be offered exclusively in China for the time being. In addition, according to media reports, there are indications that the Japanese could revise their electric strategy.
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The Japanese company SkyDrive shows the design of its electric aerial taxi SD-05, which is currently under development and is to be used at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka. The SD-05 is a two-seater, electrically powered air taxi designed for flights up to about ten kilometres.
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Honda plans to introduce at least ten electric two-wheeler models worldwide by 2025. This includes electric motorcycles and mopeds. Further details were also announced regarding the technology.
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Daimler truck subsidiary Fuso is unveiling the next generation of the all-electric eCanter light truck. The new vehicle will be offered in weight classes from 4.25 to 8.55 tons, in addition to the currently available 7.5-tonne truck. The Next Generation eCanter will celebrate its world premiere in Japan.
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Nissan is acquiring a stake in battery manufacturer Vehicle Energy Japan. Following the transaction, the company will become a subsidiary of Nissan, in which existing shareholders Maxell and Hitachi Astemo will also have a stake.
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Toyota has decided to invest up to 730 billion yen (approximately $5.6 billion) in battery production for battery electric vehicles in Japan, and the US, which should start between 2024 and 2026.
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Norwegian battery company Freyr has opened its first location in Asia. The office is located in Fukuoka, Japan, and includes a technology resource campus.
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Toyota is apparently threatening to stop its British car production if the ban on new hybrid cars in the UK is brought forward to 2030. The British government had brought forward the ban on the sale of cars with internal combustion engines by five years to 2030 and announced the end of hybrid cars by […]
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News of advances in urban air mobility keeps flying in with Electric Power Systems announcing a new customer, this time from Japan. SkyDrive, a self-described developer of flying cars based at Toyota City, has opted for EPS’ ‘EPiC’ battery system to power future passenger drones.
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Japanese courier service Yamato Transport and the Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation (CJPT) have announced that they will work together to standardise replaceable and rechargeable battery cassettes for commercial electric vehicles.
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BYD announced its entry into the passenger vehicle market in Japan debuting three models. The Atto 3 (known as Yuan Plus in China) is expected to go on sale in January. The Dolphin and Seal respectively will be available for purchase in the middle and second half of 2023.
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BASF and Toda have agreed on a further expansion of the production capacities of their joint venture BASF Toda Battery Materials (BTBM), founded seven years ago, at the Onoda site in Japan.
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Isuzu, Toyota, Hino, and the Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation have announced they would jointly plan and develop light-duty fuel cell electric trucks for the mass market. The vehicles are to be introduced from January 2023 and used by the partners at distribution sites in Fukushima and Tokyo.
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Belgian materials technology and recycling group Umicore and Japan’s energy company Idemitsu Kosan have agreed to develop high-performance materials for solid-state batteries jointly. Umicore will bring its expertise in cathode active materials (CAM) and banks on Idemitsu Kosan’s know-how in solid electrolytes.
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Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota and chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA), is reported to have secured an amendment to a key policy document by Japan’s government to include hybrid vehicles in the category of electric vehicles, effectively putting them on an equal footing.
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