electric

I’ve hoped to see an electric Mini make it to market ever since BMW produced a few hundreds all-electric “MINI E” cars to test its electric drivetrain technology for what eventually became its “i” electric brand, but the vehicle never made it to a wide release.

Now although not fully electric, we should “pretty soon” see the first electric vehicle from BMW’s popular Mini brand, according to a brand representative.
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After unveiling the 2017 Porsche 911 Turbo and Turbo S (see picture above) at the Detroit Auto Show this week,  911 program manager Dr Erhard Mossle revealed that the automaker plans to introduce a plug-in hybrid version of its flagship sport car.
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(Thanks to Zac Hall for images and video and checking out the back seats/CarPlay)

I have two electric cars at home – a plug-in Prius and a base model 2013 Tesla Model S. Yesterday, I drove the car that felt like their natural offspring: the compact crossover Chevy Bolt…
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In his latest letter to the Lit Motors community, CEO Daniel Kim, who recently suffered from a severe motorcycle accident and is now recovering from a hip replacement, says the company is making progress on its electric self-balancing motorcycle, but they are still not ready to offer a timeline to production.
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We reported earlier today about Ford preparing to unveil a plug-in vehicle at the Detroit Auto Show next month, but apparently that leak was only a teaser as Ford just announced that it is getting really serious about electric cars with $4.5 billion in investment and 13 new electric models coming to its lineup by 2020.
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Yesterday Detroit Electric announced it finally started production on the SP:01, a Lotus Exige-based electric sport car. The company released on its Facebook page a picture (see above) of the first few cars rolling off the production line in Leamington Spa, U.K.

If an electric sport car based on a Lotus rings a bell for you, it’s probably because of the Tesla Roadster which was based on the Elise and at first also assembled by Lotus in England, although Tesla ended up repatriating most of the assembly process in U.S.
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NHTSA submitted a recall report earlier this week for Daimler to recall all Mercedes electric B-Class over a problem with Tesla’s drivetrain. The report, which we embed below, perfectly highlights the need for over-the-air updates across the whole automotive industry. According to the filing, the recall is due to a problem with the gateway software of the electric powertrain, which is supplied by Tesla Motors, and affects all 2,618 Mercedes electric B-Class produced between November 2013 and May 2015.
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Just a few months after first speaking about the company’s plan to build an electric version of the Rapide, Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer unveiled in London the all-electric vehicle earlier today during a state visit from the President of China, Xi Jinping.
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When Google originally showcased the newer low-speed “cute-mobile” self-driving car, it mentioned a goal of having about 100 of them on the road for testing within a couple years. Now, as the company is bringing its low-speed electric prototypes to Austin a year later, Sarah Hunter, head of policy for Google [X], has revealed that the company is expanding production of the cars (via The Guardian). Hunter says that Google is now producing at least a “few hundred” and hints at a potential future of mass-production…
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According to a new report from a German publication, Auto Motor und Sport, Mercedes will not use Tesla’s drivetrain for the next generation of electric B-Class. Mercedes will bring more development in-house to try to achieve a range of 500 km (311 miles). It’s not clear when the next generation is due.

Tesla Motors has a long-standing partnership with the German automaker. In 2009, Daimler, the company behind the Mercedes brand, acquired a ~10% stake in Tesla. Tesla started supplying electric drivetrains to Daimler for the Smart EV and then later on developed a new electric motor and battery pack for Mercedes’ B-Class which started deliveries late last year. 
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Earlier this year, Polaris bought the electric motorcycle maker Brammo. A few weeks ago, we wrote about Vicotry, which is a Polaris brand, unveiling the Empulse TT. As we explained, the TT is pretty much just a rebranding of Brammo’s own Empulse R, but rebranding aside, last week, Polaris unveiled the first all-new electric vehicle resulting from the acquisition of Brammo : the RANGER EV Li-Ion Polaris Pursuit Camo.
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Apple and BMW have engaged in negotiations over Apple’s interest in using BMW’s i3 electric cars as a basis for its own electric car project, according to a new report from German publication…

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From 9to5Toys.com:

Using your own muscles to propel a bike or skateboard is so played out in 2015. We’ve seen the lightest e-bike on the road and now a group of inventors is showing off “the world lightest” electric vehicle of any kind on Kickstarter.

The Stary Board is enjoying massive success after a few weeks, raising more than double its goal in that time. Weighing in less than most newborn babies at nine pounds, this new skateboard promises fast speeds at a low cost. 
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Samsung has acquired the battery pack business of leading automotive parts supplier Magna International. The move, according to a statement from the companies, will “enhance Samsung SDI’s capabilities in batteries for electric vehicles.”

While Samsung producing batteries and energy storage solutions for vehicles isn’t exactly new—it already supplies batteries for Tesla and others—there is an Apple Car connection in its latest acquisition…
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