Uniti files for insolvency
The Swedish electric car start-up Uniti has filed for insolvency. The company announced on LinkedIn that it had not been able to raise enough capital. The move does not come as a surprise.
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Swedish startup Uniti in financial straits
The Swedish electric car start-up Uniti has returned with news after a long break from communication. The company has been hit hard by the pandemic. A bridging loan promised for the end of November has also been delayed – which currently threatens the company’s existence.
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Uniti One available to order for €17,760 in Sweden & UK
The Swedish electric car startup Uniti has published the price and specifications for its Uniti One compact electric car, which can now be configured and is to be delivered first in Sweden and the UK from mid-2020. The UK base price is 17,760 euros including the plug-in grant.
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Sweden: Uniti offers Founders Series electric car
Swedish startup Uniti that is backed by the likes of Siemens, Kuka or BorgWarner has opened the online orders for the Founders’ Edition in a limited series. If you order and pay this year, you will get the small electric car before the regular roll-out begins.
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Uniti to build pilot factory for Uniti One in UK
The Swedish electric vehicle startup Uniti has announced their intention to construct a pilot factory for their upcoming city EV in the British Silverstone Park. It will be used to manufacture the Uniti One and serve as a pilot programme for licensed factories around the world, according to the manufacturer.
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Uniti plans to manufacture BEVs in Australia
The Swedish EV startup has announced plans to begin manufacturing their compact battery-electric Uniti One in Australia in the future. An annual capacity of up to 10,000 units are expected. The two-seater will begin production in Adelaide in 2020.
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First sight: Electric car Uniti One spotted live on the road
The EV startup Uniti of Sweden has released a new video that shows its Uniti One in action on a real road for the first time. Uniti is backed by Siemens and one million dollars of crowdfunding and has started taking pre-orders.
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Uniti films working prototype of low cost electric car
Swedish startup Uniti that is backed by the likes of Siemens, Kuka or BorgWarner presents a working prototype of their Uniti One for the first time. A video sees them cruising the shop floor and the details of their compact electric car look neat to say the least.
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Uniti to enter India by 2020 through local Bird Group
The Swedish startup Uniti is planning to enter the Indian market in 2020 through a partnership with the Indian Bird Group. The entrance will be heralded by a public exhibition at the India Auto Expo and Uniti plans to offer its BEV to Indian buyers at an über-competitive price.
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Uniti puts its first electric car in the spotlights
The Swedish start-up has took the wraps off its all-electric city car Uniti One. The model’s 22 kWh battery shall enable a range of 300 km. The price: 19,900 euros, although Uniti stated that also cheaper versions from 14,900 euros on shall be available.
Read moreUniti, Renault-Nissan, Jaguar, Volkswagen, EPA, Acura.
Siemens to mass produce Uniti: Swedish start-up Uniti has just become serious about building its biodegradable compact EV as Siemens jumped on board. The initially crowdfunded company that received 1.2m euros, thus enters the realm of mass production that may start as early as next year, when 50,000 LEV could roll off the lines to be delivered by 2019. In order to do so, a fully automated factory will be build in either Malmö or Landskrona and Siemens has invested 3m euros in the company to date. The L7e vehicle weighs just 400 kilos and is planned with a range of either 150 or 300 km at a price from 200,000 kronas (21,000 euros). Battery options are 11 or 22 kWh while speed is capped at 90 to 120 kph – just in line with the speed limits on Swedish highways.
nordic.businessinsider.com, digital.di.se (in Swedish), youtube.com (Uniti video update)
Renault-Nissan to form LCV unit: The alliance has created a new business unit to combine its light commercial vehicle activities, including those of Mitsubishi. As partners, they will leverage complementary markets and products while maintaining their own brand identity. Two electric vans exist already with the Nissan e-NV200 and Renault Kangoo Z.E., plus Renault said it would electrify the Master model within this year reportedly.
commercialfleet.org, alliance-renault-nissan.com
First drive: Get a taste of the Jaguar I-Pace with this review by Matt Saunders. He found the electric SUV concept “stunning” and is delighted the team is working on a production version as they prototype.
