News

When it comes to public EV charging…well, let’s just say we hear from a lot of dissatisfied customers. Home charging is by all accounts quite a different experience, and a new study from automotive data provider J.D. Power confirms the anecdotes we hear from EV drivers who charge at home. The J.D. Power 2024 U.S.

French startup Pelikan Mobility has been building an optimization platform and a leasing solution for commercial EV fleets. The company recently raised €4 million ($4.4 million) in a seed round from Pale Blue Dot, Frst, Seedcamp and others. “We have developed a software solution to optimize fleet operations with electric vehicles,” co-founder and CEO Vincent

Hyundai’s Santa Cruz compact pickup truck was given a refresh. The exterior mostly stays the same, but the interior sports a new dash and the latest technology. 2025 Mercedes-Benz G-Class (G550) Mercedes-Benz updated its G-Class, and the updates extend to the high-performance G 63 from AMG. The updated range arrives for the 2025 model year,

Ascend Elements, a battery recycling company, has raised $162 million in equity investments from Just Climate, Clearvision Ventures and IRONGREY, bringing its 12-month funding total to $704 million. The new funding will be used to advance construction of the company’s Apex 1 plant in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. The 1-million-square-foot plant, which is scheduled to open in

For electric vehicle battery engineers, safety is of utmost importance. As battery packs become progressively more powerful and create more heat, the vent valve plays a crucial role in maintaining the safety of the battery pack. Join us for this webinar, presented by Easton, dedicated to discussing the role that battery venting plays in the

Polestar fans can look forward to more performance-oriented special editions along the lines of the BST Edition 270 and BST Edition 230 versions of the Polestar 2. The information was revealed by Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath in an interview with Motor1 during this week’s 2024 New York auto show. Ingenlath didn’t say when the next

Over the next two years, MAN Truck & Bus, headquartered in Munich, Germany, plans to establish battery repair centers in Italy, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Poland and the UK. Two of the facilities, in Hanover-Laatzen, Germany, and Barcelona, Spain, are already in operation. MAN is ramping up electric truck production as it

Inverters are critical components in electric and hybrid vehicles, influencing performance, efficiency, and overall vehicle reliability, so, ensuring the quality and reliability of automotive inverters is crucial. In this webinar, presented by NI—now part of Emerson—we will discuss a new technological approach proposed for end-of-line (EOL) testing, which integrates advanced functionality, performance, safety, and reliability

McLaren has provided some insight on the design language that will shape the automaker’s next generation of supercars and hypercars. The new design language, which has been formulated under current design chief Tobias Sühlmann, relies on elements inspired by six decades of racing heritage, as well as certain key models, namely the F1 supercar. These

Sion Power, a developer of next-generation batteries for EVs, has secured $75 million in a Series A funding round led by battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution. Sion Power will use the funding to validate its Licerion technology technically and commercially. The company plans to build a fully automated line to make large-format lithium metal cells

A crucial factor for achieving both innovative breakthroughs and sustainability objectives is the energy optimization of battery testing laboratories, a key factor in reducing CO2 emissions and lowering operational costs. In this webinar, presented by Keysight Technologies at the Spring Virtual Conference on EV Engineering, April 15-18, 2024, we will analyze how the efficiency of

Volkswagen Group last week announced a wide-ranging partnership with Mobileye, which covers the use of the Israeli company’s self-driving technology for a robotaxi service. VW Group will also rely on Mobileye technology for automated driver-assist features to be used across a variety of its brands, including at Porsche. While the driver-assist features will only rank

Daimler Truck North America (DTNA) has announced that its electric Freightliner eM2, which went into series production at its Portland, Oregon, facility at the end of last year, is now being distributed to US customers. PITT OHIO, a transportation and supply chain management company based in Pittsburgh, is the first to deploy the medium-duty EVs.

