Lightyear, yes, Lightyear (remember them?), is reemerging from the ashes of a failed solar electric vehicle venture and has just secured 10 million euros to boost its operation of developing and providing other OEMs with advanced solar systems. This isn’t the Lightyear you remember, but it is fighting on in its original quest to bring more sustainable energy to the automotive industry. Read more…
Volkswagen Polo production ends in Europe to prep for smaller, more affordable EVs
After 40 years, Volkswagen is no longer building Polo models in Europe. VW has ended Polo production in Europe as it shifts focus to smaller, more affordable EVs. Read more…
Podcast: Alpitronic interview, Tesla Semi update, GM goes NACS, and more
On the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we interview Alpitronic CEO Mike Doucleff, we discuss a Tesla Semi update, GM going NACS, and more. Read more…
The feds give NanoGraf $60M to build a huge EV battery materials factory in Michigan
Chicago-based NanoGraf will build a $175 million factory to produce 2,500 tons of silicon anode material to support up to 1.5 million EVs per year. Read more…
EV charging stations give bump to nearby businesses, research confirms
Public charging stations don’t just drive EV adoption; they also increase consumer spending at nearby businesses, a new MIT study found. The study is based on data from over 4,000 charging stations in California and 140,000 businesses, using anonymized credit and debit card transactions to track changes in spending. Researchers used data from 2019… Read more…
U.S. To Supercharge Battery Production With New $3 Billion Push
Check out what the 25 battery companies will do with millions of dollars of federal grants. Read more…
BYD Denza launches tri-motor-equipped Z9GT with starting price of $47,460
The Z9GT comes standard with e3 technology, which can be seen as a scaled-down version of BYD’s e⁴ technology built for ultra-luxury cars, bringing powerful performance to affordable models. Read more…
Renascor completes trials for Australian battery-grade graphite plant
Australian mining company Renascor Resources has completed equipment trials for its planned purified spherical graphite (PSG) manufacturing facility in South Australia. The trials produced graphite of the quality required for lithium-ion battery anodes across all targeted product specifications up to 99.99% carbon—compared with the anode industry standard of 99.95% carbon. The tests were also below… Read more…
Global automaker to use Ideal Power’s solid-state contactors in its EVs
Texas-headquartered power conversion technology company Ideal Power, developer of the B-TRAN bidirectional semiconductor power switch, is collaborating with its third global automaker on the use of B-TRAN-enabled contactors to potentially replace electromechanical contactors in the automaker’s EVs. Contactors play a critical role in isolating the battery, inverter and onboard charger to ensure safety when an… Read more…
Blink Charging announces major layoff wave
The US charging network operator Blink Charging has announced plans to reduce its global workforce by 14 per cent. The job cuts are intended to be ‘a proactive step’ to adapt to current market conditions. Blink Charging is active in North America as well as in Europe. Read more…
Zeekr launches 7X SUV for families with starting price of $32,590
The Zeekr 7X has received more than 58,000 orders in the past 20 days since pre-sales began on August 30. Read more…
Indian auto supplier Motherson partners with Ree
The Israeli electric vehicle platform provider Ree Automotive has gained the Indian automotive supplier Motherson Group as a strategic investor. Motherson is not only providing fresh capital, but will also support Ree in the production of electric delivery vans. Read more…
The Feds Are Targeting Giant Vehicles. What Does It Mean For EVs?
U.S. regulators may finally address the size and weight problem of new cars. Plus, Europe’s EV woes put investors in a foul mood. Read more…
Wheel-E Podcast: Ride1Up Roadster V3, Talaria fire, and more
This week on Electrek’s Wheel-E podcast, we discuss the most popular news stories from the world of electric bikes and other nontraditional electric vehicles. This time that includes new e-bikes from Ride1Up, new e-scooters from NIU, Ted Cruz’s war against safer e-bike batteries, Talaria MX5 fire, Gogoro’s CEO resigning, and more. Read more…
Are Insurers Treating Higher-Power Dual-Motor EVs As High-Risk?
Dual motor EVs’ blend of more power, more weight and higher repair costs than combustion vehicles is only part of the story. Read more…
Remember Bollinger? It’s Building A Class 4 Electric Truck Now
Production of the Bollinger B4 started this week in Michigan. Read more…
Europe gets its first AWD electric pickup truck and yes, it’s from China
The first all-wheel-drive mid-size electric pickup truck to grace European roads is here. Ford dipped its toes with the F-150 Lightning landing in Norway earlier this year, but then went quiet. So Maxus stepped in and got the honor of being the first in the niche. The eTerron 9 swooped in, claiming the title and leaving the likes of Rivian,… Read more…
UK: Shell opens first electric truck charging station
Shell has installed a 400 kW DC charger at the Markham Moor truckstop in Nottinghamshire, UK. It offers two charging connections and is reserved for electric trucks. Read more…
Vestel founds e-mobility division and announces MCS charger
At the IAA Transportation, the Turkish electronics group Vestel announced the introduction of a megawatt charging system for 2025. The initiative is part of Vestel’s roadmap to sharpen its focus on e-mobility. Read more…
VW recalling certain 2003-2024 ID.4s due to air bag inflator
Volkswagen is recalling a small number of ID.4 electric vehicles that may have improperly installed airbag inflators. The recall includes just 837 vehicles from model years 2023 and 2024. In these vehicles, nuts securing the primary inflator of the passenger front airbag may have been left loose at the factory. This could cause airbags to inflate… Read more…
