Lincoln is finally ready to say more about its electrified future. Ford’s upscale badge has teased its first EV concept ahead of an official unveiling on April 20th. The company didn’t offer much beyond a brief peek at the vehicle’s outlines, but did say in a statement that the concept would serve as an “inspiration” for EVs arriving soon.
The automaker previously said its Zephyr Reflection concept sedan would serve as an aesthetic reference point for future EVs. The teaser you see here isn’t a one-for-one match (the logo on the side isn’t present on the Reflection, for example), but the sloping roof line suggests Lincoln is happy to borrow some design cues.
The Lincoln brand is expected to electrify its full lineup by 2030, with half of its vehicles producing zero emissions by 2025. This includes an electric version of the Aviator SUV. The concept’s imminent debut isn’t a surprise, then — the company has just eight years to dramatically expand its EV selection.
Sanctuary reimagined. On April 20, 2022, Lincoln’s fully electric concept makes its global debut signaling what’s to come for our electric vehicles in the future. Stay tuned for more! pic.twitter.com/7gUtPHnNgw
Solid-state batteries promise to shake up the electric car world by reducing prices and improving performance, and Nissan wants to be one of the earliest adopters. The automaker now plans to release its first EV with completely solid-state batteries by the company’s fiscal 2028. To that end, it just unveiled a prototype production facility for these batteries at a Japanese research center and will open a pilot manufacturing line in Yokohama in fiscal 2024.
The shift away from conventional batteries is already expected to make EVs considerably more affordable thanks to the use of less expensive materials. Nissan aims to reduce the cost of solid-state batteries to $75 per kilowatt-hour in 2028, and $65 afterward. EVs would cost roughly as much as gas-based cars at those prices, Nissan said.
The technology has other benefits. Solid-state batteries charge faster and offer roughly twice the energy density of existing lithium-ion batteries, potentially delivering greater range, reduced weight and shorter recharging times. Those, in turn, could make EVs practical for would-be owners
Nissan isn’t the only brand racing to introduce solid-state batteries. Toyota, for instance, expects to use the technology in hybrid vehicles by 2025. However, this is one of the clearest and more ambitious strategies for the tech. It also suggests that Nissan’s still-small EV range will expand significantly in the next few years as electrification becomes practical for more of its lineup.
Tesla will finally start selling the Cybertruck next year, Elon Musk has announced at the opening party for the company’s Giga Texas factory. During his presentation on stage, Musk showed off the production Cybertruck vehicle, which still looks like the previous versions, except its doors no longer have handles. The car will be able to tell that you’re there and will know that it’s supposed to open the doors. He also apologized for the delay on releasing the Cybertruck that was first announced back in 2019. Tesla’s original (and highly optimistic) target release date was 2021, but it delayed the vehicle’s launch to 2022, and now to 2023.
The automaker will manufacture the Cybertruck at its Texas Gigafactory, which it expects to become the “highest volume” car factory in America. Musk touched upon its other planned Gigactories around the world, as well, and how manufacturing vehicles near where they’re going to be shipped is much more environmentally friendly. This year is all about scaling up production — a scale that “no company has ever achieved in the history of humanity,” Musk said during the presentation — while next year is all about releasing a “massive wave of new products.”
In addition to the Cybertruck, the company also plans to release the Tesla Semi EV next year, as well as other products it hasn’t revealed yet. The electric big rig that’s designed to haul cargo across long distances was supposed to be released in 2019, but its launch also got pushed back a few times. Tesla’s Optimus humanoid robot will also start production in 2023, Musk said, and will be designed to accomplish any task humans don’t want to do. Another future product we can apparently look forward is a dedicated robotaxi that will be designed to look quite futuristic. Before all those, however, Tesla will be launching a wide beta of its Full Self-driving Technology in North America this year.
You can watch Musk announce Cybertruck’s new launch date below:
Volvo now offers over-the-air (OTA) software updates across its entire vehicle lineup, it announced. After first introducing it on all-electric models like the XC40, it’s bringing the feature over to all new XC90, S60 and V60 ICE and hybrid vehicles.
The latest update (Volvo’s eighth so far) will roll out to over 190,000 vehicles this week. Owners will get the latest version of Android Automotive OS with Android 11 on their infotainment systems, with new app categories on Google Play ranging from navigation to charging and parking. Video streaming is expected to arrive later in the year.
Volvo S60 interior
Volvo
It also brings feature improvements around energy management, climate timers and mobile app functionality. The energy management updates will help keep the battery temperatures stable in both warm and cold weather to boost range and lower charging times. You’ll also see more frequent charging percentage updates during sessions.
Tesla pioneered over-the-air software updates on its Model S, X, 3 and other vehicles, assuring buyers that their EVs would get features found on newer models. It not only updates the software for entertainment and other systems (SOTA), but also firmware controlling the hardware (FOTA). Most automakers now offer some form of OTA updates, but many (BMW, Audi, Fiat) only deliver SOTA updates to the infotainment systems.
