E-Mobility

In a surprise move, Tesla opened its proprietary charging port and connector schematics for all EV makers and charging networks to employ at will. The open-sourced design and specification documents call the heretofore custom connector the North American Charging Standard as Tesla argues it is 'half the size, twice as powerful' in comparison with CCS.

The Tesla Cybertruck might indeed have jumped over to the 'tooling' phase before production starts, as the company has posted job listings that look for Cybertruck Body Shop engineers. The manufacturing preparations also include the first Cybertruck mention appearing in the iOS app on the sly.

IBM is checking the box for the 2022 QPU scaling roadmap with the 433-qubit "Osprey" model. Next year, the company is set to triple the qubit count with a "Condor" model. The processing power of such QPUs is already being put to good use by companies like Bosch, which seeks to produce sustainable alternatives for low-supply metals and rare-earth elements needed for EV motors.

Electric vehicles have swooped to win some of the most prestigious categories in Europe's most desired automotive award, the Golden Steering Wheel of Germany's Auto Bild magazine. The Chinese NIO ET7 sedan got the best luxury car award, while the solar-powered EV Lightyear 0 won in the best 2022 innovation category.

The Diamant Mandara 160 Gen 3 e-bike has been unveiled. A product listing on the German Trek Bikes website describes a new electric bicycle with a 160 kg (~353 lbs) payload weighing 29.9 kg (~64.6 lbs). The bike comes with a 545 Wh or 725 Wh battery and a top speed of 25 kph (~16 mph).

The Desiknio X20 Pinion electric bike is now available to pre-order in Europe. The bicycle has a 250 W Mahle motor providing a top speed of 25 kph (~16 mph) and a 250 Wh battery for an assistance range of 100 km (~62 miles). Plus, you can control various settings, such as the assistance level, in a smartphone app thanks to a smart X20 Bluetooth controller.

Zoom call integration is coming to 'all new Tesla vehicles soon," teased the communication company's Product Manager. During the Zootopia 2022 conference promo video, the Tesla driver could be seen jumping on a Zoom call while the car is charging, and using the controversial interior camera for the broadcast.

In a move that reflects the overall price trend in the white-hot electric car market, the South Korean car manufacturer effectively raises the entry price of the successful Kia EV6 by a massive US$7,100 by not offering the 58-kWh base trim for the 2023 model year.

Qualcomm Technologies and Renault Group have announced that they will team up to deliver new platforms for next-gen electric vehicles from the latter. The resulting new "Software Defined Vehicle Platforms" will take over from the Snapdragon Digital Chassis, and may thus deliver new advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), "connected car" experiences and generally many more of a vehicle's controls than ever before.

Toyota made about US$1,200 per vehicle sold last quarter, and Tesla made eight times that, beating Toyota's net profit margin for the first time since it went public. Teslas cost about US$36,000 to make but sell for US$10,000 more on average, potentially beating the heretofore highest per-vehicle margins of Mercedes.

The DYU King 750 fat tire e-bike is now available in the EU. The bike has a 750 W motor providing a top assistance speed of 45 kph (~28 mph). You can travel for up to 90 km (~50 miles) on a single charge, and 26 x 4-in (~66 x 10 cm) fat tires help to provide a more comfortable ride.

The SAMEBIKE MIX10 can now be pre-ordered by customers in the US, Canada, the UK and the EU. The bicycle has a 350 W motor with five power levels to choose from and 62 miles (~100 km) assistance range. An integrated mount allows you to use your smartphone and the accompanying app on the go, with settings controls and navigation.

Tesla's Model 3 outran the flagship Chinese NIO ET7 sedan when it came to energy draw efficiency during the European Green NCAP testing. When the tests were in cold weather, though, the efficiency of all participating EVs dropped precipitously.

According to the first impressions of a couple of car reviewers, the all-electric BMW i7 sedan is an incredibly luxurious and comfortable EV with some high-tech features, but unfortunately, the car also comes with a corresponding price tag that makes it unattainable for the vast majority of buyers.

The Model Y's record high Euro NCAP safety rating may not have been in vain, as its driver survived a self-inflicted crash with an Amtrak train. She reportedly tried to move the crossing arm and then beat the train to the crossing when the Tesla got hit and parts of its chassis then smashed into other vehicles around.

Tesla will have to grant access to 260 of its new Superchargers to non-Tesla electric vehicles as these will be built with government money. NSW government representatives clarified that this has been one of the state funding's eligibility criteria for subsidy applicants.

