Category: Electric Vehicles

The company says that the Liger X and Liger X+ are fitted with its patented self-balancing system and will be launched in India by end-2023. 

Engineering and Tech start-up Liger Mobility has unveiled the world’s first self-balancing electric scooters – the Liger X and Liger X+. While self-balancing technology isn’t new to the two-wheeler space developments in the technology have been focused on the motorcycle space with brands having previously showcased prototypes of the same.

Liger says that its self-balancing system (AutoBalancing technology) allows riders to ride the scooter and low speeds and even come to a full stop without requiring to place their leg on the ground. Additionally, the system works in conjunction with a reverse gear allowing users to reverse the scooter without needing to use their feet for balance. The scooters will additionally be offered with a learner mode restraining the top speed.

Speaking on the occasion Ashutosh Upadhyay, Co-founder of Liger Mobility said, “Liger Mobility’s team of passionate engineers have worked hard over the last several years to make our AutoBalancing technology for two-wheelers, technically and financially viable. All aspects of Liger X and Liger X+’s AutoBalancing technology, including the hardware and software, have been developed in-house, further underlining India’s ambition, determination and quality of engineering talent.”

Continue reading… “Auto Expo 2023: Liger Mobility Unveils World’s First Self-Balancing Scooters”

A Rollo delivery van.

The launch marks the first test market for the company, which plans to expand the service to other metropolitan areas.

US-based shipping service provider Rollo has launched an electric vehicle (EV) delivery fleet in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The company will offer free collection for legacy carriers, tracking via global positioning systems (GPS) and same-day deliveries for packages within the city.

The launch marks the first test market for Rollo, which plans to expand it into other metropolitan areas.

Rollo will use an entirely electric delivery fleet as part of its efforts to make its last-mile deliveries more efficient.

The service will be available for all customers using the Rollo mobile app. It does not require a Rollo printer or shipping materials.

Rollo founder and CEO Kevin Faro said: “We are bringing legacy shipping into the 21st century, which of course includes using electric vehicles to prove that shipping can and should be painless for everyone, including the environment.

Continue reading… “Rollo introduces electric delivery fleet in Las Vegas, Nevada”

By Micah Toll

Denver grabbed headlines earlier this year when it launched an ambitious program to help city residents replace cars with e-bikes. Now the city is struggling to ensure it can provide sufficient cycling infrastructure to support the influx of electric bikes.

The program initially offered generous rebates from $400 to $900 off the price of a new e-bike depending on the style of bike, with cargo e-bikes receiving higher incentives. 

Low-income city residents were offered even higher incentives of $1,200 toward the price of an electric bike.

Unlike mail-in rebates or e-bike tax credits, Denver’s program used point-of-sale rebates that were applied instantly, making it easier for new riders to afford what can often be expensive electric bikes.

The goal of the program was to help get more of these car-replacing electric bikes out onto Denver’s streets to cut down on traffic and reduce emission-spewing vehicle use.

Nearly 5,000 electric bikes have been purchased as part of the program, with around half of those e-bikes going to low-income riders.

It’s been widely praised as a successful model for increasing the adoption rate of low-impact alternative vehicles. But it’s also shined a light on another issue surrounding personal EVs like e-bikes and e-scooters: that they require investment in infrastructure to make riders feel safe using them.

Continue reading… “Denver gave out huge rebates on electric bikes. Now it’s making the bike lanes they need”

A positive user experience is the basis for good design. When it comes to this electric high-speed ferry, the aim is that passengers shall feel that they are traveling in a transport system of the future, and enjoy it.

By Håvard Egge

Scientists have now found out how to optimize the functional and aesthetic character of the world’s first fully electric high-speed ferry. The aim is to persuade passengers to opt for fossil-free transport.

The world’s first fully electric high-speed ferry has arrived. It was launched only recently in Stavanger in south-western Norway, where it will be transporting the inhabitants to and from the islands that lie north of the city. The ferry can carry 147 passengers and 20 bicycles and has a cruising speed of 23 knots.

