After facing a lot of trouble regarding its companies, Jia Yueting is currently confronted with even worse news: The founder of LeEco and U.S. start-up Faraday Future once stepped forward to challenge Tesla – now, a court has seized all of his assets due to outstanding debts.
bloomberg.com, reuters.com
London Taxi Company opens UK plant: 20,000 electric cabs with range extender can now be produced every year in Ansty close to Coventry. There, the London Taxi Company opened its facility for the TX5 with 300m pounds from its Chinese backers Geely. The new electric model replaces the legendary black cab, FX4 whose design dates back to 1958. The electric taxi will go on sale this autumn in Great Britain, with the first market being London, where all new cabs must be zero emission capable by the start of 2018. European distribution may begin early next year and the firm hopes to appeal to cities worried about pollution and with an eye for icons.
autocar.co.uk, businessgreen.com
Made for municipalities: Electric van ELI has been designed for municipalities in Austria by local SFL Technologies and is now in serial production. For the start, 1,000 electric vans will be made a year but capacity is to double by 2019. Rather than for sale, ELI is for hire and will be rented out to municipalities as part of a service package with a monthly starting fee of 1,1250 euros before federal incentives that decrease the price to 835 euros. ELI has a range of up to 110 km and can carry 980 kg. Plus, it adapts to various tasks like transport or snow ploughing.
electrive.net (in German)
EQC will be the name of Mercedes’ first model under the EQ label. It can be expected by 2019, the MB Passion blog reports, quoting the in-house Mercedes Benz magazine.
mercedes-benz-passion.com (in German)
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A new round of referrals has begun at Tesla and this time the programme includes invitations to the Model 3 “Delivery Event,” Gigafactory and SpaceX tours as well as a Tesla Model S and X, a special edition Powerwall and a Model S for kids. The scheme ends on June, 15.
insideevs.com
Searching for synergies: Mitsubishi has delayed the new Outlander by a year as it moved the launch to 2020. The company claims the search for synergies with Nissan as the reason and engineers are now looking into sharing components and architecture between the companies.
autonews.com
Unwell: LeEco co-founder and China and Asia-Pacific chief executive for the company’s EV division has resigned, citing health reasons. Already last December, Ding had stepped back from his post as Faraday Future CEO. He will remain a strategic advisor for the company’s ecosystem research centre.
scmp.com
Economy EV: e.Go Life is a city car by e.GO Mobile AG due to debut at CEBIT show in Berlin. Serial production is scheduled for spring 2018 and prices start at 15,900 euros, which may make it just the solution needed for e-mobility to become affordable for most. Driving the e.Go is an 48-Volt system by Bosch and the spec puts the range at 100 km. The company based at RWTH Aachen campus will open the order books by May this year.
e-go-mobile.com
Another compact EV comes from China, where BAIC is to reveal the ArcFox-1 at the Shanghai Auto Show. Spy shots show an electric car that is reminiscent of both the Mini and Soul EV but will sit just two. A 200 km range is enough for city dwellers and kick off is set in China this autumn.
carnewschina.com
Peugeot mini SUV electric and lux? Once the French will update their mini SUV 2008 next year, an electric version as well as a premium model under the DS label are likely. Autobild reports both EV may hit the market as early as 2019 and while the Peugeot 2008 would come with 350 km range, the DS 3 Crossback may add another 100 km on top. Price point: around 19,000 euros.
autobild.de (in German)
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Audi confirmed the Q4 for kick-off in 2019 and the SUV will also feature a plug-in hybrid drive. The Q4 will sit on the same MQB platform as the new Q3 and prices will start at about 28,000 GBP in the UK. In the meantime, Peter Mertens, formerly Volvo’s head of development, is to take the very same role at Audi on May, 1 this year.
autocar.co.uk (Q4), automobilwoche.de (Mertens, in German)
LeEco sold Silicon Valley HQ: Financial problems at Chinese start-up LeEco seem endless and now show as the company sold its Silicon Valley property that was supposed to serve as its head office in the States. LeEco is Faraday Future’s main sponsor that tries to ride out another cash crunch.
reuters.com
Mitsubishi revised its Outlander PHEV Juro, the premium version of the UK’s best-selling plug-in hybrid. The 2017 version is now equipped with an Electronic Parking Brake, EV Priority Mode, and a reversing camera plus some more in-car tech. It is priced from 33,499 GBP after incentives.
