Panasonic Announces Multi-Year Agreement to Supply Electric Vehicle Batteries to Lucid Group

Panasonic Energy Co., Ltd. and Luxury electric automaker Lucid Group have entered into a multi-year agreement to supply batteries for Lucid’s electric vehicles, including the Lucid Air sedan and forthcoming Gravity SUV. The battery supply deal aligns with Panasonic’s goal of expanding battery production outside of its home country of Japan. The company plans to expand the production of EV batteries in the U.S. to meet growing demand from automakers.

Eric Walz2022-12-13 10:00 PT

Apple Delays its Long Rumored Electric ‘Apple Car’ Until 2026, According to Sources

​The much-anticipated electric "Apple Car" from technology giant Apple Inc. won’t be here until at least 2026, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday citing sources familiar with the company's plans. It also appears that Apple is abandoning the Apple Car’s SAE Level-5 autonomous driving technology for a more simplified self-driving system for highways.

FutureCar Staff 2022-12-06 15:30 PT

Tesla’s Model 3 is Reportedly Getting a Redesign to Make it More Appealing as Competition in the EV Segment Grows

The Tesla Model 3 is getting a big update that's aimed at cutting production costs, as well as making it more appealing to car shoppers. Tesla also aims to improve performance and reduce the number of components and complexity in the interior of the electric sedan. The Model 3 redesign project is codenamed “Highland" and is expected to enter production in the third quarter of 2023.

Eric Walz2022-11-28 10:30 PT

Tesla Rival NIO Reports a Record 31,607 Electric Vehicles Deliveries in Q3 as Demand Grows

Electric vehicle manufacturer NIO Inc., which is one of Tesla’s biggest rivals in China, reported strong Q3 results on Thursday boosted by growing demand for its technology-packed electric vehicles. NIO delivered 31,607 vehicles in the third quarter of 2022, which represents a 26.1% jump from 25,059 EVs in Q2 and a 29.3% jump from the same period last year.

FutureCar Staff 2022-11-10 11:15 PT

California’s Electric Vehicle Sales for Q1-Q3 2022 Show That Tesla is Facing Growing Competition

Recent data from California's Energy Commission, which tracks sales of zero emissions electric vehicles and hybrid modes in the state, show that Tesla's market share is declining now that car buyers in California have more choices when shopping for an EV. These new Tesla rivals include Rivian, Hyundai, BMW, Volkswagen, Ford Motor Co, Audi, Mercedes-Benz and General Motors, all of which have introduced fully-electric models over the past several years.

FutureCar Staff 2022-11-04 11:00 PT

Construction of Panasonic’s New EV Battery Factory in Kansas to Start in November

Tesla’s long-time battery partner Panasonic will begin construction of its new electric vehicle battery factory in Kansas in November, as the company aims to ramp up production to meet growing demand from automakers. The factory initially will produce 30 GWh of cylindrical lithium ion (Li-ion) 2170 batteries. Mass production of battery cells at the plant in De Soto, Kansas is targeted to begin by the end of March 2025.

Eric Walz2022-10-31 09:15 PT

Volkswagen CEO Believes It Will Overtake Tesla in EV Sales by 2025

Speaking with CNBC, VW CEO Herbert Diess stated that alleviating supply chain issues would create some momentum for the automaker to overtake Tesla in sales of electric vehicles within the next few years.

Vineeth Joel Patel2022-10-21 05:00 PT

New Premium Electric Vehicle Brand Zeekr Is Exploring IPO Options in the U.S. or Hong Kong, According to Sources

New electric vehicle brand Zeekr Intelligent Technology Ltd. (“Zeekr”), which is owned by Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group ("Geely"), is mulling plans to launch an IPO in either the U.S. or Hong Kong. Geely announced the Zeekr in March 2021 as a standalone brand to compete with Tesla, XPeng, NIO Inc. and others in the premium EV category in China. The company is targeting tech-savvy, younger customers more likely to purchase an electric vehicle.

FutureCar Staff 2022-10-01 12:25 PT

Tesla Rival XPeng and Alibaba Cloud Set Up China’s Largest Cloud-Based Computing Center to Train Machine Learning Models for Autonomous Driving

Electric vehicle manufacturer XPeng Inc, which is becoming one of Tesla’s biggest rivals in China with its high tech EVs, has set up a data center with Alibaba Cloud to train its autonomous driving systems. The cloud-based data center will be used to train XPeng’s machine learning models to improve the autonomous driving capabilities of its vehicles much more quickly.

