China counts more than 3 million NEV sales in 2021
In China, around 3.3 million New Energy Vehicles, meaning battery-electric cars and plug-in hybrids, were sold last year. December was also a new record month with 505,000 NEV cars.
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China marks continued NEV sales growth
In October, 368,000 new energy vehicles were sold in China, an increase over both the same month last year and the previous month. However, the best-selling NEV in October did not come from BYD or Tesla.
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WM Motor presents the M7 sedan
The Chinese electric car start-up WM Motor has presented its first sedan called M7. It is to offer an NEDC range of over 700 kilometres and go into series production in 2022. Among other things, the model is to stand out with technology for autonomous driving and a correspondingly high computing power.
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WM Motor aims to raise $500 million in investment
Chinese electric car start-up WM Motor expects to raise a total of 500 million US dollars from investors in a two-part Series D funding round. WM Motor plans to invest in the development of autonomous driving, as well as other technologies and products, in addition to the expansion of its sales and service channels.
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WM Motor to release 2 electric sedans this year
Chinese EV startup WM Motor has unveiled its first sedan called the M7 and a second sedan-like EV specifically for the mobility market called the E5. Both are supposed to launch in China before the end of the year. The company has also revealed a new logo.
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WM Motor signs Enel X as strategic partner
Enel X has signed a strategic agreement with Chinese electric car manufacturer WM Motor to launch collaborations in a number of different fields in electric mobility. The target markets that the duo will jointly target are Europe, China, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and South America.
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EV sales in China increase as 2020 ends
China’s largest electric car manufacturers have released their December 2020 sales figures, taking stock of the year as a whole. Towards the end of 2020, BYD and WM Motor both made gains, as did Nio and Xpeng Motors. The latter duo posted new sales records for December.
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WM Motor begins recall after vehicle fire
The Chinese startup WM Motor has recalled 1,282 of its EX5 electric cars after four of its vehicles caught fire within one month. This is the latest of a number of large recalls made by carmakers in Asia, Europe and North Americain the last few weeks due to battery problems.
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WM Motor attracts €1.25Bn in new financing round
The Chinese electric car startup WM Motor has now generated 1.25 billion euros ($1.47Bn or RMB 10Bn). The most recent round of financing was led by SAIC Motor’s investment platform and the Shanghai Municipal Asset Monitoring and Management Commission.
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China’s NEV sales are picking up again
In China, the decline in sales figures for new energy vehicles appears to be levelling off as some manufacturers’ sales figures for July seem to indicate. The Xpeng P7 market launch also apparently went well.
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WM Motor plans 3 new models before the end of 2021
The Chinese electric car manufacturer WM Motor aka Weltmeister is apparently planning a rapid expansion of its model range. According to Chinese media reports, two new e-SUVs and one electric sedan are planned for the second half of 2020 and next year.
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McKinsey finds 7 of 10 China EVs potentially profitable
The management consultancy McKinsey has disassembled and analysed ten popular electric cars from Chinese manufacturers for a new study. From this, the consultants derived some interesting statements on possible profits and the market prospects of international manufacturers.
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China’s state utility cooperates with vehicle manufacturers
China’s state-owned energy supplier State Grid has entered into strategic alliances with vehicle manufacturers WM Motor, BAIC, GAC and BYD to make charging cheaper and easier.
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Chinese startup WM Motor raises 400 million euros
Chinese startup WM Motor has raised around 400 million euros in a financing round led by China’s Google, Baidu. The investment is to flow mostly into R&D as WM Motors and Baidu start their ‘Intelligent Vehicle Joint Research Center’.
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WM Motor to pick up $288 million in additional funding
The Chinese EV startup WM Motor is set to pick up at least 2 billion Yuan in a new round of financing, according to a Reuters report. The money will be used to finance further company expansion.
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China’s EV startups turning to established suppliers
News reach us speaking of two strategic cooperations. Electric carmaker WM Motor of China has turned to BorgWarner as a seasoned supplier of electric drives. Also Byton, China’s EV startup with a western all-star board, announced a cooperation with Bosch.
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WM Motor starts selling debut model EX5
The Chinese electric mobility startup WM Motor has now begun selling their first vehicle model in China, the EX5. The mobility brand Weltmeister was set up by the startup in cooperation with a German agency.
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WM Motor to double production capacity for EVs
China’s electric car startup WM Motor wants to invest 685 million dollars to expand its production facility in Wenzhou as they aim to make 200,000 electric cars a year there. That’s basically doubling the capacity, just days after their first model rolled off the line.
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First electric SUV by WM Motor rolls off the line
China’s WM Motor has started producing its first electric model, the EX5. The all-electric SUV comes with a range of 600 kilometres and shall arrive at dealers in Q3 this year with prices to start at 200,000 yuan (26,000 euros).