electriccarsreport.com, automotiveworld.com
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LeEco was to present its LeSee Pro self-driving car in San Francisco. Yet, instead of a car materialising from the cloud on the catwalk, founder Jia Yueting came running to tell the audience, that A, the showcar was involved in a serious accident, and that B, the other model flown in was stuck in traffic.
hybridcars.com
European commercial charging alliance: German carmakers plan to set up EV fast-charging infrastructure across Europe. VW, Audi, Porsche, BMW and Daimler say fast-charging stations in the three-digit realm will soon be found along the main transport routes. Obviously, this is also a push for CCS with up to 350 kW. The next step may be the USA but at a later date.
automobilwoche.de (in German)
Next generation of electrification? BMW plans for a whole new family of electric models based on the iNext due in 2021, Manager Magazin reports. The platform will be the basis for fuel cell vehicles but also ICE and is scheduled for completion by 2023.
manager-magazin.de (in German)
Lynk’s first PHEV: Backed by Geely and thus Volvo, Lynk & Co presented the first model of the new brand due by 2018. Dubbed 01, the new SUV sits on the same platform as the Volvo XC40 and is a plug-in hybrid as well. Following Lynk models, say 02 and 03, may already be fully electrified.
autocar.co.uk, autonews.com
China in California: LeEco shows the LeSEE Pro for the U.S. market. Currently at pre-production stage, the electric sedan features autonomous driving and is due to be made by the end of 2017. Meanwhile, Faraday Future says its EV will debut at the coming CES next January.
forbes.com (LeEco), elektrek.co (Faraday Future)
Toyota in Poland: 150m euros are to be invested by Toyota to expand its Polish production facilities. The Walbrzych site is to manufacture a hybrid transaxle from 2018 and thus make imports from Japan redundant. Since the start of its operation in Poland in 2002, Toyota invested more than 950m euros.
greencarcongress.com, toyota.co.jp
No more battery leasing? Renault-Nissan is to put an end to its battery leasing, rumours suggest. Before the end of 2017, models like the Leaf would then be offered with batteries included as allegedly is the case in Spain and Portugal already.
pushevs.com
Extra range from Renault? At its local show in Paris, the French carmaker will present an improved Zoe, BFM TV reports. The new version is to double its range to 320 kilometres. Furthermore, Renault speaks of a novel electric concept, which will debut at the motor show also.
bfmtv.com (in French) via goingelectric.de; renault.com (electric concept, in French)
Chevy Bolt pricing: GM has issued the U.S. price for the Chevy Bolt EV. The economy electric car starts at 37,495 dollars before grants, meaning with all incentives applied it will be below 30,000 dollars. Those that require fast DC-charging will have to factor in another 750 bucks.
electrek.co, insideevs.com, greencarcongress.com
LeEco financing: 1.08bn dollars were collected in a new round of funding for the Chinese electric transport venture. Only recently, LeEco had announced an 1.8bn dollar investment in a new facitlity. There, up to 400,000 electric vehicles could be produced annually.
bloomberg.com
One out of ten: Qiantu Motor, a start-up owned by CH-Auto, has secured a production license for electric cars in China, Bloomberg learned. The Government in Beijing has reportedly limited the number of such allowances to only ten in the People’s Republic.
bloomberg.com
Tesla and SolarCity may not merge as quickly as planned. The EV maker faces four lawsuits from different investors. The first hearing is set for October, 18 and is thus likely to delay the merger.
electrek.co, teslarati.com
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BMW pushes electrification: Details on Project i20 or iNext were revealed. The new fully electric BMW expected for 2021 will have different motors ranging from 100 bis 182 kW. It will run autonomously by 2025. Also, the i3 and i8 will be succeeded comes 2022. By then, the i8 may become available as EV, powered by three electric drives with a combined output of 522 kW and a range of 500 km.
automobilemag.com
Another Audi-Porsche plug-in? A Cayenne coupé is in the cards, which Autocar believes could be offered as an electric variant utilising technology from Audi’s electric SUV. The idea would complement the latest news of a potential Porsche E-SUV.
autocar.co.uk
Mitsubishi plug-in push: The Japanese plan an compact plug-in hybrid SUV to be followed by a fully electric ASX, according to a product brochure outlining models to launch between 2017 and 2020. Mitsubishi also mentions two more, smaller EVs but released no further details.
insideevs.com, mitsubishi-motors.com
Electric shuttle bus: A Kreisel electric drive powers the VDL MidBasic Electric to premier at the IAA. Built by VDL Bus & Coach and based on a Mercedes Sprinter, the electric mini-bus seats nine and shall go as far as 300 km on one charge. The Kreisel power packs have capacities of 72 or 92 kWh.
