A prototype for the next generation of Audi’s Q3 compact crossover has been spotted again. It already appears to be at a late stage of development judging by the thin camouflage gear and production-bound lights fitted to the vehicle. The current second-generation Q3 arrived in 2018 as a 2019 model. The redesigned third-generation model is
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By Maria Merano Posted on March 19, 2024 General Motors’ (GM) battery plant in Michigan, named Factory Zero, is leaving production hell.  General Motors has been experiencing its own version of production hell with Factory Zero. The term ‘production hell’ was first coined when Tesla struggled to ramp up Model 3 production a few years
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Photo: CSIRO Researchers led by Australia’s national science agency had an efficiency breakthrough with roll-to-roll flexible printed perovskite solar cells. The international team, led by the Australian government’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), has developed a new method for producing roll-to-roll flexible printed solar cells that deliver unprecedented levels of efficiency. Printed solar cells are
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Photo: Hitachi Energy Hitachi and Penske Truck Leasing have launched a high-capacity electric truck charging pilot at a major commercial truck depot in California. Penske’s electric truck charging pilot with Hitachi America and Hitachi Energy supports deployments in the Stockton, California, area. Hitachi Energy has supplied Penske with its Grid-eMotion Fleet EV charging system. Its
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Mini’s redesigned Cooper hatchback starts sales next year as a 2025 model, though the company has only shown the electric version at present, which the U.S. will miss out on, at least initially. The range will also include gas options, which the U.S. is likely to receive from launch, and a prototype for a redesigned
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The fear of affordable Chinese EVs entering the U.S. through Mexico has rattled American carmakers. But it seems like they are finally responding with some countermeasures to the potential onslaught of Chinese EVs. Remember Ford’s announcement from last month about an internal “skunkworks” team developing a low-cost electric vehicle platform? Some new details have surfaced
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By Richard Angle Posted on March 18, 2024 Rocket Lab is gearing up for its next mission, Live & Let Fly, no earlier than Thursday, March 21st. The mission will take place from Launch Complex 2 at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. This will be Rocket Lab’s fourth launch from its Virginia pad, previously launching HASTE,
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Knowles Precision Devices has announced the availability of its latest Electric Double Layer Capacitor (EDLC), or supercapacitor, modules. Based on Knowles’ Cornell Dubilier brand DGH and DSF Series supercapacitors, these capacitors use a three-cell package for higher operating voltages and printed circuit board space savings. Knowles acquired Cornell Dubilier in 2023 to expand its offering
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Legacy automakers, keen to make an “orderly transition” to EVs, have embraced all kinds of half-measures, from PHEVs to awkward ICE-to-EV conversions to pick-your-powertrain production lines. Conventional wisdom among EV advocates is that this is a mistake—industry leader Tesla and other startups have generally taken a clean-sheet approach to designing both their cars and the
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Mercedes-Benz will take a leaf out of Tesla’s book and explore the potential use of humanoid robots on the factory floor. But rather than develop its own robots, à la Tesla’s Optimus (nee Tesla Bot), Mercedes will partner with U.S. robot technology startup Apptronik. BMW in January signed a similar agreement with rival robot technology
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California-headquartered EV Connect, a provider of EV charging management software, has certified the Level 2 AC charging stations manufactured by South Korea-based LG Electronics to operate on its end-to-end EV Connect Platform and within its charging ecosystem. Earlier this year, LG opened a charger manufacturing facility in Fort Worth, Texas. EV Connect’s Electric Vehicle Charge
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Software company Eatron and Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick, UK, have developed a new approach to evaluating an EV battery’s remaining useful life (RUL). The VIPER (Validated & Integrated Platform for battery Remaining Useful Life) project, funded by the Faraday Institution, uses WMG’s electrochemical models and Eatron’s cloud battery management and integration
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