Leapmotor reportedly to begin production of small EV at Stellantis plant in Poland
Chinese electric vehicle (EV) company Leapmotor (HKG: 9863) will begin production of small EVs at a Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) plant in Poland, Reuters said in a report today, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Production of the Leapmotor T03 small car will start as early as the second quarter of this year, using so-called semi-knocked down (SKD) technique, which consists of turning partially assembled kits into finished vehicles, one person said, according to the report.
BYD aims for 1200-mile range with next-generation PHEVs
BYD is looking to break the 1200-mile range barrier with its next petrol-electric cars, which are set to adopt a fifth-generation plug-in hybrid system and a fourth-generation EV platform.
The new range-busting PHEV system, elements of which are expected to be revealed at the Beijing motor show in April, is an evolution of the Dual Mode (DM) system used throughout the current BYD line-up.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe says he's changing mindsets of what's 'possible in an electric vehicle'
A common complaint of electric vehicles is that they're too expensive. That's why Rivian, the electric carmaker from Irvine, California, just launched three new models to meet this "huge need in the market," according to RJ Scaringe, the company's founder and CEO.
"If you're in the market for a $45,000 EV, you have an incredible set of choices from Tesla. But in terms of really compelling options, there's not a lot there," Scaringe told ABC News shortly after the company debuted its R2, R3 and R3X models.
Honda and Nissan join forces on electric car technology to chase Chinese rivals
Honda and Nissan have put aside the “traditional approach” of fierce rivalry to join forces and work together on electric vehicle technology as Japan’s carmakers try to catch up with Chinese competitors.
The Japanese manufacturers will work together on technology for EVs, including components and software, after signing a memorandum of understanding on Friday.
Korea's Kia, Thailand in talks over building new EV facility, sources say
South Korean car maker Kia Corp (000270.KS), opens new tab is in talks with Thailand to build an electric vehicle facility in the Southeast Asian country, two government sources said on Tuesday, as the latter bids to be a top EV maker in the region.
Discussions are ongoing and focused on incentives sought by the carmaker from the Thai government, said the sources, who declined to be named as they were not authorized to speak on the matter.
How Ironic Is It That Stellantis Is Now Making A Profit On Plugin Vehicles?
Stellantis was one of the biggest laggards in electric cars for several years. Former Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne kicked it off. He lobbied against electric vehicle and fuel economy regulations, and he even infamously told Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) customers to not buy the Fiat 500e at one point, claiming that the company was losing money on each sale (a misleading claim).
Toyota, Samsung accelerate toward better EV batteries
Samsung's SDI battery-making unit has announced it will start mass production of solid state batteries in 2027, and that the parts it pushes will have energy density of 900 watt-hours per liter (Wh/L), a figure lithium-ion batteries struggle to match.
Solid state batteries are also more resilient than lithium-ion affairs, which become less efficient over time and can also catch fire after even slight damage.
Here's Why Your Car Insurance Has Become More Expensive
Millions of vehicle owners have been shocked when opening their most recent auto insurance bills. Rates are up across the board, hitting $2,543 in 2024, which represents a 26 percent increase from 2023. CNBC and Bankrate reported on the rate increase, noting that some states and drivers have it much worse than others.
What’s behind the rapid increase in car insurance rates
New York, CNN — A lot has changed in the time since Gerald Ford was president and Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple. But here’s something that hasn’t changed much: the pace at which car insurance rates are rising.
Car insurance rates are up almost 21% for the 12 months ended in February, according to new Consumer Price Index data released Tuesday. The last time car insurance rates rose that much on an annual basis was 1976, not counting January, which saw the same annual rate increases.
Dealers United Expands Automotive Services to Provide Full-Service Digital Solutions
SARASOTA, FL / ACCESSWIRE / January 31, 2024 / Dealers United has announced a major expansion to their product suite. To complement the company's industry leading social advertising campaigns, Dealers United will offer Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) solutions to attract and convert car shoppers.
