parts suppliers
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Tesla CEO Elon Musk has aspirations of vertically integrating his companies as much as possible, trying to avoid traditional suppliers wherever he can. While Tesla has been successful in developing things like their electric motors in-house, the company still relies on others for many of the components that go into its cars. The Model 3 was expected to be the next step in reaching Tesla's vertically integrated future, but it turns out to remain dependent on a large number of parts from outside sources. CHECK OUT: Parts order for Tesla Model 3 cut by 40 percent starting in December: report...
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Toyota changes course, offers to share hybrid technology with rivals
Over the past six months, Toyota has made some remarkable decisions about its present and future car technologies. After years of staunch opposition to battery-electric vehicles, it committed to launching one by 2020. Now, the company has decided to offer its proprietary hybrid technology in volume...
John Voelcker -
LG Chem logs another electric-car win: Faraday Future to buy batteries
Faraday Future will get lithium-ion battery cells from LG Chem.
Stephen Edelstein -
CAFE rules should stay as they are, auto-industry suppliers agree
Automotive suppliers don't want CAFE standards to change, a new survey finds.
Stephen Edelstein -
Camera supplier Mobileye drops Tesla as customer, citing Autopilot crash
Mobileye will stop supplying Tesla when its current contract expires.
Stephen Edelstein -
Electrification, sure, but gasoline engines will endure: supplier
Increasingly stiff limits on carbon emission and minimum fuel economy in most of the world's car markets mean that more plug-in electric cars must be sold. With battery costs steadily falling and the pricetag rising for the new technologies that make cars more efficient, some now envision a world...
John Voelcker -
Even Tesla CEO Elon Musk has conceded that the company's electric Model X crossover utility vehicle ended up a more complicated vehicle than may have been necessary. Now, a lawsuit by Tesla Motors against German supplier Hoerbiger Automotive Comfort Systems describes the difficulties of developing the big SUV's signature rear "falcon doors." Tesla sued Hoerbiger to stop it pressing claims for payments after the electric-car maker cut all ties to the supplier in May 2015. DON'T MISS: Why Tesla Model X Electric SUV Is Late: Range, Towing, 'Falcon Doors' (Feb 2015) The process of developing the...
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New Investigations Of Bosch, EU Loans In VW Diesel Emission Scandal
German prosecutors are investigating Bosch to see if it helped VW configure "defeat device" software.
Stephen Edelstein -
LG Chem Adds Tesla To Customer List, Will Supply Cells For Roadster Upgrade
Of the three largest lithium-ion cell suppliers for electric cars, only one can count almost a dozen automakers among its customers. Now that company, LG Chem, has added another name to its roster: Tesla Motors. The Silicon Valley maker of luxury electric cars confirmed yesterday that it would...
John Voelcker -
Bosch 48-Volt Mild Hybrid: Cheaper Way To Boost Efficiency 15 Percent?
Bosch claims its new mild-hybrid system can increase fuel economy at a relatively low cost.
Stephen Edelstein -
LG Chem To Become World's Biggest Electric-Car Battery Supplier? Could Be, Report Says
LG Chem could become the world's largest electric-car battery supplier, a new report says.
Stephen Edelstein -
Cooper Tire: We Will Make Complete Tire From Desert Shrub In 2017
Cooper Tire says it can already make rubber components from a desert shrub called guayule.
Stephen Edelstein -
Tesla acquires an automotive supplier as it seeks to grow electric-car production.
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Ghosn: Nissan Not Tied To Its Own Electric-Car Batteries, Will Seek Other Suppliers Pragmatically
Batteries are the key component in building practical electric cars. And for its first all-electric Leaf in 2011, Nissan developed its own proprietary lithium-ion battery pack--even planning and setting up its own assembly facilities to build them. That trajectory started back in 2007, but today...
Bengt Halvorson -
Tesla Model X Exhaust Systems: Best Online Ad Of The Week
A website lists exhaust systems for the Tesla Model X electric crossover.
Stephen Edelstein -
Fisker Karma Owners Can Soon Buy Spare Parts, Wanxiang Says
Owners of the 2012 Fisker Karma range-extended electric luxury car got some good news last week: The company that now owns the carmaker has promised that supplies of spare parts will soon become available. Fisker stopped producing its striking sedan in July 2012 after it had built roughly 3,000 of...
John Voelcker -
U.S.-Made 2013 Nissan Leaf Has Only 15 Percent Local Content; Here's Why
The 2013 Nissan Leaf electric car is assembled in Smyrna, Tennessee, for North American sales. In fact, Nissan got a low-interest loan for $1.6 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy to make that possible. So why does every 2013 Leaf carry a window sticker saying that its U.S. and Canadian...
John Voelcker -
Ford: Era Of EVs Calls For Closer Eye On Conflict Minerals
Increasingly, in production electric vehicles such as the 2012 Ford Focus Electric and 2011 Nissan Leaf, automakers are turning to recycled and repurposed materials. But the rest of a modern car—even an ol' fossil-fuel burner—is no longer just sheetmetal, alloy, and plastics; extruded...
Bengt Halvorson -
Shop owners in the sprawling Japanese industrial town of Hamamatsu are worried: They see a future where their day jobs are under threat, and even worse, by the very companies they are in business to support. What is this great thread? Globalisation? Copyright infringement? Neither - their business is autoparts, and their livelihood is under threat by the future invasion of electric cars to the Japanese market. Hamamatsu under threat When you make your living selling mufflers, reconditioned engines, spark plugs, filters and all manner of oils for the millions of cars on Japanese roads, the...
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Ford Develops Renewable Soy-Based Rubber
For the major automakers, when it comes to being green, it’s not just about how much fuel a car consumes or the emissions levels coming out of a tailpipe. Instead, we’re seeing companies take a more holistic approach to environmental protection with entire operation lines being made greener...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Should Toyota Prius Owners Buy a Spare Used Battery Pack?
We often get asked whether it will be necessary to replace the high-voltage battery pack in a Toyota Prius after it's five or ten years old. The answer is, almost certainly not. Toyota is required to warranty the pack for either 8 years / 100,000 miles or 10 years / 150,000 miles, depending on...
John Voelcker