Eric Walz2022-09-10 10:00 PT

Lucid Group Hires Key Executives that Formerly Worked for Mercedes-Benz and Tesla as it Prepares for Global Expansion and Production Ramp Up

Luxury-electric automaker Lucid Group announced the appointments of Evelyn Chiang as VP of Process Transformation and Walter Ludwig as its VP of Global Logistics as it aims to ramp up production. The two executives bring a wealth of global expertise and decades of operational excellence from companies including Mercedes-Benz and Tesla.

FutureCar Staff 2022-08-28 09:15 PT

NHTSA Opens Investigations Into Two New Fatal Tesla Accidents

Two recent fatal automobile accidents involving Tesla’s electric cars are being investigated by the NHTSA. The fatal accidents took place in California and Florida.

Vineeth Joel Patel2022-08-16 06:55 PT

J.D. Power Study Finds That EVs Are More Problematic Than ICE Cars

Polestar had the worst score of any automaker that was included in the study, while Tesla was well below average.

Vineeth Joel Patel2022-08-09 07:15 PT

Tesla Challenger NIO Inc Reports its Highest-Ever Monthly Sales in June

Electric automaker NIO Inc is selling more vehicles than ever before as China’s auto industry rebounds from the pandemic and subsequent production shutdowns in 2022. NIO reported record sales for the month of June, which was the highest monthly total since the automaker delivered its first vehicle, the ES8 SUV, in 2018.

Eric Walz2022-08-07 10:00 PT

Tesla Rival XPeng Inc. to Start Deliveries of its New Flagship G9 Electric SUV in September, CEO Confirms After Sharing New Details

The launch of the new flagship G9 electric SUV from Tesla rival XPeng Inc is moving forward as planned, the company's Chairman and CEO, He Xiaopeng, wrote on Chinese microblogging site Weibo on Wednesday. Mr. He posted on Weibo to provide an update on the progress of the G9, saying that many people are interested in the official launch and want to learn more about the company's new luxury SUV.

Eric Walz2022-08-05 13:15 PT

Tesla's Battery Supplier CATL Unveils its New ‘Qilin’ Battery That Can Deliver 600+ Miles of Range to EVs

Battery maker CATL, which is the world’s biggest supplier of electric vehicle batteries, unveiled its latest battery design named the “Qilin”. The energy-dense cell-to-pack battery can allow an electric vehicle to travel over 600 miles on a charge. The battery achieves the world’s highest volume utilization efficiency of 72%, which could become a game changer for the auto industry.

Eric Walz2022-07-30 12:00 PT

Shares of Volvo’s EV Brand Polestar to Begin Trading on the NASDAQ After Closing on its SPAC Deal With Gores Guggenheim

​Electric performance brand Polestar, which is jointly operated by Sweden’s Volvo Cars and its parent company Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding ("Geely"), has closed on its previously announced business combination with Gores Guggenheim, a special purpose acquisition company. As a result, the the automaker’s shares will begin trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol “PSNY” on June 24, 2022.

Eric Walz2022-07-30 08:30 PT

EV Startup NIO to Launch a New Mass-Market Brand to Rival Tesla with an Annual Capacity of 500,000 Vehicles a Year

Electric vehicle startup NIO Inc. aims to launch a new EV brand offering even more affordable vehicles to better compete against the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y in the China market, said CEO and chairman William Bin Li, on Thursday. The sub-brand will have an annual capacity of 500,000 electric vehicles a year.

Eric Walz2022-07-24 10:00 PT

Facing Rising Production Costs, Automakers Ford, GM, Stellantis and Toyota Urge Congress to Lift the Cap on the $7,500 EV Tax Credit

With rising inflation in the U.S. it's not just consumers dealing with higher prices, the world’s biggest automakers are also dealing with rising costs of raw materials like nickel and cobalt used in electric vehicle batteries. As automakers invest billions into electrifying their models lineups they are now asking Congress to lift the 200,000 vehicle cap on the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.

Eric Walz2022-07-20 10:00 PT

NHTSA Upgrades Tesla's Autopilot Investigation to 'Engineering Analysis'

The federal government’s action is an escalation of its ongoing investigation into accidents involving the automaker’s vehicles hitting stationary emergency vehicles.

Vineeth Joel Patel2022-07-19 07:45 PT

Elon Musk Wants to Cut Around 10% of Tesla’s Global Workforce, Blames Economic Uncertainty

Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk announced that he wants to reduce Tesla’s workforce by 10%, equal to roughly 10,000 jobs. Musk cites economic uncertainty for the plans to reduce Tesla’s workforce and wrote that he has a "super bad feeling" about the economy in the email to executives.

Eric Walz2022-07-10 09:30 PT