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China’s WM Motor open to go public in the USA
Chinese EV startup WM Motor says it is open to holding an initial public offering (IPO) in the States. The firm that aims to launch a comparably cheap EV bearing the label Weltmeister (German for world champion) already said last year that it had investment.
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WM Motor’s EV debuts as ‘Weltmeister’
The Chinese EV start-up has presented the design of its first upcoming model in Shanghai and announced to use its company name ‘Weltmeister’ (German for world champion) as its brand.
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Baidu invests in EV start-up WM Motor
China’s equivalent to Google, Baidu, has joined the latest financing round of WM Motor. The Shanghai-based EV start-up looks to raise almost 4bn euros (30bn Yuan) ultimately.
Read moreNorthvolt, WM Motor, Volkswagen, Hyliion.
Skellefteå to host Northvolt Gigafactory: Swedish company Northvolt, led by former Tesla manager Peter Carlsson, has completed its search for a location to build up its battery cell production facility. The so-called Gigafactory will be erected in Skellefteå with construction works starting by the second half of 2018. Two years later, the plant shall open with jobs for 2,000 to 2,500 employees and an initial production volume of 8 GWh per year that is to climb up to 32 GWh by 2023. Besides that, Northvolt’s new research centre is supposed to bring 300 to 400 jobs to Västerås, not far from ABB’s headquarters. Both companies signed a partnership, recently.
mynewsdesk.com
Lithium ceramic batteries for WM Motor: Chinese EV start-up WM Motor is about to establish a JV with ProLogium Technology, a Taiwanese manufacturer of battery cells. Both partners seek to develop batteries for WM Motor’s electric vehicles and thus to kick off installation of a production line for lithium ceramic batteries by 2018. First batteries are to roll of the line by the end of 2019. The facilities capacity shall reach a total of 5 GWh per year.
shanghaidaily.com
VW to return with EV to Pikes Peak? Next June, Volkswagen intends to participate again at the legendary U.S. hillclimb in Colorado Springs. First teaser pictures of the company’s race car prototype suggest that VW plans to compete with an electric-powered vehicle. The two photos published by the car maker were accompanied by a video underpinning VW’s intent on returning to Pikes Peak. Further details have not yet been provided.
autoexpress.co.uk, autocar.co.uk, carscoops.com
Hybrid upfit system for trucks: Manufacturer Hyliion has developed a variable hybrid system for Class 8 trucks. Once attached to the truck frame, the 6X4HE system shall enable fuel savings of up to 30 percent – 15 percent through electric hybrid, 12 percent through APU and 3 percent through aerodynamics. The company has meanwhile opened its order books and plans to kick off production as early as next month.
greencarcongress.com, prnewswire.com
Audi, Nissan, Mercedes, NEVS, WM Motor, Indonesia
Significant changes at Audi: Electrification is the new norm, or shall be in Ingolstandt and so Audi decided to get rid of power output designations such as 2.0 TFSI oder 3.0 TDI. Instead, two digits that stand for the output in kW followed by the actual motor technology such as TFSI, TDI, g-tron, or e-tron shall describe each variant. Audi explains this step with new technologies taking over in the future, which will make cylinder capacity less relevant for customers.
greencarcongress.com, audi-mediacenter.com
Latest tease for Nissan Leaf: The countdown is on for the launch of the next-gen Nissan Leaf and so the Japanese continue to serve one little piece of tease after the other. Not sushi of course but an animated video and a snapshot of the rear light. However, the web was faster as usual so the full menu, meaning a naked Leaf and spec, have been put on the table already.
greencarreports.com
First view of the Mercedes EQA: We missed a tiny little detail when announcing Mercedes’ IAA line-up lately. If you look very closely, you can discover the compact EQA already in the picture.
electrive.net (picture)
New NEVS investors: Saab successor NEVS has got a new co-owner in Beijing Zhenghuon Technology, an investors group that just poured 108m dollars into National Electric Vehicle Sweden. Didi Chuxing, China’s equivalent to Uber, is also thinking about taking a stake in NEVS, and “discussions have been going on all summer,” according to NEVS CEO Stefan Tilk.
just-auto.com, saabplanet.com
German design for Chinese EVs: WM Motors has turned to Isdera, a design and engineering firm based in the German town of Saarwellingen and led by former Porsche engineer Eberhard Schulz, to give their electric cars some substance. Founded in China last year, WM Motors wants to cooperate across all business areas with Isdera, including manufacturing and raising capital.
autonews.com, autonewschina.com
Indonesia’s EV incentives: A new policy by the Indonesian government wants to favour electric and hybrid vehicles by granting them a break from taxes. The goal is to reduce emissions by 29 percent by 2030 and the Ministry of Industry, intends to make its plans public by the end of the year.
nikkei.com
Toyota, Lucid Motors, WM Motor, China, Honda, Hyundai.
