Saab successor NEVS (National Electric Vehicle Sweden) has started series production of the electric sedan based on the Saab 9-3. The NEVS 9-3 is now rolling off the production line at the plant in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin.
Read more
Turkish Industry Minister Mustafa Varank announced that the first electric car produced in Turkey will have a range of 500 km and will be launched in the second half of 2022. A prototype will apparently be presented at the end of this year.
Read more
The Chinese real estate group Evergrande Group announced that it intends to start production of its first electric vehicles in June. The company will use production technologies from Saab and Koenigsegg.
Read more- ADVERTISEMENT -
Chinese corporation Evergrande Health Industry Group – Faraday Future’s disputed investor – has made a major investment in Chinese-owned National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) formerly Saab. Evergrande acquired a majority of NEVS shares at 51 per cent for a price of 930 million US dollars.
Read more
The Chinese investment firm GSR Capital, who had wanted to buy Nissan’s battery section last year, has invested 500 million dollars in the Saab successor National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS).
Read more
NEVS wants to rehome the electric Saab in Sweden. Production at the iconic Trollhättan factory shall start as early as 2018 and is part of a push to increase the firm’s EV output massively on a global scale.
Read more- ADVERTISEMENT -
Saab successor company National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) has started serial production of the 9-3 EV in China. As reported, the model is basically the former Saab 9-3 with an electric drivetrain.
Read moreDyson to build EVs by 2020: After months of rumours buzzing around, the vacuum cleaner manufacturer finally confirmed the plan to create an EV business unit, using its own solid state battery tech. Company founder Sir James Dyson says he wants to debut with an EV in 2020 and create a whole electric car range afterwards. The models would become “radical” different. Dyson intends to invest 2bn pounds – half to build the car itself, the other half to contribute advanced solid-state batteries. Currently, 400 employees are already involved in the EV project – among them also former Aston Martin manager.
autoexpress.co.uk, europe.autonews.com, autocar.co.uk
Details about JSW’s EV plans: India’s JSW Energy, a division of the Jindal Group, and the Gujarat government signed a MoU to set up a new EV factory in Gujarat’s Surendranagar district. By investing 40bn rupees (approximately 500m euros), the company plans to build there up to 200.000 cars annually as well as batteries, storage solutions and charging infrastructure. As reported, JSW has scheduled the launch of its first electric model for 2020.
business-standard.com, carwale.com, indianexpress.com
Toyota to produce hybrid powertrains in the U.S.: The Japanese carmaker intends to invest into five manufacturing plants in the States in order to build its first American-made hybrid powertrain. According to Toyota, the investment sum will accumulate to 373.8m U.S. dollars. The project is supposed to start this year and to be operational by 2020.
greencarcongress.com, pressroom.toyota.com
— Text Ad–
EVS30 in Stuttgart: New standards in electromobility: From 9th to 11th October 2017 the entire electromobility industry will meet in Stuttgart for the EVS30. Find out about latest trends as well as applications of the electric drive train – at the exhibition or in the international conference. Don’t miss EVS30 and also visit the co-located events BATTERY+STORAGE and f-cell.
www.evs30.org
Mitsubishi UK is introducing a scrappage scheme to encourage clients to hand in their old gas guzzlers (EU1 to EU4, registered before 2010) and buy a new Outlander PHEV. A new scrappage bonus of maximum 4000 pounds can be combined with the company’s plug-in car grant of 2,500 pounds, promising a total saving potential of 6,500 pounds.
electriccarsreport.com
OjO scooters with Ford genes: U.S. company OjO Electric has signed a licensing agreement with Ford to create six different electric Ford OjO Commuter Scooters, supposed to hit the U.S. stores in January. The scooters shall reach up to 40km range, a top speed of 32 km/h and draw visual inspiration from Ford vehicles while integrating OjOʼs design and tech.
wardsauto.com, insideevs.com
Solar EV made in Australia: Brisbane-based Clenergy TeamArrow has unveiled its Arrow STF model and claims it to be the first commercially available solar EV in the world. The sports coupe with two seats is covered by 5 squar metres of solar arrays with an efficiency level of up to 24.4 percent. The vehicle’s range shall differ between 300 to 400 km at highways and up to 1,000 km at city driving speed.