The sole rich inhabitant of the US$200 billionaires club has fallen out of Bloomberg's list after the recent riot in Tesla's stock induced by Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter. All the while Tesla's badge has climbed up 32% to become the third most valuable car brand in the world.

The US$7,500 new EV tax credit may become immediately available to all electric car buyers in the US if Representatives Terri Sewell (AL-07), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), Eric Swalwell (CA-15), and Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) manage to pass their Affordable Electric Vehicles for America Act. The bill aims to postpone all made-in-America vehicle assembly and battery component subsidy requirements by 3 years.

Honda's near electric car future will be based on the e:N2 platform concept that it just announced. The angular, aggressive styling aims to symbolize the mass production plans of the company which plans to release no less than 10 electric vehicles based on the e:N platforms by 2027.

The ever-increasing price of labor in the US is the main obstacle before building an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Indiana, said Subaru. Currently, the only EV that the company sells in the US is the 2023 Solterra crossover.

LIVALL has launched its Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for the PikaBoost e-bike conversion kit, containing a controller, motorised hub and battery pack. The project reached almost 1,000 backers in under 24 hours, raising over £327,000 (~US$366,000). The PikaBoost has a top assistance speed of 25 kph (~16 mph) and a range of 30 km (~18 miles).

Instead of the expected sub-US$70,000 tag, the new Mercedes EQE electric sedan's price will start from US$74,000 in the US and go up to US$91,500 for the EQE 500 4MATIC Pinnacle trim. The electric E-class release date in the US is scheduled for this month.

While Elon Musk is convinced that Tesla can achieve higher levels of driving automation relying on its camera-only Vision solution, many other EV makers think that true self-driving needs radars as well. Enter Hesai with the first mass-produced solid-state LiDAR for covering blind spots on the sides of a vehicle.

GMC and Recon Power Bikes have developed the HUMMER EV AWD e-bike. The electric bicycle has dual 750 W motors providing a peak power of 2,400 W, up to 160 Nm of torque and a top speed of 28 mph (~45 kph). A standard 17.5 Ah battery provides up to 50 miles (~80 km) range, or you can upgrade to a 21 Ah model.

The Tesla Model Y Performance version has the new suspension kit as well, despite Elon Musk's mention of the standard Long Range variant only when informing of the change. The Model Ys built in the Shanghai and Berlin Gigafactories have shipped with the 'comfort' suspension for a while, but the Fremont and Texas plants joined the fray later.

After sending Japanese supervisors from Panasonic to its Gigafactory in Nevada in order to speed up the 4680 battery cells production, Tesla is now dispatching its Chinese employees to help their American counterparts in the Fremont factory. Tesla's aging California plant is the bottleneck that prevents it from lowering its overall EV production expenses.

The probably sinfully expensive new top-of-the-line variant of the Porsche Taycan could be launched within the next two years, and it sports a fixed rear spoiler that clearly differentiates it from the regular model variants of the electric sports car. In terms of performance, the new Taycan Turbo GT could directly compete against the brutally quick Tesla Model S Plaid.

Tesla's CEO Elon Musk may have failed to mention that the delay of the expected Cybertruck electric pickup launch for mid-2023 might also entail a delay in the mass production plans for the vehicle. Apparently, Tesla won't be able to produce the Cybertruck in financially significant numbers until this time next year.

Faced with the economic realities in the world's largest and most competitive electric vehicle market, Ford has been forced to follow Tesla and lower the price of the Mustang Mach-E in China. The base trim now costs about US$3,837 less.

Volkswagen now reports that it has taken "over 20,000" orders for the inaugural ID. Buzz since its initial 2022 pre-sales event started in Europe - even before it could be viewed in person in dealerships, apparently. The number exceeds planned production volumes for the vehicle in the same year, however, meaning that some customers might not see the first-gen electric microbus they ordered until 2023.

NIU has released the BQi-C3 electric bicycle, with a 920 Wh battery pack providing up to 62 miles (~100 km) of range. The e-bike has a top speed of 28 mph (~45 kph) thanks to a 750 W motor. Other features include an integrated color display, puncture-resistant tires and dual disc brakes.

The autoindustry behemoths from General Motors may have been looking up to an EV startup for inspiration, an Instagram posting of GM's Design team has showed. There, they have seemingly photoshopped an existing Rivian R1T electric pickup truck photo to arrive at a concept GMC Sierra Denali EV image.

California and Europe are now leading the way for the phase-out of the internal combustion engine in the next decade or so. The European Parliament agreed to stop sales of new gas-powered cars and vans by 2035, including hybrids.