Group 1 hires veteran automotive marketer as new CMO
Longtime automotive marketing Shelley Washburn has joined Group 1 Automotive, operator of 199 dealerships in the U.S. and U.K., as vice president of marketing and chief marketing officer.
Washburn’s automotive marketing and retail experience covers 30 years, most recently with automotive digital marketing firms Gulf States Marketing as president and Force Marketing as a strategic advisor.
Cazoo Switches Focus to Become ‘Pure Play’ Automotive Marketplace
The U.K. company plans to transition into a “pure play” automotive marketplace, Cazoo said in a Wednesday (March 6) news release, the latest example of an online car seller shifting its focus amid a tough economic climate.
“Transitioning Cazoo to a pure-play automotive marketplace business model leverages our key advantages: the nationally recognized and trusted Cazoo brand and the Cazoo eCommerce technology platform,” said CEO Paul Whitehead.
Russian Automotive Fleet Rapidly Aging
ST. PETERSBURG – The Russian automotive fleet is rapidly aging, as Western sanctions and economic decline in Russia limit supplies of new cars and spare parts for them and force car owners to forgo maintenance.
According to Fit Service, a Russian network of car service centers, the average age of cars in the country is more than 14 years. Moreover, the share of cars aged 15 years or more has increased significantly over the past year, from 25% to 35%.
Top Electric Car Lease Deals: March 2024
We rounded up the best electric car leases in March, plus plug-in hybrid rebates and hybrid car deals worth knowing about. Despite having high prices on paper, manufacturer incentives can often make EV lease prices substantially more affordable than traditional gas vehicles.
Unfortunately, stricter sourcing requirements for the new year have cut into the savings potential of several models, but there are still deals to be had. Here's our roundup of the best EV lease deals and purchase offers in March. We update this page monthly, so check back for the latest deals.
China brings opportunities rather than 'dumping' goods in Brazil
It is interesting that not long after Chinese customs data showed China's exports to and imports from Brazil both rose by about one-third in January and February, some Western media outlets began to eagerly attack and smear trade between the two countries, trying to create a false impression that Brazil is a victim of China's dumping of cheap goods.
US to probe if Chinese cars pose national data security risks
The United States is opening an investigation into whether Chinese vehicle imports pose national security risks and could impose restrictions due to concerns about "connected" car technology, the White House said on Thursday.
The U.S. Commerce Department probe is needed because vehicles "collect large amounts of sensitive data on their drivers and passengers (and) regularly use their cameras and sensors to record detailed information on U.S. infrastructure," the White House said.
Cheap Gas and Large Vehicles See U.S. BEV Uptake Stall
Europe and China are surpassing the U.S. when it comes to the uptake of battery-electric vehicles.
That’s the latest finding of vehicle data analyst Jato Dynamics, whose report, In the slow lane: EV demand in the U.S., places the blame on relatively low gas prices and large vehicles in the world’s second-largest light-vehicle market.
The best-selling cars in Europe in January 2024 - the rankings
The Dacia Sandero takes the European throne in January 2024 sales. The Romanian compact is confirmed as the best-selling car in the overall rankings, according to data collected by JATO Dynamics . This data also shows a new entry in second position in the rankings compared with 2023. The Volkswagen Golf is back in force for the first time in a while.
Amid booming EV sales in India, a nagging issue: Who will service your car?
When you are stranded in the middle of a journey as your electric vehicle refuses to charge, you can’t just call a roadside mechanic to tinker with it and get it moving. Not yet, at least. Like Suraj Bidlain, a fleet operator in Gurgaon, realised to his horror when his electric three-wheeler would not charge as the battery pack developed some glitches. In Mumbai, meanwhile, Bhim Rao, an entrepreneur, saw his car’s controller was not working. When these EV owners complained, the faulty components of their vehicles were not repaired but replaced with brand-new ones. While EVs are becoming more and more popular, their maintenance is still at a nascent stage.