reneweconomy.com.au, statements.qld.gov.au, teamarrow.com.au
Every Porsche a hybrid: The German carmaker plans to introduce hybrid version across its full model range, Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said. A 911 PHEV will reportedly be first in line and hit the road by 2018; the all-electric Mission E model will launch before the end of the decade.
electric-vehiclenews.com
Audi inspired by Tesla? A Model X was seen on the Autobahn sporting plates from Ingolstadt, Audi’s hometown. As Tesla currently struggles to fulfil U.S. orders, rumour has it that Audi might have secured a Model X early on to take a closer look at the competition for its own electric SUV, due by 2018.
electrek.co
Electric 9-3 not Saab: Swedish Saab AB, owner of the Saab brand, will not allow its name to be used for the EV based on the Saab 9-3, which will be produced by National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS). Therefore, the multitude of EVs recently ordered in China will not bear a sign of its Swedish roots.
autonews.com via leftlanenews.com
Renault builds in China: Together with JV partner Dongfeng, Renault opened its first facility in China. Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, will see the production of SUVs. By 2017, the electric Fluence will be manufactured in the facility, too, and will thus enter the Chinese market.
reuters.com
Citroën in China: Pre-production for the Citroen C6 has started in China. Dongfeng-PSA will launch the model before the end of the year and also has a hybrid version in the pipelines. The DS9, which is built together with Changan and scheduled to arrive soon after, might be hybridised as well.
carnewschina.com
Volvo readies V90: The Swede’s latest station wagon will see the light of the day ahead of Geneva, Teknikensvarld learned. The V90’s debut is set for 18th of February in Stockholm. As with most Volvo models nowadays, a hybrid variant of the V90 is a given.
teknikensvarld.se via worldcarfans.com
Yamaha unveils electric concepts: Yamaha has revealed a series of new concepts which will debut at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month. On the electric side, there’s going to be the PES2 sportbike and the PED2 dirt bike as well as the YPJ-MTB, an electrically assisted mountain bike. Yamaha also announced a new concept car, but there is no word yet on whether it will feature an electric drivetrain.
gizmag.com, yamaha-motor.com
New EV from Japan: Nissan, Mitsubishi, and their joint venture NMKV have reached an agreement to continue their work on next-gen minicars. In addition, planning and development of a minicar EV is in progress through the collaboration, further details of which will be made available at a later time.
greencarcongress.com, mitsubishi-motors.com
New BMW hybrids on the horizon: BMW’s upcoming plug-in hybrid variant of the X1 has been spotted testing for the first time. According to German Auto Bild, BMW will add another SUV to its lineup: The BMW X2 is set to launch in 2018 and could share the X1’s underpinnings including the PHEV drivetrain.
autocar.co.uk (X1), autobild.de (X2, in German)
BYD to expand PHEV lineup: BYD has launched its new SUV Song on the Chinese market. A plug-in hybrid version featuring a turbocharged 1.5 liter petrol engine mated to two electric motors will follow in early 2016 and is expected to be priced at 280.000 yuan (around 44,000 USD) without subsidies.
carnewschina.com, byd.com
Saab 9-3 licensed to Turkey: Turkey has purchased the intellectual property rights of the Saab 9-3 from National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) in order to use the model as the basis of its new national car project. According to Science, Industry and Technology Minister Fikri Işık, Turkey’s main aim is to develop extended-range electric cars and to sell them under a Turkish brand.
hurriyetdailynews.com, dailysabah.com
2016 Prius c unveiled: The smallest of Toyota’s eight hybrid models has been updated including the addition of the Safety Sense-C system which equips the hybrid car with an array of driver-assist technologies. There will also be a new Persona Series special edition which will be limited to 1,500 units.
worldcarfans.com, greencarcongress.com
Electric city car by Audi? The German brand will let yet another electric concept out of the bag, at least if Georg Kacher’s prediction of an upcoming city car is correct. It could be shown at the Paris Auto Show next year and is to be developed together with VW, Skoda, and Seat. An all-electric version to compete against the Smart ED or the electric Mini is likely but could take until 2020 to hit the market.
