E-Mobility

Schwinn has launched the Mendocino, a vintage-style electric bike with a step-through frame. The bicycle can assist you at speeds up to 20 mph (~32 mph) and the battery, mounted beneath the rear rack, provides a 45-mile (~72 km) range. The commuter e-bike can support loads up to 300 lbs (~136 kg), with 55 lbs (~25 kg) permitted on the rear rack.

The rather amusing experiment involving the two heavyweights in the electric pickup truck segment has a clear winner, who obviously benefited from grippy off-road tires that were well-suited for the slippery grass on which the tug of war took place.

The promised upgrade of Tesla's sprawling Gigafactory in Shanghai has brought the first tangible Model Y improvement in the form of a new airbag. The Chinese-made Model Ys are now shipping with a new driver seat airbag aimed to prevent driver-on-passenger injuries during a side collision.

The US$5 billion deal for Indonesian nickel may not reduce Tesla's dependence on China in terms of battery materials supply, as two Chinese companies could be behind it. Tesla has been hedging its nickel bets for a while, though, and the deal in Indonesia will add to its supply diversification efforts.

The China-exclusive program rewards loyal customers who upgrade to a new EV model made by the American automaker. But instead of lowering the base price, these discounts include a more affordable FSD Autopilot upgrade as well as free supercharging for a limited number of miles.

Lower-income or middle-class electric car buyers that are aiming for a used vehicle may benefit much easier from the unprecedented climate change bill tax credits that Senate just passed than new EV owners. The bill sets strict battery materials and assembly conditions that exclude every current electric vehicle maker, including Tesla.

Tesla must be ordered to pay damages to all those who suffered from the 'misleading' names of its Autopilot and Full Self-Driving Capability features, demands the Californian DMV. It also wants Tesla's dealer license that expires on October 31 to be suspended or revoked.

ROSE Bikes has launched the MAYOR PLUS, an e-bike available in trekking and SUV models. The series has a maximum assistance range of 140 km (~87 miles) thanks to a 740 Wh battery. A 750 W BOSCH motor delivers up to 85 Nm of torque and a top speed of 25 kph (~16 mph). Other features of the electric bicycle include a color display and lighting.

Ride1Up has updated its cheaper electric bike model, the CORE-5. The battery energy has been increased to 12.8 Ah to improve the bicycle’s assistance range. Plus, a 60 Lux headlight has been fitted to the front of the vehicle. The pedelec is still equipped with a 750 W motor for a top speed of 15 mph (~24 kph) and up to 60 Nm of torque.

Customers in the US affected by a recall of the Toyota bZ4X electric SUV have been offered a refund. The offer was found in a letter to purchasers, uncovered by Electrek. Plus, the company continues to provide free loan cars and fuel to customers who still wish to receive the model. The recall was issued earlier this year following concerns that the wheels may fall off with sharp braking or turning.

Tesla's immensely popular electric SUV, which is now being produced in four Gigafactories across three continents, is expected to become the top-selling car in the entire world as its yearly sales numbers could exceed 1 million units in 2023.

Volkswagen has announced the US pricing for the 2023 ID.4 electric vehicle. The SUV will start from US$37,495, with a potential Federal tax credit of up to US$7,500. The company also announced a 62 kWh battery for a cheaper entry-level model. The EV is produced in VW’s new electrified vehicle facility in Chattanooga.

Geometry is a relatively new electric vehicle (EV) brand on the Chinese market. However, its next car will come with software made by a name much more familiar to its audience: Huawei. The two companies have struck an agreement to make the upcoming vehicle part of the HarmonyOS smart-device ecosystem.

Tesla is operating at the highest profit margins in the industry, its own shareholder meeting charts revealed, at close to 15%, followed by BMW and Mercedes. Nevertheless, Elon Musk said that Tesla will have to release the Cybertruck at a higher price due to component inflation.

The NIU SQi, an electric bicycle, has launched in China. The vehicle has a top speed of 25 kph (~16 mph), legally making it an electric bike even though it looks very similar to a motorbike. The SQi has an assistance range of up to 75 km (~47 miles) from a 1,152 Wh battery. Features of the e-bike include support for Siri voice commands, NFC unlocking and GPS tracking.

UltraTRX will shortly begin an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for the 2022 E2-Terminator e-bike. The bicycle has dual 1,450 W Bafang motors for a top speed of 40 mph (~64 kph) and up to 200 Nm of torque. A 2,640 Wh battery provides up to 97 miles (~156 km) assistance range, with regenerative braking to boost this while you ride.