autocar.co.uk
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VW’s redemption starts: CARB has received the first 200m dollar instalment from Volkswagen as part of a plan on how to spend the money to serve ZEV. About 120m dollars shall be spend in California on EV charging infrastructure over the next 30 months following the diesel fraud, the rest is for EV demonstration purposes according to the plan, which the regulators have to accept first.
greencarcongress.com, arb.ca.gov (investment plan, pdf)
The ecological onslaught of the Trump administration continues as it seeks to roll back fuel economy regulations. This is welcomed by carmakers, who had lobbied against EPA rules under President Obama, but feared by environmentalists. The move to reopen the review has yet to be made officially.
bloomberg.com
Acura hybrid: There is a new hybrid out there, the 2017 Acura MDX Sport Hybrid. It uses a V6 engine and three electric motors to produce a total system output of 321 hp. Prices start from 51,960 dollars.
carscoops.com
ICE ban, China, Tesla, VW, Geely, Uniti, Formula E.
ICE stop in Europe: According to German magazine Spiegel, Germany’s Federal Assembly passed a resolution to ban internal combustion engines from 2030. It even called on the EU to pass a directive so that only zero-emission cars “will be approved” across member states. While the resolution has no legislative effect, it should have carmakers worried or at least give them a nudge in the right direction.
spiegel.de (in German), forbes.com
Electric protectionism: German Handelsblatt reports that Beijing’s industrial ministry wants to force Chinese manufacturers to sell more electric and hybrid models. They are said to account for 8 percent of all cars sold by 2018. The ministry also wants at least 70% of all electrified cars sold in China by 2020 to come from local brands.
handelsblatt.com (in German; paid content)
Making room: Tesla submitted a new “master plan” to city of Fremont, California, looking to double the size of the local factory to meet the demand for the Model 3. Twelve new buildings will be added, while the number of employees will grow from now 6,210 to 9,315.
electrek.co, sfchronicle.com (master plan)
Electric bug: Green Car Reports says it learned that Volkswagen is looking to launch an electric generation of its iconic VW Beetle, based on the MEB platform. The information was “overheard” at the Paris Motorshow, where the carmaker presented the I.D. with a rear mounted electric engine.
greencarreports.com
Geely’s new brand for hybrids (we reported) will be called Lynk & Co and will be officially introduced on October 20th. The planned vehicles will be based on Geely and Volvo’s CMA architecture. The first model could be plug-in hybrid SUV, said to hit the road in 2017.
motorauthority.com
Crowdfunding success: It took Uniti only 3 hours to reach its crowdfunding goal of 500,000 euros, collecting more than double the amount by Saturday afternoon. The campaign for Sweden’s first electric city car will continue until November 19th. At this pace, the start-up should get at least triple of what it asked for.
digitaljournal.com, fundedbyme.com
Season 3 kickoff: Reigning Formula E champion was able to defend his title in the first season three race in Hong Kong. The Renault e.dams driver took the lead in the second half of the race when his competitor Sam Bird (DS Virgin Racing) pitted for his mandatory car swap. Overall, a total of 15 of the 20 drivers were able to finish the 45-lap race.
fiaformulae.com, autoweek.com
VW, Changan, Honda, Yamaha, Uniti, Volvo, Bosch.
VW details EV plan for China: As previously announced, the carmaker has formed a joint venture with JAC for the Chinese market. According to China chief Jochem Heinzmann, first EVs will be affordable, be built on a JAC platform and will hit the road under a new brand. VW also wants to build EVs for China with partners SAIC and FAW – but not before 2020 or 2021 and based on its own MEB platform.
autonews.com
Changan chooses LG: The Chinese manufacturer wants to introduce no less than 27 new electric and plug-in hybrid models by 2025. The needed batteries will be produced in the LG Chem facility in Nanjing.
automobil-produktion.de (in German), ihssupplierinsight.com (paid content)
Two-wheeled alliance: Honda and Yamaha want to work together on the development and production of conventional, as well as all-electric scooters for the Japanese market. According to Nikkei, the latter will even sell its scooter production in Taiwan to its new partner.
