French postal vans will test Michelin airless tires

Michelin Uptis airless tire on French postal vanMichelin will test airless tires on French postal vans, providing more real-world experience with tire designs that could be beneficial to EVs. La Poste, the French postal service, plans to fit Michelin Uptis airless tires to 40 delivery vans by 2024, according to a Michelin press release. Three vehicles should already be in service by the time...

GM acquires more smarts for EV battery health

GM electric pickup silhouette  -  from 2020 Ultium platform previewGeneral Motors has acquired Israel-based battery startup ALGOLiON for an undisclosed amount, with the aim of developing new ways to track EV battery health. ALGOLiON has developed software that uses data from EV battery management systems to help identify anomalies in individual cells, which could provide early detection of thermal runaway events...

Bespoke, electric: How the first Rolls-Royce EV took form

2024 Rolls-Royce SpectreThe prestige luxury brand Rolls-Royce announced in 2021 that it would be going fully electric by 2030. That seemed a particularly bold assertion for a brand that up until then hadn’t ever offered an EV. But now the first of the fully electric Rolls-Royce, the Spectre coupe, is headed for first deliveries late this year, and the brand’s...

Rivian made progress ramping up EV production in Q2

2023 Rivian R1TRivian built 13,992 vehicles and delivered 12,640 vehicles in the second quarter of 2023, the automaker reported Monday. These new Q2 numbers are up significantly versus the 9,395 vehicles made and 7,946 delivered in the first quarter. And they show that Rivian isn't falling much farther behind on deliveries. A Rivian press release said these...

Supplier claims a third more winter EV range with thermal tech

Porsche Taycan ZF EVbeat prototypeAutomotive supplier ZF recently unveiled a Porsche Taycan prototype with a number of new components that the company claims can boost cold-weather range by up to a third. The key to this is what ZF calls a central thermal management system that handles temperature control for both the powertrain and cabin. This is based around a central...

Will Tesla Supercharger reliability extend to other brands’ EVs?

Tesla SuperchargerA shift to Tesla’s NACS connector in future EVs, and Tesla Supercharger compatibility even sooner, has now been announced by enough automakers to declare it the majority charging standard for EVs in North America for the foreseeable future. And while automaker press releases and statements have pointed primarily to the number of charge...