Tesla may weave live Radio Traffic Announcements in its comprehensive road safety package that now includes vehicle-to-vehicle communication with a Hazard Enhancement Location Protocol update that warns of a vehicle in trouble. The RTA image has been discovered in the latest software update and would interrupt your audio streams with accident and road closure updates.

Tesla salespeople in China have stayed up to 2 AM this week to process all Model 3 and Model Y orders that started pouring in after Tesla cut the electric vehicles' price on Monday. The sales have been so good that Tesla stopped offering the free silver color upgrade as an option.

Lotus will equip its performance, up to 905 HP Eletre SUV models, with the world's first LiDAR system that allows for an 'end-to-end autonomous driving' in a production car. Unlike Tesla Vision, it will allow self-driving in adverse weather, too, and the Eletre will offer 300+ miles range on a charge as well as ultrafast charging.

The next vehicle in Toyota's 2022 electric car stable has just been announced with a rumored price tag quite a bit lower than that of its direct competitor the Tesla Model 3. The Toyota bZ3 is a bit longer than the Model 3 and carries BYD's blade LFP batteries and powertrain.

The Delfast California e-bike is currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo. US and EU versions of the electric bicycle are available, with top speeds of 28 mph (~45 kph) and 16 mph (~25 kph), respectively. Plus, the US model has a Bafang M620 motor which can deliver up to 160 Nm of torque.

Kakuka is currently crowdfunding for its Rampage Cyberpunk fat-tire e-bike on Indiegogo. The Rampage and Rampage Pro electric bicycles have top speeds of 32 mph (~52 kph) and 28 mph (~45 kph), respectively. The pedelecs have 23-in (~58 cm) fat tires and a full-suspension system for a comfortable ride.

Tesla has received state funding to build 260 new charging stalls in total across New South Wales, at more than 30 Supercharger locations. It recently launched the Model Y in Australia and New Zealand, and wants to quickly build out its charging infrastructure there with the government's help.

Just as rumored ever since Tesla introduced insurance incentives which amounted to a de facto Model 3 and Model Y price cut, the company actually slashed the starting tag of its electric vehicles in the most competitive market for them, China. The Model 3/Y price reduction is more than 9% there.

The Cybertruck may indeed be in the 'tooling' phase as Tesla suggested during its quarterly results recap, as it has been filmed brandishing a close-to-retail taillight group. The complete brakes/reverse light illumination pattern sequence is being demonstrated in what could be the final rear design of the Cybertruck.

The new expensive Midnight Cherry Red and Quicksilver color options announced for the Model Y can only be ordered by EMEA customers as they are done in the exclusive Tesla paint shop at Giga Berlin. As if to soothe the pains of Tesla's American fans, Elon Musk confirmed that there will be at least one new Model Y color for the US market as well.

Ford's US battery factory partners from SK On are increasingly worried that the biggest such project in America may be a smokescreen for industrial espionage of their proprietary battery-making technology and equipment. Ford has already been inquiring about an upcoming bill that addresses EV battery IP in Korea.

The cheapest electric car model that Tesla is currently developing will be mass-produced in volumes that would surpass 'all of Tesla’s other vehicles combined,' tipped Elon Musk during the quarterly earnings call. It will be built on a new platform that costs half of the Model 3/Y one and is already in development.

With up to 9,500 lbs towing capacity and 0-60 mph acceleration in under 4.5 seconds, the 754HP GMC Sierra Denali Edition 1 EV won't disappoint the fans of heavy-duty pickup trucks. Slated for an early 2024 release, the Sierra EV offers up to 400 miles range on a charge at a hefty price.

After speaking for a whole day to Tesla Roadside assistance and various support or sales people, actor Glenn Howerton from "Always Sunny in Philadelphia" TV shows fame told them "you lost a customer today." His Model X got stuck for 24 hours in a garage and couldn't be started with anything in the manual, nor put in tow mode.

In yet another solid-state battery research breakthrough, Mercedes-Benz's partner in solid-state cell development ProLogium made the 'world premiere of 100% silicon oxide anode' at the Paris Auto Show. This time the expo is focused on electric vehicles and ProLogium said it will have solid-state battery prototypes next quarter.

Speaking during Tesla's quarterly results press conference, Elon Musk basically confirmed that his promise to have a fully self-driving Tesla by year's end won't materialize. While there will be another big FSD update after which the need to touch the wheel will be even smaller, the mode will still require driver oversight and won't have regulatory approval.

The Tesla Cybertruck electric pickup's batteries are about to be built in the company's Fremont factory, while the truck's assembly will be done at the Gigafactory in Austin, Texas. Tesla is said to be using 4680 battery cells for the Cybertruck.