Free Republic

Chinese electric auto-giant BYD has released a bold supercar concept through its premium Fang Cheng Bao brand. The Super 9 rocks no roof, the barest hint of windscreen, and lascivious scissor doors – and it's apparently headed for production. BYD is the world’s largest EV producer. It produced 20% of the 10 million EVs sold globally last year, from Tesla (13%), Volkswagen (9%) and General Motors (6%) – those are all very rough figures for simplification purposes. For stats – go here. It is also the dominant brand in the world’s largest and fastest growing automotive market, at a time...

IM motors has decided that semi solid-state batteries are ready for prime time. In an omen of what Western automakers will need to contend with, it's now launched a futuristic luxury coupe with a next-gen battery pack and crab-walking capability. The high-density lithium batteries we enjoy today were an absolute technological revolution. They blew rechargeable nickel-cadmium and nickel-metal-hydride batteries out of the water, offering such a leap in energy storage by weight and volume that suddenly all sorts of things became possible.

In recent months Tesla has had a bumpy ride. In January the electric-vehicle (ev) pioneer warned that growth would be “notably lower” this year, as motorists’ enthusiasm for battery power loses charge. The same month it had to suspend most production at its giant factory near Berlin because of supply disruptions caused by turmoil in the Red Sea. Its market share in China, the world’s biggest ev market, is falling as it fends off cheaper local competition, especially from byd, which late last year briefly eclipsed Tesla as the world’s biggest ev-maker. Tesla hit another big pothole on April 2nd,...

The future for electric vehicles is looking bleaker than ever.According to a Gallup poll published this week, the number of Americans who own an electric vehicle has indeed increased in the last year. However, the number of those interested in buying one is on the decline despite efforts from the federal government to transition the entire automobile market within the next decade. Seven percent of Americans, up from 4% a year ago, report that they own an electric vehicle. That increase is matched by an equal decline in the percentage saying they are seriously considering buying one, from 12% to...

Pitched as a near-future electric touring bike, the Felo TOOZ has a top speed of 125 mph, a hand-of-God mid-range, and a range of 720 kilometers per charge (450 miles). Those numbers suggest it will be one of the largest motorcycles on the road, regardless of engine type, because that's a lot of battery capacity required to go that far on one charge. The biggest promise the TOOZ makes is high levels of technological connectivity to your phone (AKA life), and the ability to output multimedia through the 12" TFT dashboard with sound via a 6-channel surround sound speaker system....

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WISH) — Indiana plans to rebuild a small section of highway that by next summer could charge electric vehicles being driven. Purdue University and Indiana government’s Department of Transportation, in separate news releases issued Wednesday, touted the construction project as the first highway segment in the nation with wireless charging. Construction could begin as soon as April 1. Neither Purdue or the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) reported how much the project will cost. Indianapolis-based White Construction was awarded a contract to build the wireless power-transfer technology in a quarter-mile of U.S. 231/U.S. 52 between Cumberland Avenue...

Electric-vehicle startup Fisker said on Wednesday it was cutting the prices of its 2023 electric Ocean SUV model, signaling an attempt by the cash-strapped firm to drum up demand and ease concerns regarding its uncertain future. The company slashed the price tag of the entry level version - Ocean Sport - by around 36%, or $14,000, bringing it down to $24,999 from $38,999 earlier. The company said it will reduce the price of the top-end version of the vehicle, called "Extreme", by around 39%, or $24,000, to $37,499. Fisker also cut the price of its Ocean Ultra version to $34,999...

Electric vehicles release more toxic particles into the atmosphere and are worse for the environment than their gas-powered counterparts, according to a resurfaced study. The study, published by emissions data firm Emission Analytics, was released in 2022 but has attracted a wave of attention this week after being cited in a Wall Street Journal op-ed Sunday. It found that brakes and tires on EVs release 1,850 times more particle pollution compared to modern tailpipes, which have “efficient” exhaust filters, bringing gas-powered vehicles’ emissions to new lows. Today, most vehicle-related pollution comes from tire wear. As heavy cars drive on light-duty...

Lucid said on Monday it is raising $1 billion in capital from an affiliate of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), sending the shares of the luxury electric carmaker up about 8%. The latest investment by the sovereign wealth fund underscores a key advantage Lucid has in the race for survival among struggling EV startups. The Saudi government, which has a 60% stake, has invested billions in Lucid’s success as part of a strategy to diversify the Kingdom’s economy beyond oil. Ayar Third Investment Company, a PIF affiliate, will buy $1 billion in convertible preferred stock and will be able...

Anew study by Roland Berger, a global consulting firm, estimates that it will cost over $1 trillion to build out the infrastructure needed to support electric medium and heavy-duty trucks. The study was funded by the Clean Freight Coalition, which includes a number of trucking industry groups. Trucking fleets and operators of charging stations, according to the study, will need to invest $620 billion into new charging infrastructure. This includes the chargers, site infrastructure and utility cost service.

