Assorted Electric Vehicle News
Lynk & Co’s new medium-sized SUV Lynk & Co 08 official image has finally been officially released, and it is expected to be launched in 2023. The car has a 12.3” full LCD instrument panel and a 15.4” floating central control screen, providing a HUD system with a wider field of view. The 08 will be equipped with the Meizu Flyme Auto car-machine system for the first time. In terms of power, the car will be equipped with the Lynk E-Motive intelligent electric hybrid system, which consists of a newly developed four-cylinder electric hybrid engine and electric hybrid gearbox. It is expected to mainly promote the 1.5T EM-P plug-in hybrid system. The comprehensive cruising range can exceed 1000 kilometers.(My Drivers, Sina, Techgoing)
Archer Aviation and United Airlines have announced a partnership to launch a commercial air taxi route in Chicago. The companies plan to open the flight path between downtown and O’Hare International Airport in 2025. Besides being United’s headquarters and largest hub, Chicago’s airport commute makes it an ideal testbed for flying taxis. Archer describes the upcoming route as “cost competitive” for passengers without going into specifics. In 2022, the airline ordered at least 200 electric flying taxis from Eve Air Mobility; that followed a USD10M deposit it placed with Archer the month prior.(Engadget, Archer)
Volkswagen has unveiled its affordable, mass-market electric vehicle in the form of a concept called the ID.2all. With a starting price of EUR25,000 (USD26,600) and an estimated range of 450km (279 miles), it is intended to be that most elusive thing: a plug-in vehicle for the people. VW outlined a strategy that includes an investment of EUR180B (USD193B) over 5 years in areas including battery production and raw materials, as it seeks to slash the cost of EV production and overtake Tesla and others by increasing its market share. The production version of the ID. 2all will be built atop the second-generation version of VW’s modular “MEB” electric vehicle platform.(The Verge, Volkswagen)
Rivian is in discussions with Amazon to dissolve the exclusivity piece of their commercial EV van deal. If successful, Rivian would be free to sell its commercial all-electric vans to other customers. Amazon has confirmed that the exclusivity deal still stands. Amazon is both a customer and investor in Rivian. Amazon holds about a 17% stake in Rivian. The two companies reached an agreement in 2019 that requires Rivian to sell to Amazon all of the vans it produces. At the time, Amazon said it had ordered 100,000 vans as part of an effort to reduce its climate impact.(TechCrunch, WSJ)
Ford has revealed plans for a second electric truck, codenamed Project T3, during a press conference at Ford’s USD5.6B BlueOval City EV mega-campus. The automaker says construction is on track to begin production in 2025. After capping the year off with 61,575 electric vehicle sales (up 126% YOY) in 2022, Ford became the second-largest EV maker in the US, behind only Tesla. To accelerate EV production, Ford revealed plans in 2021 for its “largest, most advanced and efficient auto complex” in the automaker’s rich 118-year history. The project, called BlueOval City, is being constructed on a nearly 6-square-mile site in Stanton, Tennessee, that Ford says will build next-generation electric F-series and lithium-ion batteries. (TechCrunch, Ford, Electrek)
Gogoro and Cycle & Carriage Singapore (C&C) have announced a partnership with leading food delivery platform Foodpanda in a battery swapping pilot that will support smart electric two-wheel vehicles for last mile deliveries in Singapore. The partnership follows Singapore Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) announcement in 2022 that it awarded Gogoro and C&C with a battery swapping sandbox pilot for electric two-wheel vehicles. As announced in Sept 2022, Gogoro and C&C have partnered to introduce a new and more efficient approach to electric refueling for two-wheel delivery fleets using Gogoro’s six-second Swap & Go battery swapping. (TechCrunch, PR Newswire, Yahoo)