EV is top priority: Toyota is getting up to speed on electric cars as its new EV division will be led by CEO Akio Toyoda himself. He will oversee developments directly in order to take decisions quickly. Prius chief engineer Koji Toyoshima is to become the leader of the division’s engineering team. Toyoshima will also join the EV strategy unit, which includes representatives from large suppliers.
reuters.com, autonews.com, toyota.co.jp
Lucid to build in Arizona: Lucid Motors found a home for its planned electric car facility in Casa Grande, Arizona. Construction will begin in the first half of next year. If all goes to plan, the first model currently codenamed Atvus (we reported) will roll off the lines by 2018.
greencarcongress.com, electrek.co, lucidmotors.com
WM presents first models: WM Motor presented its first models, a sedan, a wagon, an SUV and an MPV, due by 2018. All of them shall be electric and most of all affordable, particularly for Chinese consumers. The start-up’s production facility is reportedly being set up in Wenzhou.
carnewschina.com, carscoops.com
Electric bus facility: Hunan CRRC Times Electric Vehicle will invest 1.5bn yuan (219m dollars) into a new facility in Chinese Hebei province to build electric buses. Production of up to 15,000 electric buses per year shall start upon completion by 2018.
chinadaily.com.cn
HyFive with Honda: The first Honda Clarity Fuel Cell models have arrived on European shores. So far, there are only six of them and they are destined for showcases of the hydrogen project HyFive in London and Copenhagen.
electriccarsreport.com, carscoops.com
Five star Hyundai: Hyundai’s Ioniq excelled in the Euro NCAP crash test as it received a five star rating. The versatile Korean that is available as hybrid, EV and PHEV achieved top marks in all four categories.
electriccarsreport.com
BMW, Porsche, Lexus, Volkswagen, WM Motor.
New i3 by 2017: BMW plans to give its sole electric car a facelift that would include a new front and rear as well as a new battery. This will increase range “substantially” beyond the current 300 km maximum, the German carmaker told Welt. The revamped i3 is set for next year.
reuters.com, welt.de (in German)
20,000 Mission-E? Porsche plans to sell 20,000 units of its electric model annually. Given that only a total of 31,000 Porsche were sold last year, the mission is ambitious. Tesla however produces the Model S at a current rate of 50,000.
electrek.co, motortrend.com
Fuel cell Lexus? Toyota’s subsidiary plans a H2 variant of its luxury LS model by 2019, Autocar reports. It borrows fuel cell technology from the Toyota Mirai. Production will remain within the three-digit realm and Lexus targets consumers in urban centres like London, Paris, LA and Tokio.
autocar.co.uk
Luxury Passat: VW released a first sketch of the CC successor Arteon, which is to introduce a new design language. It will debut in Geneva next year and hit the shelves in summer 2017. A PHEV variant is planned but no details are known at this stage.
autocar.co.uk, autonews.com, volkswagen-media-services.com
WM Motor moving ahead: The Chinese start-up WM Motor broke ground for its facility in Wenzhou. With nearly 1bn dollar investment reserved, it aims for 200,000 vehicles a year. The first electric vehicle is planned for 2018 followed by seven more models, one each year until 2025.
forbes.com
Volkswagen, StreetScooter, Tesla, Subaru, WM Motor.
VW’s New Urban Vehicles: Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess outlines the carmakers electrification. By 2018, an electric compact sedan the size of a Golf and a range between 400 – 600 km will be launched by the end of 2018. A close to production prototype is to debut in Paris later this year. Using the same platform as the small NUV, a coupé, SUV, a van, and a limousine will complete the electric line-up.
wiwo.de (in German)
Deutsche Post to sell EV: The electric StreetScooter van will become available on the open market next year. Deutsche Post DHL will soon start mass production in Aachen, where up to 10,000 delivery vehicles will then be made annually. The car has a range between 50 – 80 km.
reuters.com
Tesla with 100 kWh: The P100D version of the Model S and Model X has been officially approved to be sold in Europe. The listed range for the 100 kWh power pack is 380 miles, NEDC based.
blog.kenteken.tv via insideevs.com, electrek.co
Subaru EV by 2021? The brand’s first electric crossover will hit the American shores by 2021, a Japanese newspaper reports. The Subaru crossover will be based on either the Forester or the Outback that ride on a new platform, which accommodates for all sorts of motors.
autonews.com, carscoops.com, electrek.co
Smart, small, and cheap: WM Motor is another start-up betting on the Chinese EV market. A production facility in Zhejiang province will churn out compact electric cars to be offered at competitive prices. Three models are set to launch by 2018 and WM Motor hopes to produce 100,000 EV a year.
reuters.com
