Industry
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Soon, Tesla electric cars will cost up to $7,500 more as the automaker is first to reach the 200,000-vehicle threshold for federal tax credits. It means the tax incentives will enter a phase out period. Green Car Reports confirmed with Tesla Thursday that the automaker had passed the 200,000-car ceiling. As a quick refresher, the $7,500 credit will only be available until December 31 before halving to $3,750 for the first six months of 2019. The final six months of 2019 will see the credit drop to $1,875 and then vanish. The tax credits were designed to bring electric cars closer to price...
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Porsche begins installing 800-volt electric charging stations at dealershipsAfter installing the first of many 350-kilowatt, 800-volt charging stations in Berlin, Germany, last year, Porsche has begun erecting the so-called Turbo Charging stations at dealerships. The first dealership is the Porsche Center in Berlin-Adlershof. Four parking spaces feature the new chargers...
Sean Szymkowski -
McLaren lineup will go all-hybrid by 2025, 18 cars in the pipelineElectrification has swept across the auto industry, and McLaren is the latest to commit to an electrified future. McLaren Thursday announced an expansion of its previous Track22 business plan, fittingly called Track25. The updated vision calls for all McLaren cars to feature a hybrid system by...
Sean Szymkowski -
Report: Jaguar Land Rover mulls Lynk & Co. rival with Chinese partnerJaguar Land Rover may have plans for a new brand in China with its local joint venture partner, Chery. According to a report from Autocar published Thursday, JLR is keen to improve its presence in China and may do so with a new brand to rival Volvo and Geely's Lynk & Co. While Lynk & Co. is...
Sean Szymkowski -
Bosch and Daimler pick Nvidia AI chip for self-driving carsBosch and Daimler, two of Germany's biggest automotive firms, announced Wednesday that they have selected Nvidia's Drive Pegasus artificial intelligence computer chip and supporting software to power their future self-driving systems. The computer chip can handle over 320 trillion operations per...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Tesla reveals plans for Chinese plant as new tariffs start to biteTesla has been hinting at a Chinese plant since 2014 and now the automaker has finally confirmed one. Following a meeting Tuesday with Chinese officials, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Shanghai would become the first location for one of its so-called Gigafactories outside the United States. The new plant...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW said on Monday that it will add production of some of its SUVs in China and increase prices on vehicles built in its Spartanburg, South Carolina, plant sold in China, according to a report from The Post and Courier. A BMW spokesman told Motor Authority on Monday that the German automaker is adding X3 production in China, and said that "production levels at BMW Plant Spartanburg are not affected." The move comes in response to a 40-percent tariff on SUVs built in the U.S. levied by China. China's tariffs were retaliation for tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on $34 billion worth of...
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Toyota supports hydrogen-powered autonomous boatToyota is one of a few major automakers that has thrown its weight behind hydrogen as a future fuel source, and the Japanese firm is taking its learnings around the globe and to the open seas. Toyota announced last week that it will support the Energy Observer, a hydrogen-powered autonomous boat...
Sean Szymkowski -
Report: Infiniti and Mercedes-Benz no longer working on joint compact car projectIn 2010, Renault-Nissan and Mercedes-Benz parent company Daimler agreed to a share-trading partnership that was rumored to birth a new luxury-compact car. Eight years later, a new report claims that vehicle is dead. Following a report from the daily business publication Nikkan Kogyo claiming the...
Sean Szymkowski -
FCA has developed a new aluminum alloy for turbocharged engines to better withstand heatIt's a common engineering practice: find ways to improve performance without sacrificing efficiency. In the automotive world, it means more horsepower and better fuel economy. Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles has a solution in a new aluminum alloy that can better withstand heat as the boost is cranked up...
Sean Szymkowski -
Volvo launching M brand, but this one stands for "mobility"Volvo Car Group announced on Wednesday it is launching a new brand, and it's called M. Not to be confused with BMW's legendary M division, Volvo's M brand simply stands for "mobility." M's mission will be to provide "on-demand access" to cars and services through a smartphone application. However...
Sean Szymkowski -
Tesla chief vehicle engineer not returning from leave of absenceTesla has lost one of its top engineers in Doug Field, who will not return after taking a leave of absence from the electric-car maker in May. The Wall Street Journal first reported on Field's departure on Monday, the same day Tesla announced it had reached its goal of 5,000 Model 3 electric cars...