The spacious station wagon variant of the high-performing Porsche Taycan appears to be well-suited for traveling at 160 mph, but as expected, the luxurious electric car loses much of its range at these ludicrous speeds on the German autobahn.

Making solid-state EV batteries without the rare and expensive lithium could become reality as Japanese scientists discover a viable alternative using magnesium ions. Magnesium is cheap and abundant and the long struggle to improve its conductivity in solids has finally overcome the material's shortcomings.

The Tesla Model S Plaid and Model X Plaid electric vehicles are available to order in Europe again. Customers in countries such as the Netherlands, France and Italy can order the models with a €250 (~US$255) non-refundable deposit. The order book for the region closed in December 2021 due to production issues.

Although the official reveal and subsequent launch of the all-electric Audi A3 e-tron is probably still a few years away, talented graphic designers have already created a beautiful render image that shows the possible design of the electric compact car.

The SPLACH Twin dual motor scooter has reached the InDemand phase on Indiegogo. The e-scooter has an accessory that allows you to conceal an Apple AirTag on the vehicle, so you can easily track and locate it. The company describes the foldable scooter as budget, with a top speed of 28 mph (~45 kph) and up to 35 miles (~56 km) range.

The mysterious new Tesla order to the world's largest electric vehicle battery manufacturer CATL turned out to be not of its novel Kirin batteries, but of LFP packs. Not your regular LFP battery, though, rather a greatly improved chemistry with higher density slated for the Model Y.

Porsche has announced that it plans to develop electric bicycle motors, batteries and connectivity software. The company claims that the engines will be powerful, with plans to use them in upcoming e-bike models. Porsche has recently taken over Fazua, an electric drive system specialist, and acquired a majority stake in Greyp, another e-bike brand.

The ONEBOT S2 folding electric bike is currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo. The bicycle has a magnesium-alloy frame and weighs 39 lbs (~18 kg). A 250 W motor allows you to accelerate from 0 to 16 mph (~25 kph) in 3.2 seconds, with up to 35 Nm of torque. Plus, a 216 Wh battery delivers up to 31 miles (~50 km) of range.

The Pivot Shuttle SL is a lightweight electric mountain bike, with the lightest model weighing just 36.3 lbs (~16.4 kg). The lightness is achieved with a proprietary carbon fiber frame and a superlight drive system. A FAZUA motor delivers up to 60 Nm of torque, and a 430 Wh battery allows you to ride with assistance for around four hours.

The next generation of the popular Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger will exclusively rely on all-electric drivetrains, which may be a tough swallow for muscle car fans from around the world who love the unique rumbling sound of a V8 Hemi.

The brave owner of the British luxury car managed to remove the heavily smoking EV from his garage in order to protect his house from the flames. Purportedly, this is the fourth Jaguar I-Pace that has caught fire under these kind of circumstances.

BMW North America is recalling a small number of i4 sedans and iX SUVs over potential concerns of battery fires. The company said that it is proactively reaching out to affected customers and has advised them not to charge or drive these vehicles until the battery is freely replaced by the dealer.

Honda's quest to take over the budget side of the electric vehicle revolution may soon meet a competitor with more experience in EV making. NIO is preparing to unleash a new EV brand with the codename Firefly in order to compete in the market for electric cars that cost less than US$30,000.

In Q2 this year, the Fiat 500e was the most registered new vehicle in Western Europe. According to a report by Matthias Schmidt, this was the first time since Q4 2020 that the Tesla Model 3 did not top the list. The Tesla Model 3 also saw production levels falter, taking second place behind the Polestar 2, despite both companies facing similar setbacks.

The Mycle Charge fat tyre e-bike is now available in the UK. The folding bicycle has up to 65 km (~40 miles) range, the most significant distance of any collapsible pedelec from the brand. The vehicle has a speed of 25 kph (~16 mph) and up to 65 Nm of torque. The e-bike weighs 26 kg (~57 lbs) and is equipped with a rear rack and front suspension fork.

Tesla's Elon Musk urged lithium producers to become refiners as well, since the lucrative niche is currently 'a license to print money.' The world's largest refiner Ganfeng Lithium heard the call and just announced the biggest solid-state battery factory on its home turf.

Whether Apple is truly on track to launch its first ever Car in the next few years or not is a hotly-debated topic in the tech space. Nevertheless, the OEM has allegedly made a potentially crucial addition to its growing automotive team: Luigi Taraborrelli, a designer who spent 20 years at the iconic marque Lamborghini prior to apparently taking a new, leading role in Cupertino.

While Tesla's automated driving feature is facing scrutiny by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drunk drivers are going too far by blaming it for accidents of their own making. One Tesla owner used precisely that excuse when the authorities asked him why did he slam his car into a pole.