automobilemag.com
Bigger battery for Leaf in 2015? The 2016 Nissan Leaf might be upgraded with a 30-kWh battery at trim levels SV and SL, Inside EVs quotes two Nissan dealers. The standard version S would keep the 24-kWh power pack while the new-gen Leaf is to be expected by 2017.
insideevs.com
New hybrid Lexus to come? Toyotas premium subsidiary has trademarked the LS500h name in Europe. The “h” usually accompanies Lexus hybrid models and thus points to yet another model using the power of joint efforts. No details have been released so far.
hybridcars.com
Saab resurrection in China: The Swedish carmaker Saab which has been on the edge of bankruptcy recently has now found two more Chinese partners willing to help getting the brand back on track together with current owner NEVS. Tianjin Binhai Hi-tech Industrial Development Area and the Beijing State Research Information Technology Company are to work with Saab/NEVS and plan to erect a facility focussed on electric cars and a R&D center in Tianjin, China.
just-auto.com
Commercial EV from China: Yunnan Wulong Automobiles rolled out a 19-seat electric van called FDE6810. The company is ready to produce up to 3,500 units until March 2016. The range varies from 260 to 460 kilometres, depending on the model while prices start at 980,000 yuan (158,000 dollars) before subsidies that can reduce the price by 600,000 yuan (about 97,000 USD).
gokunming.com
BMW i concept store in the States: The German brand has opened a dedicated facility for its i-brand, serving customers with both a showroom and a service centre. The Stevens Creek BMW i Center is (of course) located in California, in Santa Clara to be precise.
greencarreports.com
New hybrid Volvo: The Swedish brand presents its Volvo S60L T6 Twin Engine at the Auto Shanghai. The plug-in hybrid delivers 306 hp and is destined for the Chinese market, where it will go on sale already next week. Volvo plans to introduce two new plug-in hybrids every year.
autocarpro.in, greencarcongress.com
Saab exits bankruptcy protection: Saab owner NEVS has secured a write-down of debts of 300 million kronor (34 million dollars) and has thus exited bankruptcy protection. A debt of about 400 million kronor remains, but the consortium is now in a better position to talk with potential partners.
europeonline-magazine.eu
GM price cut I: Chevrolet gives its Spark EV a price drop to 25,995 dollars, 1,500 less than before. Someone eligible for all incentives, including a cash bonus by GM can thus get the Spark EV for 14,995 dollars. Leasing now starts at 139 dollars a month.
autoblog.com, insideevs.com
GM price cut II: Cadillac has issued information on its 2016 ELR. The range extended luxury EV is to come with 25 percent more power while the price will fall by 9,000 dollars to 65,995 USD for the 2016 Cadillac ELR, excl. incentives.
autoblog.com, insideevs.com
Toyota uses the Earth Day 2015 celebrations to showcase its fuel cell Mirai in the States. 15 years ago, the same promotion marked the start of the Prius. The Mirai will make appearances in Washington DC, New York and Los Angeles. Sales are to start in California later this year.
hybridcars.com, electriccarsreport.com
Self-balancing market: Segway has been bought by Beijing start-up Ninebot, the very same company the US makers of the gyroscopic two-wheelers had accused of patent infringement just a few months ago. Both brands will continue to operate under their existing names.
bbc.com, cnet.com
German Tesla fighters: Audi, BMW, Mercedes and Porsche plan to take over the electric luxury segment by 2018, German Auto Bild reports in its print edition and in an online report by its employee Georg Kacher. Under a program known internally as Ecoluxe, Mercedes is planning four new electric models to be built in a new plant. According to the reports, Porsche is working on the all-electric 717 with a range of 500 kilometers. BMW will issue the i5 while Audi is going to start with the Q6 e-tron.
presseportal.de (Autobild teaser in German) automobilemag.com (Details in Englisch)
Aston Martin hybrids? The British carmaker is preparing to generate between 100 million and 150 million pounds by issuing new shares or bonds, Reuters reports exclusively. The money is intended for new models including hybrids as part of a recovery strategy until 2020.
reuters.com
Vision to become true: Apparently, Mini is planning to create a production version of its electric roadster concept Superleggera Vision as patent drawings have surfaced on the world wide web. However, the sketches show a slightly less extravagant EV.
