Category: Electric Automobile

The five -seater Lightyear One is designed to be an ‘off-the-grid, clean, and convenient mobility solution’(Lightyear)

By Anthony Cuthbertson

Lightyear One costs €150,000 and aims to be on roads by mid-2022.

A solar-powered car has travelled hundreds of kilometres on a single charge, marking a major milestone towards bringing the “world’s most efficient and sustainable” vehicle to the market.

The Lightyear One drove 400km (248 miles) at 130kph before needing to recharge during tests in the Italian town of Aprilia last month. Previous tests carried out at a lower speed saw the electric car travel more than 700km.

Lightyear claims its car will allow customers to “drive for months without charging”, and hopes to deliver the first vehicles to customers by mid 2022.

Reservations for the Lightyear One can already be made through the company’s website, requiring a €150,000 down payment.

“We have achieved an energy consumption of 141-watt hours per kilometre. What this means is that on one charge, you’d be able to drive for over 400km. For example, that ‘s from Amsterdam all the way to Luxembourg,” said Megan Parfitt, vehicle test coordinator at Lightyear.

“Comparing that to other vehicles on the market right now, that’s about one-and-a-half times further than a directly-comparable vehicle can do with the same battery size… It shows we’re well on our way to achieving our target of being the most efficient car on the market, not just in legislative cycles but also in real-world conditions that the customer will experience.”

Continue reading… “Solar-powered car that can ‘drive for months without charging’ to hit roads this summer”

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Major automakers are making changes backed by the Biden administration, pledging that half of all cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. by 2030 will be either electric, hydrogen-fuel cell, or plug-in hybrid vehicles.

General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. , and Chrysler maker Stellantis NV will be aggressively pushing out cleaner fuel vehicles and stated that their green commitment will be contingent on federal funding for manufacturing and supply-chain research and development, purchase incentives, and a national electric vehicle charging network, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“This industry’s going to spend $330 billion over the next five years on electrification alone,” John Bozzella, president of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, the lobbying group for auto makers and suppliers, said at a conference. “Even in Washington, D.C., that is real money.”

The auto company executives and the United Auto Workers attended a White House event Thursday afternoon where the Biden administration announced more stringent fuel-efficiency standards for the industry.

Continue reading… “Electric Vehicles Could Make Up 50% of Total Car Sales by 2030”

The FINANCIAL — Bridgestone and Lightyear combine forces for the world’s first long-range solar electric powered car. Bridgestone applied its lightweight and environmentally-friendly ENLITEN technology on Turanza Eco tyres specially engineered for Lightyear One, providing significant efficiency contribution in order to maintain battery life, maximise vehicle range, and reduce environmental impact. The collaboration is the latest development demonstrating Bridgestone’s progress in delivering its strategy to be a global leader in advanced solutions and sustainable mobility, Bridgestone notes.

ENLITEN technology enables tyres to have a super low rolling resistance while requiring less raw materials to be used, providing significant efficiency contribution in order to maintain battery life, maximise vehicle range, and reduce environmental impact. Partnership between Lightyear and Bridgestone is a direct result of shared focus on sustainability and builds upon work together for the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge. Lightyear One will hit test tracks in Q2 2021 and be commercially available by the end of Q4​.

Building on 90 years of expertise, Bridgestone, a global leader in advanced solutions and sustainable mobility, has announced an exclusive partnership with Netherlands-based mobility innovator Lightyear. Bridgestone has engineered tyres specifically for Lightyear One, the world’s first long-range solar electric vehicle, which is set for commercial availability by the end of this year.

Continue reading… “Bridgestone and Lightyear Combine Forces for the World’s first Long-Range Solar Electric Powered Car”

We’ve been jealous of Europe’s burgeoning electric car charging infrastructure for a while now but the U.S. is finally getting some of that sweet, sweet infrastructure of our own with six American utilities across the South and the Midwest announcing a new EV charging network called the Electric Highway Coalition.

The following American energy companies are banding together to develop this new network:

• American Electric Power
• Dominion Energy
• Duke Energy
• Entergy Corporation
• Southern Company
• Tennessee Valley Authority

The network will stretch across 16 states and connect “major highway systems from the Atlantic Coast, through the Midwest and South, and into the Gulf and Central Plains regions,” as outlined in a statement from American Electric Power (AEP), which happens to be one of the U.S’s largest electric companies.

Continue reading… “A Huge Chunk Of America Is Getting A New Electric Car Charging Network”

Energy Web plans to use blockchain technology to help ensure an efficient future for Volkswagen’s electric vehicles.

Automobile makers everywhere are betting big on electric vehicles as the world begins to push for environmentally friendly modes of transportation. For example, while fewer than 1% of cars on the roads in the United States today are electric, a number of automobile manufacturers are aiming to change this by stopping sales of gasoline-powered cars. 

At the end of January 2021, General Motors said it would stop selling gas-powered cars and trucks by 2035. In addition, automakers such as Tesla, Ford, Volkswagen and even Porsche have announced plans to introduce new electric models in the coming years. At the same time, President Joe Biden recently announced an executive order to replace the U.S. government’s fleet of about 650,000 vehicles with electric models. 

The desire to move away from gas-powered vehicles is clear, but this goal may be easier said than done. Despite the potential for clean energy, major silos exist between EV solutions and global power grids today. For instance, more electric vehicles will surely result in the need for additional charging stations and careful planning from utility companies to accommodate EV requirements. As such, a digital, common frame of reference is needed to integrate EVs into global energy markets. 

Continue reading… “Volkswagen pilots blockchain to integrate electric vehicles with power grids”

Volvo launched its first fully electric car on Tuesday.

By Miguel Ángel Moreno Ramos and Jeevan Ravindran 

• Volvo announced on Tuesday that it would go fully electric by 2030 and 50% electric by 2025. 
• To celebrate the plan, the company also launched the C40 Recharge, its first fully electric car. 
• “There is no long-term future for cars with an internal combustion engine,” said CTO Henrik Green.

Volvo announced on Tuesday that it would become a “fully electric” manufacturer by 2030.

The Swedish company plans to launch a series of electric vehicles over the coming years but they will only be available for purchase online.

Continue reading… “Volvo plans to sell only electric cars by 2030, seeing ‘no future’ for internal combustion engines”

By Micah Toll 

Arcimoto’s market capitalization recently crossed the $1 billion threshold, making the three-wheeled electric vehicle company the newest member of the unicorn club.

Late last year, it looked like the sky was the limit for Arcimoto, which trades on the NASDAQ as FUV. 

Now it seems like the company has blown right through the sky and is headed for the moon.

Less than a year ago Arcimoto’s share price had dipped below $1. Yesterday it closed at $31.12.

While the entire market has shown impressive growth since bottoming out early in the COVID-19 pandemic, Arcimoto’s share price has grown 1,658% in the last 12 months.

With a current market cap of $1.23 billion as of market close yesterday, Arcimoto is gaining the attention of several well-known investors and EV bulls.

As the Portland Business Journal reported, new support from investor Ross Gerber has likely helped fuel the most recent growth in the company’s valuation.

Continue reading… “US-based ‘Tesla lite’ 3-wheeled electric vehicle startup passes $1B market cap”