Europe
For the first time in five years, Palexpo opened its doors to the internationally-acclaimed Geneva Motor Show. It also celebrated its 100 year anniversary, however with so many OEMs not attending the format took on as slightly different shape and was geared more towards visitors interacting in an envisaged alternative mobility future. However, notable brands in attendance included Chinese EV manufacturer BYD, as well as MG and its luxury sub-brand IM. Renault, buoyed by its Car of the Year award for the new Scenic, unveiled the new 5 Electric, a take on the original ‘supermini’ and showcased in numerous formulations.
Staying with the Swiss market, sales continue to stagnate due to the introduction of its ‘EV’ tax of 4% in January.
German lawmakers last month finally rolled out its WLTP energy consumption labelling system for cars. This includes labelling information for online configurators and is expected to be live from the beginning of May.
Italian consumers are still waiting to hear of a proposed ‘Eco’ bonus for selected Plug-In Hybrid and pure EVs. It is suggested the incentives offered will be doubled with no scrappage requirements, although some OEMs are already offering incentives ahead of the Government’s proposition.
Croatian authorities are also looking into offering incentives for EVs and Hybrids based on CO2 emissions, although no details have been confirmed as yet.
Asia Pacific
The ministry of investment, trade and industry (MITI) for Malaysia is presently maintaining its target of having 10,000 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations up and running across the country by 2025, as outlined in 2021 under the Low Carbon Mobility Blueprint (LCMB) 2021-2030. The MITI minister said that although the target appears aggressive, given that the duration to the 2025 deadline is short, industry players have assured him that it can be achieved. This was shown by current data, which has seen the 1,430 EV charging stations nationwide as of November last year increase to a total of 2,020 at present.
BYD has recently registered naming trademarks in Taiwan for new models and is expected to re-enter the market later this year after a six year hiatus.
In China, BYD’s ‘Urban Navigation’ (also known as Urban NOA) will be launched on March 30, with the Denza N7 being the earliest model to apply advanced intelligent driving functions.
Hyundai Motor Group recently announced it has signed an initial pact with Saudi Arabian developer Red Sea Global (RSG) for partnership in future mobility solutions in the Middle Eastern country.
Under the memorandum of understanding signed in Riyadh on March 24, the two companies will test Hyundai Motor's electric vehicles in local resort and tourism areas, and explore joint business opportunities in next-generation mobility solutions, Hyundai said in a statement. Hyundai plans to test its pure electric and hydrogen fuel-cell electric vehicles at the Ummahat Islands resort in the Red Sea area and the eco-friendly Amaala tourism complex on the west coast of Saudi Arabia, which are being developed by RSG. They will introduce advanced air mobility (AAM) solutions and autonomous vehicles in the Ummahat resort and the Amaala complex in the long term, the statement said.
Americas
After talks about a medium- to long-term supply partnership related to automotive batteries, Subaru and Panasonic Energy have signed what has been termed as "a basic cooperative agreement." The deal covers the supply of cylindrical automotive lithium-ion batteries for Subaru's further all-electric car models. Subaru has been interested in Panasonic's latest high-capacity cylindrical batteries for some time and Panasonic intends to launch the first 4680-type batteries sometime between April and September of this year. Currently, Subaru's only all-electric car model on the US market, the Solterra, is equipped with prismatic battery cells supplied by CATL for a 72.8-kilowatt-hour battery.
Earlier this month, Stellantis announced that it will invest BRR 30 billion in Brazil by 2030, with the volume of investments programmed by automakers in the country reaching BRR 95 billion by 2032.
In late February, Ford announced that it had become the first non-Tesla automaker to use the Tesla Supercharger network across the US and Canada. To access the charging points, both new and existing Ford EVs will require an adaptor, which Ford has agreed to fund at no cost to the consumer.