autoevolution.com, motorward.com
PayMeOn to acquire Prodeco: Already a minority holder, PayMeOn now signed a letter of intent to fully take over the American e-bike manufacturer Prodeco. Its e-bikes are mainly throttle-operated although a pedal-assisted version for the European market debuted at this year’s Eurobike show.
bike-eu.com
Grace period for Saab: The Swedish district court dealing with the restructuring of Saab-owner NEVS has granted the process another three months. NEVS now has time until March 2 2015 to reorganise its business. All 19 creditors apart from one have agreed.
saabplanet.com
Tesla goes big in Canada: Last week, the Californian carmaker opened a 45,000-square-foot Tesla Store in Montreal. It is the biggest outlet of all 60 stores in North America to date.
montrealgazette.com, cbc.ca
Review C300 BlueTEC Hybrid: Alex Grant takes Mercedes’ diesel-electric hybrid on the road and finds it to be a true hybrid not only by engine but by built, too. The system works effectively in both the city and on the motorway, but will not make a “a big dent in overall running costs,” Grant thinks.
evfleetworld.co.uk
B-Class ED bargain: Mercedes announced a new deal for leasing the B-Class Electric Drive in the States through December 31, 2014. New rates of 299 dollars per month would mean a price decrease of about 4,000 dollars. The deal does not include the Range Package which is optional for the 2014 series.
insideevs.com, mbusa.com
New crash test ratings: EuroNCAP put the Audi A3 e‑tron and Kia Soul EV literally up against the wall. The German plug-in hybrid received a five star rating while the Korean EV got a satisfactory 4-star rating. Interestingly, the Soul EV was deemed safer than its combustion engine counterpart.
transportevolved.com, youtube.com (Audi), insideevs.com, youtube.com (Kia)
Nissan hybrid convertible? Apparently, the successor of the 370Z is to become the ‘Nissan Z,’ a topless hybrid, according to insiders. However, it will not come with a plug but likely be designed as a mild hybrid, similar to Hondas IMA system.
motoring.com.au, worldcarfans.com, topspeed.com
New Mahindra EV: The Indian company is planning to introduce an all-electric version of its Verito in mid-2015 and place it in the taxi and commercial car-rental space. Mahindra hopes to sell about 100 units of the Verito electric a month, possibly in Europe too.
thehindubusinessline.com, indianautosblog.com
Mahindra to save Saab? It looks like rumours have been true for once as Nasdaq reports that Mahindra & Mahindra is to invest in Saab. The information is deriven from a document filed to the Swedish court by one of the creditors of NEVS. The latter refused to comment.
nasdaq.com
VW electrifies Asia: At an event in Kuala Lumpur, Volkswagen introduced the Passat B8, Golf GTE and e-Up to the Asian market. In Malaysia, the Golf GTE and the Passat are set to launch next year.
therakyatpost.com
Meet the Volvo S60L PHEV: Built at Volvo’s plant in Chengdu, China, the Swedish brand plans to throw its limousine on the U.S. market by 2015. At a first drive by Frank Markus (in Sweden), the plug-in hybrid performed “admirably” in all three drive modes.
motortrend.com
More range for Nissan EVs? Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn somewhat unwillingly confirmed on Japanese television that the company could soon present an affordable battery, allowing EVs to travel at least 250 miles (400 kilometers). Nissan’s chief spokesman Jeff Kuhlman even said that Nissan will “very soon take the issue of range off of the table” with a “comparable range to today’s petrol vehicles”.
dailykanban.com, hybridcars.com
BMW to roll out more PHEVs: The carmaker announces that it will offer plug-in hybrid versions of all its main models due to tighter emissions regulations. The plans include the X5 sport-utility vehicle as well as the 3-Series sedan (we reported) and other “core-brand” models.
bloomberg.com, electric-vehiclenews.com, evfleetworld.co.uk
Is Saab back in the game? The Chinese Saab owner National Electric Vehicle Sweden says it has found an Asian carmaker that will purchase a majority stake in NEVS. The investment group also said it is in talks with another Asian manufacturer on a joint venture to develop new vehicles, but didn’t identify either company. In August it was reported that NEVS had sat down with Mahindra.
