September 30, 2022
Alice, the fully electric propeller airplane from American aircraft builder Eviation under development, has made its maiden flight this week at Grant County International Airport (MWH), flying for 8 minutes at an altitude of 3 500 feet (1 066 m). Alice is targeted at commuter and cargo markets and will typically operate flights ranging from […]
September 29, 2022
The ‘e’ in the revived GSe-series from Opel doesn’t just stand for ‘electric’ but also ‘electrified’. The first model from the recently announced new sub-brand is a plug-in hybrid version of both the Astra and the estate Sports Tourer. But don’t expect a specific power hike, despite the legacy of the GSe label. With 225 […]
September 29, 2022
CEO of Mercedes Olla Källenius has confirmed to journalists that the all-electric G Wagon will hit global markets in 2024. The offroader will also feature a new battery technology option, using an innovative anode material to boost range. Källenius added in his comments that he drove a prototype of the electric G Wagon, which will […]
September 28, 2022
Premium carmaker BMW is partnering with German ‘historic’ combustion engine manufacturer Deutz AG in a ‘real-life operation’ project to test the feasibility of using heavy trucks with a six-cylinder combustion engine burning hydrogen instead of diesel in its logistics chain. The project is called HyCET (Hydrogen Combustion Engine Trucks) and is led by the BMW […]
September 27, 2022
Japanese motorbike manufacturer Kawasaki Motor is joining forces with Toyota to pool resources and develop hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines (ICE) for motorbikes and other vehicles, like its 4-wheel outdoor vehicles. Earlier this month, Toyota President Akio Toyoda drove a hydrogen-powered off-road 4-wheel vehicle based on Kawasaki’s Teryx sport side-by-side lineup at the Mobility Resort Motegi […]
September 27, 2022
Airline company EasyJet will invest billions in hydrogen technology and more fuel-efficient aircraft, among other things, to achieve emission-free flying by 2050. The British low-cost airline reported this on Monday when presenting its detailed future plans. According to CEO Johan Lundgren, these measures and investments in hydrogen-powered jet engines, or a “roadmap to net zero”, […]
September 27, 2022
Iveco didn’t fail to do its homework with the newest version of its all-electric eDaily. The van is available in myriad body variants, has a scalable battery pack, and impresses with class-leading specs. The brand also showcased a hydrogen version. Since 2009, Iveco has offered a zero-emission battery-powered version of the Daily. But its efforts […]
September 27, 2022
The Volkswagen Group’s new battery subsidiary PowerCo and the Belgian materials technology group Umicore have established a joint venture for cathode and pre-material production in Europe. From 2025, the joint venture will supply PowerCo’s European battery cell factories with key materials. By the decade’s end, the new partners want to produce cathode and battery production […]
September 26, 2022
In a joint letter to EU policymakers, Mazda, a coalition of fuel makers, and CLEPA, the European association of automotive parts suppliers, ask to safeguard an additional route to defossilize transport next to electrification. According to the alliance, the high cost of raw materials, geopolitical uncertainty, and a complex roll-out of sufficient charging infrastructure across […]
September 26, 2022
Vietnamese car brand Vinfast has officially kickstarted its EV offensive by delivering its first batch of 100 VF 8 models in September. Even though the event was held in its home country, at its manufacturing site in Haiphong, this marks the brand’s international expansion. The VF 8 has been designed specifically for non-domestic customers. Unlike […]
September 26, 2022
Belgian high-voltage net manager Elia has joined forces with German carmaker Volkswagen to work on integrating EVs into the electricity grid. Through their daughters, re.alto and Elli, they will focus on ways to have EV-owners charge when green electricity is available in abundance at one time and use the battery as a backup to stabilize […]
September 23, 2022
On Friday, Volkswagen is showing for the first time its Gen.Travel design study at the Chantilly Arts & Elegance in France. Imagine a fully level-5 self-driving prototype with a modular interior as an alternative for short-haul flights where you can sleep, hold your business meetings or watch movies while the car drives, alone or platooning […]
September 23, 2022
With the launch of the G9, Chinese EV maker XPeng is trying to make up for a difficult year. The detailed specifications unveil a high-end SUV with a charging capability that dethrones the Porsche Taycan as the fastest in the world. In August, XPeng Motors showcased a new 480 kW ultra-fast supercharger so that, in […]
September 20, 2022
Bosch has developed an electric motor that can be used for vans and small trucks. By integrating the inverter into the motor housing, the powertrain becomes more compact but, above all, more efficient so that the autonomy of electric vehicles improves. The efficiency of electric vehicles is too often measured by the performance and storage […]
September 16, 2022
An American Tesla-hacker called Green has unveiled that Tesla embeds special codes in its software related to the official crash tests conducted by safety organizations. It is not precisely confirmed what this special code accomplishes, but reportedly, it is related to the automatic driving functions, not the barrier tests themselves. The news broke when Green […]
