Scooter Doll

Chinese automaker NIO has officially begun initial test drives for its electric luxury ET7 sedan. Chinese customers had their drive experiences at the NIO House in Hefei, Anhui province, ahead of ET7 deliveries scheduled for the end of this month.

Imagine a not so distance future where you’re sitting in your electric vehicle (something truly luxurious since you’re so successful in the future), and you’re looking back on this list below and comparing predictions to your current world. You sip your ketone-infused coffee and take a bite of your zero-carb croissant while you answer emails using your glasses. In this future your vehicle is doing all the driving for you, so you can focus on your breakfast and the latest Electrek news. Look at you … crushing it. This autonomous-vehicle future may not be so far away (and will likely arrive before a zero carb croissant, to be honest), but which countries are making the most moves to support autonomous vehicles? A study by confused.com offers a comprehensive list below.

Nuvve Holding Corp. has announced a new partnership with energy management provider Swell Energy Power to integrate each company’s respective technologies to accelerate EV adoption. The companies are combining Nuvve’s cloud-based vehicle-to-grid EV charging technology with Swell’s solar energy and battery storage to create one holistic system for both residential and commercial customers.

Swedish automaker, Volvo Cars, shared news that it is testing wireless EV charging technology in a live city environment to evaluate its potential. The stations in Gothenburg, Sweden will offer wireless charging to Volvo XC40 Recharge EVs operated by taxi company, Cabonline, over the next three years.

Kia Corporation has followed parent company, Hyundai Motor Group, by delivering its own Investor Day virtual event, outlining its roadmap to further sustainability by 2030. The strategy includes 14 BEV models in the Kia lineup by 2027, as well as an expectation of 1.2 million BEV sales annually by 2030. Additionally, Kia will deliver its own dedicated purpose-built vehicles starting in 2025.

Ahead of deliveries this spring, Ford Motor Company has shared footage of its highly anticipated F-150 Lightning enduring winter testing through snow and ice. The trove of footage was gathered over two weeks in Alaska, where Ford engineers fine tuned the all-electric pickup in -30℉ temperatures.

Zero-emission bus manufacturer, Letenda, has unveiled its flagship Electrip electric bus designed specifically to navigate the harsh winter conditions in Canada. The all-electric city bus is the flagship vehicle for Letenda following six years of research and development, alongside help from partners like Cummins.

During its 2022 CEO Investor Day forum, Hyundai Motor Group outlined its electrification strategy through 2030, which includes 17 new BEV models. The accelerated approach to electrification includes an investment of nearly $80 billion in hardware and software technologies, as Hyundai Motor looks to capture 7% of the global EV market by the end of the decade.

Swedish EV brand Polestar has provided further evidence of its break from the DNA of parent Volvo Cars, unveiling its second concept vehicle, the Polestar O₂. This all-electric, hard-top convertible builds off the automaker’s Precept concept and further showcases what Polestar has planned for its future EVs from both a design and sustainability standpoint. Whether cinematic drones will be included or not remains uncertain, however.

Multinational automotive manufacturer Stellantis has officially joined the electric revolution by recently outlining its blueprint for net zero carbon emissions by 2038. The conglomerate’s strategy, called Dare Forward 2030, calls for 50% of US vehicle sales and 100% of European sales to be BEVs by the end of the decade. Stellantis also teased two upcoming EVs under its marques: Jeep’s first electric SUV and a Ram 1500 BEV pickup said to deliver some leading performance.

Kia America has announced a new partnership with mobile charging service, Currently, to provide its drivers with on-demand EV charging when and where they please. The initial rollout of this partnership will provide Currently’s charging service to Kia owners in three major California cities to begin, before expanding to other metropolitan areas in the future.

Lucid Motors shared 4Q and 2021 financial earnings with investors today, alongside a 2022 outlook. While the automaker only delivered 125 of its flagship Air sedan in 2021, it has already surpassed that number in 2022. However, overall output is expected to be quite a bit lower than originally anticipated. Lucid now expects to produce 12,000–14,000 EVs this year, down quite a bit from previous estimates of 20,000.

The California Energy Commission (CEC) published a recent docket recommending widespread adoption of ISO-15118 chargers in order to support current and upcoming electric vehicle features. This includes nascent technologies such and Plug and Charge and Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) capabilities.

Electric conversion and purpose-built EV specialists Lightning eMotors announced it has completed a 102,000 sq. foot expansion of its manufacturing facility in Loveland, Colorado. With the expansion, Lightning eMotors expects an output of 1,500 zero-emission vehicles and powertrains by the end of 2022 on its goal to scale to a capacity of 20,000 by 2025.

US public charging network, EVgo, has announced a commercial agreement with Toyota Motor North America to provide upcoming bZ4X customers with one year of free charging on its network. Toyota is EVgo’s latest automotive partner as it looks to continue to expand its public charging network and expedite EV adoption for US consumers.

Ford’s Chief Executive Officer, Jim Farley, recently spoke during a virtual auto tech conference held by Wolfe Research, in which he spoke about Ford’s plans for the future. During the webcast, the Ford CEO specifically named Tesla and NIO as its biggest competitors, vowing to beat them. He also denied previously reported rumors about Ford’s plans for spinoffs to increase value.

Southern California EV startup Faraday Future unveiled a pre-production version of its long-fabled FF 91 EV. This EV marks the beginning of pre-production ahead of engineering validation and certification testing, as the vehicle approaches the start of production in Q3 of 2022.

Solid-state battery developer, QuantumScape, has shared plans for a new office in Kyoto, Japan, which will feature a state-of-the-art lab for battery research and development. The company hopes to work alongside experienced battery scientists in the Asia-Pacific region to further develop and manufacturer it battery technologies for electric vehicles.

Ahead of an opening of orders on March 1, the 2022 Nissan LEAF will arrive in the UK and Europe with a refreshed exterior look. The 2022 models will include new alloy wheels, Nissan brand badges, and new exterior color choices. However, not much else has changed compared to previous model year LEAFs, including the decision to stick with the lame duck CHAdeMO charging port.

Swedish EV automaker Polestar has begun sharing its initial list of potential collaborators for its Polestar 0 Project – the company’s initiative to change the way cars are made by eliminating emissions from the entire supply chain. In addition to announcing the industry suppliers on board, Polestar is extending a global call for collaboration over the next month to garner even more support.

Lucid Group announced a recall of 203 of its flagship Air luxury sedans today, citing a potential issue surrounding the installation of the front strut damper in the suspension. This appears to be a precautionary recall as no failures of the part have been reported yet, according to Lucid Motors.

BYD has announced that Swedish freight technology company, Einride, has purchased 200 of its 8TT battery-electric trucks – the company’s largest heavy-duty BEV sale outside of Asia. The BYD electric trucks will be built in the US and delivered to Einride over the next 12 months to support its fleet customers stateside.

Volkswagen of America has shared its EPA-estimated ranges for the 2022 versions of its ID.4 Pro electric SUV. While each of the 2022 trims of the ID.4 Pro saw range increases, it was the RWD version that saw the biggest jump to 280 miles compared to 260 in Volkswagen’s 2021 model.

North American EV charging network Electrify America has announced a collaboration with Kia America to provide 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of free charging to EV6 customers. According to EA, this should equate to about 3,500-4,000 miles of complimentary charging.