Category: Electric Vehicles

Volta Trucks aims to begin producing its electric truck this year

by Jean-Baptiste Oubrier

Anglo-Swedish startup Volta Trucks will launch its urban electric lorry this year, the group said Wednesday, tapping into keen demand for electrified transport—and increasing bans against high-polluting vehicles.

Volta Trucks has developed what it bills as the world’s first purpose-built fully-electric 16-tonne commercial vehicle which is designed to criss-cross cities for short journeys.

The young firm, which was founded in Sweden in 2019, this week sealed a $20-million (16.5-million-euro) investment to help boost production of the Volta Zero which has a driving range of 150-200 kilometres (93-124 miles).

And despite humble plans so far, the truck already has an order book worth $260 million—regardless of ongoing turmoil surrounding Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are a Scandinavian company with a UK operating base and we have presence in France as well,” Volta Trucks chief executive Rob Fowler told AFP.

The electric vehicle race is heating up. 

By MARTIN LERMA

Tesla may be king of the electric vehicle, but billions are being pumped into the category to (finally) give it some serious competition.

Earlier this week, two of the newest players in the EV race got a serious boost. Amazon- and Ford-backed Rivian revealed that it has raised $2.65 billion in new investments. Meanwhile, GM’s Cruise imprint signed a long-term strategic partnership with Microsoft, for which the tech giant helped raise $2 billion, according to a statement. This financial injection is reflective of the increasing interest from the public in the once niche segment of the automotive industry.

With its latest capital courtesy of T. Rowe Price, California-based Rivian has raised a healthy $8 billion since the start of 2019, which puts current valuation at $27.6 billion, according to Reuters.

By Paul A. Eisenstein

FedEx has already placed “a large order” for the electric trucks, after a test showed they resulted in a 25 percent increase in productivity, GM said.

General Motors on Tuesday unveiled a new all-electric subsidiary, BrightDrop, that it hopes will speed up the shipping and delivery process.

General Motors wants to electrify the delivery side of e-commerce, launching a new subsidiary, BrightDrop, that will deliver “an ecosystem” of products and services to speed up the shipping and delivery process.

Set to launch later this year, BrightDrop will offer all-electric delivery vans, as well as a droid-like cargo palette capable of rolling around under its own power.

By Nick Summers

The company is starting with an electric van and pallet.

GM wants a piece of the battery-powered logistics market. The company, which owns Chrysler and Cadillac, has announced a new business unit today called BrightDrop. It’s starting with two vehicles, the first of which is an electric van that can drive up to 250 miles on a single charge. It’s called the EV600 and has up to 600 cubic feet of space inside, or an estimated 2,200 lbs of payload capacity. The all-wheel-drive vehicle is also fitted with a security system in the cargo area, an auto-locking door and motion-activated interior lighting. On the road, drivers will benefit from automatic emergency breaking and parking assistance, among other features. 

Before the EV600 hits the road, BrightDrop will be launching a smaller vehicle called the EP1. It’s a pallet — the kind of trolley that’s often found in stores and warehouses — with an electric motor that makes it easier to move heavy objects around. The included container offers 23 cubic feet of space, or a total payload up to 200 pounds. According to GM, the doors are lockable and there’s a modular shelving system inside so that workers can easily organize goods. The hope is that delivery drivers will use them to shuffle cumbersome items between their van and customers’ front doors.

These two are the first in a BrightDrop “ecosystem” that will include both vehicles and software. The company will provide customers with a cloud-based platform, for instance, that can be used to monitor their operations and improve their fleet’s efficiency. The EP1 will also offer location tracking and battery status, remote locking and unlocking, and other features via over-the-air updates. The EV600, meanwhile, will have location tracking, remote battery and charging management, incident recording, and more. Like the EP1, it will also benefit from over-the-air updates.