Continue reading… “Creating an identity for the world’s first fully electric high-speed ferry”

Chakratec flywheel-based Kinetic Energy Storage systems for EV charging, grid-balancing

By STEPHEN EDELSTEIN

Zooz Power will use its flywheel technology to charge electric rental cars at New York City’s LaGuardia airport, the Israel-based company formerly known as Chakratec announced earlier this month.

Zooz recently announced a memorandum of understanding with an unnamed car rental company to pilot flywheel energy charging at LaGuardia beginning in the second quarter of 2023.

The partner rental company “is operating thousands of car rental sites in over 100 countries,” Zooz said in a press release, adding that more sites will be considered if the 12-month New York pilot program is successful.

Continue reading… “
Flywheel energy will help charge rental EVs in New York”

Reservations for Hotel Hyundai are now open. 

By Ben O’Hare

Hyundai has announced plans to open a luxury pop-up hotel powered solely by its electric vehicles. The hotel will consist of a cabin, a restaurant, and a cinema and will be located in Essex, England. 

The pop-up hotel aims to demonstrate the Ioniq 5’s vehicle-to-load (V2L) capabilities and will be open for three weeks next year. The cabin suite features an EV charger, a shower, and a kettle – all of which will be powered by an Ioniq 5. Furthermore, the restaurant will only serve locally sourced food meanwhile the coffee lounge will provide espressos that are brewed using energy from an Ioniq 5. 

The hotel’s cinema area will consist of a projector, speakers, and popcorn machine all powered by (you guessed it) an Ioniq 5.

It appears the hotel will consist of only one cabin and therefore will only cater for one party at a time. Those interested in staying in the hotel can enter a competition to win a free trip.

Continue reading… “Hyundai Set To Open Hotel Powered Exclusively By EVs”

By Scooter Doll

Nascent eVTOL racing league Airspeeder has successfully completed what it is calling the “world’s first electric flying car race” during its inaugural EXA Series event. Two EXA team pilots went head to head in South Australia using remotely operated eVTOLs, kicking off a development league that will eventually feed into global Grand Prix series. Check out the video recap of this historical event kicking off electric flight racing.

Airspeeder is an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) racing league headquartered in London that was first announced in November 2021. The league exists as an entity of Alauda Aeronautics – an electric aviation company based in Adelaide, Australia, where the league’s technical HQ is located, alongside its testing grounds. Alauda designs, engineers, and builds the league’s eVTOL racing aircraft called “Speeders.”

Airspeeder successfully completed its first remote-piloted eVTOL drag race in 2021 as one of its first big steps toward building a competitive league that will consist of multiple teams competing around the globe. These remote-piloted races will comprise Airspeeder’s flagship EXA Series to begin, and will eventually evolve into a series of Grand Prix taking place in the air above different countries.

The pilots themselves have forgone over 270 test flights and hours of simulator races in preparation for this initial flying car race, kicking off the league’s inaugural EXA circuit race. Following the arial event across a 1 km digital sky-track, Airspeeder has crowned the winner of the “world’s first electric flying car race” – Zephatali Walsh.

Continue reading… “Airspeeder completes ‘world’s first electric flying car race’ during inaugural EXA eVTOL event”

Uber’s Comfort Electric option is expanding to 25 cities throughout North America. The option allows users of the app to request electric vehicles specifically. 

BY JACK FITZGERALD

• Uber’s Comfort Electric service, which lets customers request EVs, is expanding from operating solely in California to 25 cities throughout North America. 
• Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi reaffirmed in an interview with CBS News that he wants all Uber fleet vehicles to be electric by 2030.
• Drivers with gasoline-powered vehicles at that time will be forced to either switch to an electric vehicle or stop driving for the company. 

Uber has expanded its Comfort Electric service from operating solely in California to 24 cities throughout the United States and in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. The Comfort Electric service within the app allows users to specifically request electric vehicles over traditional gasoline-powered vehicles.

The Comfort Electric service separates itself from Uber Green (another electrification effort) by requiring vehicles to be fully electric. Uber Green is less stringent, allowing both EVs and hybrids to qualify for the service. Uber specifically singles out Tesla, Polestar, and the Ford Mustang Mach-E as the “premium” electric vehicles available with Comfort Electric. 