Others, including GM and Ford, offer more extensive updates to vehicle systems, allowing them to improve range, performance and other factors. Volvo appears to fall into that category, improving not just the navigation and entertainment systems but charging and other features as well. It also promised that the infotainment system, developed jointly with Google, will feature on all new models across its lineup.
GM and Honda will co-develop a series of affordable EVs using a global architecture and GM’s Ultium battery technology, the companies announced. They promised to build vehicles in multiple product segments, including the compact crossover category, calling it a “new chapter” in their partnership. That significantly expands on previous news that Honda would create two EVs using GM’s battery technology.
“GM and Honda will share our best technology, design and manufacturing strategies to deliver affordable and desirable EVs on a global scale, including our key markets in North America, South America and China,” said GM CEO and chair Mary Barra.
The companies promised to share technology, design and sourcing strategies, while working toward “standardizing equipment and processes to achieve world-class quality, higher throughput and greater affordability,” GM’s press release states. The companies will also discuss EV battery collaboration in an effort to drive down costs and improve performance and sustainability.
The Honda E
Engadget
The word “affordable” comes up a lot in the press release, as both companies emphasized the idea of building cheaper EVs than are currently available. “Honda and GM will build on our successful technology collaboration to help achieve a dramatic expansion in the sales of electric vehicles,” said Honda president & CEO Toshihiro Mibe.
The tie-up makes a lot of sense, particularly for Honda, which has lagged way behind rivals in terms of EV development. By joining forces with GM, it can share development costs and contribute its considerable BEV and hybrid expertise. The two automakers previously announced a collaboration in 2018 to produce autonomous vehicles, with Honda taking a stake in GM’s Cruise self-driving division. The companies also joined force on hydrogen fuel cells.
Honda recently showed that it can build EVs with the Honda E, a cute and technologically advanced vehicle with limited battery range, designed mostly for urban use. More recently, it unveiled a pair of vehicles it’s developing with GM including the Prologue, to be launched in early 2024, followed by Acura’s first EV SUV.
GM, meanwhile, continues to develop its Ultium battery tech that uses pouch- and prismatic-style cells rather than cylindrical cells like Tesla. The aim to use it in up to 30-plus vehicles over the coming years, with the first models arriving in 2023. GM affirmed that it would release “a new all-electric product for North America positioned at a price point lower than the upcoming Chevrolet Equinox EV, building on the 2 million units of EV capacity the company plans to install by the end of 2025.”
After years of teasing, the DeLorean Motor Company announced on Monday that it will unveil an all-electric vehicle on August 18th, promising to share its official name at the same time. Details on the concept car are scant, but what the automaker did share is that it worked with Italdesign, best known for its work with Volkswagen, to design the upcoming car. Judging from the DeLorean’s website, the vehicle will feature the iconic gull-wing doors of the DMC-12.
— DeLorean Motor Company (@deloreanmotorco) April 4, 2022
To be clear, the company making the DeLorean EV isn’t the same one that produced the DMC-12. The DeLorean Motor Company of Texas is known for restoring vintage DeLorean vehicles, billing itself as the largest source of parts for the defunct brand that made the original. We’ll also note it’s been talking about electrification since 2011 when it said it was working on making an all-electric DeLorean with a 100-mile range.
Tesla delivered 310,048 vehicles over the first three months of 2022, the automaker announced on Saturday. “This was an exceptionally difficult quarter due to supply chain interruptions and China Zero-Covid policy,” Musk said on Twitter shortly after T…
BMW has developed the first fully electric 3 series vehicle — but it will only be available in China. In May 2022, the BMW i3 eDrive35L model that’s based on the automaker’s line of compact cars, will enter the Chinese market. It uses BMW’s 5th-gen eDrive powertrain that’s also found in the BMW iX3, BMW i4 and BMW iX. The four-door sedan will also be the first 3 Series car with the company’s OS8 operating system and its features, including Digital Key, which turns the owner’s smartphone into a key for their vehicle.
In its announcement, BMW also shared some key data about the EV, including its 281 horsepower max output and 295 pound-feet of maximum torque. It can apparently go from zero to 62 mph in 6.2 seconds, and it can reach a charge of 80 percent within 35 minutes of being plugged in. Fully charged, it has an estimated range of 327 miles, which is longer than that of the basic BMW i4’s.
The automaker says the 3 Series line led the premium-compact segment in China in 2021, so releasing an electrified version in the region makes sense for the company. BMW even even fine-tuned and customized the EV’s suspension system for Chinese road conditions and will assemble the vehicle at a plant in Lydia, Shenyang.
The i3 eDrive35L EV is BMW’s sixth all—electric model. Similar to rival automakers that are aiming to make a complete shift towards electric vehicles over the coming 10 to 20 years, BMW also ramped up its electrification goals last year. It announced that the last Mini with a combustion engine will be released in 2025 and that it expects its all-electric vehicles to account for 50 percent of its global sales by 2030.