Transit bus giant GILLIG has announced a new five-year contract with King County Metro, which serves the greater Seattle area. GILLIG will deliver an initial order of 89 GILLIG Low Floor Battery Electric buses, with the option to purchase up to 306 more units. Built on GILLIG’s Low-Floor platform, the GILLIG Battery Electric Bus features

Nissan on Monday announced a plan to introduce 30 new vehicles over the next three years, including eight electric vehicles and four plug-in hybrids. North America is set to receive seven of the new vehicles, including EVs, plug-in hybrids, and even series hybrid vehicles, which Nissan refers to as E-Power vehicles. Nissan’s E-Power vehicles are

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has awarded a $3-million grant to BorgWarner, Fermata Energy and Lion Electric to bring grid-supporting and cost-saving vehicle-to-grid (V2G) solutions to electric school buses. The companies will deploy V2G technology for the Conejo Valley Unified School District and the Los Angeles County Office of Education, in cooperation with school bus

US truck maker Mack Trucks, a subsidiary of Volvo, has delivered a Mack LR Electric refuse vehicle to Florida-based Coastal Waste & Recycling.  Nextran Truck Centers will provide service and support. Coastal Waste & Recycling is also piloting Volvo Construction Equipment’s CE EC230 Electric 23-ton excavator. The Mack LR Electric features two-stage regenerative braking and

Volkswagen has been spotted testing a prototype for a compact crossover with third-row seats that may hint at a similar SUV due in the U.S. as the replacement for the current Tiguan. Expected to be revealed later this year, the mystery vehicle is a redesigned version of VW’s Tayron crossover, the current generation of which

As regular Charged readers know, when it comes to EVs, legacy automakers tend to follow two tracks—while preparing for the transition, and telling the media about how committed they are to electrification, they simultaneously participate in trade groups that actively lobby against emissions standards and other pro-EV regulations. Volkswagen Australia has broken with this trend—the

UK-based electric fleet software developer FPS and UK commercial vehicle dealership HTC Group have partnered to deliver end-to-end electrification services designed to allow HTC’s DAF Trucks customers to benefit from seamless EV transitions.  FPS’s services encompass EV fleet feasibility, cost and transition planning using big data and simulation; ensuring that chargers are fit for purpose

Toyota has filed a patent application for color-changing paint, a technology that could let owners or dealerships quickly change the colors of cars. As Toyota notes in the application—which was published by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) on March, 19, but originally filed in 2022—owners may want to change paint colors to

ION Storage Systems, a Maryland-based manufacturer of solid-state batteries, has announced that its anodeless and compressionless SSB achieved a key threshold with its first market deployment with the US military. ION says its SSB successfully exceeded 125 cycles with less than 5% capacity degradation in performance, offering the potential for more than 1,000 cycles in

EV component suppliers Schaeffler and Vitesco Technologies Group have entered into a merger agreement. The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2024. The two companies make components such as e-drives, power modules, BMS, control units, motors, steering systems and much more. Schaeffler recently built an electric version of the Ford

Icon has completed its 500th Toyota Land Cruiser build, the California restomod specialist recently announced. Icon’s New School Edition 1964 Land Cruiser FJ44 follows the same template as the 499 builds that preceded it. The exterior remains mostly original, with some subtle updates like LED headlights, power side steps, and new wheels. The interior however

Oil giant Shell has announced plans to divest 1,000 retail sites over the next two years, and also says it plans to expand its public EV charging business. Is Shell shutting down gas stations in order to replace them with EV charging hubs? Well, that’s what several media reports implied, but that’s not quite what

Dutch developer of maritime battery systems EST-Floattech has received an investment of €3 million from Energy Transition Fund Rotterdam and a joint investment of €1 million from existing shareholders Rotterdam Port Fund, PDENH, Ponooc and Yard Energy. The investment will allow the company to continue growing nationally and internationally.  EST-Floattech develops and produces lithium-ion battery

Round three of the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship gets underway this weekend in Melbourne, Australia. The Australian Grand Prix, which for years has served as the opening round of the season, remains a popular event on the calendar, and this year there has already been some action ahead of the race. After crashing his

Optiphase Drive Systems and OPAL-RT, a specialist in simulation and hardware-in-the-loop testing, have formed a strategic alliance to offer real-time simulation capabilities for vehicle designers that integrate Optiphase’s 5-phase electric motor and drive system. Optiphase says it developed its 5-phase electric power and control technologies to overcome the limitations and workarounds inherent to 3-phase systems.

Electrical equipment giant Leviton has launched a plug-in version of its EV Series Smart Home charging station. Originally launched in January 2023 in a hard-wired version, the EV Series Smart Home station is designed to be part of a smart home system that also incorporates lighting and load centers such as heating/AC, refrigerators and other

If you buy a high-performance car, there’s no shortage of factory-backed training programs to teach you how to be both fast and safe behind the wheel. However, buy a high-performance off-road truck or SUV, and your driver training choices are somewhat limited. Sure, there are schools that can teach the basics of maximizing traction in