automotiveworld.com, vdlbuscoach.com
Entertaining EV production: LeEco will invest 1.8bn dollars in building an electric car factory near the city of Hangzhou, where 400,000 units shall roll off the lines per year. The production facility would become part of what LeEco calls an Eco Experience Park with connected EVs and other fun attractions next to offices. No date for construction has been set by the manufacturer.
reuters.com
New Karma: EV manufacturer Fisker has been officially reborn under the name Karma Automotive. The company, now owned by Wanxiang Group, has moved production tools and equipment to Finland and will be selling their vehicle under the name Revero later this year. The Revero will use BMW technology, as reported.
wsj.com, autoblog.com
Tesla teaser: Tesla posted a teaser with the “keep it 100” emoji on its Facebook page, making many suspect that the EV maker is getting ready to release its 100 kWh battery option. Rumours on the matter have been circulating for a while. Meanwhile, the recently refreshed Model S 90D Tesla has been rated as having a range of 303.2 miles.
electrek.com (100 kWh), insidedevs.com (Model S)
CEO switch: Zhang Hailiang, former CEO of SAIC Volkswagen, has been named CEO and COO of LeEco Auto. Hailing started at Volkswagen back in 1994, taking the reigns as CEO in 2007 and became the youngest vice president of SAIC in 2014.
autonews.gasgoo.com
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E-Van: LDV, newly backed by SAIC Maxus, revealed their EV80 panel van at the Commercial Vehicle show in Birmingham. The car is a fully electric version of the V80 panel van and is fitted with a battery with up to 75 kWh. It’s claimed to provide over 180 miles of range, though real-world estimates are more around 100 miles.
autoexpress.co.uk
Ford expands: Ford plans to expand their alternative fuel vehicles line-up in China, saying they will “have hybrids, plug-in hybrids and battery electrics.” The rollout will begin later this year with the launch of the hybridized Mondeo. Audi also plans to sell the A6L e-tron plug-in hybrid exclusively in China, followed by the Q7 e-tron in 2017.
autonews.com (Ford), chinadaily.com (Audi)
e20 in review: Autocar expects that the Mahindra e20 will step in to replace the G-Wiz electric city car, and they’ve written a thorough how-to and review. Both models, the City and the fully loaded TechX, were found to be safe, but only “adequate” and lacking speed and bite.
autocar.co.uk
LeSee unveiled: White, sporty and autonomous is how the LeSee concept rolled on stage. LeEco CEO Jia Yueting had summoned the EV via his smartphone, demonstrating that connectivity, self-driving technology and a powerful electric motor are all part of the package. Technical details will be unveiled at the Beijing Auto Show.
engadget.com, electrek.co
No deal with Apple: According to German Handelsblatt, Daimler and BMW have ended secret talks with Apple about a cooperation on the latter’s EV project. It seems, the three parties could not agree on who would be in charge. Apple is looking for partners to help launch its project. Canadian-Austrian firm Magna is currently believed to be the favourite.
global.handelsblatt.com
Quality issues with Model X? U.S. magazine Consumer Reports questions the quality standards of Tesla’s SUV. One owner complained about the electric windows not functioning correctly and about the sensors of the falcon door wings missing, resulting in a first dent. Similar complaints have been voiced in online forums. The opposite is true for the Model S: in the UK, it received a satisfaction rating of 97,46 percent.
consumerreports.org, teslamotorsclub.com (Model X), autoexpress.co.uk (Model S)
High-performance Zoe? According to Autocar, Renault is considering a more powerful version of its all-electric Zoe called the Zoe RS. However, the move will not be possible before the EV can be fitted with a better battery to not trade range for more performance.
autocar.co.uk
EV incentives in Germany – update: It seems the ruling coalition has agreed on an outline for an incentive scheme. All EVs bought before 2020 will be exempt from the road fund license and electricity charged at the workplace will not be taxed as a noncash assistance. Moreover, the government will increase the EV quota for its own fleet by 20 percent by 2017, will step up the installation of charging infrastructure and fund research and development of battery technologies. A purchasing incentive will be discussed at a separate meeting at the end of April.
reuters.com
Disaster relief: Following the earthquake in Japan last week, Nissan will donate 100 e-NV200 and Leaf to double as emergency power outlets. Following the devastating earthquake in 2011, carmakers like Nissan, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Honda began developing technology that would turn their EVs and FCVs into portable powerstations.
transportevolved.com