Continue reading… “Uber Is Expanding EV Rides, Commits to an EV-Only Fleet by 2030”

Air Canada is ordering 30 units of the new zero-emission aircraft.

By Griffin Davis

The Air Canada-backed startup, Heart Aerospace, launched a new electric airplane. The giant airline company announced that it had already ordered 30 units of the new zero-emission aircraft. 

Now, it seems like they are getting the attention of major airlines across the globe. This can be seen in the latest investment made by Air Canada in Heart Aerospace.

Air Canada-Backed Startup Launches New Electric Airplanes!

According to Electrek’s latest report, Heart Aerospace unveiled the new ES-30, the successor of the recent ES-19 model.

Continue reading… “Air Canada-Backed Startup Launches New Electric Airplanes! Here’s the New Heart Aerospace ES-30”

The Sion is a compact car wrapped entirely in solar panels. Its maker claims solar power alone is enough to meet most daily driving needs.

By Sissi Cao 

A compact, affordable electric car powered in part by solar energy is about to hit the assembly line, marking the maturity of a clean energy approach previously thought to be infeasible for automobiles. A final design of the vehicle, called the Sion, made by German EV startup Sono Motors, was unveiled today (July 25) at a company event in Munich. Production and delivery are expected to start in the second half of next year in Europe, with the U.S. and other international markets to follow.

The idea of powering a passenger car with solar isn’t new. But unsuccessful attempts, including a prototype built by the General Motors in the 1950s, had earlier engineers convinced that solar isn’t a suitable energy source for everyday driving needs, due to limitations in energy storage, conversion and (obviously) weather.

Sono proposes to solve this challenge with a hybrid approach. On one hand, to maximize energy output, the Sion is wrapped entirely in solar panels (except for windows). The car’s exterior is covered with more than 450 “solar half-cells” that, in normal weather, can provide up to 70 miles of driving range per week, according to a press release.

Continue reading… “The World’s First Solar-Powered Mass Market Electric Car Is Almost Here”

Amazon plans to roll out its Rivian custom electric delivery vehicles in more than 100 cities by the end of this year.

By Becky Schultz

Amazon is partnering with Rivian to roll out thousands of custom electric delivery vehicles to more than 100 cities by the end of 2022, and 100,000 across the U.S. by 2030, the company stated. The electric vehicles – which Rivian asserts to be the first long-range electric commercial step-in vans – are already hitting the road in Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle and St. Louis, among others.

The vehicles are a product of a partnership announced in 2019 when Amazon co-founded and became the first signatory of The Climate Pledge, committing to reach net-zero carbon across the company’s operations by 2040. As part of the pledge, Amazon is developing a more sustainable delivery fleet, the company noted, including working with Rivian to decarbonize its last-mile logistics.

Continue reading… “Amazon rolls out Rivian electric delivery vehicles”

By Lynn Walford

Through advanced technology, recreational vehicle and trailer companies are making their vehicles and customer experiences more sustainable. Winnebago, Thor Industries and Living Vehicle are working on electrifying the recreational vehicle (RV) space.

Advanced technologies include an electric RV, hydrogen extended-range electric RV, self-powered trailer and solar-powered trailers that extract water from the air.

Creative EVs for Hospitals, Schools and Road Trips

Winnebago is famous for making mobile outdoor lifestyle motorhomes and trailers. The company is adding advanced technologies to its RVs.

“We are really focused on advanced technologies which are coming in the next five, seven to ten years,” says Ashis Bhattacharya, Winnebago Industries senior vice president, Business Development and Advanced Technology.

Bhattacharya notes that making an electric RV is not as easy as making an electric car.

He says an electric RV requires energy management that includes many internal systems that generate, store and consume electricity. The systems include battery-systems, inverters, lithium batteries, car batteries and appliances. Appliances in an RV that need electricity are air conditioners, water heaters, induction cooktops, infotainment systems and plumbing systems.

Data and connectivity for smart products are part of the technology development process. Materials, weight, insulations and structural strength are important. The less weight on the vehicle, the more weight is available for the owner, the driver, their family and everything, says Bhattacharya.

Continue reading… “The Future of Electric, Sustainable, Off-Grid and Autonomous Recreational Vehicles”