saabsunited.com, bloomberg.com, businessweek.com
Handmade Toyota: The fuel cell model Mirai will be built in Toyota’s advanced Motomachi plant in Japan, also because a lot needs to be done by hand instead of highly automated machinery. That explains why the carmaker plans on producing only 700 units in the first year.
autonews.com, transportevolved.com, motorauthority.com
Sales of Honda’s Grace hybrid sedan kicked off in Japan. The Grace features Honda’s Sport Hybrid i-DCD one-motor hybrid system that allows drivers to start the car in EV mode, increasing fuel savings. Pricing starts at 1,950,000 yen (16,436 USD) and Honda hopes to sell 3,000 units per month in Japan.
greencarcongress.com
Dramatic WEC finale: Porsche’s Neel Jani took the top spot in the World Endurance Championship finale in Brazil in the Porsche 919 Hybrid, while teammate Mark Webber was involved in a dramatic accident, but had a lucky escape. Toyota took home the WEC manufacturers’ title.
autosport.com, autoweek.com
Chevrolet Sonic EV gets closer: GM global product chief Mark Reuss confirmed an all-electric model to complement the Volt and Spark EV when talking to investors. Company insiders later told Automotive News that it is the Sonic that is chosen for electrification and set to be introduced by 2017 with a range of 200 miles to compete with the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Model S.
autoguide.com, transportevolved.com
Hybrid Audi R8? Car magazine spoke to Audi’s head of development, Ulrich Hackenberg, who announced that the Audi R8 might be offered not only as a fully electric model, the R8 e-tron with 400 kilometres range, but also as a plug-in hybrid. The latter is indirectly shown already in the Lamborghini Asterion as both use the same platform.
carmagazine.co.uk
Kia and Hyundai are hedging similar plans as the two Korean carmakers plan to join the plug-in hybrid trend. For Kia it will be the K5 aka Optima which is said to be ready within the next year, while Hyundai is set to offer its Sonata with a pluggable technology already by early 2015.
koreajoongangdaily.com
Will the Tesla Model X be shown in January at the Detroit Motor Show? At least that is the news, which analysts from Goldman Sachs brought home from their recent visits to Tesla’s factory at Fremont. A production prototype might show up rather sooner than later.
insideevs.com
New deadline for Saab: Yesterday, a Swedish court allowed Chinese Saab-owner NEVS to take more time for the restructuring of the staggering carmaker. NEVS has until November 29th to develop a plan for the future of Saab and to find investors ready to believe in it.
saabsunited.com
The new head of Aston Martin, Andy Palmer, has begun gathering his men behind him as ex-colleague Simon Sproule is to become the British brand’s chief marketing officer. The two have been working together at Nissan before Sproule took his role at Tesla this April.
prweek.com, green.autoblog.com
E-mobility bill: Yesterday, the German cabinet backed the draft of the e-mobility bill (“Elektromobilitätsgesetz” or “EmoG”). It will allow municipalities to privilege electric cars, fuel cell vehicles and plug-in hybrids by granting free parking and the right to use bus lanes. Furthermore, EVs will receive their own label. Monetary buying incentives however, are not part of the deal. If the German parliament and the European Commission agree, the EmoG will come into force by February next year.
bloomberg.com, dw.de, bundesregierung.de (in German)
Q80 Inspiration: Infiniti released an appetising teaser image of its Q80 Inspiration concept which will be presented at the Paris Motor Show. The four-door fastback’s lines speak of aerodynamics and the company announced a hybrid version but did not get any more specific.
autoblog.com, design.automotive-business-review.com
Every 10th Panamera is a hybrid: Worldwide 1,500 Porsche Panamera Hybrid have been sold in 2014. Sales of the plug-in Porsche thus account for almost 10% of all Panamera sales (16,000) this year.
gas2.org
— Text Ad —
World of Energy Solutions – International Matchmaking | 7 and 8 October 2014 | Messe Stuttgart. Sustainable Energy and Transport Technologies – The makers and shakers in the energy and mobility future will meet in Stuttgart. Be part of it: b2match.eu/worldofenergysolutions
Build your own BMW i8: In the USA, the configurator for the hybrid super sports car has gone live. Consumers can now play about with four trim, colour and wheel options. Start dreaming at a base price of 135,700 dollars.