@RepThomasMassie My off-grid home runs on a wrecked Model S Tesla car battery that I repurposed. This is the display I created for it 6 years ago. The upper left graph is a 24 hour history of the net energy into the battery. Today was a great solar day in Kentucky!

The year 1957 is memorable for at least two historic launches. The launch by the Soviet Socialist Union of the Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, prompted the U.S. to create the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) the very next year.Eleven years later, Neil Armstrong stepped out of Apollo 11 and famously proclaimed, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”Barely three years later, Apollo 17 astronaut Eugene Cernan announced the end of the manned space flight experiment: “We shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind.”Many believe that the Challenger launch failure in 1986,...

Stanford University researchers found that the best way to extend the life of a lithium-metal EV battery is to drain it and let it rest for a few hours. The study, “Resting restores performance of discharged lithium-metal batteries,” published on February 7 in the journal Nature, found that this straightforward approach restored battery capacity and boosted overall performance. Study co-lead author Wenbo Zhang, a Stanford PhD student in materials science and engineering, said: We were looking for the easiest, cheapest, and fastest way to improve lithium metal cycling life. We discovered that by resting the battery in the discharged state,...

BMW is introducing a trial fleet of the BMW iX5 hydrogen car throughout the world, including South Africa. The company views hydrogen cars as an addition to battery-electric vehicles (BEVs), not as a rivalry between the two technologies. The iX5 Hydrogen pilot fleet is not meant for commercial use, but the German automaker has begun testing hydrogen-powered cars in South Africa. The hydrogen car trial was revealed during the regional meeting of the Hydrogen Council in Sandton, Johannesburg. BMW has revealed that it will begin testing in collaboration with Anglo-American Platinum and Sasol. The Sasol BMW Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle,...

A full-size van replacement and a Ford Maverick competitor—both of them EVs—have been canceled. * Sources tell us plug-in hybrid versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra are headed to market, in a hurry. * General Motors had been fully committed to all-electric pickups, but problems towing and hauling heavy loads have made EV pickups less attractive to traditional truck buyers. * GM’s change in plans creates uncertainty for Detroit’s Factory Zero, which has been retooled solely for production of battery-electric vehicles such as the GMC Hummer (pictured above). ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ While zero-emissions enthusiasts wait for mass production of General...

Less than 24 hours after lowering prices of its 2023 Mustang Mach-E models in Canada, Ford Motor Company has followed suit in the US, reducing MSRPs of all trims to adapt to slower EV demand. Lease programs offer additional discounts in the US, making the Mach-E more affordable than ever. Additionally, Ford has added new incentives for the F-150 Lightning. It’s been over four years since Ford first unveiled the Mustang Mach-E – an all-electric crossover SUV that took one of its most celebrated nameplates and adapted it for the EV age (met with a mix of love and hate)....

62% of motorists have cut back on driving due to the cost of fuel, and motorists spend an average of €220 per month on vehicle running costs, according to a new report by Carzone, the online car marketplace. In its 2024 motoring report, which is based on a survey of 1000 motorists and activity on the website, it finds 38% of motorists have or plan to reduce the number of cars in their households to cut back on costs. 47% of respondents said their car insurance premiums rose in the last 12 months, which is up 11% on the previous...

According to a recent report out of the United Kingdom, increasingly desperate eclectic vehicle dealers have slashed the prices of their vehicles in an attempt to boost sales by massively ratcheting up discount deals. The attempt to stimulate sales comes despite massive government efforts to boost interest in EVs and limit sales of combustion-powered vehicles. Such is what the UK financial website This Is Money reported in a recent expose on the state of the EV industry in the UK. According to its report, which cited market analysis by What Car?, dealerships have increased the average discount on an EV...

hinese electric-vehicle giant BYD is thinking about building a car assembly plant in Mexico. That’s one way to crack the U.S. market. The possibility of a BYD plant in this region is a big deal and while Tesla, General Motors, and Ford Motor have time to prepare they should start getting ready right now. Wednesday, Nikkei Asia reported that BYD was considering building a car plant in Mexico. Ultimately, that would be the avenue for BYD cars to enter the North American market. BYD didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about its expansion plans. “The company’s spokesperson did...

YouTube Transcript... We've all seen EVS on fire a result of the lithium ion battery which provides the power to the car experiencing a condition known as thermal runaway. This is when one of the individual cells in the battery is either damaged by an impact or just degrades over time to the point where it causes a short circuit. This generates heat in the cell which causes an outcof control chemical reaction to become self- sustaining very quickly the heat spreads to the cells nearby heating them to the point where they also go out of control in a...