This week, GM announced it will launch an all-electric vehicle under the Chevrolet brand, the Spark EV. The car is basically an electric version of the Spark mini-car and will be sold in limited quantities in the U.S., including California, starting in 2013.
The company also announced it has started working on its new concept vehicle, the Chevrolet EN-V. → Read More
Auto maker General Motors and LG Group will be working together to design and engineer electric vehicles thanks to a new partnership that expands on LG’s earlier work for GM in lithium-ion batteries. Previously, LG delivered batteries for the Chevrolet Volt, the Opel Ampera, and later for a demo fleet of Chevrolet Cruze electric vehicles.
According to the companies, their goal is to reduce… → Read More
Ford Motor Company is teaming up with San Jose-based solar panel maker SunPower to offer a rooftop solar system option which will be sold alongside the upcoming Ford Focus EV. The “Drive Green for Life” program, as it’s being called, involves mounting solar panels on a customer’s home.
These panels wouldn’t be used just to charge the Focus itself, however. They actually help offset the cost… → Read More
Those who resist purchasing an electric car because charging stations are less ubiquitous than gas stations or figuring out how to charge your car at home seems complicated have one less excuse to go green. A new system from British startup HaloIPT allows cars to be charge wirelessly using induction.
The wirelessly transmitted power goes to the car’s battery for an ongoing charge, similar to… → Read More
Coulomb Technologies — a Campbell, Calif. company that makes electric vehicle charging stations, related apps and network technology — today revealed new features and certifications that should help the company grow its business in European markets, and prepare for the Nissan LEAF to hit the streets.
One new feature of the company’s ChargePoint network allows Coulomb’s charging stations to… → Read More
Given the limited range in fully electric cars, charging points are going to be an important part of the infrastructure in the future. GE has hired a designer to create the “WattStation”, a charger designed to top up your new electric car in four to eight hours. → Read More
Electric car company Tesla Motors has filed for a $100 million IPO. There were rumors recently floating around that the company, which is led by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk, would go public “soon.” One interesting tidbit from the filing: Musk only takes $1 in yearly salary. → Read More
Tokyo-based Keio University (which happens to be my alma mater) is ready to take Sim-Drive, its eco-friendly vehicle technology, to another level. The university announced over the weekend that it will collaborate with a total of 34 Japanese companies and municipalities, including powerhouses such as Mitsubishi Motors or Isuzu, to release a new electric car. → Read More
The world’s No. 1 auto maker Toyota has announced [JP] it will exhibit a four-seat electric car at the 41th Tokyo Motor Show for the first time (the show opens October 24 and will run through November 4). It’s sized at 2,730×1,680×1,490mm. Visitors will also get to see an update of Toyota’s hybrid car Prius at the show. → Read More
Electric cars have one major problem: Especially in the case of long drives, owners have to make too many stops to charge the battery. Now a group of researchers from Toyota and Tohuku University (in Northern Japan) announced progress on their work to do away with this inconvenience.
They were able to make single crystals of lithium cobalt oxide, a chemical compound used in the production of… → Read More
Electric vehicles usually have one major problem: The battery. But now Toshiba might have a new battery in development that could pave the way for better electric/hybrid cars in the very near future. Dubbed, SCiB (Super Charge ion Battery) Toshiba already shipped prototypes to a handful of Japanese, European and American automakers. → Read More
Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) has claimed on Thursday [JP] it developed a diode (pictured above) for power semiconductor devices that can withstand temperatures exceeding 400 C. → Read More
Palo Alto-based Better Place, a company that builds electric-vehicle networks and is led by famous entrepreneur Shai Agassi, announced it will help the Japanese government in a pilot project to encourage the use of green cars in the country. Better Place will build battery exchange stations in Nippon so that drivers of electric vehicles can change drained batteries to charged ones quickly… → Read More
Plug-in electric vehicles might, one day, be a big hit but the Poulsen Hybrid kit will allow compact car owners a piece of the action early. The upgrade works by incorporating two electric motors on each of the drive shaft-equipped wheels in a moon rover-type fashion. (FWD or RWD compatible) These motors do not drive the wheels entirely but rather provides an extra gas saving boost while… → Read More
It seems electric cars are slowly but surely gaining a foothold in everyday life, at least in Japan. Last week, local tech powerhouse TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Corp.) installed a total of nine charging stations for this kind of vehicles in Tokyo. The launch marks the first time that owners of electric cars can charge their vehicles in battery stations located in basement parking lots where all… → Read More
You don’t need a $40,000 Chevy Volt to be part of the green crowd. Just convert your current vehicle from gasoline to electric. It might cost you more than the car is worth, but you won’t be sending your bucks overseas. CNN is showcasing two fellas that did just that. One with a Honda Civic del Sol and the other with a Chevy S-10. Both are now electric and both were converted by… → Read More
Get ready for the return of the electric car. Philadelphia steel wholesaler Barry D. Bernsten has created BG Automotive Group with the purpose of bringing an affordable electric car to market. The first roll out will occur later this year in October and the new company hopes to hit sales marks of 4,000 cars. More of an introduction to the concept and the company, the cars will be marketed as… → Read More
Suzuka-based Topia Corp. presented an electric car during the 19th Design Engineering & Manufacturing Solutions Expo in Tokyo, which weighs just 150kg (330lb). The so-called Huvo is the prototype of a single seat mini car. The Huvo is made of steel, aluminum, carbon fiber reinforced plastic and ABS resin. Topia says the prototype was completely produced in-house. According to the CEO, other… → Read More
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