bmwusa.com (configurator) via autoblog.com
Tesla’s Model S is the strongest competitor of Nissan’s Leaf, at least in Northern Europe. In Norway, the luxury EV sold 3,431 units this year, while the three times cheaper Leaf was bought 3,378 times. Also in the rest of Scandinavia and Germany, sales of these two very different models are close together.
ibtimes.com
Redundancies at Saab: The Chinese owner NEVS will lay off about 200 employees in Sweden. That is one third of the staff. The production at the plant in Trollhättan came to an halt in May and NEVS was awarded creditor protection in August.
goteborgdaily.se, online.wsj.com
Electric Saab prototype: Despite the crisis at Saab owner NEVS, the company presented a prototype of the electrified 9-3 EV. The batteries are placed under the floor and have a said range of 200 kilometres. If the EV will ever go into serial production remains to be seen.
greencarcongress.com, cision.com
Prius fighter from Hyundai? The Korean carmaker is working on a new hybrid model which could take on Toyota’s hybrid bestseller, Autoguide reports. The portal spotted four different cars being tested so its guess is that there is more than one new hybrid in the making.
autoguide.com
Concept Ferrari F80: What could be the successor of the LaFerrari only exists on paper so far. Designer Adriano Raeli dreamed up a car with 1,200 hp and a top speed of 500 kph, which would be powered by a twin-turbo V8 and a 300-hp KERS system.
racingnewsnetwork.com, boldride.com
Terra in Tehran: Terra Motors has started selling its electric scooter A4000i in Iran due to favourable new EV policies in the country. The company that is based in Japan, plans to roll out global sales of the e-scooter later this year and is looking for distribution partners.
greencarcongress.com
Electric folder: Tern will present its first electric folding pedelec at the Eurobike in Germany next week. The ‘eLink’ is driven by a 250 W Bafang mid-motor and a 374 Wh battery that offers a range of up to 50 kilometres. Its weight has not been specified yet.
bike-eu.com
Early adopter backed off: Michael Goldstein took his time to decide if to go for a Hyundai Tucson FCV. First, he had to convince his wife, then the logistics sorted out and find a dealer. Just when he was just about to buy the car, the price tag put him off, esp. as you would expect a company trying to please rather than to squeeze its early adopters.
green.autoblog.com
Voxan presents powerful e-motorcycle: The French manufacturer unveiled the Wattman at the Paris Motorcycle Show. The electric motorbike boasts 200 HP and accelerates from 0-100 km/h (60 mph) in 3.4 seconds. The super-e-bike’s most striking feature is its exoskeleton that replaces the frame and contains all components of the powertrain.
electriccarsreport.com
Small price tag for a small car: In the UK, the VW e-up! is now available for 19,450 pounds (23,203 euros), after the 5,000 GBP (5,965 euros) government subsidy. The EV has a range of up to 93 miles. UK customers can also take home an optional wall box, with which the car’s 18.7 kWh lithium-ion battery can be fully charged in six hours.
thegreencarwebsite.co.uk; fleetnews.co.uk
Ford gets new plug-in vans: Not only will the American car maker bring the C-Max Energi to Europe in 2014, it will also install the van’s inner workings into two larger models. According to the German magazine “Auto Bild,” the S-Max and Galaxy will also be available as plug-in hybrids by the end of next year.
autobild.de (in German)
BYD-Leaks: A new document found online allegedly shows BYD’s planned product range. Apparently, the Qin plug-in hybrid will be offered at 18,000 dollars (13,000 euros), including government subsidies. The company will also launch the G1, S1, S3, and M2 but has not specified which drivetrains will be used.
chinacartimes.com
Just a copy? Nissan is being sued over its BladeGlider concept by millionaire Don Panoz who says it “borrows” heavily from his Delta Wing racing car project, which Nissan helped financed. The Japanese carmaker has not yet commented on the matter.
hybridcars.com
Electric Saab coming soon: The production lines at the Trollhättan plant in Sweden are rolling again – under Chinese management. First up is the Saab 9-3 petrol-run car and an electric version set to follow in spring 2014. The first models will be sold in China. Partner Qingdao has already ordered 200 models.
fleetworld.co.uk