nikkei.com
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Swedish EV draws investors: Uniti, the developer of Sweden’s first electric city car (we reported), kicked off a crowdfunding campaign yesterday. The goal was to raise 500,000 euros in return for about 5 percent of shares. At the time of writing, more than 82 percent of the targeted sum had already been reached.
fundedbyme.com
Luxembourg gets e-bus centre: Volvo Buses there opened its first competence centre outside of Sweden. The centre is to develop electric mobility projects for cities and work closely with universities, government and transportation companies.
corporatenews.lu
Bosch strengthens e-mobility branch: Harald Kröger, who had been working as head of development for electric mobility and electronics at Daimler, will join Bosch come February 1st, where he will head the automotive electronics branch.
wiwo.de (in German)
Boeing, China BAK, Uniti, Kyushu University.
Autonomous hybrid submarine: Boeing unveiled its unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV). The Echo Voyager submarine can run alone and submerged for months on end on one charge at depths of over 3,000 metres. It is propelled by a diesel-electric system that recharges itself without a support ship. Just how, Boeing would not say. Trials will begin this summer in California.
gizmag.com, abc13.com, youtube.com
Big battery deal: China BAK sealed a deal with Sysgration to supply 6m units of power packs this year, which Sysgration will use in its battery packs for electric vehicle manufacturers. Based on LiFEPO4 chemistry, the batteries have 2.2 Ah capacity with 3.2 V.
benzinga.com, greencarcongress.com
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Electromobility powered by Siemens – Siemens is presenting its drivetrain solutions for hybrid and electric cars on the “Vehicle Show Electromobility” in Bad Neustadt a.d.S on 16th and 17th. Find Siemens at the fairground of the demo city for electromobility and take a glance on the latest innovations.
www.siemens.com/electriccar
Open for testing: The open design EV that the Uniti project team has reportedly been working on for a few months is taking virtual reality test rides at the CeBIT in Hanover. The Kepler Pod 1.0 hardware hosts the entire user experience.
prlog.org, instagram.com (pics and videos)
Gold for fuel cells: Researchers at Kyushu University found gold nanoparticle could replace platinum as catalysts for fuel cells. While they exhibit excellent performance data, the production of one-size particles proves difficult so far. The article is openly available.
nature.com (report) via greencarcongress.com
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Most clicked link on Wednesday was the start of our new series that looks at urban infrastructure and the different strategies with which cities tackle EV charging. Welcome to Hamburg!
electrive.com
Tesla, Nissan, Uniti, VECV, Proterra, Renault & Dongfeng.
Elon tweets: Tesla CEO Elon Musk took part in a Q&A on Twitter and revealed that a cheaper Model X version with a smaller battery will come in around 12 months from now. Musk has also confirmed that a Model Y ist planned. Whether the Tesla Model Y will be based on the Model 3 remains to be seen.
teslarati.com, insideevs.com
Connected Nissan EV: Nissan previewed its Teatro for Dayz concept ahead of the Tokyo Motor Show. Designed for the so-called share natives, the all-electric car is based on the Dayz kei car and boasts customizable screens on the inside and outside.
pcworld.com, carscoops.com, worldcarfans.com
Open design EV: The Uniti projects brings together an international team at Swedish Lund University. Together, they aim to challenge the idea of urban mobility and automotive design. An electric two-seater prototype is being set up with the design and development process open and patent-free.
pr.com, youtube.com (teaser), iamuniti.com (project website)
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Hybrid school bus: The Indian Joint Venture Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles (VECV) plans to develop a hybrid powertrain and AMT system for buses and trucks in the 16-49t range. The development work has begun first in a hybrid school bus that will take a year and a half for completion.
autocarpro.in, indianautosblog.com
Nimble electric bus: Proterra introduced its 35-feet electric bus (10.7 metres). The smaller Catalyst is easier to steer through dense urban areas and features more automation but sits on the same technology platform as the 40-feet version. Dallas Area Rapid Transit already ordered seven.
greencarcongress.com
Spied: As we reported, Renault and Dongfeng are building an EV for the Chinese market. Now the Fluence Z.E. with a Dongfeng name tag has been spied without camouflage. It looks like a rebadge-only operation rather than a re-development but if the former is true, why is the launch only set for 2017?
worldcarfans.com