September 16, 2022
Will we power our EVs in the future with batteries made out of seafood waste like crab, shrimp, or mussel shells? American scientists of the University of Maryland’s Center for Materials Innovation devised an alternative to tackle the lithium-ion battery’s most environmentally baleful drawback: its mining of it and not being biodegradable. They used for […]
September 16, 2022
Lightyear has broken a new record with its solar EV car, the O – or zero. The company booked a wind tunnel in Germany last month and received some historical results from FKFS. With a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0,175, this car cuts through the air like a warm knife through butter. Here is the […]
September 14, 2022
Honda has planned to thoroughly decarbonize its Motorcycle Business to the point that it should be carbon-neutral from 2040. Ten electrically powered two-wheelers will be launched worldwide in the next three years. Despite this electrification, the development of thermal engines will also go on. The Japanese manufacturer is serious about the electrification of its motorbikes, […]
September 13, 2022
DAF Trucks has started deliveries of its zero-emission, battery-electric LF truck, aimed at use in urban areas. The first one goes to Dutch logistics service provider Nabuurs, delivering beer to hospitality establishments in Groningen for the AB InBev brewing company. AB InBev wants to reach a net zero carbon footprint in its supply chain globally […]
September 13, 2022
More than 2 000 families in Flanders help balance the Belgian electricity grid via their home batteries. Together, they will form one of the largest battery-powered virtual power plants with a six megawatts capacity – good for the grid but also a smart way to make a little on the side. Renewable energy is far […]
September 12, 2022
In the coastal town of La Rochelle, French train manufacturer Alstom has put its ‘high-speed train of the future’, successor to today’s TGVs, on rails for the first time. Just for a few meters at creeping speed, pushed by a large truck, for now, this train will travel at 320 km/hour. The current generation set […]
September 12, 2022
Thanks to the Bolt, Chevrolet has positioned itself as a pioneer in e-mobility. Now joining the line-up is the Equinox EV, a crossover debuting in the compact category with a price point that blushes the competition. With the Bolt, Silverado EV, and Blazer EV, Chevrolet already has several all-electric cars in its range. The Equinox […]
September 12, 2022
BMW’s electric models will, starting mid-2023, allow to charge at public chargers from different providers without the need to use a card or specific app. Just ‘Plug & Charge’ as the feature from Hubject’s international eRoaming platform is called, which is gaining momentum with car manufacturers and charge point operators. You will be able to […]
September 09, 2022
Jeep is finally getting serious about its EV strategy. The American SUV brand unveiled not one but three BEV models as part of an all-electric offensive that starts in 2023. The company says it will have four all-electric SUVs in its European and North-American showrooms two years later but remains tight-lipped about the fourth model. […]
September 09, 2022
BMW will introduce its first vehicles featuring completely vegan interiors in 2023. The German premium car manufacturer will replace raw materials of animal origin with innovative, bio-based materials for steering wheel surfaces, among others. The fully vegan interiors will be available for both BMW and MINI models as of 2023. BMW wants to increase sustainability […]
September 09, 2022
The BMW Group is set to launch a new era of e-mobility from models of its ‘Neumodels e Klasse’ using newly-developed round battery cells optimized for the new architecture. “The newly-developed sixth generation of our lithium-ion cells will bring a huge leap in technology that will increase energy density by more than 20%, improve charging […]
September 08, 2022
Kia announces that they are starting a collaboration with a Deutsche Bahn start-up to develop energy storage systems, reusing the battery modules of the Kia e-Soul. The start-up encore/DB already operates a take-back service for used batteries from electric vehicles. Kia says, as one of the main suppliers of electric vehicles in the European market, […]
September 08, 2022
The sky-rocketing gas prices are making another victim. As a raw material for the production of AdBlue, Germany’s biggest manufacturer of the additive SKW, Piesteritz warns of a shortage. The projected bottleneck could severely impact the logistics sector. The urea-based fluid AdBlue became a prerequisite for trucks and passenger vehicles with the Euro 6 norms […]
September 08, 2022
Austrian start-up Aviloo has developed a unique certified health check for batteries of second-hand EVs, measuring with 100% accuracy how much the battery has degraded from its new state. German ADAC and its Dutch peer ANWB, among others, are convinced of the quality and offer the Austrian test to their members. But you can access […]
September 08, 2022
Nissan acquires an essential stake in battery manufacturer Vehicle Energy Japan. Following the transaction, the company will become a subsidiary of Nissan, in which existing shareholders like Maxell and Hitachi Astemo will also have a stake. After selling its majority stake in battery producer AESC in 2018, Nissan is returning to its own battery production. […]
