The BMW i3 is returning. Hyundai is working on its own LFP batteries. And GM wants to do away with rare-earth materials in motors. This and more, here at Green Car Reports.
General Motors earlier this week announced a partnership that it hopes will produce permanent-magnet EV motors without rare-earth materials—and their controversial sourcing ethics and supply chain. It’s worth noting that GM invented the rare-earth permanent magnet as we know it.
Hyundai is reportedly in the midst of developing a new generation of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells for future affordable EVs. According to a report, the automaker hopes to end development work in 2024 and start production in 2025 with batteries that could also help lessen Western automakers’ dependence on Chinese suppliers.
And the BMW i3 EV is coming back, a top executive at the German automaker confirmed in a recent report. The new version will be part of BMW’s upcoming Neue Klasse family, but you won’t find the former i3’s “polarizing design” and “outsider” styling ethos in the reboot. BMW made over 250,000 i3 models in its nine-year run ending last year.
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