Sean Szymkowski -
After the company's latest round of investor funding, Lyft is now worth an estimated $15.1 billion. Fresh cash in the amount of $600 million pushed the ride-sharing company to its latest heights. Tech Crunch reported on Thursday that Fidelity Management & Research Company led the investments and has contributed $800 million to date. The firm is one of Lyft's largest investors. The ride-sharing company, a major rival to Uber, has grown substantially in the United States over the past year—partially due to some major missteps by Uber itself. Lyft's market share has grown to 35 percent...
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Will GM's first self-driving car be called AV1?General Motors has filed to trademark a potential name for its first self-driving car. Filed on June 21, GM moved to protect the "AV1" name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Some may find similarities with the AV1 name to EV1—GM's first electric car. The EV1 bowed in 1996...
Sean Szymkowski -
Waymo needs “large number” of cars for European self-driving fleetWaymo CEO John Krafcik has revealed that the mobility company will need to add a “large number” of additional cars to its growing fleet of self-driving cars as it prepares to enter Europe. In an interview with Handelsblatt published Thursday, Krafcik explained that all announcements so...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Hong Kong firm to buy 45 percent of Faraday FutureRemember Faraday Future? The cash-strapped electric car startup hasn't been in the headlines of late but it isn't dead yet. In fact, the company may have been thrown a lifeline in the form of a stake sale to Hong Kong firm Evergrande Health Industry Group, a subsidiary of property developer China...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Jaguar Land Rover increase electrification investment to $18BJaguar Land Rover plans to increase its investment into electrification for future electric cars by 25 percent, the automaker said in an investor presentation Monday. The added investment will see the figure climb to $18 billion total by 2025, Bloomberg reported. JLR cited poor demand for diesel...
Sean Szymkowski -
VW's MOIA mobility group wants to take on Uber and LyftThe Volkswagen Group has lagged behind in the mobility segment, but the automaker jumped in with both feet in 2016 with the launch of the MOIA mobility unit, which last December rolled out an electric ride-sharing concept. But VW doesn't want MOIA to just provide ride-sharing and carpooling...
Sean Szymkowski -
Veteran Volkswagen Group engineer Wolfgang Hatz has been released after nine months in jail after providing $3.5 million in bail money, German prosecutors have confirmed. He was arrested last September during investigations into the VW Group's diesel scandal. Although he is yet to be charged, the prosecutors in accordance with German law decided to place him in jail because he refused to give testimony, Handelsblatt reported last week. Hatz was serving as R&D chief at Porsche at the time of his arrest. Prior to the role he was head of powertrain development at the Audi and Volkswagen...
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VW, suppliers form alliance to help standardize self-driving car techAs numerous automakers and technology companies continue to race toward the commercialization of self-driving cars, some fear a lack of standardization will harm innovation. The Volkswagen Group and a number of suppliers hope to remedy that with a new alliance. Called the Networking for Autonomous...
Sean Szymkowski -
McLaren CEO calls for "weight race" instead of power raceIf you're a fan of horsepower, then you are living in a golden age. For example, there's a Dodge sedan out there with over 700 horsepower. If you're playing in the hypercar space, then you are also playing near the four-figure power club. McLaren is no stranger here, as its P1 produces 903 total...
Jeff Glucker -
Ford and VW Group explore potential of joint vehicle developmentFord and the Volkswagen Group announced last week plans to discuss various partnerships, including the joint development of vehicles. The two auto giants specifically mentioned joint development of a range of commercial vehicles, which has led to rumors that next-generation versions of the Ford...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
VW targets solid-state battery production by 2025Solid-state batteries have the potential to realize a major step up in performance and safety of electric cars, which is why every major automaker worth its salt is investigating the technology. The latest to make its endevors known is the Volkswagen Group, which on Thursday announced a $100...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Germany plans to test Audi-Airbus flying taxiAt this year's Geneva auto show, Audi joined Airbus and Italdesign to show off the Pop.Up Next concept. But, the flying taxi may not be a concept for long. The German government signed a letter of intent to test the flying taxi in Ingolstadt, Audi's hometown, according to an Engadget report. The...
Sean Szymkowski