September 07, 2022
The Dutch government participates in Lightyear. This is done through a consortium, Invest-NL, founded by the Dutch government. Lightyear raises capital of €81 million; it is not known precisely how significant the Invest-NL share is. Lightyear is a Dutch start-up established in 2016 and wants to build electric cars that can be charged through the […]
September 07, 2022
The Flemish axial flux electric motor developer Magnax has closed a new financing round of € 20 million. The money will be used to accelerate product development, enlarge the engineering team and expand support for customers and partners. “In the EV space, e-Motor technology is evolving rapidly,” says co-founder Daan Moreels. OEMsrecognizeg the very interesting […]
September 06, 2022
Nissan presented on Tuesday its all-new ‘electrified’ X-Trail, the fourth generation of its successful SUV, which sold seven million worldwide. And it inherited Nissan’s self-willed e-Power drivetrain it first introduced in the Note in Japan and later in the Qashqai in Europe. Available from November with prices ranging from €45 300 to €55 350. ‘Self-willed’ […]
September 06, 2022
At the Mobility and the Future Mobility Summit in early September 2022, Mercedes is showing four improvements for its technology demonstrator ‘Sustaineer’ based on the Mercedes e-Sprinter. Those make the van more energy-efficient and ecological but also consider the driver’s comfort. The Sustaineer, which stands for Sustainable Pioneer, was first shown a year ago and […]
September 06, 2022
French RoRo-ferry company La Méridionale has equipped as the world’s first one of its ships, the Piana, linking Marseille with the Ile of Corsica, with a diesel particle filter. It eliminates up to 99,9% of fine particulate matter and 99% of sulfur emissions. Today there are no regulations for ships on these particles, known to […]
September 06, 2022
British niche builder Ariel has jumped on the electric bandwagon. But, as can be expected from the brand that previously stupefied the automotive business with the mind-blowing Atom, it chooses an entirely different path once again. As a result, the Hipercar looks spectacularly awkward, and a gas turbine assists its battery pack as a range […]
September 05, 2022
In a YouTube video dubbed ‘Roaring in California’, Italian sports car brand Maserati has unveiled the GranTurismo Folgore alongside some preliminary specifications. Together with the pure electric Grecale, this 2+2-seater will kickstart Maserati’s electric offensive as of next year but will probably come sooner than the compact crossover. The final design of the Gran Turismo […]
September 05, 2022
AXA is joining the list of insurance companies pointing at the higher accident rate with electric cars. A probe from their Swiss department unveiled that EV drivers are 50% more involved in accidents due to inappropriate driving behavior. But ‘fake’ images of a burning Tesla, which turned out not to have a battery and the […]
September 02, 2022
It’s no surprise the range of an electric car is influenced by the extra weight or wind it’s catching with a trailer or a caravan behind the car or extras on the rooftop. But how much exactly? German automobile organization ADAC did the test: a caravan cuts your range in half, and two bikes on […]
September 02, 2022
Taiwanese electronics producer Foxconn, well-known for its collaboration with Apple, has unwrapped its first car. The Luxgen N7 is a seven-seater, all-electric crossover debuting on Asian markets in October. However, technical details remain sparse. Foxconn’s automotive branch is called Foxtron and showcased three concepts a year ago, featuring a crossover (Model C), a sedan (Model […]
September 02, 2022
Celebrating five million Subaru’s equipped with its driver assistant system EyeSight, the Japanese car maker sheds some light on the performance and the future of its intelligent aid, pioneered in 2008 with stereo camera technology. Worldwide, nine out of ten Subaru’s are equipped with EyeSight, a detecting camera in an impressive housing just underneath the […]
August 31, 2022
BMW kicked off on Wednesday its fuel cell system production for the iX5 Hydrogen at the company’s competence center for hydrogen in Munich. The individual fuel cells are supplied by Toyota, while BMW mounts them into complete stacks in a fully automated process, and finally fits all the other components for the first limited series […]
August 31, 2022
With a new boss, Klaus Zellmer, taking the wheel in July, Czech VW-daughter Škoda molts old notions and gears up its (electric) vision: a new modern design language, a new logo, and what it calls ‘a comprehensive corporate identity update’. The Škoda Vision 7S concept presented Tuesday evening, a full electric seven-seater EV with a […]
August 30, 2022
American electric outboard manufacturer Vision Marine Technologies has set a new ‘electric’ speed record on the water, breaking the 100 per hour barrier at 109 mph (175,4 km/h) with a 32-foot (9,7 m) catamaran equipped with two E-Motion 180E outboards. The world’s most powerful electric outboards currently. At the wheel of the purpose-built one-off speed […]
August 30, 2022
Scottish EV start-up Munro Vehicles has developed an electric all-terrain challenger for the Land Rover Defender and Mercedes G-Class. The company has started taking pre-orders for its first offroader but is predominantly betting on the North-American market for its business model, where it has found a partner for deliveries as of next year. Scotland’s first […]