Both BMW and Tesla got in hot water recently by introducing pay-to-play restrictions for their vehicles. BMW wants to sell heated seats in a subscription model, while Tesla restricted access to the full battery capacity of a Model S unless the owners pays.

The rather creative excuse of two Mercedes employees who claimed to work for Tesla when they accidentally got stuck on a California beach didn't convince the good Samaritans who came to their rescue of the stranded prototype of the electric Mercedes EQE SUV.

The startled driver of the China-exclusive BMW i3 had to pull over and leave the car as smoke started to enter the cabin. Fortunately, the small fire did not spread too quickly as the battery wasn't the cause of this unfortunate incident involving the luxurious electric sedan.

The President & Managing Director of General Motors Europe has provided details about the company's plans to offer EVs on the continent. In an interview with Autocar, Samara said that high demand in Europe had prompted the move. GM has not announced which models will be available; we know they will be from American brands, which could include Cadillac and Chevrolet.

More than half of the new Tesla cars shipped are now using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries and LG is positioning itself for a play in the North American supply chain by building a new factory in Nanjing. Slated to become operational next year, it will first produce LFP cells for energy storage systems, before moving on to electric vehicles.

Xiaomi's very public dream of being a company that makes electric vehicles (EVs) as well as most popular consumer devices and gadgets has reportedly lost its initial momentum as of late. The current breakneck speed of the Chinese automotive industry has thrown a regulatory roadblock in the leading OEM's path to officially becoming an auto-maker in its own country.

Slated for a release in August, the new BYD Seal models are larger than the Model 3 and come with cell-to-chassis blade battery packs that offer longer range and better collision safety than Tesla's electric car. Above all, the BYD Seal is much cheaper, too, with its top-end model with 435-mile range costing as much as the base Model 3.

The Segway Ninebot MAX G30LP e-scooter is currently discounted by US$300 at Best Buy in the US. The vehicle has up to 25 miles (~40 km) range with regenerative braking technology. You can reach a top speed of 18.6 mph (~29.9 kph) on the e-scooter, with your speed and battery level viewable in an accompanying app.

Since the new 150 kWh battery with solid-state electrolyte use existing manufacturing tools, their maker WeLion has revealed that the packs didn't cost much more to manufacture than current liquid EV batteries. This means that mass production for NIO's performance sedans shouldn't be an issue after the initial batch delivery in September.

Optibike has launched a new e-bike, the R22 Everest. The bike is named after its 300 miles (~483 km) range, which would technically allow you to use the vehicle to climb Mt. Everest. The electric bicycle has a top speed of up to 36 mph (~58 kph) with five-speed modes, and the motor provides a maximum of 190 Nm of torque.

The FX+ is a new city e-bike from Trek. The company suggests the pedelec is its lightest urban electric bicycle, weighing ~40.13 lbs (~18.20 kg). It is also one of Trek’s cheaper models at US$2,499.99. The FX+ has a top speed of 20 mph (~32 kph) and up to 70 miles (~113 km) range with an extender battery.

A Polestar survey found that the primary reason American drivers switched from combustion engines to electric vehicles was not the environment. Instead, most respondents cited technology and image as the reason they would buy an EV. Polestar also recently announced its H1 2022 results, including a record 50,000 orders taken globally.

The MINI Aceman concept EV has been unveiled, with a production version due to launch in 2024. The car has unusual features, such as projecting images onto the dashboard, including the instrument cluster. Infotainment is displayed on an OLED touchscreen, and a wireless charging station is built into the central console.

The Ca Go Bike FS200 Vario is a new convertible e-cargo bike. The vehicle has a 370 L loading area and can support a cargo payload of 70 kg (~154 lbs). Various carrying options are available, including cross-bars, soft weatherproof walls, and a roof. The electric bicycle has a top speed of 25 kph (~16 mph) and up to 125 km (~78 miles) range.

The 2023 Trek Dual Sport+ e-bike series has been unveiled. The pedelec will retail for US$2,399, making it one of the brand's cheaper electric models. A hub-drive motor can assist you at speeds up to 20 mph (~32 kph), and a 250 Wh hidden battery provides up to 35 miles (~56 km) range. The bicycles weigh around 40 lbs (~18 kg) and are fitted with lights and a kickstand.

The Fantic ISSIMO 45 s-pedelec has been launched, with a 500 W Bafang M600 motor delivering a top speed of 40 kph (~25 mph). The vehicle has various speed modes and can be ridden without the motor, with pedal assist or as a scooter using only the engine’s power. A 600 Wh battery provides up to 50 km (~31 miles) range, and you can view its charge level on the handlebar display.