August 30, 2022
The multinational steel-making company Tata Steel, with key operations in India, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, is investing 65 million euros in designing a new plant where the blast furnaces will no longer run on coal but on ‘green’ hydrogen by 2030. The new plant will be built in IJmuiden, the Netherlands, and should […]
August 29, 2022
BYD (Build Your Dreams) is launching three models on the European market this year, including in Belgium. NMN was allowed to drive them on a closed test track, so we can get a first impression of what these models have to offer. BYD is no unknown player in the automotive world. A few days ago, […]
August 26, 2022
Swedish drivers in the county of Blekinge received an odd but disturbing message on their radio screen or navigation system on Wednesday. It read: “Important traffic message. County of Blekinge. Airstrike, danger.” The Swedish traffic department Trafikverket remains puzzled over what happened but speaks of a ‘severe incident’. Blekinge county lies in the South of […]
August 26, 2022
Under the slogan ‘Premium meets Responsibility’, the Belgian car importer BMW Belux has donated once again seven new cars (BMW and Mini models) to technical schools all over the country. For 2021 and 2022, this brings the score to 30, as 23 were already given last year, totaling a value of almost €1,5 million. Furthermore, […]
August 25, 2022
As it has always indicated, the Brussels region is not burying the introduction of the smart mileage charge. For several days, the Brussels-Capital Region has been looking for a few hundred persons to test the SmartMove mobile application. Brussels Fiscal Affairs developed this app to calculate and record the smart kilometer charge. This is what […]
August 25, 2022
While Europe is in a catch-up race for battery cell production, it holds a top position worldwide for producing electric motors used in electric cars and wind turbines. However, because of the sector’s strong dependence on imports for its rare earth materials, Europe has kickstarted the REEsilience project. This must investigate local sourcing while setting […]
August 24, 2022
The city of Hasselt experiments with a new type of pavement that integrates the charging cables of electric vehicles (EV). The concrete EV cable duct paving stones, as they are called, were invented and developed by Armand Hermans, a Dutch citizen living in Dongen (the Netherlands) and are currently marketed by several companies. Two years […]
August 24, 2022
Two Swedish EV pioneers, Volvo-sister Polestar and electric ‘flyboat’ inventor Candela, found each other on the water. Polestar will supply the battery and charging systems for Candela’s revolutionary hydrofoiling speedboats, giving the startup a boost in scaling up. “To make electric boats mainstream, we need to build thousands of boats every year. Working together with […]
August 23, 2022
Burning clean hydrogen in a zero-emission sports engine is even for German sports car manufacturer Porsche a potential alternative to conventional fuels or synthetic fuels (e-fuels) for combustion engines. It tested a 440 kW (590 hp) 4.4-liter eight-cylinder engine on hydrogen on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, but totally virtually… The car used was ‘a luxury-segment reference […]
August 23, 2022
In North America, Tesla is again raising the price of its Full Self Driving service (FSD), a feature making it possible for its cars to perform semi-autonomous driving. It is the second price hike this year and the add-on, which customers can buy retrograde, now costs five times more than at launch. Until September 5th, […]
August 22, 2022
While still struggling with pushing out only 6 000 to 7 000 cars this year of the forecasted 20 000 Lucid Air sedans for 2022 from its brand new factory, the American start-up is presenting the Sapphire. More muscle, more power, pushing beyond 200 mph (320 kph), the ‘future is faster,’ Lucid claims while forcing […]
August 22, 2022
During a presentation of its financial results, Chinese auto group Geely said it would raise its electrification ambitions. The company wants 50% of its sales to be electric next year. Geely, the parent company to Volvo, Polestar, Lynk & Co, and Lotus saw sales sliding back by 9% during the opening half of 2022. Covid-19 […]
August 19, 2022
With NIO opening its second battery swapping station in Europe and XPeng Motors showcasing a new ultra-fast supercharger that offers up to 400 kW of usable charging power, the debate flares up on Chinese social media about what solution is best. Xpeng’s S4 chargers can load an XPeng G9 SUV model equipped with a CATL […]
August 18, 2022
BMWs from the electric Neue Klasse family might soon look a bit more like Tesla cars. Not on the outside but underneath. Reportedly, the Bavarian carmaker is keen on adopting Tesla’s cylindrical 4860 format for its battery cells. These would be supplied by EVE. EVE Energy Co. Ltd. is a Chinese battery cell manufacturer, not […]
August 18, 2022
Dodge starts offering a plug-in hybrid version of the Hornet in its home country. At the same time, it announced the lifecycle end of Charger and Challenger models with an all-electric concept hinting at how a zero-emission future will look like for the much-coveted genre of the muscle car. The plug-in version of the Hornet […]
